6 biggest winners and losers from last night's SmackDown - August 14

For the first time in a long while, Raw surpassed SmackDown this week, as the blue brand's go-home show to SummerSlam fell flat. Most major angles didn't kick into a higher gear, and the show was full of anti-climaxes. It was a poor excuse for a go-home show that advertised once again the creative doldrums WWE's main roster is going through in 2018.

There were clear warning signs a month ago during the build to Extreme Rules, but it now definitively looks as if the string of strong episodes SmackDown has boasted since the Shakeup have ended in the build to SummerSlam.

In this environment, did anyone manage to get people more hyped for their matches at SummerSlam?

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#1 Losers: The women

Carmella once again proved that she's a disastrous champion last night, as yet another overlong opening promo fell flat, failing to promote the SummerSlam triple threat as anything fans should go out of their way to see. She feels like an unnecessary and detrimental third wheel, with the real focus being on her opponents, yet even their story wasn't accelerated in an exciting way last night.

The slow-burn rivalry between Charlotte and Becky in the tag team match that followed the promo was continuously teased, with Becky refusing to tag her partner into the match at a critical juncture.

Nevertheless, it felt like this bridge had already been crossed, and the angle wasn't elevated. Instead, the entire segment felt like a half hour of filler to open the show. This isn't the way to advertise a match.

The women's division is a mess, and it's imperative that Carmella loses the championship on Sunday, while Charlotte and Becky turn on each other. However, as we've seen with the long confusing saga of Sasha and Bayley, somehow that doesn't seem likely.

#2 Losers: The Bludgeon Brothers

The results are in, and as a lot of people predicted, The Bludgeon Brothers have been terrible as tag team champions. The division has been stagnant ever since The Usos dropped the blue straps at WrestleMania.

The Bludgeon Brothers are still squashing local jobbers, just as they did with their reintroduction in November. There has been no character evolution at all, and these jobber matches don't feel like they're important enough to elevate the champions into true monsters that will convey a huge rub to the team that finally defeats them.

It's hard to figure out where the division goes from here.

#3 Winners: Daniel Bryan and The Miz

This is the only angle SmackDown has put any effort into building up for SummerSlam. Though I wasn't a fan of the repeat video segments instead of some kind of in-person confrontation, one could argue it was a nice change of pace.

The history between the two competitors was highlighted, and it definitely amped up a lot of fans ahead of the SummerSlam confrontation.

Sometimes, subtlety is the correct course, especially in the context of multiple heated confrontations in the weeks beforehand.

#4 Losers: SAnitY

While the match was easily the night's best, it was a poorly-booked contest. It didn't need to happen at all. In addition, the New Day defeating SAnitY with such little fanfare implies that there's a lesser chance of them becoming champions on Sunday, because one of their biggest potential rivals has been gutted.

Would it have been so hard to do a segment with the New Day and Bludgeon Brothers instead?

#5 Loser: Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy looked strong on SmackDown, defeating Shelton Benjamin and then getting the best of Shinsuke Nakamura.

That means he probably won't be leaving the Barclays Center as United States champion. Nor should he, because he looked beaten up last night. It's best for him to take some time off to deal with his mounting injuries.

#6 Losers: AJ Styles and Samoa Joe

This entire feud has felt like a rushed hatchet job, and it was very much the same last night. Samoa Joe tried to use AJ Styles' wife as an angle to taunt the champion, but it fell flat - even with his promo skills.

Their time was limited, and there was no physical confrontation. It was simply an evolution of weeks of flat promos that didn't make this feud or the WWE Championship feel like an important prize.

This feud should easily have been one of 2018's best. That it isn't, and probably won't be. It is a damning indictment of WWE's stagnant and unimaginative creative team.