Who gained momentum on last night's Raw (January 29th)?

WWE wasted no time in going full throttle towards WrestleMania on last night's Royal Rumble fallout show. We learned that there will be an Elimination Chamber #1 contender's match to determine who goes on to face Brock Lesnar. We also learned that there will be the first-ever women's Elimination Chamber match for Alexa Bliss's Raw Women's Championship.

John Cena said over and over last night that he was "just trying to get to WrestleMania", and that's how it felt for everyone. But who got closer to the stage in New Orleans and who only got closer to the locker room there?

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Gained momentum: Sasha Banks

The past two nights have been better for Sasha Banks than most of her 2017. As I predicted, she was the iron woman in the first women's Royal Rumble match, lasting nearly an hour in the bout. In the match, she began to show some heelish tendencies, and that continued last night. It's a turn she's needed for a long time.

Having her best match in a very long time against Asuka last night, and one demonstrably superior to Asuka's match with Alexa Bliss, perhaps the Boss could be in line to once more become Women's Champion heading into WrestleMania.

Gained momentum: Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman did what he does best. He destroyed Kane in another superhuman strength stunt that shocked the crowd. Tipping over the entire announcers' stage onto the Big Red Machine, Kane was sent to the hospital while Braun Strowman was sent to the Elimination Chamber for his victory.

A short, potent match, where everything was done right. Hopefully the Kane feud is now behind the Monster Among Men as he sets his sights on New Orleans, while the Big Red Machine is out to pasture (and politics).

We were told by WWE that Kane sat up in the hospital, though, so he might not be gone just yet.

Gained momentum: Elias

In his biggest win to date, Elias defeated "Woken" Matt Hardy and claimed his ticket to enter the Elimination Chamber. Though he probably won't win there, the Chamber will be a new dimension in his feud with John Cena. I'm hoping that the Undertaker rumours are wrong and that it will ultimately be Cena vs Elias at WrestleMania.

He probably won't win that match, but sharing the WrestleMania stage with a star of Cena's calibre would be huge for Elias.

As for "Woken" Matt? His feud with Bray Wyatt will continue, likely all the way to a WrestleMania match, so it's not too big a loss for him.

Gained momentum: The Miz

In Roman Reigns's obligatory rematch, The Miz prevailed to retain his newly-won Intercontinental Championship in a quality showing.

Now both Miz and Reigns can move on. This was academic.

Lost momentum: The Revival

The Revival look no closer to a WrestleMania match after last night, as they tangled with perennial jobbers Heath Slater and Rhyno, who are far beneath their talents.

It's still early and things can obviously change, but The Revival's return hasn't set the world on fire. Yet.

Gained momentum: Asuka

In the best women's match of the year so far, Asuka and Sasha Banks took each other to the limit. Things got stiff and, in the case of Sasha's suicide dive, all too literal. Thrilling submission reversals were commonplace.

In the end, however, the inaugural women's Royal Rumble winner prevailed, notably, with the Asuka Lock, which we haven't seen since Survivor Series. Sasha Banks looked beside herself that she came so close but couldn't get the job done, hopefully keeping the embers lit for a part-two to this program.

Gained momentum: Titus Worldwide

No one expected The Bar to lose their newly-won tag team titles, but Titus Worldwide got the most out of this match. Apollo Crews got to demonstrate his amazing athleticism in an opportunity he doesn't often get anymore.

Titus Worldwide's entry into the tag team division has been a benefit for both them and the division and their strong showing keeps them in the title picture heading into New Orleans.

Lost momentum: Finn Balor

There were some signs of hope in recent weeks and especially after the Rumble, where Finn Balor was the iron man in the match. Yet, once again, WWE has shown that it just isn't all that high on Finn Balor, as they cooled him off just after heating him up.

His being put in a match with John Cena was a red flag and the result was as expected. John Cena won and punched his ticket to the Elimination Chamber while Finn Balor is definitively out of title contention. It's not clear if there's a spot on the WrestleMania card for him outside of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Gained momentum: John Cena

"Big Match John" pulled through again, inserting himself into a prominent role on the Road to WrestleMania. Who his opponent will be, is still a murky subject, but he's going to have a prominent spot on the main card, that much is certain.