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

One of the greatest gifts a WWE Superstar can possess is the ability to talk fans into investing in their matches, rivalries and characters.

The three biggest winners from the March 14 episode of SmackDown Live put that ability on full display, and their upcoming bouts at WrestleMania 33 saw an increase in heat, excitement and anticipation as a result.

Those three performers expressed conviction as they tore into their foes, some basing their verbal assaults in reality, while others were more philosophical and supernatural in their onslaughts.

Regardless of the content of their promos, they individually sold to a worldwide audience the significance of their match on the grandest stage.

Not every Superstar who appeared on Tuesday's broadcast was so lucky.

Two wrestled an ugly match that suffered from a lack of definition, while an entire division's deficiencies were exposed in the night's main event.

They are all faced with the unenviable task of recuperating on the winding Road to WrestleMania.

Who were the winners and losers from the all-important USA Network presentation, and more importantly, why?

Find out now with the recap of SmackDown Live's most recent offering.

Winner: AJ Styles

A frustrated and enraged AJ Styles took to the squared circle Tuesday night and cut a scathing promo on SmackDown Live commissioner Shane McMahon. Accusing the prodigal son of bias, he made several valid points regarding his treatment of the last few weeks.

He had, in fact, lost the WWE Championship to a John Cena who walked right back in the front door and was gifted a shot at the title. He never did receive a one-on-one rematch, instead having his opportunity come inside the unforgiving confines of the Elimination Chamber.

He was thrown into a Battle Royal, which he clearly won, then forced to face Luke Harper for the right to head to WrestleMania and challenge Bray Wyatt for the gold.

He won that match, fair and square, in the center of the ring. Finally, it appeared he would achieve his destiny.

That is, until Randy Orton was allowed back into the mix, despite burning a man's home down and facing no repercussions. He would lose to The Viper and see his last opportunity to realize his dream of competing for the title on the grand stage disintegrate.

Every bit of evidence he offered up in defense of his theory that management was biased against him made sense and was based in fact. That it was absolutely valid allowed Styles to speak with great conviction. The result? Fans bought into the promo and, love him or hate him, were invested in what he was saying.

The vicious and vile assault Styles perpetrated on McMahon later in the show was a thing of beauty—the culmination of personal disappointment, agony and rage.

"You asked for this," he said, trying to justify his actions.

And just in case throwing his boss face-first through the back window of a car was not enough, he added one last kick to the face as producer Fit Finlay and interviewer Renee Young were busy checking on the bloodied authority figure.

From start to finish, Styles' night featured growth of character and escalation of hatred wrapped up into one delightful package. For the first time in his WWE stint, fans were introduced to the mean, nasty, vile and vicious Phenomenal One.

There was no whining about injustice or joking about James Ellsworth. There was simply fury—pure and unadulterated anger.

On The Road to WrestleMania, where fans eagerly await the evolution of on-screen personas to provide intrigue ahead of the biggest event of the year, Styles delivered just that, and the overall quality of the SmackDown product benefited exponentially.

Losers: Mickie James and Alexa Bliss

When Mickie James delivered a Mick Kick to Alexa Bliss on the March 7 episode of SmackDown Live, she essentially announced her candidacy for the upcoming Women's Championship match at WrestleMania.

What she did not do was undergo a full babyface turn of any kind.

At least not that fans could tell.

Thus, when the former associates squared off in singles competition Tuesday night, it was understandably difficult trying to figure out which Superstar to throw support behind.

It was no easier once the bell rang.

Part of that can be attributed to SmackDown's creative staff. There was no suitable follow-up to last week's angle, and the result was confusion as to whether James was now a full-fledged heroine or a heel who just got tired of her associate's selfishness.

It did not help matters when both women worked a heel style.

Bliss took control of the match and was more animated, telling fans to shut up and talking trash to her future Hall of Fame opponent, but James' mannerisms were still those of a villainess.

On top of that was the sloppy, disjointed match in which neither woman appeared to be on the same page. 

The result was a rare off-night for two of the premier performers in the SmackDown Live women's division, not something anyone wants with WrestleMania drawing near. More importantly, it demonstrated the importance of shoring up storylines ahead of the springtime spectacular or risking messiness like Tuesday's bout.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

A Superstar who believes in what he says and is personally invested in his character can make any promo or television segment work, no matter how crazy or over the top it may be. Since arriving in 2013, Bray Wyatt has proved as much on a consistent basis.

