WWE Raw Results: Finn Balor vs. Brock Lesnar Dream Match Set and Top Takeaways

Who's going to the Royal Rumble? The January 14 edition of WWE Raw repeatedly answered that question, showcasing the big matches for the red brand going into the first major show of 2019 while also establishing who will compete in the main Rumble bouts on January 27.

The biggest moment of the show came from an unexpected source as Finn Balor ended up taking Braun Strowman's spot against Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble after The Monster Among Men was unceremoniously stripped of his title opportunity.

As Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Bobby Lashley likely prepare for big runs in the men's match, they were set to compete in a Triple Threat to make up for the controversial end to last week's Raw. In a shocking move, The All Mighty emerged as the new intercontinental champion.

Ronda Rousey joined forces with her No. 1 contender, Sasha Banks, in a tag team match with one of the Rumble front-runners, Nia Jax, and her partner, Tamina. Once more, The Boss showed how valuable she is to the brand.

Alongside the debut of Nikki Cross, the women's division also had one more big moment as Alexa Bliss showcased the new women's tag team championships and announced they will be first awarded at Elimination Chamber on February 17.

With the Road to WrestleMania on the horizon, these are the top takeaways from a night when WWE truly began to step up with big matches and moments throughout.

Finn Balor Finally Ready for Long-Awaited Brock Lesnar Match

Braun Strowman promised to finally defeat Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble before the man who cost him his last shot at The Beast Incarnate, Baron Corbin, arrived.

The former interim Raw general manager taunted The Monster Among Men, leading him to rip the door off Vince McMahon's limousine to get to The Lone Wolf.

The WWE chairman fined The Monster $100,000 and then took away his Universal Championship match before having the wrestler escorted from the building. McMahon also set up a Fatal 4-Way to crown a new No. 1 contender, with Balor taking the victory.

Going into this week's show, it would have been hard to imagine The Extraordinary Man even being around the main event, let alone replacing Strowman as the No. 1 contender to The Beast. As good as he is, the Irishman has been sadly underused for the past few years.

His recent victories over Drew McIntyre felt like they could lead somewhere, but this was another level. It has been almost two-and-a-half years since Balor was forced to relinquish his title, and he has never felt as big as he was in that first month.

This night was huge for him. He was the complete focus of the show, taking up more of the attention of Raw than even Seth Rollins had last week. The ultimate underdog rose above everyone in his way, winning two matches and proving McMahon wrong all in one night.

It is hard to see Balor defeating The Beast, but he will likely be looking to follow in the footsteps of Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles, who pushed Lesnar to his limit in some of the best matches the champion has had in these past few years.

He might even bring back The Demon for good measure.

Braun Strowman's Injury May Leave Him Without Major Role at WrestleMania Again

When Roman Reigns left WWE in October, it created a spot at the top that many expected Strowman to fill. The big man was poised to defeat The Beast at Crown Jewel and walk out with the Universal Championship. Instead, he lost and has suffered for it ever since.

While clearly a high-priority star, he never seems to be able to get a break. His elbow injury is likely what forced the decision to take away his shot at Lesnar, with no one sure how soon he will be healthy. It's hard to say what he will do now.

The biggest showcase of just how poorly The Monster Among Men has been treated is his legacy at WrestleMania. He has yet to have a serious match on the main card. Last year was his best showing on WWE's biggest show, but it was a pure comedy segment to lighten the mood.

It is possible Strowman will again be stuck in a secondary match at WrestleMania 35, further wasting his potential. Even if he's not going to be champion, he should at least get one of the major singles match spots on The Grandest Stage of Them All in April.

However, that feels less likely with each passing week as The Monster falls further back in contention.

Raw Women's Division Has Needed Sasha Banks in This Role for over a Year

Credit: WWE.com

Sasha Banks and Ronda Rousey defeated Nia Jax and Tamina in fairly dominant fashion, with The Boss clearly turning Tamina toward the Raw women's champion before making her tap out.

Afterward, the two faces got into an argument as Banks took exception to the way the champion was speaking about her.

In the development of the women's evolution, it seems to be too often forgotten how important The Boss was in getting to this point. Her feud with Bayley in NXT followed by her rivalry with Charlotte Flair on the main roster were the biggest women's matches of their time and still hold up among the best.

Over the past year, she has fallen into the background due to her inconsistently booked team with The Hugger, and it has left Raw sadly lacking for top talent. However, her return to the top has felt like a breath of fresh air that the red brand desperately needed.

She put on a quality showing here again with Jax, and she has strong enough mic skills to make even weak material sound promising.

It's silly that Banks should be affected by Rousey's poor choice of words, but it does set up for more interesting developments soon.

Women's Tag Team Division Has Already Surpassed Men's Section on Raw

As The Revival fought The Lucha House Party, the camera panned backstage to focus on the continued attempts by Superstars to take Braun Strowman's spot against Brock Lesnar.

When the camera returned to the action, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder quickly got the pin, with the latter knocking Gran Metalik's foot off the ropes.

Later in the night, Alexa Bliss announced the first-ever women's tag team champions would be crowned at Elimination Chamber as three teams from Raw and three teams from SmackDown compete inside the structure. But Otis Dozovic interrupted the segment to embarrass himself and his partner, Tucker Knight.

The Raw men's tag team division has become a shell, with even the most well-regarded team, The Revival, being repeatedly underutilized. Its match should have gotten more of a spotlight and certainly not been interrupted by a backstage interview.

Luckily, there's at least one tag team division WWE seems to care about. The women's section will be introduced in impressive fashion inside the Chamber on February 17. Every team will be fighting for one of those all-important spots.

While Bayley and Banks, The IIconics, The Riott Squad, and Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are basically guaranteed spots, there's still room for more talent to slip in.

Anyone could take this opportunity to stand out and win the brand-new prestigious titles.

Bobby Lashley Takes Major Step Forward by Winning IC Title

Credit: WWE.com

Dean Ambrose was forced to defend his title against both Bobby Lashley and Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match where chaos reigned.

In the end, Lio Rush knocked The Architect out of the ring to allow The All Mighty to Spear the champion and win the Intercontinental Championship.

These last few weeks have been huge for Lashley, who has quickly gone from being one more big guy on a roster filled with heavyweight talent to the intercontinental champion in a feud with Raw's top star.

Rush has also found his niche recently, taking a more serious edge, and it has made The All Mighty feel more at home in WWE. He's still not living up to his potential, but this Triple Threat did live up to expectations.

The surprise victory establishes him just in time for the Road to WrestleMania and leaves The Lunatic Fringe without gold. Both will likely play a major role for Raw in the coming months, but it is surprising Ambrose lost his spot so quickly.

If he cannot quickly rebound, he may be one of the biggest stars left scrambling for an opportunity during the most important stretch of the wrestling year.