So, this review is going to be different from the normal ones. I would just provide commentary for each match after they are finished, but this time, I’d figure trying reviewing it live. Just to switch things up a bit.
Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match – Tamina vs. Charlotte vs. Natayla vs. Carmella vs. Becky Lynch
First up, we have the historic Women’s Ladder Match for the Money In The Bank briefcase. I really wish I didn’t get the impression that they are having women doing these matches the men have been doing just for the sake of history. I said this match will end in one of two ways. Either it will be fantastic or a disaster. Let’s see. I noticed they edited Carmella’s theme as they edited out the silent part of her theme when she does the moonwalk. Sounds better to me. I like the look of a white briefcase much more than the stereotypical pink one. And of course, my stream goes dark literally right after the promo for the match ends. I heard that Tamina started dominating the match, so there’s that. Becky and Nattie then team up to take Tamina out with a ladder. Then I see Natayla and Becky Lynch fighting over a ladder. Natayla then scoop slams Becky back first into the ladder. Nattie is first to climb the ladder but Charlotte stops her in her tracks and drops her with the Electric Chair.
Carmella then comes into the fray and thwarts Charlotte and wedgies her while she climbs. The two go back and forth until Tamina comes back and shoves both off the ladder. Good selling by both Charlotte and Carmella there. Natayla then attacks Tamina with the ladder once again. The crowd chants “THIS IS AWESOME.” St. Louis traditionally sets the bar low for matches, so not surprising. Natayla then puts Becky in the Sharpshooter and Carmella kicks her in the face. Becky clears the ring and she’s all by herself, but Carmella then shoves Becky into the ladder and flips her off of it. I’m just waiting for Ellsworth’s bump. Carmella climbs but Charlotte bit boots Carmella and Becky. Meanwhile, Tamina clotheslines Natayla on the outside before Charlotte climbs again. Tamina fends her off and headbutts Charlotte off the ladder. Nothing too crazy going on so far, because it hasn’t kicked into second gear yet.
Charlotte then spears, or tackles, or something to Tamina out of the ring. She does the same thing to Tamina which sends her into the steel steps. Charlotte then corkscrews herself onto Tamina and Nattie on the outside. Carmella is once again by herself in the ring, but Becky comes back and powerbombs her off. Becky climbs but Ellsworth gets involved and pushes her off the ladder. James then climbs the top of the ladder and retrieves the briefcase. Um, what the hell? Ellsworth hands the briefcase to Carmella, the referees deliberate for a while, and they just say “fuck it”, and Carmella is the first ever Ms. Money In The Bank at 13:15. So yeah, that was massively disappointing. There really wasn’t any story being told, there weren’t any crazy bumps (though, that was to be expected) and the ending was complete and utter bullshit. Doesn’t it speak volumes that in the first ever Women’s Money In The Bank ladder match, a man still ends up being the one holding the briefcase in the end? All the women really did here was just hit each other with ladders They tried, but this just didn’t click for me. I want to give the women the benefit of the doubt for trying, so I won’t bang them in the head too hard for it, but the execution was bad. **
The Usos vs. The New Day – Smackdown Tag Team Titles
The two start with the basic tag team formulas until Kofi gets Uso in the corner. Big E then splashes Uso while hanging on the edge of the ring. He tags Kofi and Kofi kicks him in the chest. Uso tagged another Uso (I don’t know which one is which) and one of the Usos lowers the rope and Kofi takes a nasty bump outside. That sounded like a straight thud. I thought he landed on his head, but the replay shows he landed on his side. That could have ended badly. The Usos then suplex Kofi onto the ring post outside. Uso has Kofi in a side headlock. The Usos then double team Kofi and Kofi is now your unicorn in peril.
