The biggest winners and losers of last night's SmackDown (October 25)

What will Daniel Bryan do next? What's the next step for Bryan?
What will Daniel Bryan do next? What's the next step for Bryan?

Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not necessarily reflect those of Sportskeeda.

SmackDown, airing on FS1 this week due to the MLB World Series, had a week to go before the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. The former WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston, was in action, we saw a preview of the big tag team clash next week, and Brock Lesnar did a surprise attack. With its go home show in the books, how well did SmackDown do in hyping up the card for the kind of event whose reputation is poor with the fans? Who got the most and least out of last night's show?


Loser: Kofi Kingston

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After having a six month title reign, beating all comers, and rarely taking any losses, Kofi Kingston is now being rolled up by the lowly Dolph Ziggler in random tag team matches on SmackDown. This kind of booking does no one any favors. Kofi Kingston looks worse for having lost in such a fashion while everyone he beat from April to October looks worse for having lost to someone who goes on to lose like that. As far as promoting the Crown Jewel card, this didn't help.

This is the reason why WWE doesn't make any stars and has to keep bringing out the likes of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.


Loser: Lacey Evans

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When is Vince McMahon going to take a hint that the Lacey Evans push just isn't working? That question is mostly rhetorical, but segments like this still do her no favors. The pre-match promo was unnecessary and the entire thing just fell flat with the audience.

Lacey Evans isn't over in the slightest and the more she's given prominent spots like this, the more her weaknesses get exposed. If she isn't sent to NXT, she should be part of a tag team that can cover her weaknesses up until she improves.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

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After his falling out with Rowan, Daniel Bryan seems unsure of where he wants to go next. Michael Cole wondered if the old Daniel Bryan was back, but Sami Zayn offered him the chance to join him and Shinsuke Nakamura, where he could still be the Planet's Champion against the wishes of the fans.

Daniel Bryan couldn't give an answer at the moment, but there's no doubt this angle isn't done, and it makes him a big focus on the show going forward. A Daniel Bryan struggling to find himself as we head into WrestleMania 36 offers fans the chance to get behind him against a certain absentee WWE Champion, as they wanted to do in 2015.

Let's just hope we get this nonsense focusing on a UFC feud from almost 10 years ago out of the way first. That's where Crown Jewel's importance will ultimately come in.

Winner: Nikki Cross

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Nikki Cross' push continues, as she defeated Mandy Rose while Bayley and Sasha Banks were on commentary putting her down. She has no chance of actually winning the title from Bayley, but if those two are involved with her, it means she has a future as a solo act and not just as Alexa Bliss' crazy sidekick.


Loser: Cain Velasquez

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Cain Velasquez looks completely lost every time he's out there, as Rey Mysterio speaks for him. Is any WWE fan actually excited about this match between the two at Crown Jewel? The segment with Brock Lesnar beating up Dominic, who was explained to be Velasquez's godson was fine for building heat, but the latter just looks like a cardboard cutout out there, preventing investment in him as a character.

Hopefully this angle won't go on beyond Crown Jewel, although that's unfortunately unlikely. Either way, putting the WWE Championship on Cain Velasquez would be a big mistake.

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