WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from January 9

In the wake of The Authority's firing of Ryback, Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler on Monday Night Raw, this week's episode of WWE SmackDown hit the SyFy network airwaves with Seth Rollins heading to the ring.

The Architect mocked the departure of the three babyfaces, then demanded that the bell be rung in memory of their careers. Roman Reigns interrupted, the Big Show appeared and suddenly, SmackDown had the foundation for its main event.

Rollins and the World's Largest Athlete thought they had the numbers advantage, that no other Superstar would be stupid enough to put themselves at odds with The Authority by teaming with Reigns, but they were wrong. Former Shield brother Dean Ambrose stood by his side in a battle the babyfaces ultimately won.

Elsewhere on the show, The Usos retained their tag titles, Alicia Fox picked up a tainted win over Naomi, The Ascension destroyed another set of jobbers and Sin Cara scored a massive upset.

Which Superstars emerged as winners in the wake of Friday's broadcast and which ones limped out of SmackDown as losers?

Let's take a look.

Loser: Bad News Barrett

Remember when Barrett defeated Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Intercontinental Championship Monday night on Raw, then was congratulated by Kane and appeared to be in cahoots with The Authority? How about all of the momentum he had following his return from injury a week earlier?

Consider it gone.

Friday night, the new champion lost a non-title match to Sin Cara.

Yes, Sin Cara.

The same Sin Cara who has spent the last year in NXT and on B- and C-level shows such as Superstars and Main Event jobbing out to anyone put in front of him.

For some reason, WWE Creative decided that the best option available to them in regards to booking Barrett was to have him drop a match to the masked Superstar, then attempt to get his heat back by delivering the Bull Hammer after the bell.

What they did not take into account is that, to the general audience, wins and losses still matter. That portion of the audience is not likely to concern themselves with the fact that Barrett got his heat back with a dastardly post-match assault.

All they will remember is that a guy who has not been relevant on Raw or SmackDown in years just beat the IC champ.

Unless the purpose of the win was to put Sin Cara over in hopes of pushing him as the first challenger to Barrett's title, this was a major blunder by a writing staff that cannot afford such mistakes as WWE embarks on the road to Royal Rumble and onward to WrestleMania.

Winner: Dean Ambrose

After Monday night's loss to Bray Wyatt in an Ambulance Match, the Lunatic Fringe rebounded nicely, joining former Shield mate Roman Reigns in the SmackDown main event, battling Seth Rollins and Big Show in tag team action.

Not only was he part of the winning team, he also brought a realism to the bout that was key to its success.

The Superstar had his knee worked over throughout the contest. Rather than making the babyface comeback and ignoring the injury, Ambrose did everything he normally would but sold the injury after every move.

It may sound like the logical thing to do, but selling the established injury, even during the comeback, is something so often forgotten by even the best of workers that to see Ambrose add that element to his performance really helped elevate the match quality.

Winner: Seth Rollins

With every passing week, Rollins becomes more and more confident in his role as the lead heel in WWE. The former Architect of The Shield cut an outstanding promo to kick off the show, essentially mocking the termination of Rowan, Ziggler and Ryback, not to mention John Cena's involvement in their firings and his placement in the WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble.

While he has quite a way to go before matching the resume of the Rated R Superstar, Rollins' current character is reminiscent to that of Hall of Famer Edge in that he is cerebral, manipulative and always manages to get what he wants out of the situation.

That he is a strong worker, much like the Toronto native, only strengthens the comparison.

Rollins may very well win his first heavyweight title in WWE come the Royal Rumble on January 25. If that is the case, it could not come at a better time for a Superstar who is surging at the right time.