WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights for September 26

Every week on Bleacher Report, I take an in-depth look at WWE SmackDown to recap the action, offer analysis and grade the matches, segments and anything else that takes place on the show. I also provide some predictions on the direction of storylines.

The last few weeks of SmackDown have been either bad or mediocre, but that all changed this week. Not only were most of the matches very entertaining, but every segment felt like it had time to breathe.

SmackDown is usually known as the B-show, but it definitely outshone Raw this week. Only one match fell short, and you can probably guess which one that was.

We got to see a Battle Royal leading in an Intercontinental Championship match and a Tag Team Championship rematch on the same show. It's hard to find much to complain about when WWE actually puts some effort into their booking.

Let's take a look at everything that took place on this week's SmackDown.

And the Oscar for Best Stunt Work Goes To...

The show started off with a match between Miz and Dean Ambrose. This came about after Ambrose embarrassed Miz and Damien Sandow during a MizTV segment on Main Event.

The great thing about this match is that it felt so fresh. These two men have had very little interaction inside a WWE ring, which is a rare thing for any two wrestlers on the WWE roster these days.

Miz and Ambrose kind of make the perfect opponents for one another: Miz is the rich Hollywood playboy, while Ambrose represents the common man. It's almost like watching Ted DiBiase vs. Dusty Rhodes with fewer polka dots. Miz even has Sandow to represent Virgil.

These two put on a good opening match that ended with Ambrose hitting Dirty Deeds to pick up the win. Seth Rollins and Kane came out after it was all said and done to attack Ambrose, but they got a little more than they bargained for.

Ambrose not only fended off both men successfully, but he was able to make off with the Money in the Bank briefcase. It was a very entertaining way to begin the show.

Grade: B+

Some notes from the match:

• Damien Sandow will definitely win a Slammy Award for Best Stunt Double.
• It's amazing how Sandow has taken what should have been a terrible gimmick and made it entertaining. If WWE execs don't see his value after being so good in this role, then they never will.
• It was hard to notice, but you could occasionally see Sandow mimicking Miz's movements from outside the ring while the match was taking place.

Who Doesn't Love a Battle Royal?

The second match of the night was a Battle Royal to see who would take on Dolph Ziggler for his Intercontinental Championship later in the show.

Cesaro picked up the win after he pressed Kofi Kingston above his head and threw him into Swagger to eliminate both men.

Battle Royals are usually fun, and this was no different. There were a few creative eliminations and some high-risk spots that looked great.

Cesaro definitely gave the most impressive performance out of anyone. Not only did he win, he was one of the focal points throughout the entire match with his amazing feats of strength and innovative offense.

Grade: B+

Some notes from the match:

• Bo Dallas may hold the record for eliminating someone the fastest after throwing out one of the Los Matadores right after the bell rang.
• Did you notice how Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods had coordinated attire and never went after each other? There's still hope for their stable after all.
• Kofi wins the award for most innovative elimination by monkey-flipping Justin Gabriel out of the ring.
• Kofi and Jack Swagger ended up taking a hard fall in the ring after Swagger caught Kofi coming off the top rope, but couldn't keep his balance. It looked very dangerous the way Kofi's head hit the turnbuckle on the way down, but he kept going like the trooper that he is.

Blood Is Thicker Than Water, but It's Not Thicker Than Gold

After delivering one of the best matches at Night of Champions, it should come as no surprise that these two teams put on another outstanding performance.

These four men have built up such great chemistry that it's hard to imagine them having anything but a great bout at this point.

Both teams pulled out some innovative offense to make this a completely different experience from their previous encounters. The Usos even hit The Road Warriors' signature Doomsday Device finisher at one point.

The Usos put up a valiant effort, but they were unable to recapture the Tag Team Championships from Gold and Stardust after Goldust got his team disqualified by using one of the title belts to break up a pin.

DQ finishes usually don't help anyone, but it was actually the smart way to go here. Having the Usos look like they could have won will keep this feud going a bit longer, which is great news for everyone—especially us fans who want to see more show-stealing matches from them.

