The biggest winners and losers of last night's Raw (October 29)

There was a lot to like about last night's Raw. Finally, it seems, the red brand is headed in the right direction again, after six months of almost total boredom and stagnation.

In addition to the announcement of a major match for Survivor Series - Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch, we saw an appearance from Brock Lesnar and the start of the highly anticipated feud between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. The women performed well, too.

That's not to say that things were perfect, though. The Brothers of Destruction vs. DX feud remains uninteresting and there were a lot of other filler segments.

Nevertheless, let's take a look at who emerged stronger or weaker from last night's show.

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Winner: Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar confronted each other to kick off the show. We've seen this duo tangle before, and hopefully, the match at Crown Jewel will be better than the one that happened at last year's No Mercy.

Brock Lesnar gave Braun Strowman the F5 to close the segment.

It's difficult to make any predictions of weakness where Brock Lesnar is concerned. Him "standing tall" on the go-home show is hardly a solid indicator that he, of all people, will lose, but combined with what else we know, there is a reason for optimism that this time, Braun Strowman is finally going to get the job done.

It's hard to fathom that Vince McMahon would consent to having his top title absent on Raw when Brock Lesnar is in the middle of preparing for a fight with Daniel Cormier in the UFC. His schedule would be even lighter than it notoriously had been during his reign.

Let's just hope that hunch is true and that Braun Strowman wins on Friday. For the sake of Raw, he really must.

Loser: Bobby Lashley

Bobby Lashley needed to make a major impact after turning heel a few weeks ago and this feud with Finn Balor is definitively not having a major impact. It's not even keeping him warm. Almost all of the heat from his heel turn has dissipated.

Finn Balor won the match by disqualification after Lio Rush interfered and prevented him from delivering his finisher, but the result is that the two feel like they are going through the motions with no real upside in this feud for either competitor. It feels like filler more than a real, actual story with stakes involved.

The night wasn't a total loss for Bobby Lashley, as he was revealed as being John Cena's World Cup replacement, but it's unlikely that he wins that tournament, or even what that tournament actually means to begin with.

We'll just need to see where it all goes.

Winner: Elias

Reminder - at this time last year, Jinder Mahal was still in the midst of a six month reign as WWE Champion. Now, he's losing every random match he's involved in. It just goes to show you how fast a star can rise or fall in this company.

What's interesting, though, is that Elias seemed to solidify his face turn last night. What this means for the drifter still remains to be seen, but he's doing the act well so far. Elias remains one of the most entertaining characters in the company, even though WWE has so far failed to truly capitalize on it.

Could a more substantial push perhaps be coming for him at last in 2019? The build to Survivor Series will tell us a few things about his position going into the end of the year. Let's see if he manages to get a prominent spot on the last major pay per view of the year.

Losers: The Authors of Pain

It's astonishing how badly the Authors of Pain have been used on the main roster. Sure, they "stood tall" at the end of this segment, but this was the kind of match that they should have dominated. They didn't take the pinfall, but there was nothing about them that stood out, and the entire affair felt like filler.

It's apt that the Ascension were in the mix of this contest because it's not much of a stretch to say that the Authors of Pain have become the new Ascension. Dominant in NXT, they've done nothing in their six months on the main roster except taking a few embarrassing losses here and there. Their record is itself part of a trend of breathtakingly bad treatment of this year's NXT call-ups in general.

This match really helped no one, but the Authors of Pain lost the most.

Winners: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose

We were eagerly anticipating a confrontation between Rollins and Ambrose this week, but WWE only teased us.

Seth Rollins at first appeared in relatively good spirits, but when Dean Ambrose stood in the crowd and gave him the silent treatment, the former's facade began to crack. His anger couldn't be contained. He vowed that Dean Ambrose was going to pay.

Then, Dean Ambrose retreated. Oh, what a tease this was!

WWE is clearly investing resources into this story. They're content to let it play out, which is a nice touch that keeps fans engaged in the outcome and incentivized to watch the shows in the coming weeks.

We still don't know why Dean Ambrose attacked Seth Rollins. His silence guaranteed that. We're all looking for an explanation. Stay tuned for when he decides to give it. Something tells me that segment will be memorable.

Winners: Lucha House Party

Shame for the Revival, but it was surprising to see that the Lucha House Party, a 205 Live staple, made their return to Monday Night Raw. It was a good choice, though, because in a weak tag team division, the extra help is certainly welcome.

Whether this is a hint that more 205 Live stars will show up on Raw remains to be seen. It would certainly be more than welcome to see the likes of Mustapha Ali and Buddy Murphy on Monday nights.

Anyway, as expected, the Lucha House Party took the win here in their big Raw re-debut. The Revival has fallen far again, and it seems unlikely that the Lucha House Party will capture the Raw Tag Team Championship, but they will be a good hand in the division that could add for some fun matches going forward. They're a welcome addition to the landscape.