WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from February 25

Every week on Bleacher Report, I take an in-depth look at WWE SmackDown to recap the results, offer analysis and grade the matches, segments and anything else that takes place on the show, as well as make a few predictions for future events.

After Raw gave us so many memorable moments, SmackDown was going to have a hard time keeping that momentum going.

Instead of trying to match Raw's energy, the blue brand ended up being somewhat uneventful. A few moments stand out, but most of the matches were either too short or too boring.

However, a few storylines were advanced, and that is enough to make the show worth watching. Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.

Opening Segment

The show opened with Triple H coming out to address Roman Reigns and what The Game did to him on Raw. He began by quoting a Rolling Stones song before getting to the point.

He talked about how Reigns forgot who he was messing with before being decimated on Raw to the point of requiring surgery to fix his nose.

It's been a long time since Triple H delivered a solo segment, and he reminded all of us how good he is at being the bad guy.

He didn't accomplish much in this segment, but it wasn't about advancing the storyline. This was all about Triple H re-establishing himself as a singles competitor instead of an authority figure, and he did just that.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• Was it really necessary to have a special table for Triple H to set the title on?
• This is not the first time Trips has quoted a classic song. He once recited a few lines from a Jim Croce classic.
• Pulling Reigns' bloody wrist tape out of his pocket was a nice touch.

The Lucha Dragons, Neville and Dolph Ziggler vs. League of Nations

It's always chaotic when eight men are involved in the same match, and these guys wasted no time before getting into a huge brawl.

It was nice to see King Barrett back in action after a long period of being used as little more than a cheerleader at ringside, especially since he might not be around much longer.

The heels took control early, but the babyfaces managed to rally in the second half of the match. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to get them the win.

It looked like Neville was going to pick up the win for his team with the Red Arrow, but a lot of mayhem led to Sheamus hitting the Brogue Kick on Neville to get the pin.

There was nothing amazing about this match, but the pace was quick and we got to see some nice spots from the high flyers, so it wasn't a total loss.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights

• WWE should do what it can to keep Barrett around. He is still a valuable talent with a lot to offer.
• It was great to see Barrett get the most ring time out of anyone on his team. Now if he could just get ahold of a mic for more than 10 seconds, he would be back in business.
• It's interesting to note Dolph Ziggler has feuded with every member of The League of Nations at some point.

D-Von Dudley vs. Jimmy Uso

WWE is continuing with its Dudley Boyz vs. Usos feud for the time being, which is perfectly fine as long as they can produce quality matches.

Bubba Ray was a great singles talent in TNA, but D-Von has always felt more like a tag team competitor, so it was a little odd to see him wrestle by himself.

Jimmy Uso almost got the win within the first two minutes, but a distraction from Bubba allowed D-Von to get the pin. It was a short match that provided very little excitement.

Grade: D+

Notes and Highlights

• It's nice to see a tag team feud without the titles at the center of it for once.
• The Dudley Boyz should update their attire. They claim they aren't a nostalgia act, but their fatigues are as old as some of the fans in the audience.

Big Show vs. Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens threw down an open challenge earlier in the night, and Big Show answered the call. We have seen Owens take on powerhouses, high flyers and technicians, but this is one of the first times we got to see how he did against a giant.

Owens took the fight right to Big Show, but Show's size advantage helped him get the upper hand from the opening bell.

Owens used his quickness to get in some offense, which is a sentence you don't see very often. Owens is quick, but he is rarely faster than his opponents.

KO managed to hang Show up on the top ropes so when he rolled to the outside, he was unable to beat the count back into the ring.

Count-out victories are rarely the way to go, but this was one of those rare situations in which it worked out. This likely won't be the last time these two cross paths, so it was the right call to have Owens win this way.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights

• It's funny how Big Show can lose so many matches but still be booked like he is a threat to anyone he steps in the ring with. WWE needs to give him a winning streak to make him look like a monster again.
• Owens sold a slap the chest like he was hit with a car.
• Owens refrained from mocking the announcers this week.

Becky Lynch vs. Natalya

It's always interesting to see two babyfaces have a match because the crowd reacts in a different way. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see more than a minute of action because Naomi and Tamina attacked Natalya.

Sasha Banks made the save and helped Lynch clear the ring. Charlotte eventually came out to tell Banks and Lynch they would be facing each other on Raw.

You can tell Charlotte is still getting used to talking on the mic, but she is getting better with time. It's just weird how Ric Flair accompanies her for these segments when all he does is stand there.

Grade: C-

Notes and Highlights

• Is it me or have Natalya's outfits become more revealing? It seems like there is more see-through material every week.
• Natalya has slimmed down a lot, but she has also lost a little muscle mass.
• I like how Lynch uses smoke instead of pyro for her ring entrance. It's something different to help her stand out.
• Is Charlotte considered a nuclear power? Because she is winning the arms race. Her biceps are more defined than a lot of the guys.

R-Truth vs. Heath Slater

Goldust may have cost R-Truth his match at Fastlane, but he made up for it by giving Truth the assist that allowed him to defeat Heath Slater.

While Truth and Goldust can probably become an entertaining duo, it feels too much like WWE is trying to recreate the magic Goldust had with Booker T.

This was another short bout, but at least it contained a small amount of storyline progression, even if it was in a storyline nobody will care about in a few months.

Grade: C-

Notes and Highlights

• R-Truth hasn't had this much screen time in years. It's too bad because he is an entertaining personality.
• I just realized Slater has been in four different stables. He was part of Nexus, The Corre, 3MB and now The Social Outcasts. That has to be some kind of record.
• Why even have The Social Outcasts if WWE is never going to give them a push? They're basically a bunch of jobbers who wear the same shirt.

The New Day vs. Chris Jericho, AJ Styles and Mark Henry

Earlier in the show, Chris Jericho and AJ Styles were talking when Mark Henry offered to join their team for the main event. Henry's motivation was to get back at The New Day for joking around too much during their bout a couple of weeks ago.

The New Day gave a promo before the match, and Xavier Woods said they do everything together, which apparently includes taking a bath. It's going to take a long time for people to get that image out of their heads.

Styles got the win for his team in what turned out to be the best match of the night. The action was smooth and the pace was consistent, but it never felt like anything was at stake.

Henry had minimal time in the ring, which was probably a good thing since he would have just slowed things down.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• Poor Mark Henry. WWE clearly has no idea what to do with him right now.
• It was cool to see Jericho wearing an Usos shirt during his backstage segment.
• It sounds like Y2J and Styles are going to pursue the Tag Team Championship. I'm not sure how to feel about this direction for Styles. What are your thoughts?
• WWE needs to start selling Booty-Os cereal. You know people would buy it.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

As a whole, this was a pretty lackluster edition of SmackDown. Some of the matches gave us a little bit of entertainment, but there was very little storyline development.

Triple H's promo at the top of the show and the main event were the best parts about this week's episode. Everything else felt like filler.

As we get close to WrestleMania 32, things will start ramping up, but six weeks is a lot of time between pay-per-views, so we can expect a few shows to fall short of the mark early on.

Predictions

• Jericho and Styles will earn a shot at the Tag Team Championships.
• Natalya will remain irrelevant until after WrestleMania.
• R-Truth and Goldust will become a team by the end of next week.
• Lynch and Banks will both become No. 1 contenders to the Divas title after someone interferes in their match on Raw.
• KO and Big Show will have a rematch next week.

What did you think of this week's SmackDown?

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