Winners And Losers For Raw - Another Raw, Another 'L' For Jinder Mahal

The April 23, 2018 episode of Raw was one that would help set the stage for the Greatest Royal Rumble event which was coming up on Friday for WWE. A pay-per-view that was only promoted for a couple months, the Saudi Arabia show is slated to be six hours in length and there is a lot of ground to cover.

The show started with a tribute to one of the greatest of all time and then brought out the Universal Champion. Bobby Roode wasn't so glorious but the "Deleter of Worlds" was. Strowman and Lashley made short order of Owens and Zayn and Chad Gable got an upset win. A new duo looked like they may become one of the WWE's most dominant and exciting teams and the women closed the show since they won't be part of the weekend in Saudi Arabia.

Here are your winners and losers for Raw, April 23, 2018.

Winner: Bruno Sammartino Video

WWE started the night by paying homage to the legacy that was Bruno Sammartino. After a ten-bell salute, they showed a video that tugged at the heartstrings of anyone who watched. Bruno was the longest-reigning and arguably best WWE Champion the company has ever seen and it was fitting that WWE would take the time to remember what he gave to the industry.

It was a touching tribute to a man who sold out Madison Square Garden more times than anyone, who held the belt longer than anyone and who was the hero for so many fans and current wrestlers.

Loser: Roman Reigns

After a long and winded speech by Paul Heyman to promote the main event at The Greatest Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns' music hit to cut off the advocate for Brock Lesnar only to stroll down to the ring, saying he's taking the belt and walking away.

There was no real heat, no real confrontation between the two stars and the simple and understated promo felt more like two guys who didn't want to deal with each other.

Winners: Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre

The new duo of Ziggler and McIntyre was devastating in the in-ring debut for the red brand. McIntyre gives Ziggler a new swagger and the big Irishman is going to be a star on the Raw roster.

Both members of the team spoke after the match and both did well, showing that their success won't just come from their in-ring domination but they'll be able to talk their way to a major run as an unstoppable team.

Loser: Bobby Roode

In only his second appearance on Raw, Roode didn't come out to much fanfare and in his first singles match on the red brand, he took a loss at the hands of Elias. Unless this is leading to a heel turn for Roode, it makes little sense to have him lose so quickly while trying to get him over on Monday nights.

If this is a sign that WWE has lost faith in Roode, this could downhill quickly for the "Glorious" one. Hopefully, the look on Roode's face after the loss means something bigger is coming.

Winner: Owens and Zayn vs Strowman and Lashley

The chemistry in this match was incredible and one of the more entertaining matches in WWE in some time. All four members were on their game and Strowman was a hilarious beast taking out Owens over and over outside the ring. Owens took the moves like a champ and the contest was booked perfectly to accentuate all the members involved.

Owens and Zayn got their due, Lashley got his dominant moves in and Strowman added to the babyface persona that WWE seems to want for him to be a big star.

Loser: Jinder Mahal

Mahal is 0-for-2 since coming over to Raw. This week he took on Chad Gable and in Gable's debut he upset the Modern Day Maharaja. It appears WWE is going with some sort of angle where Mahal is going to lose repeatedly and be upset with his win/loss record, potentially whining that he's not getting the respect he deserves. Either way, it's not been a good two weeks for the former United States Champion.

Of course, calling Mahal a loser means we should label Chad Gables as a winner this week. Both wrestled a good match but Gable looked impressive in the victory.

Winner: Ronda Rousey and The Women's Division

The women closed out Raw - likely because they won't be part of the Greatest Royal Rumble - and they had a match that was worthy of being called the main event. The match was entertaining but mostly set up to take Natalya out and make it so that Rousey could come to her friend's aid and take out Mickie James in a matter of seconds.

Mickie and Ronda will be facing off during WWE's European tour so it makes sense it would be these two who had the confrontation. Rousey looked impressive in her few seconds of work and it's more smart booking by WWE.