WWE Raw Power Rankings: Birthday Boy Seth Rollins Celebrates By Retaining Top Spot

10. Jinder Mahal (last week: 11)

Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal cracks the top 10 this week with one of his best in-ring performances since returning to WWE Raw. The Modern Day Maharaja is at his best when he’s allowed to be an actual, old-school heel who abuses his opponent with superior strength. And that’s how he spent most of the match, taking Seth Rollins to the limit in an Intercontinental Championship match.

For a while, I had a sneaking suspicion that Mahal might actually win the match. Rollins is on fire right now and doesn’t really need the Intercontinental Title, and dropping it would free him up to go after Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship (you know, when Brock shows up next). But the Mahal/Reigns match at MITB doesn’t need a title involved, and ultimately no title change was the right decision, even if the finish was a little weird.

9. Elias (last week: 12)

Another superstar who crossed paths with Seth Rollins this week was Elias. The greatest musician on the Raw roster never really got around to performing his song, and he didn’t have a scheduled match, but it would be hard to argue that he didn’t take a big step forward with his actions.

After dealing with technical issues, an uncooperative (and ugly) crowd, and the disgust with having to do everyone else’s jobs, Elias was interrupted when Rollins came out for his match. The Kingslayer made the mistake of forcing Elias out, and he paid for it after the end of his match with a guitar shot that sent him off the announce table to the arena floor.

For Elias to make such a statement in the face of the Intercontinental Champion is a huge leap for him. And a Rollins/Elias program could be off the wall good, so bring it on.