WWE Raw Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from June 12

The June 12 episode of Raw saw the escalation of Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe's feud ahead of Great Balls of Fire on July 9, the return of Emma, the continued dominance by Neville and questionable use of Nia Jax.

The broadcast, another in a long line of uneven displays in 2017, started hot and descended into an arctic circle of mediocrity.

Despite the curious booking and disappointing lack of developments, there were several stars who emerged from the pack and earned recognition—some for the right reasons, others for the wrong.

Some benefited from focused booking designed to get them over ahead of the upcoming pay-per-view while others suffered from storyline advancement that made little sense.

Which of the aforementioned stars landed on which side of the line?

This recap of Monday's USA Network presentation has the answers.

Winner: Samoa Joe

When his character was called into question by a seething, furious Paul Heyman, Samoa Joe stomped toward the ring, came face-to-face with Brock Lesnar and unloaded on him with the intensity usually associated with The Beast Incarnate.

Joe looked like a total badass, unfazed by the reputation that accompanied the universal champion as he punched and kicked away at his Great Balls of Fire opponent.

When the Superstars of Raw hit the ring and attempted to pull the colossal competitors apart, Joe seized the opportunity to get one more blow in on Lesnar, kicking him square in the face.

The relentlessness with which he approached Lesnar, determined to send the champion a message that he would not be walked over like every other one of Lesnar's opponents, cemented Joe's status as a legitimate threat and main event character.

WWE Creative did more to elevate Joe with that simple brawl than it had with any other angle, match or television segment to that point. In a company that presented such stars as John Cena, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns as inferior to Lesnar, Joe was portrayed as equal.

The decision to present Joe in that light will create buzz and anticipation for the Universal Championship match at the July 9 Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view and, perhaps more importantly, lend credibility to Joe that will help fans accept him as a top-tier talent going forward.

That is, of course, if management can resist the urge (and insistence from Lesnar) to have The Beast Incarnate roll over him on WWE Network.

Loser: Nia Jax

A week ago, it appeared as though Nia Jax's monster push toward the Raw Women's Championship was underway. She was essentially screwed out of the title by a quick-thinking Alexa Bliss and responded to the outcome of the match by planting Mickie James and Dana Brooke with Samoan Drops, re-establishing her dominance.

Monday night, though, the imposing competitor marched to the ring and played stupid. For the entirety of the in-ring promo segment, she was manipulated by Bliss, who tried to use the championship aspirations of her fellow competitors to show Jax that they all care only about themselves and any attention they can generate.

Jax did not shrug off Bliss' words and avenge her controversial defeat from the prior Monday. Instead, she simply accepted the role of tag team partner to Bliss and the returning Emma in a Six-Woman Tag Team match against James, Brooke and Sasha Banks. 

Worse than her portrayal in the promo segment was the manner in which she was booked in the match itself.

There was no dominance; there was no physical superiority.

In fact, late in the match, she comically charged at James, who pulled the ropes down and sent Jax crashing to the arena floor. She was Wile E. Coyote, chasing the Road Runner to the edge of the mountain and falling off, outmatched by a weaker opponent.

On a night when WWE Creative should have taken the opportunity to portray Jax as a monster heel, a pissed off No. 1 contender who sought vengeance for Bliss' lies and manipulation, she was booked about as weakly as possible. 

Winner: Neville

The vile villainy of cruiserweight champion Neville continued Monday as the ruthless King of the Cruiserweights laid waste to Rich Swann and addressed the WWE Universe. In particular, he had a few words for Akira Tozawa, who figures to be his next challenger.

Citing Austin Aries', TJP's and Swann's recent attempts to dethrone him, he sent a stern and smoldering warning to Tozawa, telling him cute tweets from Titus O'Neil would not help him when it comes to winning the cruiserweight title.

A crazed champion constantly increasing the calculated madness with which he approaches every match and beatdown, Neville looked like an unstoppable beast of a competitor as he stood in the center of the ring, remorseless over his attack on Swann and unrelenting in his pursuit of complete dominance.

The best-booked Superstar on all of Raw for six months now, Neville remains one of the bright spots on an otherwise uneven show.

The question now is whether or not the company can build a Superstar who can conceivably, and convincingly, defeat Neville when the time comes. So dominant has the Brit been that it may be difficult for WWE Creative to find a Superstar whom fans will actually buy as being able to defeat him.

Bad news for the writing staff—good news for the champion. 

Loser: Emma

Emma made her return to Raw Monday night after suffering a shoulder injury during an overseas tour in May.

Declaring her intention to challenge for the Raw Women's Championship, it appeared as though the Aussie was on her way back to prominence as one of the top female talents on the roster.

Then she found herself trapped in the Bank Statement with no other option but to tap out.

Yes, on her first night back on Raw, Emma took the pinfall and had any semblance of credibility stripped from her by a writing team seemingly unable to book her with any sort of consistency.

That inability has hurt her standing with fans and left her just another face in the crowd on Monday nights. Given the strength of her in-ring skill set, her talents go wasted more often than not.