WWE Elimination Chamber 2018 has come and gone, so the only big show left before WrestleMania 34 is Fastlane on March 11. SmackDown Live is dominated right now by stars scrambling to make their mark and earn a spot on the final card that could send them to the Showcase of the Immortals.

This week, one man's desperate plea for an opportunity was the headline as John Cena challenged AJ Styles for a chance at the WWE Championship. With the lights on brightest and everything at stake, he defeated The Phenomenal One and added himself to the Fastlane main event.

While his big win was clearly the standout of the night, others also made a huge impact. Ruby Riott picked up another important dominant victory, this time over Naomi. The Usos and The New Day tore it up on the mic as each team explained why they need to win.

Some wrestlers were less successful. In particular, the duo of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens could not get anything going. Both heels were embarrassed by their fellow main-event participants and may have lost the little momentum they needed to have a chance at Fastlane.

These winners and losers defined the show, but their successes and failures are more than just simple additions to the record books. This week's SmackDown helped define the future of these stars and ultimately hinted to fans if they will get WrestleMania moments.

Losers: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens

Someone is always coming up short in the battle of challengers to the WWE Championship, and this week both Owens and Zayn pulled the short sticks.

While Zayn lost to Baron Corbin, Owens on commentary took a superkick to the face and was embarrassed by Dolph Ziggler.

KO's Guardian Angel put up a strong fight against the larger Corbin, and the match was strong when the camera was not cutting back to Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan bickering over it backstage. However, one distraction was enough for Zayn to fall.

With only one more SmackDown before Fastlane, KO and Zayn—the top heels on the brand—would need a huge momentum boost to come off as anything more than bickering roadblocks in the coming title match. They have too often recently looked like fools.

While few if any would be actively rooting for KO or Zayn to walk out with the title, it is important to sell them as real threats. The company is woefully short on heels especially with the awkward tweener booking of both Ziggler and Corbin.

Right now, this whole story is a mess, with it almost a surprise that Shane-O-Mac has not added himself to the championship match as well. His fights with Bryan are overshadowing the work of the Superstars and making it hard to care about the main event scene until Styles emerges victorious.

Winner: Ruby Riott

Another week, another win for Ruby Riott, who is on the hottest streak of her career. With SmackDown women's champion Charlotte Flair and former champion Becky Lynch in her corner, Naomi still fell to the Riott Squad leader, who won in impressive fashion.

Naomi's success in 2017 solidified her as one of the elite female stars on SmackDown, so Riott's victory over her without help from Sarah Logan or Liv Morgan was a huge boost for momentum. It is now becoming more possible to believe Riott could topple The Queen.

The young star has quickly become the premiere female heel on the brand and put on one of her best performances on the main roster this week, even though the contest was a bit shorter than it should have been. It proved Riott can hang with the best.

This feud has been extremely well-built over the past month with a better-told story than most on the SmackDown product. Moreover, it has rectified for a short time SmackDown's boring booking of the women into constant multi-woman matches. This is all about two women and the title.

The best guess right now is Charlotte will face Asuka at 'Mania, which would be great, but that only seems to emphasize WWE has a lack of trust in the current SmackDown roster.

If the storytelling continues as strong as it has been, Charlotte vs. Riott could make it to 'Mania without issue.

Winners: The Usos and The New Day (For Now)

The Usos and The New Day renewed their long-standing rivalry this week with dueling promos that showcased just how much it means to both teams to make it to WrestleMania. While neither wrestled, they did an incredible job selling their next match together.

Jimmy and Jey Uso talked about the injustice that has left them away from the Grandest Stage of Them All their entire careers followed by Big E firing back with an impassioned defense of the work he has done with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to become relevant.

That heated exchange was cut short though by the arrival of The Bludgeon Brothers. It has been clear for weeks that Erick Rowan and Luke Harper have their sights set on the SmackDown tag team champions, but it looks like they may be done waiting as they sent both top teams running.

This may mean both teams lose out on WrestleMania if the former Wyatt Family heavyweights are added to the title match. The situation is still murky, but a Triple Threat as well as the already-announced title match would be worth a high spot on the next SmackDown PPV.

While Usos vs. New Day still feels recycled, it is easy to get invested when the talent are this engaged themselves. Whatever comes next, the tag team division has been boiled down to three teams that will do anything to make an impact.

Winner: John Cena

John Cena is desperate, and that's a bad thing for everyone else in WWE. His latest plan to get to WrestleMania went through SmackDown with The Champ challenging frequent rival and current WWE champion Styles to earn an opportunity at the title at Fastlane.

Despite The Phenomenal One pushing Cena to his limit, The Cenation Leader emerged victorious because of his desperation, turning his opponent's refusal to take a count-out victory against him and sending Styles crashing through the announce table before hitting a final Attitude Adjustment in the ring to win.

For now, it looks like Cena's plan has worked as the WWE Championship match has become a Six-Pack Challenge, but that still means the desperate veteran has to overcome five other Superstars to emerge victorious.

It is a shame this was the best solution WWE could come up with to maintain Cena's story, as the main event has grown far too bloated. It feels like Styles is becoming an afterthought in the rush of stars trying to take his title.

That said, the tale Cena is telling is phenomenal and gives extra weight to the importance of competing on the Grandest Stage of Them All. Even if it all boils down to the expected match with The Undertaker, the road to get there looks to be more than worth the wait.