WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from January 14

For a grand total of three days, it looked as though WWE may have lucked into a hot new star to bolster its injury-plagued roster.

Kalisto's victory over Alberto Del Rio for the United States Championship on Monday Night Raw felt like the crowning of a new masked babyface, someone who could carry the mantle that the great Rey Mysterio did throughout the 2000s.

His win was met with great excitement, both from his peers and fans alike, proving that WWE Creative had made a wise choice in elevating the talented young star.

And then, like a defiant child hellbent on proving they were right and mom and dad were wrong, the writing team unraveled all of the good will it had built in just 72 hours, as Del Rio defeated Kalisto to regain the title and change things back to the way they were previously.

Kalisto's title reign came to an end at the hands of a star who has never been and never will be over to the extent that WWE sincerely hopes he will be. Thus, the masked luchador's upward momentum was killed to benefit a guy the company sees as far more interesting and important than its audience does.

The dreadful decision helped establish WWE Creative as the clear biggest loser from Thursday's SmackDown, even more so than Kalisto, whose one-sided beating at the hands of Del Rio essentially left him damaged much worse than he was prior to winning the title.

Both the writers of the show and Kalisto are joined on the loser's side of this week's equation by another Superstar whom the company failed once upon a time.

As disheartening as the January 14 episode of SmackDown proved to be, there was a winner or two to be found.

Credit: WWE.com

Winner: Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch has spent weeks being outsmarted by Charlotte and allowing distractions from Ric Flair to prevent her from scoring major victories.

Thursday night, without the Divas champion nearby to throw her off, Lynch scored a significant singles victory over Brie Bella, picking up momentum as she prepares to battle the woman she once called friend, presumably as soon as Royal Rumble 2016.

Lynch can be the face of the Divas division, a sympathetic babyface fans want to see succeed. Her humble nature makes her the perfect foil for the arrogant Charlotte, and their story has been a major step up in quality from the disheveled mess that was the Divas Revolution.

Expect big things from The Lass Kicker in 2016 if she can continue to benefit from strong booking as she did Thursday night.

Credit: WWE.com

Loser: Zack Ryder

Long Island Iced Z cannot catch a break. In an eight-man tag team match designed to spotlight The Social Outcasts, Ryder teamed with Goldust, Jack Swagger and Damien Sandow and still managed to eat the pinfall for his team.

Like Kalisto, Ryder was a star who gained momentum through hard work. Sprinkle in a wildly successful YouTube show, and you had the most unlikely star in the industry, which is why he was squashed. Again, WWE Creative missed out on the opportunity to make a legitimate Superstar because of its own stupid stubbornness.

Despite being on a team full of glorified jobbers, including a Sandow whom fans have not seen since he was mimicking Randy Savage six months ago, Ryder still had to endure the loss, proving that getting over and having a cult following do not a star make.

At least not in McMahon Land.

Credit: WWE.com

Winner: Dean Ambrose

Just as it once was the show on which Edge grew to prominence as a lead heel and Eddie Guerrero was allowed to grow into a cultural hero, SmackDown has now become home to the Ambrose Asylum.

Dean Ambrose has essentially become the face of the show, its most consistent star and, recently, the competitor the entire broadcast has been built around. Thursday night, he bookended the show and injected his own brand of charisma and chaos into it.

The blue brand could be the perfect stage on which Ambrose can grow into the top shelf babyface that he has not been allowed to be on Monday nights.

And the best part? The move to USA Network puts more eyes on the show than have been there in years.