The July 27 episode of WWE Raw gave viewers a taste of what they can expect at this year's SummerSlam pay-per-view—whether they like it or not.

Randy Orton established himself as the next challenger to Drew McIntyre's WWE Championship and Sasha Banks shockingly won the Raw Women's Championship in controversial fashion at the top of the card, but the red brand struggled creatively elsewhere.

Dominik returned and it became clear immediately that WWE sees Rey Mysterio's son as a bigger future star than someone like Aleister Black, while Mustafa Ali's push came to a sudden and emphatic end at the hands of Bobby Lashley.

The predictable, and oftentimes problematic, booking continued to plague the show this week. In the wake of the USA Network broadcast, find out what went down and the obvious issues that persist within the WWE creative process with this look at the fallout from Monday's Raw.

Randy Orton's Predictable Path to WWE Championship Match Begins

If you expected sagging ratings and audience apathy to get management to pivot away from the planned SummerSlam main event of Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, you probably haven't been watching Raw for the last six months.

Monday night, The Viper announced his desire for a title match against the Scot, then dropped him with an RKO at the end of the night to make the encounter official.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the feud or the championship match. Orton has been as good as he has ever been over the last eight months, returning to his Legend Killer ways en route to a showdown with the most dominant force on the red brand in McIntyre. And The Viper is of such star power that a match with him will only help to further establish the Scot's main event credibility.

The predictability of it all, at a time when fans are already dismayed by the total lack of spark in the WWE creative process, is a problem.

Raw is sinking to new viewership lows on a seemingly weekly basis. Shaking things up, providing something fresh and exciting rather than staying the course would help make the flagship show of WWE feel like destination programming for fans again.

As it stands, Orton vs. McIntyre will probably be a badass, hard-hitting and story-driven match, but it will not provide the bolt of excitement and electricity Raw so desperately needs this summer.

The Golden Role Models Hold All the Gold Following Sasha Banks' Victory

Somewhat surprisingly, Sasha Banks defeated Asuka via countout Monday night to win the Raw Women's Championship. As a result, The Golden Role Models now hold all of the gold in the WWE women's division.

The victory coincided with the last television appearance of Kairi Sane, who Bayley assaulted backstage, drawing Asuka out of the ring and resulting in her controversial defeat. 

While all signs point to The Empress of Tomorrow vs. The Boss one more time, presumably at SummerSlam, there are also Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax to contend with. The Queen of Spades and The Irresistible Force came to blows more than once Monday night, with each staking their claim to a shot at the Raw title.

So in what direction is the creative team taking the division?

Will Asuka get her revenge? Will Baszler tap Banks out to finally establish herself as the face of women's wrestling in WWE? Where does Jax fall in all of this?

Or might the company be content to let the most entertaining act on its show right now run with the gold until it figures out what it really wants to do?

Those are questions that bear watching in the coming weeks—especially with SummerSlam approaching on August 23—as there are no obvious answers at this time.

Did WWE Just Book Dominik Stronger Than Aleister Black?

Aleister Black should be a top contender on Raw and one of the brightest stars in the entire company. In NXT, he was edgy and dark, with an undeniable aura. He looked the part, something Triple H rewarded with a run as the brand's world champion.

On the main roster, he has been an also-ran: a product of WWE's inability to create new stars and a victim of inconsistent booking. He has been stripped of everything that made him special with the black-and-gold brand.

It only got worse Monday night, when he was beaten down and "blinded" by Murphy and Seth Rollins, only to be saved by Dominik Mysterio.

Yes, the badass former NXT champion with a kick that can knock out any man in one second, was the damsel in distress for Dominik to rescue.

It was a creative indignity, one that should not have befallen Black. He has earned better than the treatment he has received from a creative team headed by a 74-year-old billionaire who lost sight of what his audience wants 10 years ago. 

It was maddening to watch, but not at all surprising given the current state of things in McMahonland.

Is Mustafa Ali's Push Over Already?

Speaking of maddening, do you remember that time Mustafa Ali made his return to television after seven months away and picked up the win in a huge Six-Man Tag Team match, defeating the de facto United States champion and seemingly setting himself up for a run at the gold?

That was just last week.

Monday, Ali was steamrolled by Bobby Lashley and reminded of his place in the grand scheme of things as WWE Creative saw fit to show the audience that The All Mighty is an unstoppable force—at the expense of a young star it had just made a big deal about seven days earlier.

Considering Monday's show was taped at the same time as last week's, how is it possible that those in charge of booking booked both the start and end of a push to take place in consecutive broadcasts? 

It is yet another indication of the utter lack of attention being placed on the current WWE product. Sure, the company has stars it clearly wants to push, but everyone else is just wandering aimlessly without any real direction.

Ali jobbing out in an extended squash against Lashley is more indicative of what WWE Creative feels about him and his place on the brand. Unfortunately.