Biggest WWE Smackdown Winners and Losers From August 23 Episode, Including Kevin Owens And Grayson Waller

There is a reason why WWE jumped at the opportunity to sign former AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill. However, there was also reasons why they waited a long time to let her compete in the ring and have limited her to tag matches. Her mat skills still need a good amount of work.

However, on this week’s episode she had one of her better performances in the ring and looked like the monster she can be. But, most importantly, the loud reaction she got for her hot tag in her six woman tag match showed her huge star potential despite still-developing her in-ring skills.

Since turning on Rey Mysterio earlier this year, Santos Escobar has been very reliable during his segments on episodes of Smackdown. And he has gotten many of them over the last six months. However, somebody has to lose and LA Knight is one of the most over performers in the company.

His match with Knight this week was solid but had a couple of notable miscues. Taking another key loss doesn’t do much for the long-term growth of his character. Plus, being connected to Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza has only hurt him more than helped. He was a loser this week.

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Kevin Owens getting a title opportunity from Cody Rhodes was an unexpected pivot in the WWE Undisputed Title picture. However, there is not doubt the creative team and smart wrestlers have some fun things planned. And some breadcrumbs were dropped on Friday with the idea that Rhodes can’t trust his pal.

That weird moment where it looked like Owens might attack Rhodes after their tag win was another fun play to that idea. In the end, KO is a winner as he has finally gotten to play a role beyond a friend of the current WWE king.

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Similar to the New Day, The Street Profits as characters have gotten stale. But New Day has finally begun a new story that has added interest to the team in recent weeks. The Profits don’t have the same luck. They haven’t been interesting in some time. And their gimmick still seems stuck in 2021 and B-Fab continues to feel like an awkward fit. After another tag title loss, these two need to finally go their separate ways.

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Grayson Waller is the heir apparent to the Miz as the annoying heel with the gift of gab that can progress stories other than his own. He shined in a major way during this week’s “Grayson Waller Effect.” And the fresh set took the old school concept of a pro wrestling talk show in a fun new direction. Waller is a very valuable talent and the Aug. 23 episode of Smackdown was another example of that.

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On the flip side of the Waller Effect is that Austin Theory continues to look like a far less useful talent. The Aussie consistently outshines him at every turn and Theory once again seems stuck as a character. Their have been hints of a potential break up for weeks. Maybe turning face can save Theory from stagnation and a potential release.

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WWE has an interesting predicament on Smackdown. The companies two most popular performers, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns, are on the brand. However, not far behind in interest is United States Champion LA Knight. He received one of the biggest entrance pops of this week’s Smackdown. And continues to be among the company’s most over performers. With a win over Esobar in the bag, the promotion must find a new foil for the champ, but no matter who he faces he is a winner for WWE in every segment right now.