A great deal of hype and energy went into building up Monday night's WWE Divas Championship match pitting Nikki Bella against Charlotte. The former was chasing history, one win away from securing the record for the longest reign in title history. Charlotte, on the other hand, was looking to solidify her claims of being the most genetically superior Diva on the roster by capturing her first main roster title.
With Internet fans hoping Charlotte would end the tyrannical reign of Bella, interest was at its peak.
Then WWE Creative booked a finish that saw Charlotte unknowingly pin Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon announcing that the championship would not change hands, securing Nikki's place in the history books. Hilarity ensued on Twitter, with members of the WWE Universe harshly criticizing the decision to have Bella supplant AJ Lee as the longest reigning champion ever.
And for that reason, the Divas champion cemented her status as the biggest winner of Monday's broadcast.
Fans are supposed to hate Nikki. As the lead heel, she is supposed to garner outrage and fury from fans tired of seeing her repeatedly retain her title with the assistance of her fellow Team Bella members. It is the epitome of wrestling booking.
The celebration that will ensue from her "successful" title defense will only further infuriate the audience, adding even more heat to her reign. As a result, fans will be anticipating the moment someone shuts her up and ends her run as champion.
From a booking standpoint, it was a glorious night for Nikki Bella.
No other Superstar can lay claim to the title of biggest winner, but there were those who had a very good night as WWE laid the groundwork for this Sunday's Night of Champions pay-per-view.
Others were not so lucky, stumbling on the road to this weekend's extravaganza.
Which Superstars fall on which side? Let's take a look.
Winner: Ryback
Ok, so the Elvis impersonation was awful but the rest of The Big Guy's promo Monday night was fantastic. An underrated worker and an even more underappreciated talker, Ryback has had few opportunities to deliver a traditional in-ring promo. When he has, he has typically come across as genuine and believable, something that is not always the case in today's heavily scripted sports entertainment environment.
The way he addressed Kevin Owens, another magnificent mic performer, helped get over the rivalry without appearing cartoonish or forced. It was easily understandable and sold Sunday's intercontinental title match without relying on some overly complicated angle or setup.
Ryback has been making the most out of his run with the midcard title. Considering Owens' streak of outstanding pay-per-view matches to this point, do not be surprised if the contest surprises fans and even steals the show come this weekend.
Loser: Cesaro
The Swiss Superman may have scored a win over Rusev, halting his recent skid, but it does not excuse the fact that he was essentially an extra in the ongoing program between the Bulgarian Brute, Summer Rae, Dolph Ziggler and Lana.
Monday night, he was an afterthought as cameras focused on Ziggler presenting Summer with a gift at ringside, then planting Rusev with a superkick.
The fact that he won via WWE Creative's favorite cop out finish (rollup off of a distraction) was further proof that his victory was inconsequential to anything else unfolding on the screen.
Cesaro has been victim of start-and-stop pushes during his WWE career but none would be more disappointing than the sudden evaporation of the momentum he built for himself this summer. He was more over than ever, wrestled some of the best matches of his career and was finally gaining steam as a singles competitor.
If WWE wastes that again, the likelihood that Cesaro ever reaches the level so many expect from him bottoms out, through no fault of his own.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Last week. the world heavyweight and United States champion's in-ring promo was greeted with chants of "boring," suggesting that fans have been growing more and more tired of the repetitive nature of his interviews.
And rightfully so.
There are only so many times the audience can be expected to listen to a character refer to themselves as the future of the industry and brag about their title reign before it becomes old hat. That and the fact that Rollins' delivery sometimes comes across as forced and you have plenty of ammunition for critics begging for the tired 20-minute promos to be eliminated.
Monday night, WWE Creative pulled back on Rollins, not overexposing him throughout the show.
As a result, his appearance late in the broadcast and subsequent main event match meant more than it has in a long time.
The fact of the matter is that Rollins has been all over WWE programming for the last year, to the point that he no longer has that special aura about him that all heavyweight champions should. He has been overexposed and fans have grown tired of him.
By keeping him off of the show until the last 20 minutes, the company freshened him up to the point that fans were more willing to react to him in the way they should, rather than greeting his arrival with unflattering chants.
The strategy worked to perfection and is one the company should replicate with its lead heel going forward.
Losers: The Wyatt Family, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose
Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and The Wyatt Family were done a great disservice Monday night when they were booked in an in-ring promo segment that saw all five Superstars stand in the ring, just feet from each other and talk.
You might be asking why that is such a bad thing, given how many times that happens over the course of a week in World Wrestling Entertainment, and you would have a point.
With any other rivalry, that is.
During this week's Miz TV, Reigns was so enraged over The Wyatt Family's assault on Jimmy Uso that he...did nothing. The two teams hate each other so much that...they did not lift a finger to attack anyone. The hatred was so intense that...you get the point.
The booking of the segment made no sense whatsoever within the context of the rivalry, which has been incredibly intense and violent to this point. Why ask the WWE Universe to buy that they would be able to contain and restrain themselves just feet from each other?
It was a curious booking decision that did nothing to help further their story or really sell Sunday's bout.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2566955-wwe-raw-results-biggest-winners-losers-and-moments-from-september-14
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