The biggest winners and losers of last night's Raw (March 11, 2019)

Last night's Fastlane fallout episode of Raw advanced the red brand on the road to WrestleMania, yet the show fell flat once again. Most of the curve balls weren't strikes. With only three episodes remaining between now and The Show of Shows, one would think the red brand would want to do better.

Nevertheless, let's take a look at who got the most and least out of last night's show.

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Loser: Seth Rollins

The Shield had a great final ride at Fastlane, but we now need to look forward and remember something which has been too easily forgotten in the past month and a half - Seth Rollins won the Royal Rumble and will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania.

Thankfully, the crowd was fully behind Seth Rollins as Reigns exhorted him to "slay the beast", but the segment felt more like Shield nostalgia mixed with a repetitive Paul Heyman promo, than one which really hyped the Universal Championship match on April 7th.

This is the problem with having an absentee champion and always was. Rollins had a random match with Shelton Benjamin afterward, but nothing that took the build to the next level. Rollins' match has felt like an afterthought and there's little time to turn it around.

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Loser: Finn Balor

What was the point of this? Why even give Finn Balor the Intercontinental Championship in the first place, and in such a lame fashion, if he was going to lose it so quickly?

Ever since Seth Rollins dropped the title at TLC, it's been hot shotted into oblivion, booked in the exact opposite way from The Miz and Rollins' reigns, which brought back much of the title's prestige. Now that's quickly being lost.

The title picture heading into WrestleMania will probably be a multi-man mess. Multi-man matches are the norm, but last year was exciting with Rollins, Balor, and Miz. That probably won't be the case this time.

Winner: Ronda Rousey

This was the Ronda Rousey that we should have gotten from day one. Although her interference at Fastlane on Sunday night was lame, this short, sweet segment really put her over as the final boss in the division. She called Becky Lynch a coward, and the champion that the people actually deserved, imputing a low value on them indeed.

This is what this match should have been about all along, unfortunately, it's been so muddied since the Royal Rumble that it will remain a mess. Charlotte Flair's presence really detracts from the match, as does the Becky Lynch injury angle.

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Losers: Sasha Banks and Bayley

It definitely appears like we're headed toward a triple threat tag team match at WrestleMania, at the least. Why this is necessary though, I have no idea. The return of Beth Phoenix to action would be a selling point on its own.

Nia Jax and Tamina already lost cleanly at Fastlane, so why are they getting another title shot? Weren't "opportunities not supposed to be handed out" anymore in this supposed "new era"?

Jax and Tamina are perhaps the two least exciting people in the company, and they will drag the angle and the champions down.

Winners: Triple H and Batista

With WrestleMania lacking so much in heat, this was a breath of fresh air. Two 50-year-old part-timers though they may be, there's at least a hook to this story, which is a powerful indictment, once again, of how WWE uses its full-time talent.

The former Evolution members agreed to a No Holds Barred match on April 7th. The stipulation should paper over some of their weaknesses, at least.

I only wonder if Triple H will try to break the record for longest WrestleMania entrance this year.

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Loser: Apollo Crews

After announcing that he would have his final match at WrestleMania 35, Kurt Angle had his final match in his home town. Unfortunately, the visibly over the hill part-timer went on to defeat Apollo Crews in academic fashion.

While Apollo Crews was never going to be a main event talent in WWE, it's booking like these which has been the reason why the company has failed to make any new stars. Defeating a comedy jobber like Kurt Hawkins would have been a far better choice, and made more sense with Hawkins' losing streak story.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre set up his match at WrestleMania by ambushing Roman Reigns and then beating Dean Ambrose mercilessly in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Sure, it's a mid-card match, but for McIntyre to get a singles match at WrestleMania with a star like Reigns is indeed a sign of faith by the company, despite his loss of momentum since late 2018.

A few years ago, McIntyre was a perennial comedy jobber who got released by the company. Now he's going to get a major match at WrestleMania. Even if the match is relatively meaningless and he will certainly lose, that's nevertheless a big comeback, and must feel like some form of vindication to McIntyre after he worked so hard to improve his craft that WWE took notice of him once again.

Hopefully the match will be enough for McIntyre to look strong in defeat and get more chances later in the year.