WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from May 28

Roman Reigns did not allow the fact that he is not booked on the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view card to deter him from turning in another outstanding in-ring performance here in 2015, earning him "biggest winner" honors from Thursday night's SmackDown broadcast.

The Juggernaut teamed with Dean Ambrose in the night's main event to battle Seth Rollins and Kane, a rematch from Monday's Raw.

But there was something about the work put in by Reigns that suggested he took the lack of a match on this weekend's pay-per-view personally and would attempt to stick it to WWE Creative by outshining everyone else in the bout.

Whether he was catching the New Day's Kofi Kingston with a Superman punch in midair, blasting Big E with the spear or executing the always-dangerous dive over the top rope and onto The Authority, there was a sense that Reigns was defiant in his absence from the company's booking plans for the May 31 extravaganza and anyone else sharing the ring with him suffered as he erupted into show-stealer mode.

With only 72 hours until Elimination Chamber, the Superstars and Divas of WWE had one last chance to make like Reigns and deliver a performance that stood out on the road to the company's latest pay-per-view spectacular.

Who succeeded and who failed? Find out now with this look at the biggest winners and losers from this week's SmackDown.

Loser: Rusev

The Bulgarian Brute lands on this list through no fault of his own, nor that of WWE Creative.

Once a favorite to leave Elimination Chamber as the new intercontinental champion, the super athlete now finds himself potentially on the outside looking in on the match, the recipient of what could prove to be a devastating injury to his lower leg.

WWE.com confirmed the injury Thursday afternoon, then fans watched as he struggled to stand on the outside of the ring, and an impromptu finish to his match with Ryback switched on the fly.

For someone rebuilding himself after three straight high-profile losses to John Cena, and in the middle of what has been a fairly impressive story surrounding his split from Lana, it was disappointing to see a guy who has been so consistently great over the last year suffer an injury that could very well lead to his departure from television for an extended period of time.

Which leads to another of the night's big losers.

Loser: WWE Creative

If Rusev's injury does sideline him for any extended period, WWE Creative faces a scenario without one of the premiere heels in the industry. Rusev has not only been incredibly consistent from an in-ring perspective, he has also been one of the hardest workers on the roster, regularly appearing on both Raw and SmackDown and working all of the house shows.

WWE Creative is already faced with a weak roster of heels. To potentially lose someone as valuable as Rusev would leave the writers to scramble to find someone else to fill his spot. Perhaps Sheamus steps up, maybe King Barrett receives another push or maybe the team panics and executes an ill-fated heel turn of one of the company's top babyfaces.

Or maybe one of the biggest winners from SmackDown finds himself with increased airtime going forward.

Winner: Kevin Owens

The current NXT and public enemy No. 1 in today's WWE made his SmackDown debut Thursday night, joining Michael Cole for an in-ring promo centered on his pay-per-view bout John Cena this Sunday.

Owens was his usual soft-spoken self, speaking with confidence and certainty as he discussed the biggest match of his career. He asked Cole to consider the fact that Sami Zayn was one of his best friends, a guy he traveled the world with, yet he had no reservations about destroying him when the time presented itself. Imagine what he will do to Cena when they clash Sunday night.

It was a superb promo from someone who is ready to permanently move up to the main roster whenever that decision is made.

How can anyone convincingly argue against him winning Sunday, regardless of who he shares the ring with? The guy is the hottest star in professional wrestling right now, and losing to Cena would be a tragic turn of events for both him and the state of the roster.

Luckily, the current U.S. champion has a history of recognizing when someone is super hot and doing what is right for the business.

Winners: Lucha Dragons

Sin Cara and Kalisto have been on a major roll entering Elimination Chamber this Sunday, scoring a big Fatal 4-Way victory a week ago and knocking off Cesaro and Kidd Thursday night to really cement themselves as dark-horse candidates to leave the event as the new WWE Tag Team champions.

They have gotten over far more in their main roster stint than they did in NXT, where fans tend to demand more of the talent than a generic masked luchador gimmick. Lucky for them, because they have wowed audiences on Raw and SmackDown with their display of high-flying offense and lightning quick speed.

The Lucha Dragons will bring an element of the unpredictable to the Elimination Chamber match Sunday night. Kalisto can take all of the big bumps, but he can also fly around the squared circle. Like Rey Mysterio when he entered the hellish structure, Kalisto figures to be the one star to watch when the tag title bout kicks off on Sunday's broadcast.

Winners: The New Day

If their heel turn did not give them enough momentum entering the summer months in WWE, what appears to be some sort of association with The Authority certainly will as Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods found themselves interjected into the main event angle Thursday night, attacking Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, taking their focus off Seth Rollins and Kane just long enough for the WWE World Heavyweight champion and the Director of Operations to leave the heroes lying to close out the show.

It remains to be seen exactly what WWE Creative has in store as far as the unexpected relationship is concerned, but expect the New Day to continue making the most out of what they are given. After all, they took an inspirational and motivational speaker gimmick and kept plugging away at it through the early ups and downs en route to becoming among the most hated stars on the roster.