The biggest winners and losers from last night's Raw (August 27)

Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns Hell in a Cell
Poor Braun.

SummerSlam went fully into the rearview mirror as WWE focused its attention on building to Hell in a Cell next month. A new match was made for the show, we saw a prominent figure "quitting," and a heel turn that, while well-executed, left many a question mark.

Notably, there were still no debuts from NXT post-SummerSlam.

With the dust settling as fall closes in, who gained momentum and who lost it?

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Loser: Braun Strowman

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Last year, Braun Strowman's feud with Roman Reigns was magic. It was the best either of them were in their WWE careers. A Hell in a Cell match would seem the natural evolution of that feud, but a year later, they're both different people.

Braun Strowman agreed beforehand to the match via his Money in the Bank contract. This only leads to one outcome - Braun Strowman losing. There's no way Roman Reigns' title run is going to get cut so short after he finally defeated Brock Lesnar for the strap.

In other words, Braun Strowman, despite his popularity, is about to get Damien Sandowed or Baron Corbined.

We all but got final confirmation of this when Braun Strowman turned heel later in the night by joining forces with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler.

While it's going to be hot for the next month, this is ultimately going to waste an angle a lot of fans were chattering about - how Braun Strowman would be able to get by the Shield and cash in his contract. What could have been a talking point for months is instead now going to dissipate. Raw can't be better off that way.

With Braun Strowman out of the way, Roman Reigns' biggest threat will also be dispatched too easily, leaving his reign somewhat in limbo.

It would have been far better for WWE to hold off on this for a while. It had a potential Royal Rumble or WrestleMania program written all over it, but now we have no idea where it will go.

And the way it went down definitely left one feeling cynical.

Loser: Finn Balor

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50/50 booking was back again as Finn Balor again needed to take on Baron Corbin for some reason. All of the momentum he had from SummerSlam and his performance against Roman Reigns last week is now gone.

Balor has gone back to just being another guy on the roster to fill in TV time. It tells you everything you need to know about how the company views him.

Sure, Corbin needed to use his powers to change the match to a no DQ scenario in order to ultimately secure victory, but it doesn't change the fact that Balor was the sacrificial lamb.

Winner: Apollo Crews

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Why would Apollo Crews emerge the victor in a match between Sasha Banks and Dana Brooke?

Because the match teased the coming breakup of Titus Worldwide. There seemed to be a lot of discontent in the organization, which just can't do anything right (except beat the Authors of Pain in random matches).

Should Titus Worldwide break up, Apollo Crews has the highest ceiling. While he's not going to get above mid-card level, it would be much better than his current status. This is a hint he might be on an upward trajectory.

Winner: Kevin Owens

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I'll put this down as a tentative victory for Kevin Owens.

Over the last few months, he's become the laughing stock of Raw and needed a change in character badly. WWE has been inconsistent with "I quit" angles - look no further than Dolph Ziggler last December - so we have no idea how this one will go, but it at least offers promise that something could change for him.

Despite the insistence of his fondest fans, Kevin Owens isn't a main event caliber talent, but he could still be used better than his dismal 2018 has seen him.

Loser: The Raw Tag Team Division

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Oh look, a champion lost a non-title match.

Oh look, the feud with The Revival and B-Team is still going on.

This leads to one of two places - The Revival will again lose another title match against the B-Team, or WWE will forget about the situation altogether.

And in the meantime, Raw's tag team division will be a smoldering pile of rubble. This is the championship that most needs to change hands in WWE at the moment, and it can't happen soon enough.

Winner: Natalya

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Natalya is being kept warm for something, and that something is probably a feud with Ronda Rousey. Even if it will only be a filler feud, it will be more important than anything Natalya has done in years, including her title reign last year.

With the two of them training together for so long, it could turn out to be a great match, too.

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Edited by Shiven Sachdeva
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