This week's SmackDown was a set-up show for Extreme Rules and for Monday's Raw. What was advertised was the Bianca Belair coming home segment, along with building the storylines and angles for the upcoming pay-per-view. The show started out with a surprise appearance from the new WWE Champion and ended with The Women's Champion getting one-up on her challenger.

There were some strong matches and some really poor matches. Unlike last week, where WWE offered a great show from Madison Square Garden, Friday's program wasn't nearly as eventful.

Here are the winners and losers for SmackDown, September 17, 2021:

Winner/Loser: Opening Segment, Big E and Finn Balor vs. The Usos

This was a strong match to open the show, even if the opening promo was a bit slow and somewhat repetitive. Basically, Paul Heyman touted all the great features of his Tribal Chief until Big E came out, followed by Balor. This led to a tag team match that felt like it was plucked out of nowhere but was still excellent considering all the members of the match know how to put on a great match. The downside is that the SmackDown tag team champions pick up a loss in which they didn't look like they were serious competition. The plus was that WWE got confirmation the WWE Universe is hot for their latest booking decisions: making Big E the WWE Champion and putting Balor in a match versus Reigns for Extreme Rules.

It's hard to blame WWE for bringing out Big E. He's hot and technically still part of the SmackDown roster. It was a fun, fresh tag match but the aftermath and the backstage attack by the Usos officially sets up New Day vs. The Bloodline at Raw on Monday night. Who doesn't want to see that?

Related: Riddle Had Backstage Heat For Saying That Roman Reigns Doesn't Move The Needle

Winner: Apollo Crews

Finally! It's been far too long since WWE did the right thing with Apollo Crews. Since he lost his Intercontinental Championship, Crews has been all but forgotten about. On Friday, he and Commander Azeez attacked Shinsuke Nakamura after a Rick Boogs win and declared that King Nakamura has made a mockery of the I.C. Title. This is the Crews that was building a ton of momentum before WWE pulled the rug out from under him. Crews has huge potential but creative needs to let him run, and for more than a few weeks. Some will argue that Crews being inserted back into the title scene after a series of recent losses isn't logical and that's a fair point. It's just nice to have him back, doing what he did so well when he turned heel.

The match between Boogs and Robert Roode was too short to grade and it didn't do Roode any favors, even if it keep Boogs undefeated. Crews vs. Nakamura is set up for next Friday. We'll see if WWE sticks with the match.

Winner: Seth Rollins Wants One More Round With Edge

A strong, but long and winded promo from Seth Rollins set the stage for a rubber match between Edge and The Tin Man (based on his suit Friday night). Rollins took his time talking about why he went to such great lengths to take out Edge in what he rightfully called a legal move in a legal match. Rollins suggested the WWE Universe put him up to it because they goaded Edge into goading Rollins and he had no choice but to respond. Rollins said, "For my own sanity, I have to finish you."

Rollins is one of the better promos in WWE. Unfortunately, as much as his suits often play a positive role in his character, his choice on Friday distracted from his speech. He was able to overcome and tune out the fans who tried to hijack his segment and pulled off a classic heel promo that worked.

Loser: Carmella's Broken Nose

A match that could have been a showcase for Liv Morgan and Toni Storm was nothing more than a quick non-finish meant to set up a match at Extreme Rules between Morgan and The Most Beautiful Woman in WWE. It's not that a throw-way match to set up something else is a terrible idea, but in this case, it sacrificed the build of Storm's character, wasted Zelina Vega, and set up an angle where WWE can't possibly have continuity if Carmella actually "broke her nose" and comes back unchanged. After the commercial break, Carmella was totally fine.

This feels like a feud WWE came up with at the last minute to fill the pay-per-view card. Vega will face Liv Morgan next week based on the comments she made when checking in on Carmella who was in the WWE medical area.

Loser: Dominik Loses to Zayn, Again

It's fine to continue to have losses and have them pile up to the point Dominik snaps. It's a storyline that makes logical sense if the idea is to turn Dominik heel. To that end, Rey Mysterio was very vocal about how his son was doing during his match with Sami Zayn. The unfortunate part is that Dom's losses could theoretically come against anyone and it wouldn't change where all of this is going. Why not give a moment to another WWE SmackDown star instead of Zayn over and over?

Winner: Belair Homecoming

Making it feel like a big moment, WWE brought out the Mayor of Knoxville in Kane (Glen Jacobs) to welcome Bianca Belair to her homecoming celebration. Jacobs presented her with a key to the county and Belair did a good job getting good pops from the local crowd. The actual finish of the segment was a bit surprising as Lynch got the upper hand leaving Belair embarrassed in front of her hometown, but the close suggests that perhaps Belair will get the last laugh on the final SmackDown before Extreme Rules.

This was a classic segment that really pushed Beliar as the babyface and Lynch as the heel. WWE pulled out some old-school moves to make it clear which side of the fence they're both on. For the most part, it worked. If Lynch keeps trending upwards in her heel work, she'll quickly convert fans who thought bringing her back as a bad guy was a bad idea.

SmackDown Match Results:

* Big E and Finn Balor defeated The Usos in a tag match. Big E hit the Big Ending as Balor nailed a top rope Coup de Grace.

* Rick Boogs defeats Robert Roode. This was basically a squash match via a pump handle slam. The match was meant to make Boogs look like a force, but it made Roode look like an underwhelming opponent.

* Kevin Owens vs. Happy Corbin doesn't officially start because of a pre-match attack by Corin on Owens at ringside.

* Liv Morgan and Toni Storm win via count-out after Carmell bails on the match due to a broken nose.

* Dominik loses to Sami Zayn after taking too long to hit the top-rope Frogsplash. Zayn rolled Dominik up for the three-count.