WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from Feb. 27

John Cena's mission to fight his way onto the WrestleMania stage continued on WWE SmackDown.

After not earning a marquee match at The Show of Shows on Monday night, Cena remembered that he was a free agent and traveled to the blue brand. That's where he found a familiar opponent in AJ Styles and where he claimed a spot in the upcoming WWE Championship bout.

Thanks to a win over the WWE champ, Cena forced his way into what is now a Six-Pack Challenge at the Fastlane pay-per-view on March 11.

Los Angeles hosted that part of Cena's tale as well as The Usos killing it on the mic, Rusev Day not getting the proper respect and SmackDown's authority figures again dampening the action. This was one of the better episodes in weeks, but the show's flaws aren't fixed by any means.

Read on for a full breakdown of Tuesday's SmackDown, complete with highlights and letter grades.

John Cena Talks WrestleMania

Cena opened the show with a speech about getting on the WrestleMania card. He said he wanted to be a part of the Fatal 5-Way WWE Championship match at Fastlane and would do whatever he needed to earn that opportunity.

Commissioner Shane McMahon hesitated to grant the 16-time world champ his wish. General manager Daniel Bryan came out to announce that Cena would get into the WWE title bout if he beat Styles.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Fans chant "Rusev Day!"

Grade 

B-

Analysis

SmackDown kicked off with a solid, efficient segment that set up the main event.

Cena's "road to WrestleMania" story is hard to swallow, though. No one really believes he wouldn't get a spot on the biggest show of the year.

Still, the angle has given him a clear goal and focus. And that has led to some of his best character work in a long while. If only WWE offered this kind of battle to be in the spotlight to more Superstars.

Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin

Kevin Owens sat in on commentary as his friend Sami Zayn went to work in the ring.

Baron Corbin stared down KO as he pounded away on Zayn. His quickness allowed The Underdog from the Underground to battle back.

McMahon and Bryan bickered backstage.

In the ring, the two rivals traded momentum. Corbin's End of Days put a stop to that, keeping Zayn down for the count.

Dolph Ziggler leaped from out of the stands to superkick Owens. He then went on to blindside Corbin.

Result

Corbin wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• "Nobody ever liked you enough to be your friend."—Owens to Byron Saxton.
• "Corbin, if you're looking for your hairline, it's on the top of your head."—Owens.
• Zayn flips Corbin over the security barricade.
• Corbin slams Zayn onto the announce table.

Grade 

C-

Analysis

Owens is excellent on commentary. His wit is machete sharp. His bullying ways never get old.

The actual match and the shenanigans surrounding it weren't nearly as entertaining. 

There were too many cutaways to Bryan and McMahon. Their feud continues to overtake and weigh down the rest of the show.

And it's hard to get pumped about Ziggler's part in all this despite this attack. He's a thrown-in element of a messy narrative.

Naomi vs. Ruby Riott

Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch accompanied Naomi to the ring.

As soon as the bell rang, Naomi went after Ruby Riott, forcing the heel to retreat. Naomi's crew soon faced off with The Riott Squad at ringside.

Riott was able to slow the match down and take control—but only briefly. Naomi's athleticism helped her beat up on her foe. In the kick-heavy battle, though, Riott won out, stunning Naomi with a shot to the head.

Result

Riott wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Riott and Naomi knock each other to the mat with simultaneous kicks.
• Riott dodges Rear View and clubs Naomi from behind. 

Grade 

B-

Analysis

Riott continues to put on strong performances in outings that only hint at what she could do with more time. 

She needed a big win en route to Fastlane. This was exactly that—a definitive victory over a former women's champ.

The Naomi-Lynch-Flair alliance feels forced, though. WWE would be wise to create a real trio to combat The Riott Squad at some point. 

The Usos and The New Day Meet Once Again

Credit: WWE.com

Backstage, Breezango palled around with actor Josh Duhamel. They all mentioned Duhamel's new show on USA network several times. The New Day soon joined in the fun.

In the ring, The New Day played with pancakes before talking up their Fastlane bout against The Usos. Kofi Kingston promised that his squad would dethrone the champs and head into WrestleMania with the gold.

The Usos emerged to remind their challengers of how they beat them in the past, of how great they are.

Big E barked back. He rattled off his team's own accomplishments.

The Bludgeon Brothers interrupted, staring down everyone until they left.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• "These aren't actual cases. These are excuses for you to do jokes and parodies."—Duhamel.
• Kingston spritzes Big E's leg with a water bottle.
• The Usos compare The New Day's ring gear to a box of Skittles.
• "We about to run through you like we always do."—Jey Uso.
• "We didn't get here because of our daddies."—Big E.

Grade 

A

Analysis

For a TV tie-in, the comedy segment was quite good. The plugs were heavy-handed, but everyone jelled together, and the dialogue clicked.

Some great mic work injected tons of energy into a familiar matchup.

The Usos' passion popped on the screen. The New Day slid toward its serious side and resonated.

It's a smart move to have The Usos revisit their past and grow angry about how WWE has booked them at WrestleMania. A simple story rooted in reality is going to make the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match the best thing about Fastlane.

Aiden English vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Credit: WWE.com

Bobby Roode and Randy Orton briefly interacted backstage. The Viper said he wanted to win the United States Championship because it's a prize he's never claimed in his long career.

Aiden English faced Nakamura after asking McMahon for an opportunity. 

The Shakespeare of Song had the early advantage, but even with Rusev helping him by distracting Nakamura, English didn't last long. A Kinshasa ended the match.

Result

Nakamura wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Rusev kicks Nakamura in the head at ringside.

Grade 

C+

Analysis

Nakamura piling on wins ahead of his big title bout at WrestleMania is a no-brainer. And he should be making quick work of a guy like English as he did here.

WWE needs to start listening to the crowd, though. Fans chanted "Rusev Day" for much of the night. Rusev and English didn't even make the show for two weeks and then get a sliver of the airtime pie on Tuesday. 

The highly popular duo needs a story to dive into ASAP.

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Credit: WWE.com

Zayn and Owens watched the action from backstage.

To begin the bout, Cena overpowered the WWE champ. The Leader of the Cenation was able to stay atop his opponent, blasting him with his signature power moves. 

A weary Styles hung in with Cena, playing a lot of defense. 

The Phenomenal One flew around the ring, leaving Cena's ribs hurting and scoring a number of near-falls. A failed high-risk move left the WWE champ vulnerable, but Cena was unable to put him away.

It took Cena deadlifting Styles off the mat and hitting an Attitude Adjustment to end a stellar contest.

Moments later, Corbin, Zayn and Owens ganged up on the two combatants. Ziggler followed, superkicking everything in sight. Cena landed the last blow in the brawl before SmackDown went off the air.

Result

Cena wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Cena nails Styles with a big-air facebuster.
• Cena delivers a TKO to Styles. 
• Cena kicks out of the Styles Clash; Styles kicks out of the Attitude Adjustment.
• Cena smashed Styles through the announce table with the Attitude Adjustment. 
• "AJ Styles is broken!"—Corey Graves.

Grade 

A

Analysis

Cena's presence helped give SmackDown's main event scene a needed boost. These men create something memorable against each other every time out. Even if this wasn't quite as good as the Cena vs. Styles classics, a match of this magnitude was a welcome sight.

Two false finishes happened during the commercial break, hurting the dramatic nature of each moment.

The chaos at the end fell somewhat flat. The WWE title match has a lot of moving parts, and several of them don't feel particularly significant.