WWE Raw Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from November 17, 2014

The last Raw before Sunday's Survivor Series has come and gone, and the teams for the gigantic main event have been finalized.

After losing former United States champion Sheamus to injury, Team Cena picked up Erick Rowan and Ryback while Team Authority added Luke Harper, which should have been no surprise to anyone who saw the end of last week's episode.

The Survivor Series main event took center stage, as the majority of the action throughout the show was dedicated to that one match and the competitors involved. Still, WWE Creative did a fine job of spotlighting the rest of the matches on Sunday night's card throughout the program.

AJ Lee took out both Bella Twins ahead of her title defense against Nikki, Gold & Stardust partnered with Survivor Series opponents Miz and Damien Mizdow to defeat the other two teams that will challenge them for the tag titles, the Usos and Los Matadores, in an eight-man tag bout and Dean Ambrose finally got his hands on Bray Wyatt prior to what should be a physically and emotionally intense match this weekend.

With one of the biggest shows of the entire year on the horizon, and a match with the highest stakes of any in quite some time headlining it, who came out of Raw a winner and which Superstars and Divas are stuck in the unpleasant realm of the losers?

Let's take a look.

Credit: WWE.com

Winner: Ryback

The Big Guy continued to build momentum Monday night, becoming the final member of Team Cena and standing face to face of Triple H in a sign of defiance that will surely make him a target for The Game, regardless of what happens at Survivor Series.

Ryback's climb back up the mountain in WWE is something so incredibly rare. After a main event push in late 2012 that saw him headline pay-per-views, competing against the likes of John Cena and CM Punk for the WWE Championship, an ill-fated heel turn and enhancement tag team with Curtis Axel nearly killed any and all credibility he had.

To see WWE do such a great job of recognizing that it nearly killed off a legitimate breakout star and attempt to rebuild him into the main event attraction he previously was is encouraging. It means the company recognizes it made a mistake and is willing to give the guy a second chance to make a first impression as a headliner in the biggest sports-entertainment company in the world.

Loser: Sheamus

Three weeks ago, the Celtic Warrior was the reigning United States champion and on one of the hottest streaks of any WWE Superstar in terms of his in-ring performance. Then he lost the title to Rusev in a spectacular match on the WWE Network. After a second defeat suffered at the hands of the Bulgarian Brute, he joined Team Cena for the Survivor Series showdown with The Authority.

Then, he suffered a storyline injury Monday night that left him off of Team Cena and out of Sunday's main event.

Outside of Dolph Ziggler, is there any other talent on the roster who turns in such consistently great in-ring work but is so horribly disrespected by WWE Creative than Sheamus? First, the crack writing staff does nothing to enhance his character, allowing him to become the stale, generic babyface that fans have become somewhat apathetic to over the last year.

Now, instead of competing in one of the biggest matches of the year, he will have to watch from the sidelines as his replacement, fellow ginger Erick Rowan, attempts to aid Team Cena to victory.

Winner: Luke Harper

Luke Harper became the first member of the Wyatt Family to achieve championship glory Monday night by virtue of his Intercontinental title win over Dolph Ziggler, a win aided by a brutal pre-match assault at the hands of Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble.

The win is the perfect way to jump-start Harper's singles run, even if it came in the least convincing fashion possible.

A former indy standout, Harper has long been one of the most talented big men in the industry, and his performances over the last year earned him rave reviews. Could he wind up being the most talented and successful of the Wyatt Family members? Absolutely, especially if his recent booking, compared to that of his former teammates, is any indication.

Loser: Cesaro

Remember when Cesaro won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal back at WrestleMania and looked to be on his way to the major push fans had wished for him for years? 

Sure seems like a long time ago now, doesn't it?

Monday night, Cesaro lost to Ryback in a fairly competitive match, then appeared to undergo a face turn by standing side by side with Team Cena later in the evening. Then he turned, siding with The Authority and laughing at Cena's apparent gullibility.

And then he left the ring.

He just up and left.

The "Cesaro troll" gimmick that the Swiss star portrays on The JBL and Cole Show is always great fun, but it is hardly the character that will take him to the top. In reality, it is a C+ gimmick that will get him over as nothing more than a cartoon character.