5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE SmackDown Live (30 Aug)

3. Loser: Nikki Bella

Nikki Bella will prove to be a great boon to SmackDown’s women’s division in the long-run. She brings genuine star power to a division sorely lacking in name value, and while she’s no Becky Lynch or Natalya, Nikki is an under-rated worker who has steadily improved over the years. Say what you will about the Bella Twins’ early years, but Nikki clearly takes her craft seriously, and has grown into a perfectly acceptable professional wrestler.

The Carmella feud works well for both women. Carmella had failed miserably as a babyface, and Nikki, was one of the division’s most popular stars, makes for a perfect foil. Nikki has the crowd’s sympathy on her side after her long injury lay-off, and laying her out last week gave Carmella the first bit of real crowd heat she’s experienced since coming back.

Last night saw Nikki head to the commentary booth for Alexa Bliss and Nattie’s tag team match with Naomi and Becky Lynch. It was a decent little match on a show sorely lacking in terms of actual wrestling, and the heels picked-up the win after Carmella emerged, started brawling with Nikki, and caused the distraction. Nikki has now been laid-out by Carmella on two consecutive weeks: it’s exactly what WWE need to to do get the heel over, but Nikki hasn’t looked strong since SummerSlam, even if she’ll likely give Carmella her comeuppance in the end.