The biggest winners and losers of last night's RAW (September 30)

RAW kicked off what is arguably the biggest week in wrestling since the end of the Monday Night Wars in 2001. With SmackDown to debut on FOX this Friday, and All Elite Wrestling coming to TNT on Wednesday, the atmosphere is heated.

Unfortunately, despite the new look and an improvement in the commentary team, RAW's showing was flat. Not much was done in the way of building things to an exciting climax at Hell in a Cell.

With expectations raised high, did anyone manage to come out looking great last night?

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Winner: Brock Lesnar

This was short, brutal, and effective. It makes Brock Lesnar look like the most despised villain in the company heading into his title match with the year's most beloved babyface on Friday night. Now we have a bigger contrast between the two. Kofi Kingston looks more like a hero and Brock Lesnar looks more like a villain.

That's how you build a match. The audience now wants to see Kofi Kingston prevail even more against Brock Lesnar and will suitably tune in to the big debut show on FOX this Friday.

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Loser: Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks had another pedestrian match with Alexa Bliss, but the key here is that she only won via distraction and after a struggle. Becky Lynch tried to add some heat to the situation, but the segment fell flat.

If Sasha Banks can't beat Alexa Bliss except through distraction, that probably throws some cold water on her chances of winning the title at Hell in a Cell. It suggests that WWE isn't serious about her push. One is reminded of the subtle hints that Asuka would be losing at WrestleMania 34 - beating Alexa Bliss only by countout and Nia Jax by a fluke rollup.

Because of this, we should probably expect Becky Lynch to retain her championship.

Losers: Gallows and Anderson

With All Elite Wrestling debuting this week with the hottest tag team division in the industry, one wonders if Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are regretting their signing a new contract with WWE earlier this year when they looked like they were out the door.

Quickly, their push fizzled. The O.C. feels like less of a faction than a stopgap, and even AJ Styles feels cooler and less formidable in the faction's presence.

This felt every bit like a rote, irrelevant match that did nothing for the Viking Raiders but signaled even worse prospects for Gallows and Anderson.

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Loser: Lacey Evans

She may have technically been the winner on the night, but it was yet another week, another Lacey Evans match that was a chore to watch. The more the company puts her in these situations, the less ready she seems, and the more apathetic fans grow.

The company might still have big plans for Lacey Evans, but she's clearly in no position to fulfill them. As I warned long ago, she was called up from NXT far too early, and now it's impossible to miss.

These segments can't continue when far greater talent isn't being used.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

As usual, Bray Wyatt was the star of last night's show. First, he did an effective and entertaining Firefly Funhouse segment that added even more anticipation to his upcoming match at Hell in a Cell.

Then the Fiend finally got physical with Seth Rollins and choked him out with the Mandible Claw, sending an unmistakable statement to his opponent at Hell in a Cell this Sunday.

This has all the makings of a can't miss match and is alone enough to sell audiences on the pay per view. Bray Wyatt looks red hot going into the match, but this is also the point of the most peril.

Bray Wyatt needs to win on Sunday or his gimmick will suffer an irreversible loss of momentum. We've seen that happen with him before and hopefully it won't happen again.

Seth Rollins has had a great year, but there's no doubt that Wyatt should be the main focus on Raw heading into WrestleMania 36.