The biggest winners and losers of last night's SmackDown (January 15)

This week's SmackDown was an unfortunate decline in quality compared to the episode we got last week, which was all systems go. This week was more akin to a hot and cold show, with some hits and some misses. We can't expect a top quality show every week, but this week's decline was bigger than it needed to be.

Who got the most and least out of last night's episode with the Royal Rumble less than two weeks left? Let's take a look.

Losers: Becky Lynch and Asuka

Becky Lynch was even more over than usual last night, but then she went on to struggle against Peyton Royce. WWE also insisted on giving Asuka a microphone to deliver a lengthier promo than usual, which is always a risky proposition. It didn't work. Asuka struggled a lot. She dispatched Billie Kay with ease, but it wasn't a good night for her.

The result was that the hottest program on SmackDown felt like it cooled off.

Hopefully things will pick up next week.

Winners: Samoa Joe and Mustafa Ali

Samoa Joe looked like a ravenous predator last night, which is when he's always at his best. Mustafa Ali, for his part, bumped like a maniac to get people more sympathetic to him in the face of Joe's vicious assault.

Sometimes, you just don't need a match to build something. This was a great way to build Ali and Joe as rivals as they both head into the Royal Rumble match on January 27th. Ali will be looking for revenge and Joe suddenly looks like one of the most dangerous men in the match. Job done.

WWE dropped the ball by insisting on a long opening promo to begin the night, but innovated immediately afterward. This was a good break from a tired formula.