WWE SmackDown emanated from Orlando, Florida, last night, marking a stark improvement from the average quality of the shows that the blue brand has produced in recent memory. Unfortunately, an unforgivably awful finish marred the overall viewing experience.Nevertheless, SmackDown featured another successful instance of the United States Championship Open Challenge, a banging opening segment featuring Cody Rhodes, The Vision, and Randy Orton, a good old Drew McIntyre rant interrupted by a returning former US Champion, and much more.In this article, we will determine the best and worst of WWE SmackDown this week:#5. Best: Cody Rhodes' compelling dynamic with Paul Heyman and Randy OrtonPaul Heyman opened last night's SmackDown and, in an incredibly entertaining way, as always, talked a whole lot without really saying anything. As he referenced Brock Lesnar multiple times, he was interrupted by Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes (set to take on World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel), who sought some clarification regarding the same.Heyman said he understood why Rhodes was concerned: Lesnar being back meant everyone was in danger. However, as he said that, Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker surrounded him and then entered the ring, and Paul Heyman made light of the fact that the danger he spoke of wasn't even important, for Cody was in a more imminent form of being in it.The American Nightmare took the fight to The Vision by himself, but after gaining the upper hand, the numbers game eventually caught up. Randy Orton, having been off TV last week, returned to make the save, also delivering an RKO to Bronson Reed. Rhodes may need some more backup leading up to Crown Jewel and a firm alliance heading into Survivor Series: WarGames, but as for last night, The Viper was enough to even the odds.#4. Worst: The main event, especially its finishWhile SmackDown opened with a bang, it went off the air in the worst way possible: with two back-to-back botched pinfalls. Here's the kicker: in a WWE Women's Title Triple Threat Match. The bout itself was less than fine, sloppy at times, and not unexpectedly so, but one where the competitors worked hard.However, the ending featured Jade Cargill delivering the "Eye of the Storm," impressive and yet unfortunately lacking in the desired impact for obvious reasons, with the recipient being Nia Jax. Tiffany Stratton was supposed to break up the pin with a kick to Cargill (and presumably steal the win), but Jax kicked out because she probably thought that Stratton wouldn't make it in time.Jax kicked out right before Stratton Dropkicked Cargill. However, The Buff Barbie then proceeded to the planned finish: just pinning Jax after kicking Cargill to steal the win. However, the referee did not count to three, even with the Australian's shoulders down for, like, a six-count (and babbling some words), because in all likelihood, she assumed that the finish would make sense with Jax having kicked out just seconds ago. Stratton then hit The Prettiest Moonsault Ever to ultimately land the win.The entire fiasco perfectly (and hopefully) capped off a horrible feud, which had ill-defined characters with ill-defined motivations, no narrative arc even remotely compelling, awful promos, and below-average in-ring action that culminated in utter disaster. This is what happens when the three people involved in a World Title picture are two inexperienced women and one infamous for sloppiness and botches, and the writing team is devoid of imagination.#3. Best: The Sami Zayn United States Championship Open Challenge on SmackDownAs predicted, Sami Zayn's United States Championship win has been a major part of steadily revitalizing SmackDown, with his subsequent Open Challenges not just delivering some of the best TV matches of the year but also serving storytelling as well as presentation purposes.So far, he had given incredible showings to John Cena (passing the torch and paying him back poetically), Rey Fenix (giving Fenix the landmark singles performance he needed), and Carmelo Hayes (furthering Hayes' character and dynamic with The Miz). Last night, someone he had interacted with very recently at WWE NXT Homecoming answered his challenge.Je'Von Evans, one of NXT's brightest and youngest prospects, is, in certain ways, similar to Sami Zayn. He delivered a stellar performance against the reigning US Champion last night, and notably, fans already know and connect with him. While Evans deserves a lot of credit for showing up and showing out last night, Sami Zayn's work over the past few weeks has been brilliant. Given the narrative arcs being progressed, he seems to be prominently pitching to and working alongside the creative team.#2 & #1. Best/Worst: Drew McIntyre's character; Jacob Fatu's return to WWE SmackDownDrew McIntyre, following his loss to Cody Rhodes at Wrestlepalooza, came out to address The American Nightmare and the WWE management on this week's episode of SmackDown, who, in his mind, are basically the same or at least have firmly aligned interests. He was then rebuffed by Nick Aldis for making such claims. But here's the thing: The Scottish Psychopath is absolutely correct. The finish to the main event of Wrestlepalooza, in fact, had many fans confused as to the behavior and decisions of the wrestlers and the referee.Why is Drew McIntyre being positioned as an anti-authority anti-hero? Especially at a time when WWE authority is, in fact, steadily losing its goodwill. And why are the characters of the company's main stars lacking in consistency? There have been rumors that both McIntyre and Rhodes had pitched Randy Orton accidentally costing Cody the Undisputed WWE Championship at Wrestlepalooza. When that didn't happen, it ended up making Rhodes' character look weak, and McIntyre just looked stupid, essentially being cheated out of the title, as he rightfully claims. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostUnironically, we can apply the same two adjectives to the Triple H-led creative team here as well. Finally, all of this comes at a time when Rhodes has just won back the WWE Universe after his absence and McIntyre's great work in building up the feud initially. When Aldis rebuffed McIntyre, it came off as an authority figure shutting down a legitimate grievance shared by fans, too. The only logical way ahead would be for The Scottish Psychopath to be proven right, with at least WWE management (in kayfabe), if not Cody Rhodes as well, being guilty of his accusations.However, WWE most likely won't go that way, and that is what leaves a sour taste in a fan's mouth. And if a returning Jacob Fatu is the next program for a McIntyre on SmackDown, it is one where no man can take the L, because they have both been made to look like trash over the past few months.