WWE Raw Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from June 26

There is an art to creating stars fans can invest in and throw their support behind.

Raw has struggled of late to do so. Instead, its focus has been on promoting mediocrity. Monday night, though, the brand shined a light on three performers who figure to form the foundation of the brand. Nia Jax, Big Cass and Samoa Joe basked in the spotlight, delivering performances that capitalized on strong booking and inspired buzz.

The Destroyer choked out Brock Lesnar, his credibility enhanced in another extraordinary bit of storytelling.

Jax obliterated the women's division before falling just short of becoming No. 1 contender after 33 minutes of ring time.

Big Cass followed up last week's heel turn by feigning a reunion with Enzo Amore, only to break his heart one last time.

It was a night of superb writing that continued the recent pattern of star-making and quality storytelling.

Those three Superstars made headlines and were the biggest winners of the night.

There was one Superstar, once thought to be a division leader for years to come, who was not so lucky.

Winner: Nia Jax

For 32 minutes, Nia Jax battled and dominated the women's division in a Gauntlet match to determine the new No. 1 contender to the Raw Women's Championship.

While her night would end in disappointment during that 33rd minute, left with no other option but to tapout while trapped in the clutches of Sasha Banks' Bank Statement, her performance Monday night was one of the best by any woman in 2017.

It was a performance the likes of which fans will, one day, point to as the moment Jax went from a wrestler with the potential to a legitimate Superstar capable of carrying an entire division.

Her victories over Bayley, Mickie James, Dana Brooke and Emma Monday night established her as the most dominant female competitor on the main roster, even in defeat.

Even though The Boss won the match, Jax undisputedly was the night's biggest winner—a young star coming of age in a half-hour performance of domination and will power.

Though she may not be heading to Great Balls of Fire to challenge Alexa Bliss for the Women's Championship on July 9, Jax will remain a fixture in the title picture and, perhaps, dethrone Little Miss Bliss on a bigger stage later this summer.

Loser: Bayley

Credit: WWE.com

It has been a long, hard fall for poor Bayley in this post-WrestleMania WWE.

Not only has her character been reduced to that of a shy school girl—the never-been-kissed type whose penchant for doing the right thing has cost her the women's title and fan support—she has been cast aside in favor of Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks.

That idea was supported Monday night as Bayley was the first Raw Superstar eliminated from the main event gauntlet match.

Falling victim to a Samoan Drop, she was pinned and banished from the squared circle like an afterthought, a far cry from the division leader she was leading into The Showcase of the Immortals in April.

Of all of the NXT call-ups to struggle, and ultimately fail on the main roster, none will have been more disappointing or heartbreaking than Bayley. There is still plenty of time to reverse her fate, but the current path the San Jose, California, native finds herself on is one more similar to that of Adam Rose than Kevin Owens.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe choked out Brock Lesnar Monday night.

Even Goldberg, who beat The Beast Incarnate in seconds at Survivor Series, did not make the current universal champion look as weak as Joe did by trapping him in the Coquina Clutch and choking him into unconsciousness.

The Destroyer's actions Monday not only added more heat to an already red-hot program ahead of the July 9 championship war, they also continued the steady elevation of his star on the main roster.

For the first time in years, WWE has produced a star who can believably defeat Lesnar on the grand stage of a major pay-per-view. Furthermore, and most importantly, he is a star whose prime did not come some two decades ago.

Joe has always had the aura of an unstoppable badass. Thanks to WWE Creative that has been hellbent on presenting him as an equal, perhaps even a superior to Lesnar, he has leapt off the screen and into the living rooms of millions of WWE fans, announcing his arrival in championship contention.

Winner: Big Cass

A week ago, WWE Creative miscalculated the revelation of Big Cass' vile and cowardly attacks on partner Enzo Amore. Not only was there a reveal, there was an overly long (though expertly executed) promo from the perpetrator.

It was too much for a single segment. Rather than executing the turn, then having the explanation a week later, the writing team threw it all out in one long-running segment.

Monday night, it made up for its misstep, booking a fake reunion that gave way to a meaner, nastier, more vicious assault by Cass. He tossed Amore around with reckless abandon. He pressed him overhead and slammed him on the entrance ramp, an emphatic exclamation point on an expert heel turn.

Cass is poised for greatness, but more importantly, Raw has on its hand an emotional and heated midcard rivalry that is sure to generate genuine interest come July 9 and Great Balls of Fire.