Crowd chants for Kofi but Jey isn’t having it. However, Kofi stops him and gets the tag to Big E. Belly to belly suplexes for Jimmy and Big E is turning up. Jimmy gets up and kicks Big E in the abdomen but Big E stops him with a slam in the corner for a 2 count. Jimmy goes for the leg and Jey stomps the back of his left leg. Jey has the submission locked in and Big E takes care of Jimmy with a belly to belly on the outside. Jey goes for a superkick, but Kofi reverses it into his own submission. Kofi takes out Jimmy and Kofi get the SOS and then gets a 2 count. Crowd bought that finish. The match is finally picking up into that second gear.
Kofi sells his left knee but gets a corner splash and Big E gets the tag. Jey gets the superkick but But Big E tries to catch him in mid-air but screws it up. Jey tries to roll up Big E but that only gets 2. That looked bad. He got the Big Ending, but Jimmy comes in at the last minute to break it up. That was a 3 count by the way but this match must go on. Kofi gets the splash on the outside and The New Day gets the Midnight Hour, but Jimmy pulls Jey out and the last second. Then, The Usos retreat and take the cheap count-out defeat at 12:22. I hate it when the ring announcer announces a winner by count out. If they don’t win the title, who cares? As I feared, the finish to the women’s ladder match set the stage for the awful finishes and we get our second straight shitty finish. Finish notwithstanding, the match got into gear and the finishes were really good down the stretch as the two teams showcased their chemistry with each other. Had we get an actual finish, we were headed for **** territory, but unfortunately the booking team for this show sees it fit for St. Louis to have bad finishes. Good thing they’re not in a smark city. ***1/2
We see that Daniel Bryan will address the women’s MITB situation this Tuesday on Smackdown. Great. Stiff your live crowd with a bad finish and then resolve it at a future date. Backstage, we see Bob Orton Sr. and Sgt. Slaughter backstage.
Smackdown Women’s Championship – Naomi vs. Lana
Lana’s ring gear looks ravishing indeed. The match starts with Naomi jumping Lana in the corner before Lana takes control. She slams Naomi hard to the ground before Naomi takes her off her feet. She then does a bulldog slammy thingy to Lana in the corner. Lana dodges a missed cross-body and Lana quickly covers for 2. Lana dodges a kick by Naomi and slams it onto the rope. She gets Naomi back into the ring and covers both legs for 2. A good bit of basic psychology there. Lana then attacks her back and holds her chin in a submission hold. Stick to a body part, Lana. Make it simple for yourself. Lana then suplexes Naomi two times in a row off the bottom rope and Naomi sells the leg. That’s more like it. The crowd chants for Rusev. Lana continues to target Naomi’s left knee. It looks more like she’s just pulling her leg but that wraps it around her body. Naomi tries to reverse it into a cross arm-breaker in a weird sequence.
Lana goes for a strike in the corner but Naomi reverses with the double knees. Naomi reverses into a stiff kick to the head multiple times. Naomi shouts “IT’S GLOW TIME”. I wish she had time to sell the right leg. Naomi hits the rear view for a two count. Lana then gets her sit out spinebuster for two. Then, we hear Carmella’s music to a mild reaction. Carmella attempts to hand the briefcase to the time-keeper for some reason but waits for the match to finish. Lana covers for some reason for two. Lana goes for her sit out spinebuster again but Naomi reverses to her submission and she gets the victory at 7:29. For Lana’s first singles match, she did show some signs of ring presence and psychology, but she did look uncomfortable at times hitting her moves. Naomi also forgot which leg was supposed to hurt. They also looked like they didn’t mesh together well at too many points in the match as well. I wasn’t feeling this match either. It was basically the wrestling equivalent of oil and water. *1/2 Carmella chickens out and decides to wait to cash in another day.
WWE realizes that they only have five matches on the card so they have to fill time with a Fashion Files segment. I dig the 2007 video quality for a retro feel. They even have the black side bars. I’ve heard that these two have been killing it with the Fashion Files segments on Smackdown that I haven’t been watching.
