Why Solo Sikoa is WWE's Best Babyface, Red Flag For Struggling Star, More WWE Raw Fallout

From the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, the August 17 edition of Raw on Netflix featured championship action and major reveals as WWE keeps the heat out of the summer.

Solo Sikoa refused to fall in line with Roman Reigns, protecting LA Knight in defiance of The OTC. Rey Fenix and Dragon Lee advanced in the luchador No. 1 contender tournament.

Chad Gable defended his Intercontinental Championship in a memorable battle with Rey Mysterio. Bron Breakker and Oba Femi agreed to fight for the first time at Sunday Night's Main Event.

Check out all the fallout from a memorable Raw below.

Solo Sikoa and LA Knight are Best Story in WWE Right Now

The end of Raw delivered an ending so good it did not matter that it was basically a rushed beat-for-beat rehash of Sami Zayn's turn on Roman Reigns.

Solo Sikoa stood by his friend LA Knight over his family and stood up to the tyranny of The OTC.

The crowd roared for everything Sikoa and Knight did to contest The Bloodline, and by the end, it was clear that both men are the big stars of Raw right now.

While Reigns and The Usos may run Raw and Oba Femi is on a roll, no angle has as much excitement around it as the growing friendship of Sikoa and Knight.

Once rivals, these two feel like genuine friends at this stage, and the crowd wants them to succeed.

This story is so good that it could believably end the latest reign of The OTC as World heavyweight champion, and that is a near-impossible feat any time before WrestleMania 43.

Penta vs. Rey Fénix Must Be No. 1 Contender Tournament Final

When WWE first signed The Lucha Brothers from All Elite Wrestling, most expected Penta and Rey Fénix to take over the tag team division together.

Instead, Penta became the most popular luchador in WWE since Rey Mysterio while Fénix was mostly lost in the shuffle.

If not for The Undertaker making Fénix the AAA cruiserweight champion, he might have been completely forgotten by WWE by now.

Still, the connection between Penta and Fénix is the biggest story both men can tell in WWE, and that begins with selling that dynamic in the ring.

The two men have delivered spectacular performances together in the past, and this would be no different as the final of a tournament to crown the next challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship.

It is likely Penta will win over Fénix, since he's more heavily featured on television and has worked more closely with WWE Creative over the past year. That would still be an entertaining match, but it wouldn't make the most of this tournament format to build a fresh star.

Fénix defeating Penta would be the better outcome, letting the talented luchador finally stand on his own while also giving Penta motivation to feud with Roman Reigns after his brother falls to The Tribal Chief.

Huge Red Flags on Display With Lyra Valkyria's Booking

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Lyra Valkyria and Sol Ruca

What is WWE doing with Lyra Valkyria? After destroying Bayley at Saturday Night's Main Event on July 18, The Valkyrie could not find a spot on Raw.

Since that time, TV time has become trickier for Valkyria, who is clearly not a priority in an understaffed women's division.

Still, for the sake of the brand and the best use of her talent, she should be defeating Sol Ruca one-on-one.

Instead, Ruca beat Valkyria in a match that might be the last time the Irish star appears on TV for the month.

What was the point of her heel turn and dominant performance against Bayley if Valkyria is just going to fall to everyone else on Raw?

Outside of a quick return to action by The Role Model, it does not look like WWE has any plans for one of its most talented female wrestlers.

How to Properly Handle Oba Femi vs. Bron Breakker Feud

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Bron Breakker, Paul Heyman and Oba Femi

As Oba Femi and Bron Breakker approach their first match together, it would make sense to assume this story will focus on re-heating Breakker.

However, 50-50 booking does not help Femi or Breakker. It would only serve to diminish The Ruler's dominance over Brock Lesnar.

Instead, this match should establish that Breakker has work to do to get up to his opponent's level.

That can push The Badass into rebuild mode, forcing him to evaluate what has gone wrong for him to fall so far.

By the time Breakker and Femi collide for a rematch, the former should look like he is more ready to step up rather than pull the latter down.

Chad Gable Delivering Big as Intercontinental Champion

Chad Gable and Rey Mysterio had the main event spotlight on Raw and made the most of it.

This was easily the best contest of the night and one of the best TV bouts of the year for WWE.

This was another strong indication that Gable was the right man to take the Intercontinental Championship and carry it forward. Hopefully, WWE will continue to lean on his ability to deliver special performances with just about anyone.

The Olympian's title defenses will quickly become must-watch television on Raw, especially if delivered often with strong challengers.

No one is likely taking the gold any time soon, but Ethan Page, Rusev, Je'Von Evans, Big Cass, Dominik Mysterio and others would be worthy challengers for the next few months.