WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from November 7

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.

This was a strange week for SmackDown because it felt like the segments alternated from good to bad throughout the show.

On the plus side, we were treated to two Steel Cage Matches on the same episode, which is something that rarely ever happens.

Christian also returned to SmackDown to host an episode of The Peep Show. Captain Charisma is always welcome in WWE, but it felt like his appearance was more about promoting his guest appearance on Haven than it was about his interview with Dean Ambrose.

This was a light week with only five matches. This would be fine if every match had a lot of time, but only two went longer than a single segment. It definitely didn't feel like a show with a lot of planning ahead of time.

Let's take a look at what happened on SmackDown.

The Usos vs. Gold and Stardust

The Usos had another shot to regain their Tag Team Championships from Gold and Stardust inside a steel cage, but they came up short against the champs.

This was a great way to kick off the show. These four men always do an excellent job when they get in the ring together, and this was no exception.

The only surprising thing was the lack of big spots. Goldust may not take as many risks as the other three, but Stardust and The Usos seemed to hold back a bit in this one.

It would come as no surprise to see them involved in a multi-team title match at Survivor Series. After all, The Usos can't keep facing Gold and Stardust without someone else getting a chance.

Grade: B+

Some notes from the match:

• If a Cage Match has no DQs, then why do they need to tag in and out?
• The fact that neither Uso hit the Superfly Splash off the top of the cage was a little surprising.
• They are plugging the WWE Network way too often. They actually took time to do it in the middle of the match and then plugged it again immediately after it was over.

Cesaro vs. Ryback

Kane came to the ring to discuss what happened to Randy Orton and who is being scouting for Team Authority at Survivor Series.

Cesaro came out and lobbied for a spot, but Kane made him audition with a match against the guy he was originally looking at, Ryback.

This ended up being a decent match, but that shouldn't surprise anyone since Cesaro was involved. Unfortunately for the Swiss Superman, Ryback was just too much to overcome. It could have been longer, but not every match can be 20 minutes or more.

Kane looked impressed, but Ryback headed to the back before Kane could get in the ring and talk to him about joining the team.

Grade: C+

Some notes from the match:

• Still no Goldberg chants from the crowd. This is a good sign for Ryback's future.
• It's always weird when a match starts on the WWE app instead of the actual show.
• Be honest. How many of you use the WWE app during the shows?

Adam Rose vs. R-Truth

In a change from the usual antics, Adam Rose was actually distracted by The Bunny instead of his opponent, leading to R-Truth scoring a pin.

Rose attacked his furry friend after the match, but he then went back to smiling and dancing with his crew. If this was supposed to be a heel turn, it was the strangest one we have ever seen.

As far as the match goes, there was really nothing to get excited about. More time was spent dancing than wrestling, which is never a good thing.

Grade: D

Some notes from the match:

• Did Michael Cole say this match came about because Truth gave Rose a rock instead of candy on Halloween? Has there ever been a dumber reason to have a match?
• Adam Rose trying to get the crowd to say "What's up" was kind of funny.
• Just once I want R-Truth to ask "What's up" and have the crowd answer with "The sky!"

'The Peep Show'

Dean Ambrose was Christian's special guest on The Peep Show, and the topic of discussion was Bray Wyatt.

Ambrose said he didn't know what it was Wyatt wanted from him because he had nothing to lose. It didn't take long for Wyatt to make an appearance on the stage and offer Ambrose salvation.

Wyatt talked about how he fixed Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, but when Daniel Bryan refused his help, he ended up being put on the shelf.

Wyatt asked Ambrose if his father still sent him letters from prison, which must be the big secret we've been hearing so much about.

Ambrose left the ring to attack, and that is when things got really weird. The lights went out, and Wyatt was behind Ambrose when they came back on. He yelled "Run!" into Ambrose's ear before disappearing in another blackout.

It was an interesting segment, but Christian didn't seem necessary, especially since he left the ring once Wyatt appeared.

