WWE Raw Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from January 22

WWE Raw celebrated its 25-year anniversary Monday night with the return of several highly influential Superstars, a championship change and the final build to Sunday's Royal Rumble pay-per-view. In the process, it delivered a handful of winners and losers who stood out (for better or worse).

The Miz captured the Intercontinental Championship from Roman Reigns, Elias sent a message to John Cena and a legendary Raw general manager received one more moment in the spotlight.

Not quite as lucky were The Revival, who lost in short and humiliating fashion, and "Woken" Matt Hardy, whose indefensible loss to Bray Wyatt made little sense and threatened his credibility.

Find out who else joined the list of the most prominent stars from Monday's show with this recap of the historic telecast.

Winner: The Miz

For the eighth time in his career, The Miz won the Intercontinental Championship Monday night, pinning Roman Reigns after perfectly utilizing an exposed turnbuckle.

The win generated a thunderous ovation from fans. The title switch also added to the extravagance of the night while freeing Reigns up to chase Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship in due time.

The Miz has been the best and most engaging character on Raw since the Superstar Shake-Up last spring, and the entire midcard can now be built around him.

Giving him the title back is the right move for a Raw brand in need of credible, full-time heels.

Losers: The Revival

The Revival is the best tag team in professional wrestling, so the idea that they would be jobbed out in two minutes as a payoff to their promo from a week ago was unfathomable.

But there it was, live on Raw 25 for the entire wrestling world to see.

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder interrupted a group Too Sweet by D-Generation X and Balor Club, lost to Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows and ate finishing maneuvers from everyone involved.

The Revival has earned better than to be crash-test dummies for iconic Superstars in their 50s and two-minute jobbers.

If this ordeal fuels them and earns them increased exposure on Monday nights going forward, great. If not, it was an even worse segment for the duo than it appears on the surface.

Winner: Elias

Elias has been a revelation of sorts since making his main-roster debut. He is a captivating performer whose mic skills have been his greatest asset. Thus far on his Raw run, he has been better and accomplished more than he ever did in NXT, which is a rarity for former developmental talent.

Most saw his exchange with John Cena on Christmas night as a one-off, where Elias would be elevated by sharing the stage with the franchise star but nothing more.

In the wake of his loss to Cena, Elias has repeatedly brought the star up in promos and songs. Monday was no different. This time, Cena hit the ring to respond and was met with an assault.

Elias broke a guitar over the back of wrestling's most recognizable star and left him lying following the Drift Away.

Just days before the Royal Rumble, Elias was allowed the opportunity to stand tall. It was a huge step for a character and a brief hint at the match that may await him at WrestleMania.

Loser: "Woken" Matt Hardy

For all of the effort and time put into the "Woken" Matt Hardy character, it was interesting to see him jobbed out as cleanly as he was to rival Bray Wyatt on Monday night.

Hardy should be riding a wave of momentum into Royal Rumble, but he instead put over a relatively ice-cold Wyatt in a throwaway match Monday night.

Why?

There is no excuse or logical reason for Hardy losing to the man he has targeted in such a nothing match.

What was the purpose of the last month, building to the "Woken" persona, if he is going to continue to be jobbed out?

Yes, there will be those apologists who believe the move will drive Hardy further into insanity.

Have you heard his laugh? Seen his facial expressions? Witnessed his body language?

There is no deeper insanity for the character to go to. Losing matches like this, unnecessarily, will only hurt his credibility going forward.

Winner: Eric Bischoff

Outside of the predictably over Daniel Bryan, no former Raw general manager received the enormous ovation Eric Bischoff did, with his trademark devilish grin extra wide.

It feels like an entire lifetime ago that Bischoff was seemingly trying to put WWE out of business and engaging in practices meant to harm Vince McMahon's company.

It is a testament to his value as a performer, and the extent to which he entertained audiences upon his arrival in WWE, that he is so fondly welcomed back by fans.

For all of his business and executive decisions made while at the helm of WCW, Bischoff's truly lasting legacy is the connection he made with audiences during his time as an on-screen character.

Losers: Brock Lesnar, Kane and Braun Strowman

The final segment of Raw 25 was a rushed mess. It did nothing to make fans want to see Brock Lesnar defend his Universal Championship against Kane and Braun Strowman at the Royal Rumble any more than they already did.

How are we to believe Lesnar is somehow rattled heading into Rumble when he literally survived a table spot at SummerSlam, got up and pinned Roman Reigns to retain his title?

Lesnar has been portrayed as so invincible that any spot is either repetitive or unbelievable.

Such was the case Monday, when WWE Creative failed the three competitors and hurt the excitement for their upcoming title bout.

Winners: Balor Club

Balor Club was legitimized as a force on Monday nights when they interrupted a D-Generation X reunion in the Manhattan Center, came face-to-face with the likes of Shawn Michaels and Triple H and engaged them in a collective Too Sweet.

Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows proceeded to defeat The Revival in short order and celebrate, alongside Finn Balor, with D-X to close out the segment.

It is easy to forget that neither Balor nor Gallows and Anderson were doing anything of any significance when they were put together for a seemingly forgettable Six-Man Tag Team match a few weeks back. Since then, the trio has scored a significant win over Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan and shared the ring with the most legendary faction in Raw history.

It was the latest suggestion that Balor Club may be trending upward as we approach the Road to WrestleMania.