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WWE SmackDown Live: Winners and Losers For October 3

By Bryan Heaton

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Who were the big winners and losers on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live?

After WWE SmackDown Live on Tuesday, there are a handful of superstars who are seeing their stock rise. Likewise, a couple of superstars look like they’ve hit a rough spot. A pro wrestler’s career is always full of peaks and valleys, but in WWE they get magnified because of the number of eyes on them at all times.

With that said, let’s take a look at some superstars on the move after SmackDown Live this week.

Winners

  • The Usos & The New Day

Before we dive too deep into “winners and losers” this week, let the record show that SmackDown was absolutely terrible this week. It could be a result of the show being stuck on repeat as of late. Maybe Hell in a Cell is going to be a garbage show. Who knows? But there really aren’t many “winners” this week.

That said, as much as it’s been repeated over and over, any time The Usos go up against The New Day, it’s pretty good. There may not have been an actual match between the teams this week, but the promo leading into their match Sunday set a terrific stage. Putting these squads inside the cell should be a MOTN contender.

There are few rivalries where both parties are as good on the mic as these two teams. The Usos have been great since their heel turn. And New Day has always been at their best when the stakes are high, and they don’t have to just goof off. Personally, I’m really looking forward to the Tag Title match at HIAC, and the SmackDown promo just whets the appetite even more.

  • Sami Zayn

See? Finding winners this week is tough. Sami makes the cut because he looks to be getting a bigger spotlight on SmackDown – even if he’s not wrestling at the moment.

Zayn gets a bit of a showcase “warning” Shane McMahon ahead of the latter’s encounter with Kevin Owens. My Spidey Sense is tingling for a Sami heel turn and “reunion” with Owens, but I think that may be wishful thinking. Either way, anything that gets Sami in a bigger spot and more eyes on him is okay with me.

Hopefully after Hell in a Cell, Zayn will be one of the top players on the Blue Brand. Whether KO heads to Raw or not, there’s a lot for Zayn on Tuesday nights.

Losers

  • Shinsuke Nakamura

Remember last week when Nakamura was a big winner? Remember when I said his response to Jinder Mahal’s racist rants would have been better if he snuck up on him and ambushed him? Look what happened this week – Jinder ambushed Nak, and now Shinsuke looks like a fool.

I’m hoping that Nakamura getting whupped on the go home show means that he may come out on top at Hell in a Cell. It’s past time to end the Jinder Mahal experiment (even though I was a fan of the idea of making him champ). Maybe this is WWE’s classic way of building up a future champion by making him look like a scrub before winning the title.

  • The WWE Universe

More from SmackDown

Folks, if you made it through SmackDown this week, you deserve a medal of some sort. The show was just not good. As the go home show for a pay per view, it’s stunning just how low quality this episode was in general.

Everyone has an off day. The nature of WWE’s programming means you get 52 episodes of both Raw and SmackDown every year. That’s 104 original shows every calendar year. 520 hours without a break. There’s bound to be a stinker every once in a while. It’s the law of averages.

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Hopefully, this stinker will be the last one for a while. After HIAC, the Blue Brand can start focusing on Survivor Series, and maybe do a semi reset. Get past some of these over repetitive storylines, do something new, and turn a corner. And the fans will be rewarded for show’s like this week’s.