WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from January 17

The Jan. 17 episode of WWE SmackDown Live was the penultimate on the road to Royal Rumble 2017 and featured the first Steel Cage match between two women in show history.

Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss battled for the SmackDown Women's Championship, and while they more than performed up to expectations, it was a returning star who stole headlines and joined them as winners from the broadcast.

Then there was the charismatic Superstar—formerly a babyface but now a frustrated heel—who captured headlines for a controversial promo. Was he a winner or a loser? Did he benefit from the angle, or was it detrimental to his growth in his new role? Which Superstar had the misfortune of being the night's most prominent loser?

Find out in this recap from Tuesday night's broadcast.

Winners: Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss

Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss have carried SmackDown Live's women's division for months. They've provided fans with hard-fought matches and have executed inventive booking ideas to ensure the feud continues building in intensity rather than becoming bogged down in repetition or staleness.

Tuesday night, their feud reached its peak as Bliss defended her SmackDown Women's Championship against The Lass Kicker inside a steel cage. It was only fitting that the two competed in a match where outside interference would be impossible.

You know, until it wasn't.

Even the late-match appearance by La Luchadora could not ruin the moment for the performers, who seized the opportunity and delivered up to expectations.

Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair may get more publicity and praise, but Lynch and Bliss have quietly assembled a feud every bit as good as theirs, if not better.

Winner: Mickie James

Credit: WWE.com

Mickie James' return to stardom in WWE began back in August at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, where she challenged Asuka for the Women's Championship in a superb match. Her performance that night earned her a new deal with WWE and, as witnessed Tuesday night, a spot in the championship picture on SmackDown Live.

James was revealed to be La Luchadora, the masked competitor who repeatedly cost Becky Lynch the SmackDown Women's Championship.

Suddenly, the veteran performer is one of the hottest stars on SmackDown—a central figure in the top rivalry in the division she helped champion a decade ago. Her renaissance and return to WWE could prove to be one of the bigger news stories of the year if she can build on the momentum she has accumulated and deliver from an in-ring perspective.

Especially as a program with The Lass Kicker appears imminent.

Loser: Baron Corbin

Over the last three weeks, Baron Corbin forcefully inserted himself in the WWE Championship picture, confronting and competing with the top stars SmackDown has to offer. He waged war with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Styles, and then he made apparent his intentions to be a top dog on the blue brand.

Unfortunately for The Lone Wolf, he ran into the returning John Cena a week ago and was pinned cleanly in the center of the ring.

The potential to recover from the loss was there, especially if Corbin was featured prominently on this week's broadcast.

Not only was he not prominent Tuesday night, but he was also not featured at all, left off this week's SmackDown for reasons that neither make sense nor do him any favors.

Corbin is not the type of Superstar who can see his push started, then stopped and then restarted on the whim of WWE Creative. He needs steady consistency, or he will become just another face in a sea of the ones currently populating WWE's jam-packed roster.

He should have appeared Tuesday night, even if it was just in a backstage vignette with Daniel Bryan or Shane McMahon. As it is, the brand's writers failed to follow up on his strong performance against the franchise star from last week's show.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

The slow, methodical promo may not suit Dolph Ziggler, but his promo on Tuesday night was both controversial and effective—characteristics he needs in the infancy of his heel turn.

Ziggler brought up the heart attack Jerry "The King" Lawler suffered back in 2012, just moments after a match with The Showoff. It made sense, recalled a historic and potentially tragic moment and, best of all, played out in front of Lawler's hometown.

While some may consider it exploitation of a real health scare, Lawler is a consummate professional who is not afraid to use his real-life trouble to bolster a storyline.

Ziggler benefited, looking like a ruthless and remorseless villain who is hellbent on avenging every frustration he has faced over the last few years.

It suits him and makes sense, given how many times he has gotten close to the brass ring but fell just short.