WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from October 25

The Oct. 25 episode of WWE SmackDown Live was one dedicated to the buildup toward Survivor Series.

No longer in a holding pattern post-No Mercy, the brand is looking toward Nov. 20 and the annual extravaganza.

AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose battled in a match with championship implications, several Superstars waged war for the right to represent the brand in its upcoming battles with Raw and the rivalry between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt took an interesting turn.

Which Superstar earned "biggest winner" status, with his contributions to the show earning him great momentum?

Wrestlers	Winner or Loser	Why?
Alexa Bliss	Winner	Arguably the best heel on the entire show, Bliss continues to shine ahead of her women's title match against Becky Lynch on Nov. 8.
Dean Ambrose	Winner	Could frustration with James Ellsworth finally lead to the heel turn fans have been begging for over the last six months?
Natalya	Loser	Is it possible for anyone to be further down the ladder in terms of significance than Natalya right now? More importantly, wasn't the brand extension supposed to help stars like her gain more exposure and legitimacy?

Biggest Winner: Randy Orton

With a single RKO, Randy Orton became infinitely more interesting than he had been in the three months that preceded Tuesday's show.

In a shocking moment that kicked off the week's festivities, The Viper turned on Kane, dropping him with his finishing maneuver and staring intently at Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper as he made his way to the locker room. After weeks of feuding with The Reaper of Souls, why would Orton go out of his way to help him beat The Big Red Monster?

"If you can't beat them, join them," was his response.

It is likely a mind game played by the 12-time world champion, an attempt to lull Wyatt and Co. into a false sense of security before finally going over him in the final showdown, but it still did more to generate interest in a stale persona than anything WWE Creative had attempted until then.

That bodes well for Orton, who should be one of the faces of the brand but, to this point, has felt like a midcard competitor—fourth- or fifth-most important on the totem pole.

Biggest Loser: Logic

Can someone please explain how or why Nikki Bella and Natalya were given the opportunity to fight for the right to lead SmackDown's female team at Survivor Series?

Natalya never wins, and Bella, while popular, is embroiled in a second-tier rivalry with Carmella. With both Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss higher up the rankings, competing for the SmackDown Women's Championship, common sense would suggest that one of those two would captain the five-wrestler team. But no, the reality show star gets the nod, de-emphasizing the importance of the title.

Then there was the battle between The Hype Bros and The Ascension to see which team would fight for SmackDown's honor. Given the credibility of both, would the brand realistically want either to represent it?

On a night when SmackDown got back on track creatively, making advancements and creating intrigue around Survivor Series, those two booking decisions stood out as missteps.