The biggest winners and losers of last night's Raw (August 12)

Disclaimer: The views of the author do not necessarily represent that of Sportskeeda

Last night's Raw showed us a preview of the direction WWE is going to take in the back end of the year, with some explosive developments that looked promising. From a big return to the new King of the Ring tournament, there was plenty to talk about last night's post-SummerSlam edition of the red brand.

Unfortunately, some of the details of the execution were sloppy, leaving a lag that might have tuned some viewers off. Many of the matches we saw last night were meaningless.

Who got the most and least out of last night's show as WWE begins gearing up for the coming fall season? Let's take a look.

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Winner: Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre looked like he was finally back in form last night during his match with Cedric Alexander, who shined in his own right. It was a preview of the King of the Ring tournament, and McIntyre looks like he might be an early favorite to win the thing. Now we just need to see whether it means anything or whether, as in the most recent versions, it's just to fill TV time.

Either way, it might be the start of a bigger push for McIntyre, but we can't hold our breath. Consider this a minor victory for now.

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Loser: Robert Roode

I genuinely forgot that Robert Roode was still on Raw. When was the last time he showed up? When he became 24/7 champion to then lose to R-Truth? I did remember that No Way Jose is employed, but this is the role he's always been in.

Such is the state of Robert Roode that he wasn't even able to take part in the King of the Ring tournament. That tells you how little WWE thinks of him. It begs the question - why not send him back to NXT?

Winner: Sasha Banks

Not only is Sasha Banks back, WWE finally pulled the trigger on a heel turn that was overdue for years. She laid out both Natalya and Becky Lynch to signal her new attitude. We all know what her goal is.

And with that, Becky Lynch finally has an exciting rival.

Lynch's title reign has been a major letdown compared to her rise to the championship that began at this time last year. All of that has since been doused starting after the Royal Rumble, but particularly in her title reign, given that she was feuding with Lacey Evans for three months. Natalya was a better opponent, but not the one she needed.

Now, Becky Lynch finally has the rival she needs to reawaken "The Man" of 2018. Sasha should be the most exciting she's been in years. The potential is there. Let's just hope WWE doesn't drop the ball.

Losers: Asuka and Kairi Sane

This was a decent match, but this is the second time that Asuka and Kairi Sane have failed to capture the women's tag team titles even though they were the only ones chasing after them for months. Instead, WWE decided to put the titles on their backstage favorite, Alexa Bliss, and her latest impromptu partner.

Asuka and Kairi Sane can do all the fun moves together they want to, but it feels like both women are being wasted in this tag team and on the main roster, where the latter never even got a chance.

If we're talking about the possibility of sending some main roster talent to NXT, given its potential broadcast plans, surely Asuka and Kairi Sane should be given consideration. They are wasting away on the main roster.

Both women are better as singles competitors, so what's the point of keeping them together in this team unless they're being tasked to lead the division? Since Alexa Bliss is in the picture now, that doesn't look like a likely possibility.