The biggest winners and losers of last night's SmackDown (May 21)

The ShowOff returned in styleH
The ShowOff returned in style

The penultimate SmackDown of the month had some notable moments, though the "wild card" element ruined some of it. Becky Lynch and Charlotte's presence in the same ring feels unnecessary till at least 2020.

We saw a shock - if filler - return, good matches, some funny segments with the 24/7 title, and Ali on the rise. All in all, it wasn't a bad episode, unlike Raw, though SmackDown still feels like it's lost the pop it had in 2018.

Who got the most and least out of last night's episode?


Winner: Ali

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When it is Andrade and Ali against each other, you know something good is going to come out of it. It did not work out for Andrade, who looks firmly entrenched in his role as the guy that makes other guys look good, but with a showdown with the Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor looming in Saudi Arabia, his push wasn't ever going to pick up big momentum anyway.

When you recall that Ali was originally supposed to take Kofi Kingston's spot in the February gauntlet match that got Kofimania started, it becomes glaring that he was destined for much bigger spotlights. The crowd got firmly behind him as the match went on, so the investment isn't out of place.

Ali will likely get a WWE Championship match further into the summer - say, June or July.


Winner: R-Truth

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I was more skeptical yesterday, but now it looks like this 24/7 title is going to work. R-Truth's segments were the most entertaining of the night and he's great in roles like these. Most importantly, the 24/7 title breaks up the usual monotonous presentation of WWE's shows, which was badly needed.

R-Truth will work in this role, and it was nice to see him keep his title throughout the night instead of excessively random title changes.

Though obviously, he won't keep the title long. We'll see who gets it next.

Winner(s): Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston

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Dolph Ziggler's return was shocking enough. His attack on Kofi Kingston was well-executed, and we now know what the WWE Championship match in Saudi Arabia is going to be. Dolph Ziggler does not seem to be anything more than a placeholder challenger for the upcoming controversial show; even so, the angle was initiated with enough surprise and heat.

Kofi Kingston's presentation as a fighting WWE Champion has been excellent so far. It isn't difficult at this point to say that he's one of the company's most valuable players of 2019.


Loser: Bayley

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This just wasn't the best way to get Bayley's reign started. It was the usual random tag team match that was put together without much story to back it up, sprinkled with more 'wild cards' to make it worse. The match felt very much centered on Becky Lynch's quest for revenge, rather than presenting SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley as a central focus.

Bayley did eventually get the pin on Charlotte Flair, but with WWE's standard 50/50 booking formula, that doesn't bode well. The cynic in me immediately remarked that Bayley was just in the championship picture to increase Charlotte's title count, as evidenced in Charlotte bumping her tally to nine world championships, only to lose it to Bayley.


Loser: Roman Reigns

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Roman Reigns feuding with an authority figure has been done to death. Reigns even mentioned the lack of continuity in storyline, when he brought up the fact that the McMahons claimed back in December of last year that the WWE Universe was the only authority now. The entire angle involving Shane McMahon, Elias and Roman Reigns does not seem at all inspired, only serving as a temporary arc that will conclude at Super ShowDown in June. The sooner it ends, the better. That is all.

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