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

1. Loser: Brock Lesnar

Last night marked the first time that Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman have appeared on WWE television since WrestleMania, and, more significantly, Lesnar’s two failed drug tests. While we’ve since learned that Brock will face no internal punishment from WWE, this was always going to be an interesting appearance.

How would the company re-introduce their biggest asset just weeks after his biggest professional embarrassment, particularly with they way they’ve thrown Roman Reigns to the midcard?

The segment was Heyman by numbers. Paul E. put Brock’s SummerSlam match with Randy Orton over, put Orton over as an opponent, then tore him down and promised Lesnar would take him to Suplex City. Heyman’s so good at his job at this point that it’s easy to take him for granted, but there’s no better microphone worker in the business today, and he did wonders to breathe life into a storyline that could easily have bombed following Lesnar’s run-in with USADA.

Lesnar, however, took a major L as soon as Heyman closed his mouth. Seconds after promising that Orton would never hit an RKO on The Beast Incarnate, The Viper was summoned, and he did just that.

The show ended with the crowd chanting “RKO” and a thoroughly hacked-off Brock Lesnar stomping around like an angry viking. For the first time in a long time, he finds himself fighting from behind in a major storyline. Orton got the better of him, he’s in the driving seat, and Brock has major work to do.