WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from October 22

Thursday night, the Superstars and Divas of SmackDown exploded onto the SyFy network for the penultimate stop on the road to Sunday's Hell in a Cell 2015.

WWE world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins would be faced with a tremendous challenge prior to his title defense against Kane, courtesy of "Swiss Superman" Cesaro. Would he be able to score his second victory of the week, thus sustaining the momentum he built for himself on Monday night? More importantly, would he emerge from SmackDown as one of the biggest winners or losers of the week?

Nikki Bella prepared for her showdown with Divas champion Charlotte by squaring off against Paige in singles competition. It was a tough battle for the former titleholder and one that could have landed her on the wrong side of the winners-losers argument, depending on her booking.

Those two villains had eventful nights on SmackDown but were hardly the only ones, for both the right and wrong reasons.

There was The New Day, who suffered a defeat at the hands of Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, though not without some interference from The Dudley Boyz, while the trio of King Barrett, Sheamus and Rusev left The Lucha Dragons in their wake.

Who were the biggest winners and losers deserving of recognition this week?

Let's take a look.

Winner: Seth Rollins

The WWE champion arrived at SmackDown on the heels of a rare clean victory over Ryback and was immediately confronted by Director of Operations Kane, who informed him of his match to kick off this week's show.

His opponent? Cesaro, who was welcomed with a warm reaction from the WWE Universe.

Despite enduring brutal and punishing uppercuts, Rollins was able to knock his opponent off the ropes and deliver the Pedigree for the pinfall victory, his second clean win of the week.

WWE Creative has been harshly criticized for its use of Rollins since The Architect won the heavyweight title at WrestleMania. But as his championship encounter with The Demon Kane approaches, he has finally been allowed to build credibility for himself with clean wins, proving to the audience that he does not, in fact, need Triple H and The Authority to interfere on his behalf every time he steps into the squared circle.

The feud with Kane has cooled significantly this week, with little attention paid to it on Raw or SmackDown, but it certainly feels like Rollins is much better off for it as Hell in a Cell draws near.

Loser: Cesaro

As much as Rollins' win did for him, Cesaro's loss was yet another setback for a Superstar who gained tremendous momentum over the summer, only to fall back into the same spot he had found himself in prior to the latest push.

Thursday night, Cesaro lost clean to Rollins, continuing his most recent downward spiral. Sure, a budding rivalry with Stardust was teased, again, but that has little bearing on what was another disappointing misstep by WWE Creative when it comes to The Swiss Superman.

Cesaro has remained over with fans because they respect his in-ring work. He is one of the five best pure wrestlers on the roster, and the people appreciate him. The continued misuse of him is not only a slap in the face of one of the most talented performers on the roster but a direct sign of disrespect to the fans who support him but do not have their faith rewarded.

Winner: Nikki Bella

The former Divas champion may be the most effectively booked heel on the entire roster. Not only is she egotistical, arrogant and cocky, and her character obnoxious and overbearing, but she wins. And she wins cleanly, as witnessed Thursday night on SmackDown.

Nikki essentially dominated Paige, beating her down and finishing her off with a nasty forearm and the Rack Attack.

At some point, she developed the reputation of a talentless former model who got where she is because of her relationship with John Cena, but the fans who subscribe to that line of thinking have ignored her rapid development into a very strong worker and arguably the best villainess on the roster not named Stephanie McMahon.

She will lose at Hell in a Cell, only because WWE Creative is not prepared to take the Divas Championship off Charlotte this early in her run, but Nikki has been the MVP of the main roster Divas division here in 2015.

Whether the smart fans like it or not. 

Winner: Tyler Breeze

Prince Pretty was the biggest winner of Thursday's broadcast, making his main-roster debut after what felt like an eternity spent in developmental.

Greeted with chants of "NXT," Breeze wasted little time in making a name for himself, attacking Dolph Ziggler and aligning himself with Summer Rae.

It was a very solid debut for someone who had become the cornerstone of NXT over the years, a guy who selflessly put over his peers and any newcomers to the company. He is more than deserving of the opportunity that awaits him now.

Luckily for him, the impending rivalry with Ziggler will allow him the opportunity to show the world just how strong a worker he is.