The biggest winners and losers from last night's SmackDown (September 11)

Last night's SmackDown completed WWE's recent track record of delivering disappointing go home shows, as the blue brand served a night that was mostly forgettable aside from the tag team qualifying match between Rusev Day and The Bar. The other matches were filler and the women's division made another regression as the show was headlined by Brie Bella and Maryse.

Overall, this was a forgettable show, and you'd have missed nothing if you chose not to watch it.

Was there anyone who managed to gain steam en route to Hell in a Cell on Sunday?

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Loser: Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy's track record of delivering awkward, badly written, incoherent promos in 2018 continued as he opened the show. The promo tuned the audience out right at the start of the broadcast. The match with Shinsuke Nakamura was academic and felt like it didn't need to go as long as it did, especially when, to the surprise of no one, Randy Orton interfered and caused a disqualification.

Jeff Hardy retaliated by attacking Orton with a Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb. Hopefully, that means he's losing on Sunday, because Randy Orton has far more momentum and upside to him right now than Jeff Hardy does. As long as The Viper doesn't capture the WWE Championship any time soon, he's a welcome force to be reckoned with on the blue brand.

The bout with Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy also feels out of place, having lost some momentum from its hottest point in July. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe feels far more deserving of being inside the Hell in a Cell structure. It's another odd choice from Styles' oddly booked WWE Championship reign. Hopefully, Orton and Hardy can deliver inside the Hell in a Cell.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Placed side by side, Samoa Joe again outperformed AJ Styles and proved that he should be WWE Champion. This was a decent calm before the storm segment, but Joe once again stole it. Why this match isn't taking place inside Hell in a Cell still boggles me.

Having been champion for over 300 days, it definitely feels like the time is right for a change from Styles, and Joe would be the ideal person to take the championship off of him. It would open up many new feuds on SmackDown and Joe deserves a run after proving himself in the main event time and again.

Winner: Becky Lynch

This was awesome.

Becky Lynch disguising herself as a fan and then attacking Charlotte Flair was a uniquely done segment that avoided WWE's usual tropes, showing that the company is putting effort into this feud.

Lynch's chances of winning the championship this Sunday are slim, but they won't have anything to do with the old "standing tall" trope. It's clear that this feud will have legs beyond Hell in a Cell, and Lynch continues to rise to the occasion.

Losers: Daniel Bryan and The Miz

This feud has jumped the shark already. The involvement of their wives has very much hurt the angle, cooling it off rapidly from its pace heading into SummerSlam. Maryse and Brie Bella had a sloppy contest that made zero people excited for the upcoming mixed tag team match on Sunday.

Hopefully, this is a wake-up call to not even consider doing this match at Evolution, because it would only stink up the joint.