5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE Raw (22 Aug)
SummerSlam's fallout begins, but who took advantage?
SummerSlam 2016 brought a number of big changes to the WWE Universe, particularly for Raw. Finn Balor was minted as the brand’s first ever Universal Champion less than a month after debuting, and immediately became the red brand’s top babyface in the process. Decades of hard work paid-off when Balor pinned Seth Rollins following a thrilling closing stretch to their match, and Raw’s landscape had been forever altered.
But as soon as Balor’s dream was realised, everything was taken away from him. The Demon King suffered a serious shoulder injury at SummerSlam, and now faces up to six months on the treatment table. His Universal Championship has been relinquished, and Raw’s main event scene has never looked so shorthanded.
A tournament to crown Balor’s successor kicked-off last night, but it wasn’t Raw’s only talking point. Last night’s show saw a long-awaited debut, a set of respected veterans saying “goodbye,” and a number of old rivalries renewed. Raw, like SummerSlam, had its fair share of peaks and valleys, and not everyone walked-out in a stronger position than when the show had started.
Going beyond straightforward match results, here are the 5 biggest winners and losers from WWE Raw.