As WWE continues to struggle through a recent case of the post-WrestleMania creative blues, there wasn't much optimism for fans and critics alike entering Monday's edition of Raw that anything substantial might take place.  That turned out to be a sage prediction this week as a tape-delayed episode from the O2 Arena in London added a few more names to the June 17 Money in the Bank matches but failed to do much more.  

Save for some escalation in the Roman Reigns-Jinder Mahal and Kevin Owens-Kurt Angle feuds, this was three hours of pro wrestling that largely felt like it was going through the motions. Some of that may have to do with the international crowd, which was curiously meek despite some strong in-ring action at times throughout the night. 

Let's take a closer look at what went down as Raw took a trip across the pond.

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Roman Reigns gets revenge on Jinder Mahal 

Opening the show to boos, Reigns challenged Mahal to "come out and face me like a man" after last week's attack cost Reigns a spot in the Money in the Bank match. Raw general manager Kurt Angle came out to interject, telling Reigns it's "best for business" to think logically as a leader and allow Mahal his own shot at MITB later in a triple threat. After Reigns suggested making it a four-way by adding him, Angle said, "WWE management has made it perfectly clear that you will have no more qualifying opportunities," which sent the crowd chanting "Yes!" 

Choosing to take matters into his own hands, Reigns walked backstage to attack Mahal. A wild brawl ensued as both were sent flying into walls and barricades. The fight spilled back onto the stage where Mahal was laid out with a Superman punch before Angle and company restrained Reigns. Despite injuring his ribs, Mahal was later told twice by Angle that the MITB qualifying match could not be postponed and that he must fight.  As Mahal struggled to limp from the trainer's room to the arena, Reigns came out of nowhere to spear him through a makeshift wall. Despite the assault, Angle insisted that the triple threat match must go on and that a replacement must be found.  

The crowd's reaction to Reigns all night told WWE what they think about this storyline. Outside of giving Reigns his due for the dramatically stiff spear he landed on Mahal in one heck of a fun spot, there really isn't anything good going on here. WWE continues to present Reigns as either a sympathetic babyface or an anti-establishment hero fighting against the machine. Neither plan is producing positive crowd reactions, and to make matters worse, WWE creative can't seem to pick a direction and stick with it. Grade: C

Three more qualify for MITB matches 

After Owens lost his intercontinental title match against Seth Rollins (see below), he ran backstage to beg Angle for a rematch. Despite his request being denied, Owens threatened to call Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon, who is still sore at Angle over their match at WrestleMania 34. The threat became a reality later on when Angle fielded a backstage phone call from McMahon and was ordered to provide Owens with another opportunity, in place of the injured Mahal.

Bobby Roode def. No Way Jose (via pinfall) and Baron Corbin: Jose had plenty of offense in this one as his push continued. The London crowd, however, never quite bought into what was going on in the ring. A late Deep Six from Corbin nearly finished off Roode before Jose dove in to break the pin. After Corbin was sent flying, Roode hit a Glorious DDT on Jose for the pin.  

Alexa Bliss def. Bayley (via pinfall) and Mickie James: The alliance between heels quickly dissolved when James attempted to roll up Bliss from behind. And despite wishing her luck backstage before the match, Banks never appeared to help out Bayley. After hitting her Bayley-to-Belly suplex on Bliss, Bayley was pulled out of the ring by James to prevent the pin. Upon returning, Bliss combined a stiff right hand with a DDT for the 1-2-3.

Kevin Owens def. Elias (via pinfall) and Bobby Lashley: Elias' guitar playing was interrupted by Owens' entrance. To counteract, Elias stopped the match midway through and forced JoJo to hold the microphone for him to attempt to play guitar and sing. Lashley appeared to have the match won when he hit a Dominator on Elias, but Sami Zayn ran in to pull him from the ring and hit a Helluva Kick. The late save helped Zayn's good friend Owens find an opening to hit a frog splash off the top rope to pin Elias.

The novelty of these play-in matches has worn off by the second week. In what became a recurring theme involving the surprisingly passive London crowd, none of the three MITB matches seemed to connect with the audience or create any electricity, save for Zayn's late assistance with Owens. In that case, the evolving story between Angle and KO was well told, including the larger arc involving McMahon. Grade: C+  

What else happened on Raw?

  • Intercontinental Championship -- Seth Rollins (c) def. Kevin Owens via pinfall: The best part of Monday night continues to be matches involving Rollins. This open challenge was accepted via social media, and it was given the full 20-minute treatment with multiple near falls and big moves. Rollins reversed Owens into a stiff Falcon Arrow on the ring apron. Later, Owens reversed a superplex attempt from Rollins into a fisherman buster from the top rope. But Rollins deftly rolled out of the ring to avoid the pin and snuck back in to hit a superkick for the pin to defend his title.
  • Nia Jax challenges Ronda Rousey to Raw women's title match: During an interview that was filmed earlier in the day at the NBCUniverrsal upfront in New York, Jax interrupted a friendly chat between Rousey and Charlotte Flair to challenge Rousey for a title match at Money in the Bank. After initially saying she wasn't ready and that others deserved it more, Rousey accepted before sharing a laugh with Jax and walking away. This was half kayfabe, half real, all awkward; it made very little sense in terms of psychology and storyline.   
  • The B-Team def. Breezango via pinfall: Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel approached Angle backstage hoping for a title shot. Told they hadn't yet won a match on Raw, Angle agreed to give them a non-title match if they left him alone. The former Miztourage members settled on the name The B-Team ("B stands for best") and showed up wearing white T-shirts with a giant B colored in with black marker. Late in the match, Fandango missed his leg drop finisher off the top rope. Axel and Dallas followed with a tandem back suplex/neckbreaker for the pin. A wild celebration ensued. During the post-match interview, Axel told the Deleters of Worlds they are coming for the titles and led the crowd in a "B-Team" chant.   
  • Sasha Banks, Ember Moon & Natalya def. The Riott Squad via submission: Credit this six-woman tag match for heating up late despite almost no storyline support given for why viewers should care. A late tag to Natalya brought a house of fire and all six women in the ring. After Moon hit a suicide dive to the floor, Natalya forced Liv Morgan to tap with the sharpshooter.  
  • Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt def. The Revival via pinfall: This wasn't quite a squash match as Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder took turns working over Hardy's left knee at length. But the recent dominant push for the Raw tag team champions continued, including a new name for their double SIster Abigail finisher, now dubbed The Kiss of Deletion, which led to a pin on Dawson.' 
  • Sami Zayn threatens to expose the real Bobby Lashley: Zayn tried his best to navigate this poorly written solo segment with the crux being that Lashley, who Zayn said stole his trademark hat, isn't the man he claims ot be. To prove his point, Zayn said he is bringing Lashley's three sisters to Raw next week to expose him.
  • Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler def. Braun Strowman & Finn Balor via pinfall: Good use of classic tag team psychology in this one, building to an eventual hot tag for Strowman. Credit McIntyre for helping to milk the reveal by trash talking Strowman throughout. Not only did Strowman clean house once he entered, as expected, he hit a running shoulder tackle outside on McIntyre to prevent him from interfering on Balor (with the impact knocking over Strowman's Greatest Royal Rumble trophy). But as Balor climbed the top rope for his Coup de Grace, Ziggler knocked him off and rolled him up for the win.