He has repeatedly taken creative that has been so incredibly ridiculous on the surface and made it his own. The Reaper of Souls has gotten fans to buy into his act because he, himself, believes in it. That investment has forgiven many a rambling, incoherent promo, but luckily for Wyatt and the writing staff behind the March 14 episode of SmackDown Live, neither of those adjectives fit his performance on that night.

The Eater of Worlds addressed Randy Orton and his action of two weeks ago, when he burned down The Wyatt Family Compound, supposedly extinguishing the soul of the mythical Sister Abigail in the process.

A menacing look painting his face, Wyatt admitted he thought Abigail was gone, stolen from the world at the end of Orton's flame.

But she was not.

No, Wyatt suggested that she had bestowed upon him her soul. He now possessed her abilities as the spawn of Satan and vowed to eliminate the infidels from this life, beginning with The Viper at WrestleMania.

He wrapped up the uncomfortable ordeal by baptizing himself in her ashes and breaking out the tried-and-true "follow the buzzards" catchphrase.

There will always be those who criticize the supernatural element of Wyatt's promos or dismiss them as hogwash because they do not follow suit. They do not resemble the great Ric Flair promos of the 1980s or are not as edgy with their content as 1990s "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

To pretend that Wyatt is not a master of the mic, though, shows blatant ignorance of just how spectacular a performer he is. His character has no right to work in an era where reality and athleticism gets over with fans far more than character depth. But it does, and that is a testament to the man behind the words and expressions more than anything.

Tuesday's promo was explosive, compelling and intriguing. Wyatt deserves full credit for the emotion behind, and delivery of, it.

His program with Orton is red-hot entering WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Florida, and he is a major reason why.

Losers: The SmackDown Live Tag Team Division

For everything SmackDown Live has done to tremendous success, there is one element of its show the writing staff has failed miserably to lend credibility to: the tag team division.

Tuesday night, champions American Alpha headed to the squared circle for a non-title match against The Usos. Seeing as how the two teams have history dating back to the fall, when the twin brothers underwent a heel turn and cost Jason Jordan and Chad Gable the opportunity to attain the titles earlier than they did, it would have made sense to properly hype the bout in advance.

Especially since it was the main event of Tuesday's show.

That did not happen.

Instead of a red-hot war for tag team supremacy, the duos worked to near-silence.

The fans in Pittsburgh had no reason to care about either one, primarily because WWE Creative had not given them one. Therein lies the problem: A lack of depth on the roster and minimal attention from the writing staff has delegitimized the division.

No one cares if American Alpha or The Usos win the match. Whatever story they had at the root of their issues ran out of steam at the beginning of the year. Poor follow-up and even worse use of the talent involved has created a division consisting of two solid teams and a plethora of enhancement duos.

Those issues manifest themselves in the form of pure and unadulterated apathy, as was the case Tuesday night when the two teams failed to generate excitement because writers had failed them.

SmackDown officials can continue to act like a feud between The Usos and American Alpha is something special that fans should be excited about, but when the only other competition for whichever tandem emerges with the gold is Breezango and The Ascension, why should anyone care?

Winner: Maryse

When you are the wife of one of the greatest talkers of his generation, the pressure is always on to deliver a promo that does not diminish the points he made previously.

Maryse avoided that Tuesday as she grabbed hold of the microphone and took fans on a trip down memory lane, informing them of a moment in time when Nikki Bella revealed herself to be little more than a "backstabbing b---h."

Showing pure emotion as she attacked the executive producer of Total Divas, it was easy for fans to buy into what she was selling. The anger in her eyes, the intensity in her words and the harshness in her tone made for a compelling entry into an otherwise pedestrian edition of Miz TV.

Dolph Ziggler even took to his official Twitter handle after the segment, applauding her performance during Tuesday's broadcast: "Not only is @mikethemiz the 2nd best wrestler in his marriage, he's now the 2nd best talker. Wow @MaryseMizanin #SDLive".

While there are still very real concerns about her ability to back her words up once the bell rings at WrestleMania, Maryse has more than carried her weight in the lead-up to the show.

Given the tone of the rivalry, the match will likely be based more on the raw emotion established prior to the match than anything that actually occurs during it.