WWE Raw Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from November 3, 2014

With all eyes on the escalating tension between Team Cena and Team Authority ahead of their Survivor Series elimination tag match, WWE Raw emanated from Buffalo and featured a gigantic announcement by the returning Vince McMahon in regard to that huge pay-per-view main event.

The stakes were raised as the boss revealed that, should Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's team lose the match on November 23, they will be out of power and WWE would thus escape their tyrannical rule.

With the match now more important than ever, the sole focus of the show was on the power couple recruiting and scouting potential additions to their team, while simultaneously avoiding self-implosion at the hands of The Viper, Randy Orton.

It was a trying night for The Authority, one that even tested the King of King's willingness to do what was necessary in order ensure victory and cooperation come Survivor Series.

Will its actions from Monday pay off? Will the brutal assault on Orton prove to be the right decision in the long run?

Those questions will come in time, but for now, relive the biggest winners and losers from the November 3 episode of WWE's flagship program.

Winner: The Authority

The most powerful faction in the sport presented a united front as it beat down Randy Orton and left him bloody and unconscious to close out Raw.

It was exactly the sort of booking that makes the outfit look like an unstoppable force—a group which weeded out the proverbial fox in the hen house, the one member of the organization causing more harm than good, and excommunicated him in the most brutal and violent way possible.

The way the group has targeted everyone even remotely associated with Team Cena, including current intercontinental champion Dolph Ziggler, has been outstanding and WWE Creative has done a fine job of indicating that crossing The Authority on this matter is not only dangerous to one's health but career advancement as well.

Now, with its eyes on new United States champion Rusev, The Authority looks unstoppable.

Then again, without John Cena in the building, that is exactly what needed to happen, and the bookers did a phenomenal job of portraying it.

Whether The Authority can maintain momentum once the leader of the Cenation returns is another question.

Loser: Cesaro

Anyone who follows this article on a semi-regular basis knows that Cesaro tends to wind up in the "loser" section more times than not, but rarely does it have anything to do with him or his performance.

As is the case any other time, he finds himself here due to booking more than anything else.

Monday night, he had the opportunity to play punching bag for Dean Ambrose—again—and though he wrestled a fine match that proved he and the Lunatic Fringe do not need pumpkins and kendo sticks to have a great bout, he still wound up losing following a finishing maneuver from out of nowhere.

At this point, Cesaro's immense in-ring talent is wasted, and one has to wonder if WWE Creative and management will ever fully recognize the quality of performer they consistently misuse.

Winners: Rusev and Sheamus

If you logged into WWE Network following the conclusion of Raw, you witnessed a very competitive, quality match between Rusev and Sheamus for the latter's United States Championship.

The Bulgarian Brute withstood a momentum-fueled comeback by the Celtic Warrior, dodging a Brogue Kick and blasting him with two leaping sidekicks before putting him away—and ending his months-long title reign—with the Accolade.

For Rusev, the match was a coronation of sorts. After living up to the company's hype, continuously improving during his first six months on TV, he scored his first of many championships to come.

The act is over, thanks in large part to Lana's ability to incite passionate responses from the audience, while Rusev continues to evolve as a performer.

Sheamus, on the other hand, is a guy who does not get nearly the respect and admiration he deserves. Is his character stale? Yes, but that has more to do with WWE Creative's inability to do anything to evolve or freshen up the character than the man himself.

A true workhorse whose in-ring work is as consistent as anyone's, Sheamus helped carry his opponent to a strong match and then did the right thing by dropping the belt to him.

Loser: Randy Orton

Sure, Orton continued to unleash anger, frustration and violence on Seth Rollins Monday night, but by the end of Raw, he was being stretchered out by medics and had just suffered a loss to the self-proclaimed Architect.

So, really, how worthwhile was that RKO?

From a booking standpoint, Orton comes across as the strong, independent Viper fans have been begging for since he joined The Authority. Strictly from what fans witnessed Monday night, though, he looks like an idiot who did not know when to pick his fight.

He will return, be better off having turned babyface and will likely be in store for another massive push, but for one Monday in November, things did not turn out quite so well for the Apex Predator.

Winner: Erick Rowan

If WWE is not careful, it is going to make Erick Rowan into a lovable, misunderstood teddy bear. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Friday night on SmackDown, he sat watching See No Evil 2 with Kane and mentioned that the Corporate Demon scared him. Then, on Raw, he ran his finger through Renee Young's hair and commented that she was "pretty."

It all seems to be pointing at a misunderstood man-child gimmick for Rowan, who impressed many during his days with the Wyatt Family thanks to his constantly improving ring work. 

If he can make the oh-so-important connection with the audience, he could easily find himself as the most entertaining and successful of the former Wyatt Family members.

And that is saying something.