The SmackDown Live brand made its penultimate stop on the road to TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs Tuesday night, presenting an episode of its weekly television show that provided fans of World Wrestling Entertainment with the final hype for Sunday's pay-per-view extravaganza.
AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose came face-to-face during a special edition of The Ambrose Asylum. American Alpha battled Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton for the right to challenge for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss met in an intense contract signing just days ahead of The Lass Kicker's women's title defense against the NXT alumni.
Only a select few Superstars could claim "biggest winner" status.
One, unfortunately, would earn "biggest loser" infamy.
Biggest Winner: Alexa Bliss
In a WWE that is so heavily scripted that there is a distinct lack of individuality and far too much uniformity in promos, Alexa Bliss is believable. She has found her voice, a scathing and defiant one, at the end of a disrespectful attitude and unforgiving arrogance.
A master of facial expression and body language, Bliss has always understood the importance of the performance beyond the squared circle. She gets that fans must have something more than strong in-ring skills to grasp onto and invest in.
Tuesday night, her ability to talk fans into caring about her and the upcoming championship match against Becky Lynch were on full display as the lead heel in SmackDown Live's women's division. She spoke with conviction, was cocky and full of herself. She verbally assaulted her rival, then physically shoved her through a table.
More so than any NXT star to make the jump to SmackDown, Bliss has broken out, becoming a revelation of sorts and a completely legitimate option to dethrone Lynch for the SmackDown Women's Championship, all on the strength of her ability to carry herself like a star and create a heel persona that fans can care about.
Biggest Loser: Carmella
Unfortunately for The Princess of Staten Island, fans have not latched onto her character in the same way they have Bliss'. Perhaps that is because, despite a heel turn over the summer, she is still playing the same babyface character she honed in NXT. Maybe it has to do with the distinct lack of motivation for her turn and subsequent rivalry with Nikki Bella.
She is a generic villainess, bad girl for no other reason than WWE Creative needed to even out the roster a bit.
No matter how many times she insults Bella or targets John Cena in her attempts to verbally assault her rival, fans remain quiet for no other reason than Creative's inability to create a character for her that fans can genuinely dislike. That the performer behind the persona is so fun, as evidenced by her appearances on WWE Breaking Ground, makes it even more difficult to discover her inner heel as Bliss has managed to do.
Carmella should be a marquee babyface. Instead, she has been pigeonholed into the role of heel, and her connection with the audience has suffered significantly as a result.