WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from February 19

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.

Sunday will see Fastlane officially take over the spot between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania that was previously filled by the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

After Friday's show, we now have seven matches scheduled to take place, with every title except the WWE World Heavyweight Championship being defended and a few major rivalries being addressed.

But before we get to Sunday, let's take a look at what happened on the most recent episode of SmackDown.

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

Before the opening match of the night got underway, Damien Mizdow was sent backstage for taking some of Miz's thunder.

Daniel Bryan immediately took control and put Miz through the ringer with some fast-paced offense. Miz used some of his heel tactics to take control for a little while, but he was unable to keep the leader of the Yes Movement down for too long.

While both men did exactly what they were supposed to do, it felt like this should have been given more time. We all know how good Bryan is, and Miz is a decent hand in the ring.

They've had good matches in the past, but this just felt like filler, which is something I never thought I would say about a match involving Daniel Bryan.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights:

• The Raw recap video at the top of the show was way too long. The first match didn't even start until almost 10 minutes into the broadcast.
• Daniel Bryan looked like he had been in a bar fight. He had cuts and bruises on his face and chest.
• I am convinced that Bryan can reverse any hold into his own submission. The way he countered the Figure Four into the Yes Lock looked very smooth.

Ryback vs. Kane

Kane and Ryback have fought each other many times, so we all knew what to expect when this match started.

Kane got in a little offense, but Ryback ended up picking up the win with Shell Shocked out of nowhere. No really; he pulled it off very quickly compared to the posturing he usually does during his finisher.

Ryback took a nice bump when he was knocked off the top turnbuckle to the floor, but other than that, it was a pretty short and uneventful match.

Grade: C

Notes and Highlights:

• Can anyone provide a statistic for how many times these two have faced each other? It has to be a lot.
• Despite the canned responses, you could tell the crowd couldn't care less about this match.
• The crowd likes to chant "feed me more" more than they actually like Ryback. Just an opinion based on how they react to him.

Bad News Barrett vs. R-Truth

Not only did R-Truth get some needed screen time, he actually picked up a win over someone holding a title. Break out the champagne.

Seriously, though, seeing Truth get a win was a really nice change from the way he is usually booked, even if it was due to Barrett letting himself get distracted by Dean Ambrose.

Truth is such an underused talent that it boggles the mind sometimes. The crowd loves him, he can work with anyone in the ring and he has charisma to spare. How WWE allowed him to fall so far is a mystery on par with how Lost really ended.

This was another match that was too short to be anything special, but the way Ambrose and Barrett interacted through the action was entertaining enough.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights:

• Why was Truth wearing an MP3 player and headphones on his way to the ring? Is he unable to hear his own theme song in the arena?
• It's hilarious that Ambrose talked about Barrett needing to be willing to defend his title when Ambrose's reign as U.S. champion saw him defend the belt less than Brock Lesnar.
• Other than the hypocrisy, Ambrose was entertaining on commentary. If he ever stops performing as a wrestler, he could have a good career as an announcer.
• Despite my own reference earlier, if you don't know how Lost really ended, you weren't paying attention.

The Ascension vs. The New Day

While Big E made them look vulnerable, the Ascension proved to be too much for the New Day to handle.

All we can really hope at this point is that Konnor and Viktor start feuding with the Usos after Fastlane. They are the only team who can make the Ascension look good at this point.

This was another short match crammed into the first hour of the show. No wonder the main roster is pissed that NXT stars get more time to wrestle.

Grade: C-

Notes and Highlights:

• The Ascension called Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes "old farts." Is that really the best they could come up with? It's like their promo was written by a second-grader.
• Big E gets a lot of height when he hits the running splash. Just imagine the kind of air he could get off the top rope. Seeing a guy that big flying off the turnbuckle would be the scariest thing ever.
• The Ascension have a good entrance video. It fits their gimmick perfectly. Now they just need someone to talk for them and they'll be set.

Roman Reigns vs. Luke Harper

The first four matches were all short and relatively uneventful, but Luke Harper and Roman Reigns woke the crowd up with a really good performance.

This is what wrestling is all about. When you put two talented wrestlers in the ring and let them beat the hell out of each other, good things will happen.

