WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from February 12

The story of the February 12 episode of WWE SmackDown centered around the rivalry between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan ahead of their huge No. 1 contender's match at Fastlane.

While Raw saw them at odds as the broadcast came to a close, Thursday night's show forced the professional rivals to set aside their differences if they hoped to survive and advance to the February 22 pay-per-view extravaganza.

The Authority's director of operations, Kane, announced that the two would compete in a Tag Team Turmoil match, something that would most certainly test their ability to coexist. To emerge victorious, they would have to overcome six tag teams over the course of a single match.

If they failed to keep their egos in check, they would most certainly find themselves in very real danger of enduring a beating that would threaten their ability to show up at 100 percent for their huge showdown in Memphis.

Would they be able to defeat WWE Tag Team champions the Usos, newcomers the Ascension and former titleholders the Miz and Damien Mizdow among others?

What obstacles would the Authority place in their path?

Fans got an idea of just how far Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are willing to go to make the lives of Reigns and Bryan a living hell.

And in the process, the two very popular babyfaces would discover a mutual relationship that would prove vital in their victory.

With a depleted roster, thanks to the ongoing tour of Abu Dhabi, WWE was forced to throw together an episode of its Thursday night broadcast that may have been short on star power but long on storytelling.

Who emerged from the show a definitive winner and who, or what, earned loser distinction during this week's SmackDown?

Let's take a look.

Credit: WWE.com

Winners: Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan

Neither man may be John Cena when it comes to star power, but Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan more than proved that they are capable of carrying an entire show on their backs. More importantly, they were tasked with competing for over 40 minutes and did so without ever boring the audience with the story they were telling.

Over the course of the match, they almost allowed their egos to thwart their attempts to win. Then, Reigns' sympathy for family members the Usos caused an even bigger rift between the duo. Quick eliminations of enhancement teams Slater Gator and Los Matadores led to them suffering a tremendous beatdown at the hands of Konnor and Viktor, the Ascension.

Having endured a violent beating, and with Kane and Big Show filling out the roster of teams competing in the match, Reigns and Bryan put the past behind them and focused on the present, capitalizing on Big Show and Kane's own inability to coexist and picking up the improbable victory.

The entire match was a nifty bit of storytelling from WWE Creative, who was faced with a lack of stars and a two-hour show to fill. Rather than booking meaningless matches (Fandango versus Adam Rose) to run long, they put the pressure on Bryan and Reigns to prove they could carry a show. And that is exactly what they did.

Loser: Women's Wrestling

On Wednesday night, NXT presented its TakeOver: Rival special, with a Fatal 4-Way match for the Women's Championship as one of the high-profile bouts on the card. Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Bayley revolutionized what it meant to be a female wrestler, wrestling an outstanding match regardless of gender.

For over 12 minutes, those four women proved they could deliver a match every bit as good as their male counterparts.

Just 24 hours later, Byron Saxton attempted to return focus to a Divas match unfolding before him when Nikki Bella single-handedly set women's wrestling on Raw and SmackDown back decades.

"You are aware there is a match going on in the ring?" Byron Saxton asked the Diva, who was more concerned about putting herself over, something anyone who has ever watched a single episode of Total Divas should not be surprised about.

"Unfortunately, yes there is," was her response.

The answer was everything wrong with the state of women's wrestling on WWE TV. No one takes it seriously. Nor should they, when the champion of the division opts to talk about how great she is rather than paying attention to the wrestling going on inside the ring in front of her.

Was Nikki playing a role? Absolutely. But it is on her to at least make it seem as though her upcoming title defense is important and, in the process, put Paige over as a threat.

Instead, she so flippantly dismissed women's wrestling that no fan in their right mind could possibly care about the match when they could be retrieving a drink or sandwich from the kitchen instead.