Grade: A

Some notes from the match:

• Have you noticed how the Usos are two of the only people who have pyro anymore?
• Does Stardust wear colored contact lenses? His eyes looked red.
• JBL referenced the Hollywood Backlot Brawl between Goldust and Roddy Piper. If you have never seen that one, go to the WWE Network and watch it. It's one of the best non-traditional matches of all time.
• Michael Cole came up with a much better name for Stardust's finisher than Dark Matter. It should be called "the Falling Star."

No Wonder She Hasn't Had a Win in 8 Years

All the momentum the first three matches built up was killed the moment the bell rang for this tag team encounter.

It's not Natalya's fault, though. Rosa is just so green that she looks like a rookie compared to every other Diva, despite the fact she's been around for nearly a decade. You would think she would have picked up more in that time, but she hasn't.

Layla and Summer Rae picked up the win when Layla rolled up Rosa for the pin.

Grade: D

Some notes from the match:

• When was the last time you saw someone pull somebody from the apron into the ring using the ropes the way Natalya did to Summer Rae? It was a very common move in the '90s, but it never gets used anymore.
• The only reason this didn't get an F is because Natalya looked good with what she was doing.
• Where did Fandango go? It seems like he's been off TV for a long time.
• Rosa telegraphs her moves worse than any wrestler in the history of WWE. She really needs to go down to NXT to train before WWE puts her in any further matches on the main shows.

The Show Off vs. The Swiss Superman

The Divas may have killed the momentum of the show, but Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro built it right back up with their IC title match.

The first few moments looked like an amateur wrestling match. Both these guys know how to wrestle so many different styles, and it really showed through in this bout.

The only thing that could have been better was how much time they had. The match started and ended in one segment, but it could have gone a lot longer and would have only gotten better.

Ziggler picked up the win with a sunset flip. Cesaro grabbed the rope, but the ref was in a bad position and did not see it, giving Cesaro the perfect excuse to demand a rematch at Hell in a Cell.

Grade: B

Some notes from the match:

• Cesaro using the ropes for leverage during an abdominal stretch is a heel tactic we haven't seen much of in recent years. It really adds to his throwback image.
• The crowd was really behind Ziggler from beginning to end. Seeing someone who has real talent be so loved by the crowd is always awesome.
• The way Cesaro communicates with the ref throughout his matches is very entertaining.

The Cold War Part II

When you picture these two men facing each other, it's easy to imagine that the pace would be very slow. Luckily for all of us, that was not the case.

Big Show started off strong, using his size advantage to make Rusev look like he was vulnerable for the first time since debuting.

In fact, this was probably one of the best matches Rusev has been in since being called up from NXT. Both he and Big Show clearly wanted to prove that two big men could put on a performance fans would enjoy, and they did just that.

This is another one of those rare situations when a DQ finish was the right decision. It kept Big Show from looking weak with a loss and kept Rusev's record of never being pinned or made to submit intact.

There were better matches that could have ended the show, but this was a pretty good way to close out what was mostly a great SmackDown.

Grade: B

Some notes from the match:

• Big Show hitting a sunset flip never ceases to look impressive.
• Seeing Rusev next to Big Show makes you realize just how big Rusev really is.
• Big Show was dripping sweat like a leaky faucet, but he never really looked like he was running out of energy.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

After several weeks of lackluster shows, SmackDown ended up being very entertaining by having some great matches between some of WWE's most talented competitors.

The only real disappointment was the Divas match, but that is not that unusual. Unless AJ or Paige are involved, there is little chance of a Divas match being good these days.

The best match of the night had to be the rematch between Gold and Stardust and the Usos for the Tag Team Championships, but Cesaro and Ziggler also had a great IC title bout.

As we inch close to Hell in a Cell, the feuds that should fill up the card are becoming more obvious. If what we saw on Friday is any indication, HIAC should be a good show.

Predictions:

• Cesaro will face Dolph Ziggler for the IC title at HIAC.
• The Usos will get one more rematch for the Tag Team titles at HIAC.
• After Rusev is done with Mark Henry and Big Show, he will win the United States title from Sheamus and change the name to the Russian Championship.
• Instead of a title match featuring Brock Lesnar, the main event of HIAC will be a No. 1 contenders match to see who faces him next.
• Mark Henry will turn heel on Big Show very soon.
• Rosa will keep making the other Divas look like veterans with her sloppy performances.

What did you think of SmackDown this week?

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.