This year's Extreme Rules pay-per-view was all about the present and future of WWE. Everyone who competed on a reduced card was given time to impress in their match.

Damian Priest stood tall on a night when his WWE United States Championship was on the line against Sheamus and Jeff Hardy.

Most of the women found themselves falling short, including Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan and Carmella. Finn Balor also fell woefully short in his return of The Demon to attempt a major upset of Roman Reigns.

Extreme Rules had much potential, but it didn't end up going well for many of the best.

Losers: LIv Morgan and Carmella

Few women have been so frequently disrespected by WWE as Liv Morgan. A talented and popular wrestler, she has had matches cut short or simply cut entirely over recent years, and her closest ally was released just as The Riott Squad seemed poised to finally win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.

Carmella has only improved as a performer since she was SmackDown women's champion in 2018, yet WWE has refused to grant her with another run with the gold. She is still just a stepping stone for those the company cares about more.

While Morgan pulled off a big win over Carmella, this was only after her match was relegated to the Kickoff. On an hour-long pre-show, the two got less than eight minutes, so it wasn't even about giving them a chance to show what they can do.

One of the running stories was that Morgan had only competed once on a PPV in a singles match. However, the Kickoff is not equivalent to competing on the main card. WWE has repeatedly thrown together a match at the last minute for its earlier show.

It would have made more sense for New Day vs. Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles and Omos to work the Kickoff, even while Big E is the WWE champion. It was a contest thrown together at the last minute.

Morgan may finally get a push after years of under-use.

Loser: Alexa Bliss (RIP Lilly)

Alexa Bliss wanted the Raw Women's Championship, but she bit off more than she could chew in her attempt to get it. Charlotte Flair overwhelmed her and used Lilly to distract The Goddess to take the win.

It was an important moment for Bliss. She had a chance to be crowned with her current gimmick, completing a journey to the women's title after several years on the mend from repeat concussion issues. Instead, she was mocked by the end of Sunday's match.

The loss was bad enough, but Lilly was also ripped apart afterward. This leaves many questions for the future of Bliss. Can the doll be sewn back together? Is it really just a doll or something more that will hit back at The Queen?

WWE has built this angle to meet some kind of climax. Either Bliss will evolve beyond this character, or she will double down. While she can still be the one to defeat Charlotte in response to what happened here, she did feel like a loser at Extreme Rules.

The Goddess' gimmick has been hit-or-miss with the WWE Universe. Some might cheer for the end of the angle, but it is important WWE does something natural rather than throw away a story with so much behind it over the past year.

Winner: Damian Priest

Damian Priest faced two veteran former United States champions in Sheamus and Jeff Hardy, and he got the rub from both. He pinned The Celtic Warrior again, while The Charismatic Enigma put him over afterward for a pro-Hardy crowd.

The Archer of Infamy has been a clear priority for WWE since he arrived on Raw, and his title win was a big part of that. He feels like the true No. 2 face on Raw behind Big E.

Priest has the potential to add a new level of excitement to the U.S. title that fans have rarely seen in recent years. He is a future megastar., and each win solidifies that all the more.

Hopefully, he can move on now from Sheamus to fresh opponents. Priest has so many rivals left on Raw before the WWE draft. After it, he should have dozens of new opponents who can bring him to the next level.

Some interesting names include Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Happy Corbin, Keith Lee, Karrion Kross and more. The Archer of Infamy is ready.

Loser: Bianca Belair

Bianca Belair was so close to regaining the SmackDown Women's Championship. She had the crowd fully behind her and countered everything in Becky Lynch's arsenal. However, as she prepared for the KOD, Sasha Banks ruined the moment.

The EST of WWE deserved better than this kind of ending, especially on a night like this. If the plan was always for The Boss to come back, this should have been an Extreme Rules match from the start, and Banks could have cheated Belair out of winning clean.

Instead, arguably the best match of the night was unceremoniously interrupted by a non-finish that makes everything that came before matter less. Banks was allowed to invalidate the action entirely.

There were plenty of ways to make The Boss' return memorable, but Sunday's finish wasn't one of them and Belair especially suffered for it. It was all a tease.

At some point, The EST will need to gain her title back or lose in the middle of the ring to Lynch.

This should not have been a warm-up, though. It should be remembered instead as one of best matches of either woman's career.

Loser: 'The Demon' Finn Balor

Finn Balor had never lost as The Demon as a member of the main roster, but when it mattered most, he fell to Roman Reigns.

While The Usos had to get involved and the top rope mysteriously broke to save The Tribal Chief, The Demon was merely a stepping stone to Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel.

WWE put so much into the return of The Demon, and he could have faced anyone. Putting him against Reigns was the only way that he could lose, but the company pulled out plenty of fanfare only to see him fall at the finish line.

The company even used odd red lighting (reminiscent of the worst days of The Fiend) and played entrance music during the match to rejuvenate The Demon. All of that should have meant something, but instead it was just set up for the top rope to collapse.

Balor is better than a second-fiddle challenger behind Lesnar. If he was going to lose here, there should have been a better story to tell.

WWE put him over to an extent, but it also sold Kevin Owens in losses to Reigns previously. Now, KO cannot get out of a feud where he gets beaten down by Happy Corbin.

Will Balor and The Demon suffer a similar fate in the coming months?