Back to the ring, and we see that Maria and Mike Kanellis arrive in WWE after rumors of them appearing on the show all day. They talk about finding the right partners or whatever and they leave. Not sure what they wanted to do there.Mike Bennett, who gets work everywhere due to being married to Maria, taking on her former last name for his on-screen persona is so unbelievably accurate I can’t even believe that it turned out that way. Can’t wait for him to get the Marc Mero treatment.
We see Shane write on Twitter that Carmella and Ellsworth robbed the WWE Universe. No, Shane, that would be the people booked for shit to take place. WWE then takes the time to introduce some NWA and WWE legends that I’m convinced the majority of these fans no nothing about with the exception of Slaughter, Orton and Ric Flair.
WWE Championship: Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton
I hate it when the WWE Champion gets introduced first. Even if the other guy is in his hometown. This is probably the loudest reaction Orton has gotten in years. Orton starts with powerful strikes in the corner and goes for an RKO but Jinder escapes. Orton seems much sprier and motivated now that he’s surrounded by a crowd that’s actually willing to give him a strong reaction. Jinder ponders for a while and charges the ring but Orton leaps up about as high I’ve seen him in years for a Thez press and suplexes him on the top rope. Orton then stomps Jinder all over. Orton gets a side elbow and clotheslines Mahal to the floor. A clothesline for Jinder awaits him on the outside. Orton then slams Jinder’s face on the announcer’s table. Orton attempts to go for a DDT, but Jinder reverses and Orton lands on his knee on the outside. Jinder then goes after Orton’s left knee. Jinder then throws Orton right into the steel steps. They go around the ring and they land back into the announcer’s table. This time, Jinder reverses and slams Orton into the announcer’s table. Jinder then slams Orton’s knee into the announcer’s table and continues to target it.
Jinder continues working on the left knee with a lock. Orton tries to reverse with some punches and gets out. The two go back and forth until Orton is able to hit a Fallaway Slam. The two go back outside but Jinder goes for the knee of Orton on top of the barricade outside. Orton goes for another RKO out of nowhere but Jinder reverses with a superkick which gets 2. Jinder stays with the left knee and holds him in a submission hold. Jinder gets a knee drop. Jinder then gets the Figure Four on Orton with Ric Flair looking on. A nice touch. Orton then tries to roll over and reverses the pressure on Jinder until he gets to the ropes. Jinder goes right back to the, you guessed it, left knee of Orton. Jinder bends his left knee awkwardly. It looks like Orton wanted a cradle pin for a while and then got it for 2 and Jinder puts him right back down with a clothesline.
Jinder then gets Orton up on the top rope and lets Orton’s dad know about it. Orton escapes and headbutts Jinder off of him. Mahal goes for a splash and is reversed then Orton gets Jinder on the top rope and gets a superplex which gets 2. They go back and forth and Orton then gets his flurry with a series of clothesline and a power slam. Orton then gets his DDT and then panders to the crowd for an RKO from not exactly out of nowhere. Orton hits the RKO from not exactly out of nowhere but the Singh brothers get Jinder’s leg on the bottom rope clear as day. Instead of getting Jinder DQ’ed, he implores the ref to just throw them out and he does just that as Orton goes back to selling the leg while Jinder takes a nap on the outside. The Singh brothers don’t exactly leave and they taunt the legends ringside and get a hold of RKO Sr until Orton comes to his rescue.
