WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from January 2

WWE SmackDown hit the SyFy airwaves Friday night, and the entire WWE Universe was still buzzing about The Authority's return to power following the events of this past Monday.

With questions surrounding the effect they will have on the Superstars responsible for their demise at Survivor Series, and any other men or women celebrating their fall from grace, all eyes were on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Except they were not.

That is because The Authority, who was so overjoyed to be back in power, took Friday night off and left the show in the hands of Edge and Christian.

Yep, WWE followed up a huge angle that, for better or worse, had fans debating on social media by not including the top heels in the company on the very next broadcast.

Instead, WWE Creative booked a placeholder show with two main events featuring inconclusive finishes.

It was an incredibly poor effort and a phenomenally bad way to kick off the new year for WWE programming.

As miserable as this week's show may have been, there were still very obvious winners and losers.

Who were they? Which Superstars delivered the finest performances in spite of the poorly constructed show, and which Superstars were victims of lackluster writing?

Take a look for yourself.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

Despite a less than stellar match against former follower Erick Rowan, Bray Wyatt lands in the winner's circle this week thanks to a post-match promo that both put over the action that preceded it and also hyped Monday night's ambulance match against Dean Ambrose.

If he is willing to leave Rowan, someone he loves, lying in a heap, what is he willing to do to Ambrose come Raw, he asked. It was a money line and one that does wonders to build anticipation for Monday's main event.

After all, Wyatt rehabilitated Rowan, then set him free in a show of love. Yet, when the time came, he dismantled him.

The most effective of Wyatt's promos are the ones that are focused, that have a definite message that is not lost in the ranting and rambling of a cult leader. Friday featured one of those promos, and as a result, fans who actually tuned in to this week's SmackDown are more likely to be more excited about Monday's huge main event than they may have otherwise been.

Loser: SmackDown

For a show whose move back to Thursday nights has been overly hyped, SmackDown continues to be the home of meaningless matches and lethargic booking.

With all of the commercial surrounding the return of the show to the night it called "home" for seven years prior to its switch to Fridays, not to mention the hype that will surround that first broadcast on the new evening, there is plenty of potential for WWE to restore credibility to the show.

Unfortunately, it appears content to continue treating the show as if it were the red-headed stepchild of the company, taking very little time to construct anything even remotely resembling a meaningful or exciting show.

Ultimately, that approach will prove any hype surrounding the Thursday night relaunch futile.

Winners: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro

While Tyson Kidd had a banner year in 2014, thanks to his work on NXT, it would not be a stretch to consider Cesaro's year a massive disappointment.

After a big win in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX, it appeared as though he was in line for a gigantic push. That, of course, would have made too much sense. Instead, he was left to fester in the deep, dark abyss that is the WWE midcard.

Taking into account the considerable talent of both Kidd and Cesaro, the decision to put them together as a tag team was a smart one, especially since it was abundantly clear that WWE Creative had no plans to use them as legitimate singles competitors.

Their victory over Los Matadores Friday night was another stepping stone en route to a tag title match against The Usos. With the current tag champions having competed against Gold and Stardust, and Miz and Mizdow repeatedly, a fresh match against a team they would be guaranteed to have outstanding matches with is just what the doctor ordered.

While it may not be where either of the two competitors envisioned himself, Kidd and Cesaro have the opportunity to make names for themselves as top contenders in tag team wrestling and, at the same time, restore some credibility to that division.