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

For nearly six months, The League of Nations unleashed mediocrity over WWE Raw and SmackDown, the foreign heel group appearing as one-dimensional and uninteresting as possible.

Now, thanks to a split that occurred on the April 28 episode of the company's Thursday-night staple, Sheamus, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio have been rescued from the dark abyss of creative bankruptcy and returned to relevance.

The League of Nations had been glorified punching bags for more popular or essential babyfaces, including Roman Reigns and The New Day. It was touted as a force by management but beaten down like glorified jobbers when the bell rang. It was completely counterproductive and hurt its credibility among fans.

Now that the group is officially a thing of the past, its last act being a generic six-man tag team match against Sami Zayn, Cesaro and Kalisto that ended when The Bulgarian Brute and Del Rio walked out on the Celtic Warrior, the individual competitors can work on rebuilding their careers from the bottom up.

For that reason alone, the two former world heavyweight champions and former United States champion were the biggest winners from another very solid episode of SmackDown.

Who else joined them, emerging from Thursday's broadcast with reason to be excited heading into this Sunday's Payback pay-per-view? Which Superstars were not quite as lucky?

Take a look for yourself.

Winner: Baron Corbin

Credit: WWE.com

The Lone Wolf has been a revelation for fans of Raw and SmackDown, a devastating force that has torn through any and all competition put in front of him.

On Thursday night, he made short work of crowd favorite Damien Sandow and was unmoved by the jeers that accompanied his utter destruction of the former stunt double.

Therein lies the beauty of the Corbin character: He has no remorse and doesn't care what the fans have to say about him. He is a vicious and ruthless wrestler who does not get paid by the hour. He is dominant, carries himself like a star and has been booked better than any other NXT export in recent memory.

At least thus far.

We will see how he fares against Dolph Ziggler this Sunday at Payback. For the time being, SmackDown brought Corbin another reason to celebrate his call-up to the main roster.

Losers: Natalya and Charlotte

Credit: WWE.com

It was not all that long ago that Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks stole the show at WrestleMania 32 and generated more buzz for the sport of women's wrestling than anyone before them.

In the wake of that night's extraordinary Triple Threat match, though, the division devolved into the sideshow it was prior to the arrival of the NXT standouts.

Case in point: Thursday's edition of "The Ambrose Asylum."

The focus of that interview segment was not on the WWE Women's Championship and the battle for supremacy between Charlotte and Natalya. No, it instead shifted to Ric Flair and Bret Hart, the legendary stars who will be in the corners of the competitors at Payback.

That is the complete opposite of effective storytelling designed to put the spotlight on the top prize in women's wrestling.

It completely undermined all of the work that has been done to legitimize that element of the show and has some wondering why the company would go through all of the trouble to lend credibility to female Superstars and reintroduce the women's title when it would de-emphasize them in such an insulting way immediately thereafter.

Natalya and Charlotte have exhibited tremendous in-ring chemistry in the past, both in NXT and as recently as on the WWE Network's Roadblock special.

Why the company would opt to take away the spirit of competition and turn the attention of the audience to Flair and Hart is a mystery that only it can answer—and it's one that could do far more damage than good.

Winner: The Miz

Credit: WWE.com

Don't look now, but intercontinental champion The Miz has quietly become the centerpiece of WWE SmackDown, the emphasis for the night's main events and the lead heel on the broadcast.

A week ago, he kicked off the show with an edition of "Miz TV" that resulted in a match between him and AJ Styles. This week, he verbally sparred with Reigns—it was one-sided, of course—and then proceeded to compete against the world heavyweight champion in the night's marquee match.

Even when he was not competing in the headline bout, his talk show has been home to the angles that have resulted in those matches.

The Miz is as talented a villain as there is on the WWE roster, the purest baddie who exists in Vince McMahon's company. While he is unlikely to ever receive another run at the top of the promotion, he has settled into a nice role for himself as an antagonist around whom the entire broadcast can revolve.

There are not many heels who fill that spot effectively, nor could they.

Miz is one, proving that even 12 years after the WWE Universe first set eyes on the former Real World star, he remains a valuable asset to the company.