SmackDown 1000 Winners & Losers: Batista Rules, Undertaker Flops

On a historic night for the SmackDown brand, there were definitely winners and losers on the 1000th show. Among the most notable of the winners was Batista calling out Triple H while the Undertaker's appearance makes the list on the loser side since it lasted only seconds.

Tuesday's show was full of returns, matches, smart promos and a few trips down memory lane. Clearly, WWE learned from their mistakes on Raw 25 and kept this show moving, keeping the nostalgia strong but incorporated into the storylines as the company heads toward Crown Jewel. A set of titles changed, a former SmackDown champ called out his friend and surprising members of the roster shined.

Here are your winners and losers for SmackDown Live, October 16, 2018 — the 1000th episode of the show.

Winner: R-Truth

How underrated is R-Truth? The answer is very. It might have caught some people by surprise to see such a monumental show opened by what most consider to be a mid-card enhancement talent but Truth and his Truth TV was the perfect way to start the show. He was funny, it was an easy way to get the McMahon's to play their part on the program and the audience was loving every second. This segment will undoubtedly start a swell of support to make Truth TV and regular thing and hopefully WWE takes notice.

That Vince ended up taking a dance break and got down with the rest of his family, Truth and Carmella set the tone for the night. Smart move.

Winner: AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan vs. Usos

You can't have this level of talent in the ring and not wind up with a good match on your hands. That the Usos were the team picked to get the win over Styles and Bryan while the two inadvertently cost themselves the victory was a nice nod to a tag team that deserved the recognition for being so important to SmackDown Live since the brand split.

As would have been expected on a show like this, the match was too short but it definitely was a solid outing that will hopefully lead to a rematch.

Loser: Rusev/ Miz/ Kurt Angle

This is what happens when a segment runs over. There's no other explanation for Angle being out on commentary and saying next to nothing because the match ended so quickly. It might have been better to scrap this altogether and wait for next week but WWE must have felt the need to get The Miz qualified for the World Cup so they went ahead anyways.

In the end, Aiden English took the brunt of this segment because he looked so weak getting destroyed by Lana and Rusev. It took hurt any chances of fans taking him seriously as a threat.

Winner: Batista

It was going to be a segment to watch. When Batista's return was announced and as part of the 1000th episode of SmackDown and as part of Evolution, it didn't make a ton of sense that a Raw faction would be so important on a SmackDown segment, but Batista was undoubtedly a huge part of the show's past and should have been included.

Batista has been vocal about wanting a match with Triple H. On Tuesday, it looks like those seeds were planted. He was glowing in his compliments of everyone only to then say, the only thing Triple H hadn't done in this business was defeat him. That led to a stare-down that eventually subsided.. or did it?

This was the moment of the night and fans can only hope WWE chooses to follow through with a match between these two.

Winner: Becky Lynch

Is there anything WWE can give Lynch that she won't hit out of the park right now? Her segment with Edge was so well done and Lynch came off looking like the perfect heel character to Edge's genuine concern for her future once she looks back to realize the road she's heading down.

That she took a pot shot at his health was the icing on the cake in terms of getting her over as a careless star who has truly turned to the dark side.

Loser: No Rock, Terrible Cena Video

Granted, there might not have been room but not having The Rock or John Cena as part of the show was disappointing. Sure, Cena sent in a video clip that was all mushy and showed how grateful he was to be part of the show, but it didn't really fit the theme of the night, it felt out of place and his radio host-style character voice work was silly and unnecessary.

This was probably out of the WWE's control so it's hard to hold it against them, but still, it was a bummer.

Winner: Tag Title Change

Lost in the shuffle of the show was the fact the WWE Tag Titles were up for grabs and another New Day vs. The Bar match was going to take place. Always a special match when these two teams get together, WWE added a twist by having Big Show turn on New Day and help The Bar win the titles. Is he with them now? Why did he do what he did?

Big Show has been prone to switching from babyface to heel often and for no real reason so maybe WWE doesn't follow up on this, but it could be fun if they did.

The only thing that didn't work was the back and forth commentary from the regular crew to Jerry Lawler and Booker T. That was just odd.

Loser: Mysterio vs. Nakamura

While calling this a loser, let's make sure to note that with a little more time, there's no way these two don't tear down the house. Unfortunately, this show was so packed, there was no way to give this match justice and Nakamura ended up looking weaker than he probably should have. These two couldn't really get into the meat of what their real match should look like.

Mysterio looked fantastic and the match was fine for what it was, it just wasn't anywhere near long enough. Had the company scrapped the Rusev segment and gone with more time for this match, it could have been incredible.

Loser: The Undertaker

It's amazing WWE promoted this appearance. The Undertaker was a huge part of SmackDown's success over the years and this is what the company settled on? One line? About Crown Jewel? The same line that was uttered in the promo from last night's Raw? Ouch.

There's not much else to say other than calling this a total waste of what could have been a special moment. This is two times now WWE has had a historic show and the Undertaker's involvement has been among the worst part of the program.

NEXT: THE BEST MOMENTS FROM SMACKDOWN LIVE'S FIRST 1000 SHOWS