WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from July 9

Rusev may have lost both the United States Championship and "Ravishing Russian" Lana thus far in 2015, not to mention considerable ring time thanks to an ankle injury, but his return to the squared circle Thursday night quickly reaffirmed why he is one of the most physically dominant WWE Superstars. He was clearly the biggest winner from this week's SmackDown.

Accompanied by the stunning Summer Rae and sporting brand new boots that the commentators put over throughout his match, Rusev dismantled Fandango and sent a message to both Dolph Ziggler and any other Superstar stupid enough to cross him.

Despite missing months of in-ring competition, The Bulgarian Brute was crisp and showed great fluidity in his work. He did not appear rusty at all. If anything, he hit harder and showed more intensity than ever as he bowled over the ballroom dancer in what was essentially a squash.

As he prepares for an impending showdown with Ziggler, presumably at SummerSlam, Rusev appears to be back on track with a new valet and an angle that is helping him re-establish some of the heel heat he had lost following his program with John Cena.

Rusev was hardly the only physically superior Superstar to enjoy a successful SmackDown.

Who was the other competitor (in the middle of a career renaissance) who emerged from the July 9 episode a winner?

Find out now with this look at SmackDown's biggest winners and losers.

Credit: WWE.com

Winner: Ryback

Ryback continued his underrated run as intercontinental champion by squaring off with Seth Rollins in the main event.

The Big Guy has been fantastic since capturing the IC title back at Elimination Chamber, continuing to rebuild himself after returning to singles competition as a babyface last November. He is believable as champion, has the fans on his side and is working harder than ever to reward the company's faith in him.

He worked an entertaining main event against the WWE world heavyweight champion and looked like a beast in doing so. Rollins ran away from Ryback; that alone did more to establish the IC titleholder as a threat than winning would have.

That he and Roman Reigns stood tall to end the show, having laid out both Rollins and Big Show, only further served as a seal of approval for a guy who only a year ago was well on his way to earning "biggest disappointment of 2014" honors.

Credit: WWE.com

Losers: The Ascension

If all of the losses and comments from commentators about The Ascension's ripping off the Legion of Doom were not enough to get across the point that Konnor and Viktor are dead in the water, what happened Thursday night certainly spoke volumes.

The former NXT tag team champions interrupted a Randy Orton promo and promptly found themselves on the receiving end of RKOs.

That's right: The most dominant tag team in the history of NXT was downed by a single Superstar.

The Ascension has been a monumental bust since debuting earlier this year and at this point has lost all credibility. Gone is any chance Konnor and Viktor have of being taken seriously or winning any tag team gold on the main roster.

Credit: WWE.com

Winners: Team Bella

Alicia Fox and Brie Bella scored a tag team victory over Naomi and Tamina, continuing a side feud with those Divas that fans effectively stopped caring about weeks ago. While the match was meaningless, at least as far as winners and losers go, it did showcase some of the potential that exists with the Team Bella group.

The cheating behind the official's back is the kind of villainy wrestling was built on. It will assist in getting the Bellas and associate Fox over as heels, as long as WWE Creative consistently books them that way. The chemistry is there, and Nikki is so incredibly unlikable as it is, so the trio could serve as the backbone of the Divas division, the heels who are built up to be beaten by the conquering hero.

Again, that is dependent upon WWE Creative, which must focus on what it is doing rather than switch the team from babyface to heel on a weekly basis.

On Thursday night, the performers held up their end of the deal, at least.

Credit: WWE.com

Loser: Dean Ambrose

As if being shuffled into the midcard once again wasn't bad enough, Ambrose wrestled his second consecutive match against Bo Dallas and actually struggled for a good portion of the bout.

The Lunatic Fringe is the most popular star on the roster, his pops eclipsing those of Cena and Brock Lesnar. Why WWE continues to misuse and mismanage him as much as it does is a mystery.

He should be embroiled in a meaningful rivalry heading into Battleground. Instead, he is struggling to beat Bo Dallas, losing clean to Bray Wyatt and working tag matches against The Authority that have done nothing to help him maintain the momentum he had earlier this summer.

Ambrose deserves much better, but at this point it appears that he has gotten far more over than WWE Creative expected, and in result it's not prepared to alter plans to fit him in.