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A WCW icon. Two former Ring of Honor champions. The longest-reigning tag team champions of all time. An unstoppable heavyweight seeking his first major WrestleMania program.
These are the Superstars who emerged from the Feb. 6 episode of WWE Raw as the night's biggest winners and losers for a variety of reasons.
Two of them cut fantastic promos that reminded fans just how talented they are on the mic. WWE treated another like a star right out of the gate, and he will hopefully remain one of the brand's elite villains for the foreseeable future.
Then there was a decorated trio that has made minimal contributions to Raw since its crushing defeat this past December. Also, questionable booking Monday night slowed the push of a massive mountain of a man.
As Fastlane approaches and WrestleMania draws near, the utilization of each Superstar on Raw becomes more and more vital to the overall strength of both of those cards. Some of these men benefited exponentially from a strong night of television, while others made fans scratch their heads, curious about the benefits of the positions they were put in.
These are the biggest winners and losers from this week's Raw broadcast.
Winner: Austin Aries
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The Greatest Man That Ever Lived stood in the center of the ring for an interview with cruiserweight champion Neville on Monday night and, through his sarcastic wit and cockiness, shined brighter than any of the Superstars that division has produced to date.
Whether he was mockingly asking Neville which of his potential contenders he feared or announcing, "And here comes Tony Nese's abs," Aries was compelling and entertaining on the microphone in a way the other cruiserweights (sans Neville) have not been.
More importantly, the facial expressions and verbal exchanges between him and the champion laid the groundwork for a potential match that would generate buzz and excitement around a division desperately in need of it.
Aries, long one of the most engaging Superstars in the industry when he wants to be, seized his first opportunity to perform on the mic Monday night and made the most of it.
Now, it should be interesting to see if WWE officials expand his role or fail to follow up, relegating him to his commentary position only.
Loser: The New Day
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It seems as though, every week, The New Day winds up back on this list—a loser in the wake of WWE Creative's continued misuse of it.
That is the case once again, as the former two-time tag team champions squared off with The Shining Stars on Monday's broadcast. No disrespect to Epico and Primo intended, but their act has been irrelevant since they lost the Los Matadores gimmick and sidekick El Torito.
They are at the bottom of the tag team pecking order, and a match with them on Raw is every bit the filler it feels like.
How Creative has allowed an act as over as The New Day, which sells as much merchandise and is as marketable as any WWE Superstar, to fall into a holding pattern with nothing better to do is a mystery.
One thing is for certain: There are only so many gimmicky products one can produce (the latest being ice cream, apparently) before fans see through the charade and realize they are on a booking treadmill.
Winner: Samoa Joe
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From the moment he stepped through the curtain for his contract signing Monday night, it was clear Samoa Joe was a big deal—a star looking to burn brightly on Raw. He carried himself like a star and cut an intense promo that reminded fans he is a complete badass who is not to be messed with.
Later in the show, Creative continued its superb booking of Joe, as he attacked Roman Reigns before the night's main event and laid a beating on him that left The Big Dog in a heap. Even when the bell rang and the match was officially underway, Joe dominated, cutting his opponent off at every turn.
Even Reigns' brief flurry at the end and interference from Braun Strowman did not change the fact that, in his first Raw main event, Joe was an unstoppable force of nature who would not be denied a victory over the former WWE champion.
Fans witnessed Kevin Owens receive a massive push in his first few months as a main-roster competitor, beating John Cena and looking like an unbeatable star. Joe will likely follow suit. For how long is the question.
Creative's attention span is not what one would consider the longest. It cycles new stars in, forgets about them and then attempts to rediscover the magic that made them special in the first place. It rarely works. Hopefully working alongside Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Mick Foley, Reigns and other high-profile acts will help establish Joe quickly and earn him the consistency someone like Owens was not afforded.
Loser: Braun Strowman
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Braun Strowman took a step or 12 back creatively Monday night.
Rather than concocting something interesting or fun for him to do, the crack writing staff booked him in a 4-on-1 Handicap match in which he obliterated the competition. It may have been a subtle reminder to fans that he is a beast of a competitor, but they already know that.
Why revert him back to the squash matches he left behind months ago? Why not have him do the beatdown of Reigns at the end of the show as retribution for last week's spear?
And the reasoning behind his upcoming match with Reigns at Fastlane, as revealed during a backstage vignette with Mick Foley?
He wanted more competition.
Creative lazily booked Strowman on Monday night at a time when it needed to continue pushing him. One of the hottest stars in the company, he still is not at a point where he can afford a misstep that loses the fans' interest.
The assault on Reigns late in the show helped him recover, but going forward, the writing staff must be more mindful of how it presents Strowman, especially if management is a fan and wants him featured prominently on Monday nights.
Winner: Goldberg
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As it turns out, Goldberg can cut a hell of a promo when he wants to.
Fans of late-1990s WCW remember the Goldberg who stalked to the ring and made short work of his opponents. At his best, he was a mainstream icon—a star who broke through the glass ceiling and became the face of Ted Turner's company. He rarely talked, though, which helped keep his mystique and aura.
In 2017, fans want to hear what a wrestler has to say, and Goldberg has not disappointed thus far.
The former WCW and world heavyweight champion has been a revelation on the mic, coming across as serious, likable and engaging. Far more charismatic than fans remember, particularly because he is not keeping up the charade of a silent badass, he addresses topics shortly and sweetly, never hanging on them long enough to become boring.
He gets his point across and energizes fans in the process.
Monday night, he not only accepted
Brock Lesnar's challenge for a match at WrestleMania, but he also set up a Universal Championship match against Kevin Owens at Fastlane. To top it off, he and longtime rival (on- and off-screen) Chris Jericho engaged in some back-and-forth.
Most impressive?
He said the least amount necessary to get everything over.
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