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Now that the holidays are over, everyone knew that last night's Raw would be the first true test of whether the proclaimed "new era" would be anything meaningful or just hype. Going in, it looked like it was just hype, with the strategy being the usual return of some big names to get a temporary rating boost. Indeed, the first half hour or so was far from encouraging, as despite a hot opening brawl between Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley, we got an unnecessarily long promo segment with John Cena announcing his Royal Rumble entrance. This was followed up by the controversial return of Hulk Hogan, which, even though it was a nice tribute to "Mean Gene" Okerlund, didn't tell us much about how good the red brand would do going forward.
Was this grim outlook true? Who were the biggest winners and losers last night? The course of events could prove decisive in whether the red brand could be considered on course to rebound from a terrible 2018 and give us an exciting year to come.
Winners: The Revival
This was a fun match. It was certainly the type of outing that could help to revive (no pun intended) the fortunes of the Raw tag team division, which suffered an abysmal 2018. Even so, The Revival once again wound up falling short in their pursuit of the Raw Tag Team Championships.
However, there was a catch. Dawson's foot was under the bottom rope during the pinfall. This suggests that there will be a finale to this story, possibly to come during the Royal Rumble. Appropriate or not, WWE usually wants at least one title change on a pay per view, and if a championship match happens there, the Raw Tag Team Championships would be the likeliest titles to change hands.
We'll have to see.
So far, so good.
Loser: Elias
Elias is one of the most popular superstars on the Raw roster and it really feels like 2019 should be a breakout year for him, so the decision to have him lose to Baron Corbin, previously the butt of everyone's jokes, was an odd one.
It didn't help that the match was clunky, as could be expected with the two of them in the ring together.
Loser: Braun Strowman
This was very bad. The pacing was just awkward and it felt like a massive let down compared to the hype that WWE was giving to this going in for weeks. If this was a reason WWE was giving us to tune in to Raw tonight, the company failed.
It doesn't help that this rivalry has been done to death for the better part of two years, and most fans are tired of it. We know these two have no chemistry when they enter the ring together, so this really all feels like it's going through the motions.
We'll all be relieved when it's over.
Loser: Apollo Crews
It doesn't look like Apollo Crews will be pushed too heavily after his performance last week. Granted, he did fine last night, but he was put in a throwaway mixed tag team match that felt like it didn't matter. He entered the Royal Rumble, so we'll see how he does there.
However, if the company was truly serious about pushing him, one would think he would have been given a prominent singles match last night at least against a semi-known name.
Winner: Sasha Banks
Well wasn't this a pleasant surprise! Thankfully, the "Moment of Bliss" segment led to this, with Ronda Rousey announcing she wanted Sasha Banks to be her next challenger. Banks rose to the occasion, carrying Nia Jax to a good match and defeating her in the process to cement her claim as the #1 contender.
This is one of those matches that fans have been clamouring for over the past year, and now we're finally going to get it. Banks has no chance of winning, but the two should put on a great show worthy of the Royal Rumble.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins earned his rematch against Dean Ambrose and thankfully, it was much better than their encounter at TLC. Dean Ambrose defeated Seth Rollins to retain his title, which means that the 'Architect' is free of this underwhelming feud and can fully focus on the Royal Rumble that he's the odds on favourite to win.
In other words, this loss means that Seth Rollins should be about to heat up, and he can thankfully put the failed Shield reunion that cooled him off in the second half of 2018 fully behind him.
Rematch this may have been, but thankfully, it isn't going to be taking place on a pay per view, so the feud wasn't dragged out. Abolishing the automatic rematch clause has unfortunately led to a whole lot of rematches, but at least there's some attempt to make them timely and give them higher stakes.
One step forward, one step back, I suppose.
