WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for May 14

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Elias vs. Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Lashley, Money in the Bank Qualifier

Result: Kevin Owens pinned Elias to qualify for Money in the Bank

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

Gotta love commercial breaks with less than 10 minutes left in a three hour broadcast! Like Raw isn’t enough of a struggle to get through sometimes, now we need a pit stop with a quarter of a lap to go?

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But as you can tell by the headline, Kevin Owens is the replacement for the injured Jinder Mahal. If you can prove to me that Roman Reigns is a babyface, and Jinder is still a heel, I’m all ears. But it’s pretty clear that Jinder — who lost this opportunity at the hands of Roman Reigns — is the more sympathetic character, and Reigns is the baddie.

While not a tear down the house instant classic, this was definitely the best of the MITB qualifiers on the night. If Elias continues to try and put on his concerts in the middle of matches, it’ll be a great wrinkle for his character. He’s already great in the ring, but that extra bit of character work could put him over the top.

Sami Zayn’s involvement was unnecessary, but it makes sense in the long run if he and Owens are supposed to be “unworthy” competitors. Needing the other to win a match keeps them as a package deal for a little while longer. Plus, now this frees up Sami and Lashley for something else, whether at MITB or Raw the following night.

The Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match is shaping up to be fantastic. The four superstars from Raw — Owens, Bobby Roode, Finn Balor, and Braun Strowman — are great, and add in The Miz and Rusev? Wow. The last two SmackDown Live spots could go to Primo Colon and James Ellsworth and it would still be a Top 3 of all time.

Next: Seth Rollins is Superstar of Year So Far

That closes the book on another episode of WWE Raw. Seth Rollins again delivered the best match of the night, but Kevin Owens was in two great matches. There was some dreck in the middle, and waaaaaay too much time spent on the whole Nia Jax/Ronda Rousey thing for my liking. What did you think of WWE Raw this week?