Next week is Raw's 25th anniversary. Then six days later it's the Royal Rumble. With all of that action lying ahead in the not-so-distant future, you might forgive WWE for this past Monday's Raw being something of a filler show. The quiet before the storm that is the next week or so. Well if you saw the show you will know that instead of being a missable show with nothing much to report, they instead decided to generate some momentum heading into next week's landmark episode. There were plenty of big moments and whether you tuned in on Monday night or not, it's worth checking out what we believed to be the five biggest.

5. An (Almost) Streak Ending Powerbomb

The match between Nia Jax and Asuka this past Monday night will be remembered for its lackluster ending and what came after. An injury to Jax's knee that led to the match being called off and keeping The Empress's streak intact. Before that though there were glimmers of hope for Asuka's opponent. One moment in particular that seemed to have the former NXT Women's Champion shook was an extremely hard hitting powerbomb. There is only one woman in all of WWE who can deliver a move like that with such power and force and on Raw this week Asuka discovered that. Maybe somewhere down the line that raw power will earn Jax a win over the Japanese star.

4. Bo Dallas: Human Shield

Considering Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel basically worship the ground he walks on, The Miz doesn't treat his Miztourage with very much respect. The purpose of the pair is of course to take punishment in lieu of their leader, but this past week on Raw The A-Lister took that to a whole new level. Miz continually tried to get involved in the handicap match between his cronies and Roman Reigns to the point where The Big Dog decided to step outside the ring and take care of the man he took the Intercontinental Title from. It was at that point The Miz decided to pull a poor, groggy Bo Dallas in front of him so that he was the one getting Superman Punched instead. Classy move Miz.

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3. Poor Michael Cole

While we were indeed treated to a match or two , the first hour of Raw mainly revolved around the path of destruction Braun Strowman was carving through the backstage area. Kurt Angle decided to fire The Monster Among Men for his actions last week and naturally Strowman didn't take too kindly to that news. His sixty minutes of mayhem led all the way back to the stage area, and that's where he spotted Michael Cole. It looked as if Angle had saved Cole from something unthinkable when the GM stopped The Monster in his tracks and re-hired him on the orders of Stephanie McMahon. Turns out Strowman just had to get that last bit of frustration out and decided to toss Michael Cole off the stage and in to the onlooking crowd of security guards anyway.

2. No Vehicle Is Safe

Braun Strowman's incredible hour long rampage deserves (at least) two entries on this list. While watching Michael Cole fly through the air was unquestionably pretty entertaining, the highlight of his tyrannical fit of rage came when he found his way into one of the production trucks which cost $12 million as Kurt Angle yelled for no apparent reason. Even though everything in Strowman's path was being destroyed he seemingly wasn't allowed to touch much inside the trucks as it would likely stop the show from carrying on. That meant all he could do inside the truck was throw some papers around. Once he detached the cab from the part of the truck with all the valuable equipment in it was fair game though. Raw's Resident Monster then proceeded to tip the cab on its side. With the vehicles getting gradually bigger maybe it'll be Big Show's coach getting tipped over next.

1. The Curb Stomp Is Back

The main event of this week's Raw was a big one. Seth Rollins versus Finn Balor, a repeat of the first ever Universal Title match. Naturally the match lived up to the hype but the ending wound up being pretty chaotic. The Bar came to the ring to try and get some revenge on Jason Jordan for him aiding their loss earlier in the evening. They ended up clashing with Anderson and Gallows and while all that was going on Jordan reached into the ring and tripped up Balor. While the Irishman was on his hands and knees, The Architect shocked the WWE Universe and nailed his opponent with a curb stomp. Rollins used to use the move as his finisher until Vince McMahon deemed it too dangerous a couple of years ago. Clearly they want it to feel like a big move as after the match they focused on the affect it had on Finn Balor.

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