WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from January 23

The WWE champion and a Viper were spotlighted Tuesday night as the company presented the final SmackDown Live on the road to Sunday's Royal Rumble pay-per-view extravaganza.

AJ Styles was more tenacious and determined than we have seen him in weeks, while Randy Orton sent a message, loudly and clearly, to the 29 other Superstars who will share the ring with him in the annual Royal Rumble match.

Not quite as lucky was the team of Rusev and Aiden English, whose popularity has not guaranteed victory.

WWE Creative's subpar efforts just days before a massive pay-per-view offering earned them the same dubious status as Rusev Day.

Delve deeper into the Superstars and entities that defined Tuesday's broadcast and find out why they are recognized as the biggest winners and losers of the January 23 episode.

Winner: Randy Orton

Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin were in the midst of their best match together, moments away from the former exploding across the ring with the Kinshasa, when Randy Orton came from nowhere and caught him with an RKO.

The Viper followed up by dropping Corbin with another RKO and standing tall as commentators Tom Phillips, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton discussed his history of winning Rumbles and how his suddenness will make him dangerous come Sunday night.

After weeks of slinking along in the background, Orton made his presence felt and was presented in a way that suggests he is a favorite to win this year's 30-man extravaganza.

Considering the lack of effort put into promoting this year's Rumble, it was refreshing to see a segment devoted to putting it over, using a Superstar who has a sparkling record in them.

Losers: Rusev and Aiden English

Rusev and Aiden English continued to receive some of the loudest reactions of the night, with their Rusev Day gimmick as over as any in the company.

Unfortunately, no amount of popularity has afforded them any more wins.

Perhaps WWE Creative does not fully understand why the gimmick is so popular and, in its ignorance, is opting not to push an act it never had any plans on getting over. 

Whatever the case, they were on the losing end of another tag team match they easily could have won Tuesday to bolster their win-loss record—especially considering it was a Six-Man Tag Team match in which they lined up with Jinder Mahal in a loss to Bobby Roode and New Day.

The stubbornness of WWE Creative to push Rusev and English may well result in a defiant babyface pop not unlike the ones that fueled Daniel Bryan's run to the top of the company back in 2013.

Winner: AJ Styles

The Phenomenal One was as angry, intense and unrelenting as fans have seen him in nearly a year Tuesday night, applying a Calf Crusher to Kevin Owens and nearly rendering him unable to compete at the Royal Rumble.

Later, while squaring off with Sami Zayn, Styles dumped the gurney Owens was on over, showing little remorse to the Superstar.

It was the latest proof the united front of Zayn and Owens, not to mention the perceived collusion between them and general manager Daniel Bryan, is wearing on the WWE champion.

Ultimately, the increased aggression cost Styles his match to Zayn, but the new side of The Phenomenal One gave fans a taste of a side of him that made for a more entertaining show than it otherwise would have been with the typical underdog babyface AJ.

Loser: WWE Creative

With just five days until Royal Rumble, the fans of SmackDown Live deserved a better, hotter show than the one-dimensional broadcast it got.

From the onset of the show, a monotonous promo from Owens and Zayn that echoed the same bullet points of recent weeks, it was obvious fans were in for a by-the-numbers presentation that did nothing to generate any more or less excitement for Sunday's Royal Rumble.

The wrestling was fine, but the writing was so lethargic that it is almost easy to forget one of the most prestigious pay-per-view events is just days away.

A disappointing effort from the blue brand on the heels of a newsworthy Raw 25 broadcast.