5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE Raw (August 1)

Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon’s new-look Monday Night Raw got off to the best possible start last week. Putting the emphasis back on explosive in-ring action and logical storytelling, the show delivered in a big way, and in Sasha Banks’ Women’s Title win and Finn Balor’s star-making night, Raw produced two of WWE’s most memorable moments of the year thus far.

Last week’s show was always going to be a tough act to follow, particularly for a company that struggles so badly for consistency, but Mick and Stephanie had given themselves some great foundations to build on. Were they successful?

Not exactly.

Last night’s Raw wasn’t disastrous, as it still produced a handful of entertaining matches and engaging angles, but it couldn’t match last week’s visceral thrills. That’s understandable - WWE can’t be expected to announce a new World Championship and establish a new main eventer every single week - but the slide is still disappointing.

While last week was packed with a number of edge-of-your-seat matches in the 15-20 minute range, this week was filled mostly with single-digit busts. Braun Strowman and Nia Jax need their squash match heat, but it’s tough to figure-out what The Shining Stars gained from beating The Golden Truth in two-minutes, or what The New Day’s embarrassing 81-second humiliation of The Club was supposed to accomplish.

As always, some wrestlers took steps forward, while others moved backwards. Going beyond straightforward match results, here are the 5 biggest winners and losers from Monday Night Raw.