Harper may have lost, but he definitely wins the versatility award. There is almost nothing that is out of his wheelhouse, which is really rare for a guy his size.

The only downside to this match was that it reminded us all how awesome the feud between the Shield and the Wyatt Family was when those stables still existed.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights:

• The way Reigns hit the steel steps will probably cause him to have a huge bruise on his leg.
• Give Reigns credit for adding new moves to his offense. He has really been trying to prove his critics wrong, and he is doing a good job so far.
• Luke Harper needs a real feud right now. He proved he could carry a storyline during his program with Dolph Ziggler, but nobody has given him a chance since that feud ended.

Erick Rowan vs. Big Show

This wasn't as much of a match as it was a demonstration. After months of looking like the weakest giant in the business, Big Show was finally booked to look as dominant as he once was.

Show attacked Erick Rowan before the match got started and made short work of the bearded powerhouse after the bell.

Despite earlier complaints about matches being too short, this is actually the best way this could have gone. Big Show needs to look like a monster to be taken seriously, and he certainly did in this bout.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights:

• Big Show hit a few punches to the face that weren't KO Punches, and he ended the match with a Chokeslam. Maybe he is dropping the KO Punch as his finisher.
• If Big Show is booked like this all the time, he would actually be a valuable character again.

Paige vs. Cameron

Nikki and Brie Bella sat in on commentary while Paige and Cameron wrestled another short, pointless match.

Paige had her usual amount of aggression, and Cameron was the kind of heel you actually hate, so it wasn't a total train wreck. 

Grade: D

Notes and Highlights:

• Is Cameron a great heel because she is so easy to dislike, or is she simply booked as a heel because she is so easy to dislike? There's a difference between those two things.
• The way Cameron used her hair to hit Paige in the face was a great heel move. She is so good at acting like a stuck-up jerk.

Jimmy Uso vs. Tyson Kidd

Everyone was probably looking forward to two great workers in Tyson Kidd and Jimmy Uso going one-on-one, but the match only lasted about two minutes.

Rusev came out and destroyed both Usos in order to send a message to John Cena. There are two problems with this logic.

The first is that Cena and the Usos have never really been major allies, so this doesn't hurt Cena in any way. He might not want to see them get destroyed, but it's not like Rusev kicked his puppy.

The second problem is that this made the tag champs look very weak heading into their title defense on Sunday. It made Rusev look strong, but it didn't help the storyline.

Grade: D

Notes and Highlights:

• During a pre-match interview, Tyson Kidd said teaming with Cesaro was the best decision he ever made and Natalya looked really sad. WWE is making her look like such an idiot for staying with a guy who treats her that poorly.
• How sad is it that two of the most talented Divas in the company are in a storyline in which they are portrayed as nothing more than cheerleaders for their husbands?

Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

After a mostly unexciting show, Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins ended SmackDown with a pretty entertaining match.

Rollins picked up the win with a little help from Kane, and Team Authority proceeded to beat up Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan to close out the show.

It was a solid segment to push the six-man tag match at Fastlane, but more importantly, it ended what could have been a bomb of a show on a high note.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights:

• There was one spot in which Rollins and Ziggler clearly had a communication issue and collided in a very awkward way.
• For being retired from competition, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury sure do see a lot of action.
• Big Show used the KO Punch in this segment, so it looks like he might be keeping it after all.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

SmackDown had too many matches to give them all the time they deserved, but at least two of the bouts included were entertaining.

Every feud that will fill up the Fastlane card got some attention during the show, and we even got to see a new match added that we all assumed we would have to wait until WrestleMania to get.

Since the pay-per-view is this Sunday, all the predictions this week will be about the outcome of the matches scheduled to take place.

Predictions:

• Stardust vs. Goldust will end with no clear winner, leading to a match at WrestleMania.
• Bad News Barrett will retain the Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose.
• John Cena will defeat Rusev.
• Tyson Kidd and Cesaro will win the Tag Team Championships.
• Nikki Bella will retain the Divas Championship.
• Ziggler, Rowan and Ryback will defeat Rollins, Big Show and Kane.
• Roman Reigns will defeat Daniel Bryan.
• Sting and Triple H will agree to a match at WrestleMania.

What did you think of SmackDown, and what are your predictions for Fastlane?

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