Heading into Monday's edition of RAW, the entire WWE Universe had their collective eyes fixed on one match and one match alone: Ciampa vs. Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship.

In the eyes of many, the momentum was firmly in the corner of the “Blackhearted” former NXT Champion, as he was coming off of a string of promos that had the wrestling world talking, a pair of wins over Chad Gable/Dolph Zigler and then A.J. Styles to secure his title shot, and a declaration that the match wasn't just being wrestled for himself, but instead for his mentor Harley Race, who trained Ciampa back in 2008 and passed away three years ago.

And yet, wrestling is a funny thing. Something a wrestler can be the ultimate underdog and still come out on top, and other times even the “hottest man in WWE” can see their momentum halted by a bigger, badder dude who wanted it just a little bit more.

That latter fate, unfortunately, is what befell Ciampa during the biggest match of his time on RAW to date. Lashley consistently overpowered his opponent, and the former #DIY-er had to resort to underhanded tactics to try to cheat his way to the championship. Despite a steady string of interference from The Miz, at least until the insertion of A.J. Styles to the outside of the ring evened the odds, Ciampa couldn't get the upper hand and ultimately had to tap out to The Hurt Lock.

Is this the end of the road for Ciampa? Hardly, he wasn't Ezekiel-ed or anything in loss; no, this is just a minor detour on a journey that may take a little longer than some anticipated.