The biggest winners and losers of last night's RAW (March 9)

Last night's RAW was unfortunately not a noteworthy event. Much of the show dragged with meaningless segments that did little or nothing to promote and advance WrestleMania 36. At times, one felt like this episode of Raw was more like the spring and summer post-WrestleMania slump than one taking place on the road to the biggest show of the year. Nevertheless, there were a few notable events last night, including the return of Edge.

Who got the most and least out of this lackluster RAW? Let's take a look.

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Loser: Bobby Lashley

Bobby Lashley has absolutely nothing going on for him right now. The feud with Rusev was a bust and there's nothing waiting for him in Tampa Bay. Maybe he'll wind up winning the battle royal, but we all know how meaningless that is.

WWE obviously wants to keep him strong enough, so the company is putting him in these squash matches, but this was simply filler. If Bobby Lashley's fortunes are to turn, it will only happen after WrestleMania. Until then, we can expect more filler matches featuring him on the show.

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Winners: Asuka and Kairi Sane

Everybody came out of the Elimination Chamber looking worse for wear, so this was a much-needed rebound for Asuka, while Kairi Sane got some much-needed activity of her own. The women's tag team titles have felt like afterthoughts since the start of 2020 after an initial boost from Asuka and Sane, so those two need to get busy fast to promote them in time for WrestleMania.

A lot of this segment was devoted to the brawl between former Riott Squad members, but the right team won. It remains to be seen who their competitors at WrestleMania will be. Expect a multi-team match on April 5th. Still better than the battle royal.

Winners: Edge and Randy Orton

I don't think I'll get much disagreement when I say that this is the best angle heading into WrestleMania this year. While much of the show feels slapped together, particularly on the Blue Brand's side, this story has been emotionally charged from the get-go. Edge's return at the Royal Rumble was triumphant and powerful. Randy Orton's betrayal the night afterward was shocking. His promos afterward were sadistic and strangely justifiable, given his own "concerns" about Edge's health.

Now we got to this segment, where much of that tension was released. This is the kind of storytelling that makes people enjoy professional wrestling in the first place. It probably won't wind up being the match of the night at WrestleMania, but Edge vs. Randy Orton has been the best feud of 2020 so far. I look forward to seeing what WWE does to continue building this in the month remaining until the big show. The people who are writing this story obviously know what they're doing, so I'll give them latitude.

Winner: Aleister Black

The booking of this angle was weird last night, with Aleister Black's match turning into an 8 man tag without him there, but the more notable development was that Aleister Black has now come into hostile contact with Seth Rollins' faction. If this winds up leading to another match with Buddy Murphy at WrestleMania, where they'll have more time and the biggest stage, I don't think anyone will complain, even though they've clashed three times. Sometimes, something is so good you don't mind repetitiveness.

But maybe something else awaits him. While it seems set in stone that Rollins will clash with Kevin Owens, might it just wind up being Black instead? Either way, the fact that he's still being inserted in angles and matches with this much care shows that the red brand's brass is high on him. He's probably going to have an exciting year ahead, with a lot of room for growth after WrestleMania. We'll just have to wait and see what happens, but he could be a much bigger part of next year's WrestleMania!