The biggest winners and losers from last night's SmackDown (July 3)

Last night's SmackDown followed up its older red counterpart in delivering a program full of filler. Even if Team Hell No's reunion was a highlight, it was anticlimactic last night.

There was little that added to the build to Extreme Rules, even if the matches delivered more than Raw's did the night before. That didn't stop them from being filler, though, even if some of them were high in quality.

When watching the episode, can you honestly say that you're more excited for the Extreme Rules card than you were before? Like many of you, my answer is "no."

The show was better than Raw by virtue of its roster, but once again, it was a case of the roster needing to come from behind to overcome bad writing for a lot of the show.

Who walked away as winners and who as losers from last night's showing?

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inners: SAnitY

This is what we should have seen from SAnitY all along. This was the feud they should have gotten into from the start. In this case, the writers made the right choice.

SAnitY took what would have been a cringeworthy pancake eating contest (a segment no doubt designed for an audience of one) and made it something important.

Hopefully, this feud will go on for a while and see the renewal of the New Day, who have become a one-trick pony centered entirely around pancakes. It got old months ago and the stable needs a purpose.

With any luck, this feud can take the New Day back to the heights they enjoyed last year when they were feuding with the Usos, while it would allow SAnitY to make a major splash on the main roster.

The clash of opposite personalities should make it work. Let's just hope the writers don't screw it up.

Losers: Carmella, James Ellsworth, and Asuka

This felt like exhibit #576 on why it's time to pull the plug on Carmella as SmackDown Women's Champion.

As usual, the champion came out and got zero reactions for anything she did. Interest in the Asuka vs. Ellsworth match was tepid as well. It had its moments, but it was flat overall. This was just a way to set up the lumberjack match next week.

Ultimately, the heatless segment did nothing for anybody and feuding with Carmella only makes wrestlers look bad.

Let's just hope the company comes to its senses and ends this failed experiment at Extreme Rules, but I'm not holding my breath.

Loser: Rusev

WWE's tired copy/paste formula was on display last night as AJ Styles defeated Aiden English in a match, only to get attacked by Rusev and put into the Accolade. The announcers made sure to beat us over the head with the fact that if Rusev got Styles into the Accolade, we'd have a new champion.

It was too strong and too obvious, so it means it won't happen. It's not like we didn't know that already, but the company could have done more to build the rivalry up. It chose the lazy road again.

Rusev was very over even in comparison to Styles though, so hopefully, that sent a good message about his future.

Winner: Becky Lynch

It's now obvious that Becky Lynch is going to get a title shot. If her win wasn't convincing enough, SmackDown's commentators made sure to beat us over the head with her title aspirations.

The question is where and against who? Hopefully, it's against Asuka and not Carmella, as we have yet to see that match on TV. And where will Charlotte fit into all of this when she returns from injury?

Winners: Team Hell No

They were never in danger of losing against The Usos (who unfortunately have become afterthoughts), but Team Hell No worked well together last night and the match was fun.

There was one match that was built up at Extreme Rules, and it was the tag team title match. It's nice to see the straps getting such prominence after they fell off the cliff following WrestleMania.

Kane's real-life political aspirations are well-known to everyone. With an election coming up, he won't be around for long. The question is how long this run will last?

For now though, things in the tag team division have heated up.