I think it fair to say that the F-35 was the "star item" for RIAT, at least judging by all the excitement being expressed by youngsters in particular (presumably because the poor souls have never seen any "real" aeroplanes). Without that, then there's only the Su-22... all very nice but hardly worth the admission fee when there is so little else. It makes Waddington's show look all the more impressive.
One has to wonder whether RIAT's allegedly snotty attitude towards XH558 has rather backfired on them this time? It would seem that they thought they could afford to dismiss XH558 as less important because they had a shiny new toy to show off. Now that's gone, they're left with very little.
I guess we're heading for some interesting times. If the RAF is making noises that sound suspiciously like abandonment of all shows, and RIAT manages to pull-off its dullest show so far, it will be interesting to see what happens. Let's hope the outcome isn't too horrible.