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

We are just over two weeks from Hell in a Cell, a gimmick-heavy pay-per-view devoted to a match type once saved for the most intense of blood feuds.

Monday Night Raw hit the USA Network airwaves promising the latest chapter in the ongoing rivalries between Roman Reigns and Rusev, Sasha Banks and Charlotte and the celebrated return of Goldberg to an industry he once took by storm.

With so many moving parts and pressure on the writing staff to produce a show that can drum up excitement for the October 30 extravaganza, Monday's broadcast was an integral one for a brand often unfavorably compared to its Tuesday night counterpart.

It also carried significance for the men and women of the red brand—all of whom will look to add to their legacies when they set foot in Boston's TD Garden for the fall spectacular.

Who emerged riding a wave of momentum from the penultimate Raw before Hell in a Cell?

Who was provided that great energy as they journey toward hell?

Who was not so lucky?

Biggest Winner: Goldberg

The entire October 17 broadcast was built around the much-hyped return of Goldberg: an icon of The Monday Night Wars and one of the few legendary figures not overexposed by years of mediocre returns and disappointing performances.

Monday, the fans in Denver proved to the wrestling world that absence does, in fact, make the heart grow fonder. They greeted Da Man with an electrifying reaction that nearly moved the typically unshakable badass to tears.

Shaking off the emotion of the moment, Goldberg addressed everything from being a hero to kids to the challenge issued by Brock Lesnar (via advocate Paul Heyman) for an upcoming fight.

Embracing the intensity that defined him at his peak, he threatened, "You're next...and you're last," hinting that his battle with The Beast Incarnate would be the final time he laces a pair of boots.

On a night that acted as a celebration of him, his accomplishments and his grand return to the industry that made him a household name in the late 1990s, Goldberg returned the eager enthusiasm of the fans with some of his own. The result was a much more organic and believable promo than the scripted nonsense the fans were forced to endure earlier in the night.

Speaking of which...

Superstar	Winner or Loser	Why?
Big Cass, Enzo Amore and The Club	Losers	Continued lack of direction dooms two of WWE's most talented teams
Chris Jericho	Winner	At age 45, Jericho continues to thrive as the egotistical villain playing everyone from fans to "close friends" in what may be his last great run.
Bayley	Loser	The most beloved star in NXT history continues to lack the support of WWE Creative, whose misuse of her to this point is alarming.
Rusev	Winner	The Bulgarian Brute's ability to turn the Denver crowd against him—and in favor of Roman Reigns—proves his quality as an entertainer and top-shelf heel.

Biggest Loser: Seth Rollins

Sure, The Architect defeated Chris Jericho in the night's opening match, but it was his promo prior to the bout that doomed him to "biggest loser" status.

Rollins suffered from the same premeditated promo and goofy babyface lines that plagued Roman Reigns early in his main event run.

In fact, the "glitter crotch" line he laid on Jericho was so bad and unfunny that had it not been for Y2J's ability to take it and get it over anyway, Rollins would have ranked alongside Reigns' "suffering succotash" for most embarrassing lines uttered by a Superstar in the 21st Century.

Disjointed, and with a character disappointingly undefined, Rollins' babyface turn has done little to inspire any excitement among fans.

Instead of being the anti-authority rebel hellbent on avenging his treatment at the hands of the power couple he counted on to guide his career, Rollins has come off as whiny, wholly unlikable and a shell of what a hero should be in WWE.

There is still time to rehabilitate the character. But as Hell in a Cell approaches, the WWE World Championship match feels like one between two intolerable douchebags rather than the morality play of good and bad, which is what pro wrestling is at its core.