WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from November 21

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.

With just two days to go until Survivor Series, SmackDown was devoted to tying up any loose ends and reminding us of the matches that are scheduled to take place on Sunday.

Every member of Team Cena and Team Authority was in action save for John Cena and Luke Harper, but Harper definitely had an impact on how the show ended, whereas Cena was only shown in a video package.

The blue brand did a decent job building up the pay-per-view, but none of the matches that took place really stood out as special.

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

Triple H and Michael Cole Talk Survivor Series

The show opened with Michael Cole interviewing Triple H in the ring about the consequences of his team losing at Survivor Series.

The COO brought out Team Cena without their leader so that he could make the announcement of a new stipulation for the match at Survivor Series. If Team Cena loses, everyone but Cena will be fired.

That is when the segment came to an abrupt end. Right after the announcement was made, Rusev came out for a match that would take place after the break.

Trips did a really good job moving this segment along. It went a little longer than it probably should have, but Triple H is one of those guys who can talk for 10 minutes and actually keep your attention.

This new stipulation almost guarantees a victory for Team Cena, but you also have to consider the possibility of Team Authority winning and then everyone being given an opportunity to win their job back on Raw the following night.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights:

• Triple H is one of the few people who can draw heat whenever he wants. He should teach a class at the Performance Center on the subject.
• Has Triple H's forehead always had that many wrinkles?
• Props to the guy who made the Mick Foley Santa Claus sign. The drawing of Foley as Santa was great.
• Dolph Ziggler looked so small standing between Erick Rowan and Big Show.
• Team Authority should enter at Survivor Series to "I Fought The Law," but it has to be the Bobby Fuller Four version—anything else wouldn't be as funny.

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

The first few minutes of this match was filled with nothing but strikes from both men. They stepped it up after the commercial break with some actual wrestling.

Dolph Ziggler did a good job looking like he might actually stand a chance against Rusev, but we all knew Rusev's winning streak wasn't going to end at the hands of a guy who just lost his title on Monday.

The second half of this match ended up being very good. Rusev was in the ring with one of the most gifted performers in WWE today and managed to keep step the entire time.

This is what Rusev needed; having a good bout with someone of Ziggler's caliber really shows just how much potential the Bulgarian Brute has.

Rusev winning was predictable, but the fact he won with his huge side kick instead of the Accolade was a nice change of pace. However, he still locked in the hold after the match was over to add insult to injury.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights:

• Rusev has good facial expressions. The way he looked surprised by Ziggler's dropkick was very convincing.
• Rusev needs to do something similar to what Lance Storm did in WCW with the United States Championship and put a sticker on the front and name it after his own country.

The Mizs vs. Los Matadores

Los Matadores took on Miz and Mizdow with the Usos and Gold and Stardust sitting in on commentary. Surprisingly, there were actually some funny moments from the six men at the table.

It was a pretty average tag match that lasted just one segment, but Damien Mizdow was the one who made it entertaining.

At one point, Miz tried to throw one of the Matadores into the Usos, but the bull fighter countered and sent Miz into the former tag champs. Mizdow hilariously re-enacted the scene by throwing himself into Gold and Stardust.

Los Matadores picked up the win heading into Survivor Series, but don't expect them to walk out of the pay-per-view with the titles. 

Grade: C+ 

Notes and Highlights:

• Do you think Miz really has two dogs named Pumpkin Spice Latte and Mocha? I wouldn't put it past Maryse to actually name their dogs after fancy coffee drinks.
• My spellcheck hates the way WWE spells Matadores.
• The fact that JBL made a Papa Shango reference makes me like him even more.

Dean Ambrose's Survival Kit

Dean Ambrose came out and delivered a promo about his upcoming match with Bray Wyatt. He said that his survival kit was his fists and feet and he will punish Wyatt at Survivor Series.

Wyatt came on the big screen and taunted Ambrose about his incarcerated father from inside a jail cell. There wasn't really anything special about this segment or anything of significance said.

What this proves is that Ambrose and Wyatt are the two best talkers in WWE today because they kept the crowd's attention the entire time.

