Just five days out from Extreme Rules, Monday Night Raw is one of two final shows left to really sell a pay-per-view that looks strong on paper, but feels like it might be lacking a bit of star power. The WWE Universal Championship is not being defended so WWE is trying to sell this event based on grudge matches with different stipulations. It will work if the two shows heading into Saturday's premium live event do their job.

Damage CNTRL played a big role in Monday's show, as did Alpha Academy and Judgment Day. Some surprising stars got a bit of a push and there was another White Rabbit tease.

Here are your winners and losers for Raw, October 3, 2022:

Winner: White Rabbit Tease

Let's get the big development of the show out of the way. Fans everywhere are watching the White Rabbit teases with so much anticipation, it's taken on a life of its own. WWE didn't disappoint. The latest QR code directed fans to a painting of Samson and Delilah from the Bible. There were two versions of the photo (one on mobile and one on desktop) and each had different hidden messages via a binary code and a magic eye painting at the bottom.

One code led to the longitudinal coordinates for the Wells Fargo Center, the location of Extreme Rules. The other led to a photo of a Japanese milk brand called White Rabbit. The magic eye painting had a code that translated to MTA4MjI, which decoded read 10822. That is the date of Extreme Rules. Interestingly, one of the clues in a code led to fans seeing the name Gacy, which we can only assume refers to "NXT" star Joe Gacy. Another message led to the decoding of a language from the Predator film which read, "Eternal, and eternal I endure. All hope abandon, ye who enter here." Clearly, these are lines Bray Wyatt has used in his Firefly Funhouse shows.

Winner: Damage CNTRL

This group had a big night. Not only did Dakota Kai pick up a bit of a surprising win over Candice LeRae, but Iyo Sky defeated Alexa Bliss in the main event before the entire faction stood atop the ladder with the titles and after having beaten down Bliss, Asuka, and Bianca Belair. It's clear WWE wants fans to see this group as the most dominant group on Raw right now and they were pushed heavily heading into the pay-per-view.

The only downside to all of this is that there's not really much going on with the actual tag team titles. While the women are picking up wins in singles matches, there is still no viable opponent for the Women's Tag Team Champions and WWE appears to be making no real effort to build up a duo that could challenge Kai and Sky. If Bayley somehow wins against Belair, the company is going to need realistic challengers.

Winner: Mustafa Ali

Ali got destroyed by Bobby Lashley, but there was something about the way Ali lost that could be good for his WWE career moving forward. He had a never-say-quit attitude, even if he knew he was defeated. He kept kicking out, climbing back in to continue the fight, and refused to tap to The Hurt Lock. He ultimately passed out and Lashley was declared the winner before Seth Rollins attacked, but this was a big night for Ali who many fans were likely surprised was even on the show.

Loser: WWE Crossed Over On Storylines

Instead of really focusing on the build for matches that were taking place on Saturday, creative tried to weave new opponents and rivalries into pre-existing feuds. Rollins is taking issue with Lashley while he should be focused on Riddle. Judgment Day is targeting AJ Styles when they've got a big problem in Edge to deal with. There were other instances of these kinds of weaving storylines and while it's not a total loss, it does often take away from the main objective, which is fans really feeling the animosity between two future opponents.

One example is the Riddle and Rollins segment. It was good, but there was almost as much emphasis placed on Rollins having beef with Lashley as there was on his upcoming Fight Pit Match.

Winner/ Loser: Growing Animosity Between Sami Zayn and Jey Uso

This beef between Zayn and Jey Uso is one of the best things going on WWE programming, full stop. The only issue with Monday's Raw is that, for the first time, it felt a bit forced. Zayn was constantly trying to be Solo Sikoa's best friend while Jey was pushing him out of the way and cutting in to look after his younger brother. Their bickering almost cost Sikoa a win against Angelo Dawkins.

WWE is going to be best to slow play this and Monday's issues between the two will have to be something Roman Reigns will have to address. This was the most these two have really been at each other and while their battle is inevitable, the longer it lasts, the better.

Raw Match Results: