WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from September 26

Capped off by a battle of the brutes as Big Show squared off with Rusev, Friday's SmackDown was a much better, more focused and entertaining show than Monday night's lackluster and lethargic Raw.

Dean Ambrose continued to build momentum following his return at Night of Champions by rolling into SmackDown and rolling through The Miz, with whom he had a physical confrontation on Tuesday night's WWE Network presentation of Main Event. As one would expect, Seth Rollins and Kane made their presences felt, but neither got the last laugh.

Cesaro turned in a great showing during Friday's broadcast, winning a Battle Royal to become No. 1 contender to the Intercontinental Championship, taking Ziggler to the limit and then losing the match only after the referee failed to see the Swiss Superman's foot on the bottom rope.

Poor Natalya, a former Divas champion and one of the best workers on the entire women's roster, was thrust into an awful tag team match born on WWE's Total Divas reality show, while The Usos had their opportunity to regain the tag team titles thwarted by Goldust's use of championships as weapons.

With the September 26 episode of SmackDown in the books, take a look back at the night's biggest winners and losers, exclusively here on Bleacher Report.

Credit: WWE.com

Winner: Dean Ambrose

It has been a banner week for Dean Ambrose, who returned at Night of Champions and suddenly found himself thrown into the main event mix thanks to the absence of Roman Reigns, who underwent emergency hernia surgery last Saturday. 

Ambrose continued to build momentum in his new role, defeating The Miz in an entertaining and competitive bout to kick off Friday's show. He then one-upped former partner Seth Rollins and corporate demon Kane by stealing the Money in the Bank briefcase and escaping through the crowd with it.

It was strong booking for Ambrose, who suddenly holds all the cards in his feud with Rollins.

Have we seen the angle where the babyface steals the briefcase and torments his rival by threatening to destroy it? Of course. Just one year ago, Cody Rhodes did the same thing to Damien Sandow. But if done correctly, it is an angle that will always go over. For Ambrose, it could be his ticket to a more prominent and permanent spot in the main event.

That he was smart, calculating and not booked like a complete idiot was refreshing. And do not discount the win over Miz, who is a former WWE champion.

Credit: WWE.com

Loser: Natalya

The number of women to ever come through WWE who could match Natalya's ability between the ropes is limited to two or three at best. She's a third-generation member of the Hart family and one of the better role models for the young girls in the audience, so it is that much more frustrating to see how poorly she is utilized every week on WWE television.

Thursday night, she wrestled a tag match against Summer Rae and Layla. Her tag partner? Rosa Mendes. Not only is she far superior to all three women, but the story of the match was ridiculous. Nattie actually played the babyface-in-peril role so that Rosa could get the hot tag.

Whoever has decided over the last five or so years to use Natalya the way that WWE has—whether it was Vince McMahon or an agent or writer with a grudge—should be ashamed at wasting a talent with her ability.

Credit: WWE.com

Losers: The Usos

As if losing the WWE Tag Team Championships was not bad enough, Jimmy and Jey Uso rolled into SmackDown for their rematch against Goldust and Stardust and wound up with belt shots to the face. Their shot at redemption, revenge and a second run with the titles went up in smoke.

The Usos will benefit from being the only legitimate babyface team on the roster outside of the glorified jobbers that are Los Matadores, but one has to wonder how many times they can possibly challenge the new champions without fans becoming bored. It is a fine line WWE Creative has to walk if they want to prevent one of their hottest acts from stalling. 

Credit: WWE.com

Winner: Cesaro

After weeks of landing in the "loser" category in this article, Cesaro had a breakout night on SmackDown, winning a Battle Royal in impressive fashion to earn a shot at Dolph Ziggler's Intercontinental Championship. He dominated the champion but lost when the referee failed to see his foot on the bottom rope during a pinfall attempt. The bout created serious doubt as to whether Cesaro would have won the title had he not been wrongly counted down.

For the first time in months, it felt like the genesis of an actual story for Cesaro. The Swiss Superman had spent so much time getting over based on his in-ring abilities alone that he never developed a character or was involved in any sort of intriguing story that kept the audience interested.

Credit: WWE.com

Winner: The Big Show

It has been a long time since Big Show was involved in anything of importance on WWE television. In fact, one could make the argument that his feud with Brock Lesnar way back in January was his last relevant storyline. Thursday night on SmackDown, he engaged Rusev in a rivalry that looks poised to become one of the biggest on WWE television.

Show was motivated during the main event, working a strong big-man match with his younger, less experienced opponent. The disqualification finish was no problem because it allowed the feud to continue on. Given the unforeseen quality of their main event this week, that may not be such a bad thing.