Winners And Losers For SmackDown Live - AJ Styles' Cheesy Promo

To be honest, not many people were thinking about SmackDown Live this week. Between the 25th Anniversary show for Raw coming up in less than a week and the Royal Rumble only a few days away, WWE was going to be in a tough spot trying to get fans to invest in a show that was 75 percent focused on the U.S. Title tournament. That is, until the company decided to settle the entire tournament on the same night as the semi-finals.

So, the biggest thing to come out of Tuesday's episode, besides the confirmation Trish Stratus would be making her return, was the crowning of a new U.S. Champion in Bobby Roode.

What that it for Tuesday? Was there anything else of note to take from the show? Here are your winners and losers for SmackDown Live, January 16, 2018.

Winner: Jinder Mahal

Even though Jinder Mahal didn't walk away as the new U.S. Champion, the action he was involved in was tailor-made for him. He started SmackDown Live this week and while it seemed obvious he'd be moving on in the U.S. Title tournament, how much he dominated Xavier Woods in the opening contest of the night was somewhat surprising.

It was an average showing by both combatants but Mahal was the rightful winner and after Roode moved on in his own semi-finals match, Mahal pulled the ultimate heel move by having the Singh Brothers come down and sneak-attack Roode. It wound up meaning a match later that night and Mahal played a pivotal role in making sure Roode looked strong in winning the title.

Loser: AJ Styles

AJ Styles is typically gold on the mic but his promo with Renee Young on this week's show was incredibly campy and hard to watch. To Styles' credit, he did work his hardest to sell the idea of calling Owens and Zayn "Kami", among some of the other cheesy lines he spewed during his backstage interview.

Styles can do better so we won't hold this against him. We'll suggest maybe this material was written for him and it just wasn't very good. The good news is, despite the awful promo and now Zayn or Owens to offer a rebuttal, the match could be the best on the Royal Rumble card.

Winner: Jey Uso

After it was learned that Jey Uso had been arrested on a DUI charge, there was some concern as to how it might affect his status in the WWE. Would he be suspended? Would he bet let off with a warning? What was to come of the titles if the WWE decided that a DUI charge couldn't be tolerated.

Well, it looks like Uso isn't being punished as he was on the show this week and didn't miss a beat. Unfortunately, he was on the receiving end of a beat down from Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin.

Loser: Royal Rumble Promos

WWE decided to let the members of the SmackDown Live roster shoot their own promos for the Royal Rumble. Outside of Baron Corbin's video, which was relatively well done, the rest of the promos were absolutely painful to watch.

There is a line that the WWE should not cross when it comes to implementing wrestlers and their own selfie videos. Just because they look personal, it doesn't make them a good idea. These were not a good idea and there needs to be a bit more production that goes into these things before they're permitted to air. The women's videos were especially bad as a cheap title ran across the screen before each woman of the SmackDown Live roster gave fans a 5-second promo.

Winner: Mojo Rawley

Even though Rawley lost his match and it was expected he would do so, he had a strong showing as a heel character and he's done quite well in that role. His match with Roode was slow paced but effective and he's a good trashtalker as he tries to finish off his opponents.

Hopefully, WWE sees how much Rawley is embracing this opportunity and how good at it he might be. A little paint to change his character and he could be a very effective talent for the company in a heel role.

Winner: Bobby Roode

He won his match against Mojo Rawley (again, expected) and then, after being attacked by the Singh Brothers, he talked Daniel Bryan into making the finals match for the U.S. Title that night. It was a smart plan as he was able to overcome the odds and walk away from SmackDown Live as the new U.S. Champion.

Roode was the favorite to win the entire thing and while he's a fitting champion, it still feels not entirely right that he'll hold the title as a babyface. Expect Dolph Ziggler to show his face again as Roode shows up next week to talk about his win.