Grade: B+

Some notes from the segment:

• How many younger viewers do you think know what the words "Peep Show" actually mean?
• WWE has gotten so lazy with their talk-show sets. All it does is throw a few signs on the ring posts and put down a black carpet.
• It felt like the crowd had no idea what Haven was when Christian was plugging his appearance on the show.

Natalya vs. Summer Rae

A clip of Tyson Kidd flirting with Summer Rae and Layla was shown before the bout got started. This was apparently the catalyst for the match.

Kidd was on commentary for part of the match, but then he got up and tried to give Natalya some advice, which backfired and caused her to get distracted.

Summer rolled up Nattie and got the win, which caused a bit of tension between the unhappily married couple after the bell.

It was a typical short, uneventful Divas match. The fact that there was an underlying storyline did nothing to make it more entertaining.

Grade: D

Some notes from the match:

• Kidd compared himself to Wayne Gretzky. Kidd is good, but he's not Gretzky good.
• It looks like Summer's wrestling ability is improving a little. She looked a lot more comfortable in the ring than she usually does.

New Lease on Life

WWE has been very active in different charities over the past several years, but sometimes the way it touts its accomplishments feels a little self-serving.

This was not one of those times. Dan Rose, a member of the Army who served in Afghanistan until he was paralyzed in an explosion, helped demonstrate a new piece of technology that helps people with disabilities walk again.

Sgt. Rose shared his story with the crowd before standing up and walking across the stage using this new technology.

You could see people in the audience shedding tears, but the best part was the way the fans showed their support by chanting U.S.A and "Thank you, Dan" over and over.

It was definitely a feel-good moment, but more importantly, it highlighted a great cause and gave a wounded soldier a chance to stand tall, both literally and figuratively.

There was no pro-war or anti-war message to what we saw. It was just a great moment that Sgt. Rose will definitely remember for the rest of his life.

For some reason, WWE did not upload a video of this with all the matches from SmackDown. Instead, you can watch part one of the Halloween edition of The JBL (Not Cole) Show.

Grade: A+

Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler

The second Steel Cage Match of the night saw Kane do battle with Dolph Ziggler. Kane set this up earlier in the evening while discussing the upcoming elimination match at Survivor Series between Team Cena and Team Authority.

Some people may disagree, but this was better than the Cage Match we saw earlier between The Usos and Gold and Stardust.

This definitely made Ziggler look good, especially after losing so many non-title matches since winning the Intercontinental Championship.

Grade: B+

Some notes from the match:

• The way Ziggler and Kane used the cage door toward the end of the match was pretty original.
• Where does Kane buy his pants? They must be made of some tough material to last through his matches.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

This was an up-and-down week for the blue brand. It seemed like there was a distinct pattern of one good segment followed by one bad segment repeating throughout the show.

The two Cage Matches that bookended the show were pretty entertaining, but the Rose vs. Truth and Natalya vs. Summer matches fell short of the mark. Ryback vs. Cesaro was decent, but it wasn't anything special.

The segment featuring Ambrose and Wyatt was definitely interesting, but nobody could match the level of energy felt during the demonstration by Dan Rose.

There really wasn't much storyline development this week, which seems like a missed opportunity this close to Survivor Series. There's just over two weeks until the pay-per-view and only one match set. That needs to change very quickly.

Predictions:

• Adam Rose will make a full heel turn by attacking The Bunny again, but next time he will leave him laid out instead of just punching him once.
• Ryback will turn down The Authority's offer to join their team. He might even join Team Cena.
• The Usos and Los Matadores will be put into a Triple Threat Match against Gold and Stardust at Survivor Series for the Tag Team Championships.
• Tyson Kidd and Natalya will eventually have a storyline breakup.
• Cesaro will keep trying and failing to earn a spot on Team Authority.
• Sheamus will get a rematch against Rusev at Survivor Series.

What did you think of this week's SmackDown?

Thanks for reading and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.