The biggest winners and losers from last night's SmackDown (May 29)

Samoa Joe Money in the Bank
The Samoan Submission Machine got one step closer.

Last night's SmackDown managed to be a good show despite it trying many times not to be. It's a testament to how strong the blue brand's roster is right now that we still got two hours of solid content despite liberal amounts of shoddy writing and an annoying bait and switch.

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Who walked out with the wind in their sails with Money in the Bank three weeks away?


Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

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Shinsuke Nakamura is so much more entertaining to watch as a heel than a babyface. Last night, he obnoxiously played up the Last Man Standing stipulation, prolonging the match with Tye Dillinger and basically taunting and torturing him because of it, though it wasn't completely one-sided. The match was actually rather good.

It probably brought Nakamura no closer to victory in June, but it would be the right decision regardless. AJ Styles' reign has more than run its course. Why is the champion being booked in a useless interview segment instead of taking revenge from last week?

Losers: Everyone in the "Dance Off"

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Not to be outdone by Raw's stupid barbecue segment the night before, SmackDown served us up a "dance off" between Naomi and Lana last night. Apparently, that's in line with the "women's revolution."

It also managed to make The Usos feel like even bigger afterthoughts, which is a shame given how hot they were last year. The segment did nothing to capitalize on Rusev's popularity or make Lana a bigger part of it like last week's match with Billie Kay did, either.

Overall, it was just a waste of time to set up a filler match.

Winner: The Miz

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Put six great wrestlers in a match and what do you get? An excellent match, of course. This was outstanding. The Miz, The New Day, and Cesaro and Sheamus definitely put on the match of the night as they brawled, even if it wasn't with any stakes.

The Miz was eventually pinned by Big E, which makes me think that his chances of winning the Money in the Bank contract have increased, given WWE's 50/50 formula.

Losers: The Bludgeon Brothers

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Do you remember that the Bludgeon Brothers are the SmackDown Tag Team Champions? You'd be forgiven if you answered "no." After another poor promo, it's hard to fathom why, for instance, the champions couldn't have had a match instead of the useless "dance off" that we saw earlier, or even the six-man tag that, while good, was still ultimately meaningless.

It just helps to remember that logic isn't this company's first language.

Loser: Carmella

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Asuka managed to drag Mandy Rose to her best match yet, her comical overselling of Sonya Deville's ambush aside. On commentary was Carmella, repeating that she beat Charlotte Flair and that Charlotte Flair beat Asuka over and over again like a parrot.

After the match, Carmella entered the ring to stare Asuka down and the crowd instantly died. This was after she came out to ringside to dead silence. It was her worst night yet.

There was no better advertisement that Carmella's championship reign is flopping badly and that, for the sake of the division, she must drop the title to Asuka at Money in the Bank.

Winner: Samoa Joe

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After advertising a "dream match" between Daniel Bryan and Samoa Joe for a week, WWE baited and switched, bringing Big Cass in to make it a triple threat and thus dragging the match far below what it could have been.

Samoa Joe wound up picking up the win in clean fashion when he ambushed Daniel Bryan with the Coquina Clutch and put him to sleep. It was badly needed, and since Bryan never tapped, he looked strong in defeat.

Samoa Joe should be considered one of the favorites in the ladder match, probably second to Miz.