They didn't say anything they haven't said before, but the way they said it was what made it entertaining. Their match could be one of the highlights of Survivor Series if WWE gives them enough time.

Grade: B+

Brie Bella vs. AJ Bella

Brie Bella took on AJ once again, but this time it was AJ who impersonated Nikki instead of Brie impersonating AJ.

This was a pretty short bout. Nikki got on the apron to yell at her sister, giving AJ the opportunity to shove Brie into Nikki and then roll her up for the pin and the win.

The match itself did very little to push this feud, but AJ's performance made it entertaining enough to sit through.

Grade: C-

Notes and Highlights:

• AJ using padding in her butt and bra made this whole thing so much funnier.
• AJ even used one of the fake breast inserts as a weapon after she hit Brie's head off her chest a few times to mock Nikki's implants.
• Am I the only one who think AJ was purposely wrestling with a little less skill to look more like Nikki? Some of her punches to Brie's head looked so sloppy that she had to have planned it that way.

Cesaro vs. Erick Rowan

Erick Rowan picked up a surprisingly quick win over Cesaro using the Torture Rack that Lex Luger made famous back in the '90s. Rowan definitely came out of this looking like a strong competitor and a good addition to Team Cena.

Luke Harper came down after the match was over and teased a confrontation, but he chose to take his newly won Intercontinental Championship and head to the back.

This is the strangest part of this whole storyline. There was no catalyst for Rowan and Harper to have issues, so seeing them at odds is really weird.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights:

• Rowan did not look like he was over as a babyface at all. The crowd looked really dead during his entrance.
• There is no way Rowan stays a face for too long after Survivor Series; he just fits better as a heel.
• Rowan looks like he had his beard professionally groomed.
• Hopefully we get some more background as to why Harper and Rowan are no longer on the same page, otherwise it will end up being the laziest start to a feud since the WCW days when things were out of control and nobody knew what was going on.

Kane and Seth Rollins vs. Big Show and Ryback

This was actually a decent tag match until Team Authority attacked Big Show and caused a disqualification. Ziggler tried to make the save, but he was overtaken by Harper.

Rowan came out and had a confrontation with Harper, but Kane chokeslammed Rowan before anything could happen between the two former Wyatt Family members.

Big Show came in and cleared the ring of almost everyone, but Triple H brought in a steel chair and took out the giant, turning this into a brutal eight-on-four beat down.

While a DQ ending is never really a great way to finish a show, having the Authority look so dominant was the right call.

It seems almost inevitable that Team Cena will win at SS, so having the bad guys destroy everyone two nights before the PPV was the best move.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights:

• Triple H made a point to specifically single out Ryback for a Pedigree. It looks like the Big Guy might be in line for a future feud with the boss. If that is the case, it will do wonders for Ryback's career.
• Triple H bent the steel chair with a single shot to Big Show's back. Regardless of how big he is, Show must have been hurting after that shot.
• Keeping Harper and Rowan from having any physical contact before the PPV is smart. It will make their eventual clash pop the crowd big time.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

While there were some other feuds addressed, it seemed like this whole episode was focused on hyping Team Cena vs. Team Authority on Sunday.

Considering there is no World title match, it was the best way to go. WWE has done a pretty good job making this feud matter, but adding in the new stipulation makes the outcome seem more predictable.

As always, Mizdow was one of the highlights of the night, but AJ's impersonation of Nikki Bella was also good for a few laughs.

Since Survivor Series is this Sunday, all of the predictions will focus on the matches scheduled to take place at the PPV.

Predictions:

• Nikki Bella will defeat AJ for the Divas title after she makes her sister interfere on her behalf.
• Cesaro will end up facing Adam Rose on the SS Kickoff and The Bunny will cost Rose the match.
• Bray Wyatt will defeat Dean Ambrose.
• Gold and Stardust will retain the Tag Team Championships.
• The babyface Divas will defeat the heel Divas in the Elimination Match.
• Team Cena will defeat team Authority.
• Someone will betray their team to cost them the match.
• Rusev will get himself disqualified when he refuses to break The Accolade, making it so his team loses, but he retains his record of never being pinned or made to submit.

What did you think of SmackDown and what are your Survivor Series predictions?

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