The biggest winners and losers of last night's SmackDown (February 5)

Last night's SmackDown dutifully did its job in building up to what looks like it will be an underwhelming Elimination Chamber pay per view. As should be expected, it exceeded Raw, but there were a number of problems on the show that made it of lesser quality than what we've come to be used to for the blue brand.

Astonishingly, three of the brand's four champions were absent last night, with no appearance from Asuka, The Miz and Shane McMahon, or R-Truth.

What filled the rest of the show? Let's take a look.

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Winner/Loser: Becky Lynch

Your thoughts on this segment will undoubtedly vary. Personally, I hated it. It was all about introducing unwanted elements into the Becky vs. Ronda story, when we already saw last week that the feud had all the ingredients it needed to be magic.

Instead, this was about needlessly inserting Charlotte into the equation by over-selling Becky's "injury," and bring in the McMahons for a tired re-do of the "babyface fan favorite vs. the authority" storyline we've seen over and over again since the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin, taking away all the uniqueness that they had on hand.

And wasn't Becky supposed to be suspended anyway? But she still shows up? This is quickly getting into overexposure territory. WWE needs to be careful to find the right balance. Unfortunately, WWE usually veers toward either pushing someone into the ground or pushing someone down the throats of fans. It often lacks subtlety.

However, Becky was still very over, with fans invested in her as much as ever. That's good. I just fear that this angle is going to get people burned out with all the moving parts and Becky being all over both shows before we finally get to WrestleMania.

Losers: Gallows and Anderson

Though this was expected, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson losing to a cobbled together tag team of guys who were just feuding with each other only cements their low status.

And if Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev were going to be on the show, why put the United States Championship on R-Truth, who wasn't?

It's just these little things that often make WWE booking so weirdly bizarre.

If Nakamura and Rusev keep together as a tag team, there's a decent chance they take the SmackDown tag team titles off The Miz and Shane McMahon before WrestleMania, but it will still feel like a cobbled together team of two singles stars, much like the current Raw tag team champions.

Gallows and Anderson should be moved to Raw during the Superstar Shakeup after WrestleMania, although there's no guarantee that their fortunes will change. It would still be better for them, though.

Winner: Mustafa Ali

As per the norm with him, Mustafa Ali put on a match of the month contender with Randy Orton last night. This is the proof that new fans need about why they're giving Ali a nice push. He can always be relied on to deliver a gutsy performance. He proved it as "the heart of 205 Live" and he's quickly proving it as "the heart of SmackDown Live."

Ali would try to set up Orton for the 054, but the wily veteran reversed it with a memorable RKO. Ali's performance saw him come close but fail to get to the goal. That's fine for now. He got a lot more out of this match in defeat than many people get in victory.

Afterwards, Samoa Joe came in and ambushed Randy Orton, selling the Elimination Chamber match in a way that only he can. This should be good.

Losers: The SmackDown Women's Division

This was a sloppy triple threat match that did nothing to sell fans on the upcoming women's Elimination Chamber match, which honestly looks like it could be one of the worst matches of the year.

Sonya Deville showed her usual promise, but that was about it. WWE's obnoxious insistence on testing the waters with the far worse Mandy Rose continued, as she got the win for her team by pinning Naomi.

The only thing that this match accomplished was remind us just how thin the SmackDown women's division is aside from the top three. The video package shown for Asuka later on was in some ways apt - there's nobody credible enough to challenge her right now, with Charlotte and Becky embroiled with each other and Ronda Rousey.

Only the superstar shakeup can remedy this situation and that won't come until afterwards.

Nikki Cross should be moved to SmackDown permanently now.