WWE Raw Results: Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman Break Up and Top Takeaways

Credit: WWE.com

The big stars are returning as SummerSlam grows closer by the week. The July 30 edition of Monday Night Raw promised big clashes as the biggest matches for WWE's summer climax were already set.

Brock Lesnar made his inevitable return to WWE in surprising fashion as he sat backstage most of the night, refusing to work. However, a threat to Paul Heyman by general manager Kurt Angle pushed him into the ring, which caused serious tension between The Beast and his advocate.

Ronda Rousey also returned from her suspension to support Natalya and get her hands on Alexa Bliss, but Alicia Fox surprisingly got in the way. Foxy's appearance this week could be the catalyst that changes up the dynamic around Bliss before her huge title match.

Finn Balor lost this week to Baron Corbin and may have also lost his chance at a WWE title for a while. The Deleter of Worlds morphed further through failure. Seth Rollins continued to suffer for not having anyone by his side to combat Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre.

These are the biggest moments from Raw this week, showcasing what may be worth looking out for all the way to SummerSlam.

Roman Reigns tried to taunt Lesnar into appearing to start the show but failed. Angle had more success though by threatening to terminate Heyman's contract if the champ did not show up. While this worked to bring Lesnar to the ring, he ended up responding violently, F5ing the GM and manhandling Heyman.

The Advocate has been a mainstay during The Beast Incarnate's new WWE run, largely working as the mouthpiece to Lesnar. Most would expect that Lesnar would never turn his back on his manager unless he was on his way out.

Hints throughout the night indicated this will be Lesnar's last stand. He was talking more than ever and ignoring the man he has often protected. By turning on Heyman, Lesnar embraced his role as the uncaring villain, which is a temporary but impactful role. It even got the crowd chanting "we want Roman".

In his segments this week, Lesnar showed why he is valuable to the company. He can still be an entertaining and impactful presence and understands the business. On his way out, he will likely put over Reigns and send Heyman to someone who needs him more.

Hopefully, The Walrus doesn't just disappear when his client loses the Universal Championship. He could screw The Beast out of the title and hand it to Reigns. He could walk out on Lesnar and find a more interesting star to represent like Rousey or Braun Strowman. He has too much value to not be used.

Credit: WWE.com

Corbin looked to avenge his loss to Balor at WWE Extreme Rules 2018 in a rematch this week. After a lengthy struggle, The Constable pulled out the win clean by catching The Irishman with the End of Days, tying this series of matches.

Last week, it looked like Balor could be sneaking into title contention with a conflict starting to grow between The Extraordinary Man and Drew McIntyre. However, this loss will keep Balor locked in with Corbin likely at least until SummerSlam.

While Balor and Corbin have good in-ring chemistry and showed this week they can pull out a long competitive match, it feels unnecessary right now to give momentum to Corbin at the expense of Balor, who has spent so much time doing nothing.

The Lone Wolf has made a dramatic change with his Constable gimmick that has given him reliable screen time on TV every week. As with most authority figures, he does not need to be promoted as a major threat because he has consistent power over what happens on the show.

Balor meanwhile just lost clean to a man who gets more weekly coverage and has repeatedly called him lesser because of his size. This whole feud cannot help Balor stand out especially when he could easily be competing for the WWE Intercontinental Championship right now.

With Mickie James injured, Bliss handpicked Fox as her representative to face Natalya with Rousey back in her best friend's corner. With a timely distraction from Bliss, Fox emerged victorious thanks to a big boot, angering The Baddest Woman on the Planet who Bliss barely escaped with Fox's help.

This set up Rousey's first-ever match on Raw next week against Foxy. While The Goddess already has support from Mickie most weeks, it makes far more sense for Bliss to align herself with a young and slightly unstable Fox, who is often touted as one of the most powerful women in the division.

Mickie is a veteran who has more than proved herself in WWE, and she makes sense to play the face role as she was before Bliss needed someone watching her back without Nia Jax. Fox has always been strongest as a heel and needs someone to help promote her as more than just enhancement talent on this roster.

This would also set up a natural story on Raw as Fox and Mickie conflict over who has Bliss' back. The whole roster would benefit from this small shift, making both women more relevant on the roster while sticking to natural roles.

Credit: WWE.com

After their fluky loss to The B-Team last week, Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt snapped, assaulting Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas after the bell. It seemed to be a heel turn. This week, that idea was accentuated by a change in tone from The Deleters of Worlds, promising to be the Raw tag team champions' nightmare.

When Hardy became "woken" in WWE, it looked like WWE would fully embrace the odd gimmick that The Hardy Boy developed outside of the company. However, after just one attempt at an Ultimate Deletion match, Hardy and Wyatt aligned, and Wyatt's gimmick has slowly taken over.

As heels, their gimmick seems to fully embrace The Eater of Worlds' mantra, promising mystic punishment to anyone in the way. The duo also seem to be following Wyatt's old lead, piling up losses with their defeat this week at the hands of The Revival, who should be next in line for the tag titles.

The ridiculousness of the Woken Universe has been lost in translation, and it seems as if WWE is slowly abandoning it all together. This is a shame as Wyatt feels wholly wasted if he just being used to prop up Hardy as the veteran reaches the final stage of his career.

Once again, Rollins tried to pull of a big win against the alliance of Ziggler and McIntyre in his match against the former Chosen One, but The Showoff ruined the contest just after The Architect hit The Stomp. Backstage, the two assaulted Rollins, leaving him on the floor.

Throughout this story, the primary constant has been the former Shield brother's inability to even the odds, costing him every match with the current Intercontinental champion. The only way that this story can develop is if someone has Rollins' back.

Reigns would be the easy choice, but he's in a huge storyline of his own right now. Balor is stuck with Corbin at the moment. It is difficult to find a man that will defend The Man in WWE and actually get people excited. It is likely Chad Gable or Zack Ryder wouldn't fit the bill.

Dean Ambrose is an interesting answer, but no one is quite sure when he'll be healthy. He will certainly be back by the end of the year, but mid-August could be pushing it. Jason Jordan should be available and has history with Rollins, but fan likely won't be interested in that angle.

A final match between Ziggler and Rollins is rapidly approaching, and it would be anticlimactic if Rollins just went out alone again to fail at SummerSlam. It will be interesting to see who chooses to join him though when it matters most.