The biggest winners and losers of last night's SmackDown (January 1)

Last night's SmackDown was an enjoyable way to kick off the new year. Barring one segment, nothing was truly outstanding, but nothing was bad (barring the unnecessary New Day opening promo), either. All of the major storylines were moved forward and most people on the show looked good. Among other things, we learned that Rusev's rivalry with Nakamura would continue.

The show centred on a fatal five-way #1 contender's challenge to see who the NEW Daniel Bryan's opponent would be at the Royal Rumble. Who won? And who got the most out of the show in general?

Winner: Sonya Deville

This segment might have centred on Mandy Rose getting under Naomi's skin, but, as usual, Sonya Deville was the standout of the two. It doesn't help that Mandy Rose's character is the typical catty Diva that we've seen a million times before, and which Alexa Bliss does better than her.

Showcasing an explosive burst in the ring, Sonya Deville took advantage of Rose's constant distractions to ultimately hit a finisher unlike anything I've ever seen - or at least it appeared that way when it first happened on TV. That was a new move from the rapidly improving Deville.

One has to think that this angle connects in some way to the coming women's tag team championships. With Asuka now SmackDown Women's Champion, Naomi will need to find another ally to combat two-thirds of the former Absolution. Lana has teased a partnership on social media. We'll see. It doesn't sound like the most exciting duo, to be honest.

However it happens, it's clear that at least Rose, and possibly Deville, is in line for a push as 2019 unfolds. They might be the dark horses to capture the women's tag team titles whenever they're finally unveiled.