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After a blockbuster Summerslam, SmackDown was expected to carry on the momentum and advance some major storylines while igniting some new ones. It is safe to say that the show did not disappoint. This episode featured some of the most solid storytelling that the company has produced in years.
Here are the biggest winners and losers coming out of the August 21st episode of SmackDown.
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Losers - The Miz and Daniel Bryan
This is a rivalry that needs to culminate at Wrestlemania with a babyface Bryan finally avenging the loss to his longtime rival. But instead, we are going to get a mixed tag team match at Hell in a Cell featuring The Miz & Maryse against Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella.
It is hard to see the reason behind Brie's sudden involvement in this story. What is even more difficult to understand is what Bryan will gain out of winning a mixed tag team match in this heated rivalry.
The best thing that the WWE could have done here is to have Bryan chase a match with an unwilling Miz in order to gain revenge for his loss, similar to how Shawn Michaels chased The Undertaker before Wrestlemania 26.
Winners - Samoa Joe & AJ Styles
Unlike The Miz and Daniel Bryan, this is a storyline that the WWE have booked perfectly till now. While family-based feuds in wrestling are known to get unwatchable more often than not, the greatness of these two performers has turned it into one of the hottest feuds in wrestling today.
Joe's continuous mind games with Styles by bringing his family into the picture continued on Tuesday as he cut a blistering promo after choking out the WWE Champion with a Coquina Clutch. It feels like this story is building towards a mouthwatering Hell in a Cell match at next month's pay-per-view.
Loser - Andrade 'Cien' Almas
Almas finds himself in the same tricky situation that most new NXT graduates find themselves in after coming up to the main roster. He has been involved in an underwhelming feud with Rusev for the past month.
While nobody seemed very interested in this feud, Almas was at least getting wins under his belt in their past encounters. That all changed on SmackDown last night as he ended up tapping to The Accolade.
Rusev might be one of the most popular stars in the WWE today yet the hype around him is slowly but surely fading away, thanks to some awful decisions from the creative team. But while Rusev can still use his popularity to get into storylines, Almas does not possess that yet. The former NXT Champion should be looking forward to moving on from this storyline and entering into a more meaningful feud.
Winner - Becky Lynch
This heel version of Becky Lynch feels like a breath of fresh air. After years of stagnation on the midcard scene, a change of character is exactly what the fiery Irish competitor needed.
WWE did a commendable job here by having Becky only deal with the facts in order to explain her actions at Summerslam. Charlotte did rob her of her opportunity to become the Women's Championship at Summerslam. She has been overlooked for the past few years by the company. And yes, she deserves more respect than she has got from the fans.
It looks like the WWE is setting up a major feud between Charlotte and Becky, and we can only hope that it ends with the Irish Lasskicker raising the SmackDown Women's Championship.
