by Strowman and Lashley. On the May 14 episode of Raw, he was given another opportunity to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match on June 17, which he won by defeating Lashley and Elias in a triple threat match. At the event, the ladder match was won by Braun Strowman. In the following weeks, Owens unsuccessfully attempted to develop a partnership with Strowman to replace an injured Sami Zayn, leading to Strowman destroying Owens' car. At Extreme Rules on July 15, Owens defeated Strowman after he threw Owens from the top of the cage through the announce table, meaning Owens' feet touched the floor first, rendering him the winner. On the July 23 episode of Raw, Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon granted Kevin Owens an opportunity to face Strowman at SummerSlam under the stipulation that if Owens won, he received Strowman's Money in the Bank contract. At the event on August 19, Owens lost to Strowman. On the August 27 episode of Raw, after failing to win the Intercontinental Championship from Seth Rollins, Owens sat in the middle of the ring and said the words "I Quit." On the September 3 episode of Raw, Owens returned to attack Bobby Lashley. At Super Show-Down on October 6, in what was originally set to be a singles match between Owens and Cena, he instead teamed with Elias in a losing effort against Lashley and Cena, and on the following episode of Raw, Owens was defeated by Lashley. The next day, WWE announced Owens suffered injuries to both knees that required surgery. On the February 26, 2019 episode of SmackDown Live, Owens returned as a face, replacing Kofi Kingston in the WWE Championship match at Fastlane against Daniel Bryan, per Vince McMahon's orders. At the pay-per view on March 10, a returning Mustafa Ali was added to the match, thus making it a triple threat match, and Owens failed to win the title after Bryan pinned Ali. After WrestleMania 35, Owens started a storyline, where he congratulated Kofi Kingston for winning the WWE Championship and joined The New Day as their honorary third member, since Big E was recovering from an injury. However, since Daniel Bryan suffered an injury at WrestleMania, SmackDown needed a top level heel, so on the April 23 episode of SmackDown Live, Owens turned on Kingston and attacked him and Xavier Woods, proclaiming that he wanted the