WWE Raw Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from January 2

WWE Raw got the new year off to a hot start Monday night, producing a show that eliminated insignificant filler and satisfactorily began to hype the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Jan. 29.

Goldberg returned to the flagship show to promote his appearance in the upcoming 30-man match, but the WCW icon was neither the biggest winner nor the biggest loser from the first show of 2017. Instead, two full-time competitors earned those distinctions.

One is a tag team competitor whose run in WWE has been devoid of the kind of decisive victory he enjoyed Monday night. The other competitor, who wasn't as lucky, is a former NXT star whose story is intriguing but whose execution of his character has been less than spectacular.

Superstar	Winner or Loser	Why?
Titus O'Neil	Winner	Anytime O'Neil has the opportunity to showcase his personality, he comes across as infinitely more likable than when WWE attempts to make him into an expressionless, serious big man.
Cruiserweights	Losers	Meaningless, two-minute matches and subpar storylines? They are the new women's division of WWE.
Bayley	Winner	A big victory over Nia Jax after an incredible Bayley-to-Belly suplex from the top rope earned her a championship opportunity at the Royal Rumble PPV.

Biggest Winner: Karl Anderson

On a night when finding a definitive winner was more difficult than it probably should have been, Karl Anderson's rare singles victory over Cesaro stands out.

One-half of a tag team with Luke Gallows that has been mismanaged and underutilized, Anderson has been the workhorse. He has played the straight man to Gallows' over-the-top badass type, and he has more than carried his own between the ropes.

On Monday night, fans got a taste of what Anderson is capable of once the bell rings and he is not left to the confines of a traditional tag bout. He was crisp, broke out a fresh arsenal of maneuvers and picked up a win with a huge neckbreaker from the top rope.

It was the best Anderson has looked to this point in his WWE career.

The absence of poorly written comedy and losses that make the pair look foolish, coupled with what appears to be an upcoming rivalry with Sheamus and Cesaro, makes for a much more successful act than the one fans have been exposed to up until now.

Biggest Loser: Sami Zayn

The ongoing rivalry between Sami Zayn and Braun Strowman has earned the former more television time than he had enjoyed prior to December, as well as the most significant push he has had since his feud with Kevin Owens wrapped up over the summer.

Yet the booking of Monday's Last Man Standing match against Strowman did little to help the popular and beloved babyface from a perception standpoint.

Instead of making The Underdog from the Underground a bigger star, it made him a tackling dummy for Strowman, who was the focus of WWE Creative.

Rather than standing tall, proud in defeat, Zayn was stretchered out of the arena while a concerned Mick Foley looked on. There was no sense of pride or accomplishment. He was humbled and defeated—a mangled mess as he was rolled out of the arena in a fashion that was last reserved for James Ellsworth.

After a lengthy storyline that saw him enjoy the loudest pop of his WWE run just last week, Zayn was beaten and broken—the status of his push now unknown.