Orton suplexes The Singh Brothers on the announcer’s table and RKO’s one on the outside. Orton then runs and RKO’s another Singh brother on the table. Jinder meanwhile is back in the ring. Jinder then goes to the Knee and gets to the Khallas to beat Orton once again and retain at 21:00. I think it took a little bit longer than I would have liked to get to the point, but this match was more technically sound than their Backlash matchup and both men were protected in the finish, so can’t complain much. Throw in some psychology with the leg, solid extracurricular activity with the legends and the heelish finish and you’ve got your match of the night by a mile. ***3/4
More filler on the way as we get Breezango and The Ascension in an impromptu tag team match. Breeze gets some opening strikes on, I think, Konnor? Who’s the fat one and who’s the caveman one? Screw it. All four men get in the ring and Breezango takes down The Ascension. They get back in and Konnor gets a huge knife edge chop. He holds Breeze down and Viktor gets a face stomp and elbow for two. Fandango gets tagged in and gets double teamed by The Ascension. Fandango shoves Konnor on the outside and Fandango rolls up Viktor for the victory at 3:55. Just a filler Smackdown match. Nothing special. Not much else to say.*
Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin
Before the match begins, Corbin takes out Nakamura with a tiny ladder and I think a camera while the rest of the competitors wisely sit there and watch. Par for the course based on how this night has gone. The match starts as the ring is cleared out. Zayn works over Ziggler while Styles works over Corbin. Owens slams Ziggler’s face into a ladder. Ziggler slams Styles’ head onto the barricade while Zayn and Owens go at it. Where have I seen that before? Zayn then dives on Owens. It appears Ziggler and Corbin have a mini alliance as they jump AJ Styles. Corbin and Ziggler then grab a ladder and ram AJ with it. Corbin then says screw you to Ziggler and knocks him out. Ziggler then comes back and superkicks Corbin square in the face. Styles then dumps Zayn in the ring. Styles then shoves Ziggler into a ladder on the floor, but then climbs up a ladder and takes out Styles. Corbin then does the Deep Six on the floor to Ziggler.
AJ gets a ladder but then Owens takes him out with a superkick and then attacks Zayn and Styles with a ladder. He doesn’t discriminate as Corbin and Ziggler get some as well. Styles then drop toeholds Owens while holding the ladder. All five men seem to be mailing it in so far. Don’t sense the energy yet. Styles goes for the Styles clash on Owens but Owens back body drops Styles out of the ring. Owens is alone in the ring with a ladder but Zayn thwarts his efforts, as he always does. Owens takes Zayn out with a face to the ropes. KO thinks about diving onto the sea of competitors but Zayn takes shim off the top and throws him right onto the ladder. Damn, he’s gonna feel that. Zayn then finds himself on his own but Ziggler comes in and stops it.
Crowds says “OHHH” to something which I don’t think was related to the match because it wasn’t shown and the announcers didn’t react. Ziggler throws Zayn right onto the ladder. Ziggler tries to climb but Sami stops get the Blue Thunder Bomb. Zayn climbs but Corbin sends Zayn face first. AJ comes and climbs in but Corbin is there as well. Styles reaches for the briefcase and Ziggler climb on top of Corbin to get to the top. Ziggler gets a handle of the briefcase for a second and Corbin climbs, but not before Ziggler gets a Zig Zag from the ladder. Ziggler climbs, selling his back but AJ stops him while Zayn joins the fray. Zayn and Ziggler take Styles out and then it’s just Zayn and Ziggler. Zayn sunset flips Ziggler off the ladder. Zayn and Owens find themselves fighting on the apron and Zayn hits a back suplex onto Owens and lands near his neck. His selling will never get old. Zayn climbs to the top but AJ comes from out of nowhere with a Phenomenal Forearm.
AJ climbs but Corbin throws him over the announcer’s table with evil intentions. A ladder is set up on top of the steel steps and announcer’s table. AJ gets an enziguiri on Corbin. Corbin catches AJ in mid-air and chokeslams AJ on top of the ladder. Now my WWE Network stream is out of sync with the audio. Seems fitting. AJ and Sami both climb the ladder but KO stops Zayn with a low blow. Owens reaches for the briefcase but AJ gets his leg at the last minute. KO attempts to powerbomb AJ through the ladder, but AJ reverses into an AA through the ladder. KO takes the craziest bumps, man. AJ has the briefcase in hand, but Ziggler removes the ladder from him, leaving AJ dangling for dear life. AJ tries to unhook the briefcase but falls right down to the mat. Corbin dumps Ziggler and attempts to climb but Nakamura returns. He sends Corbin flying with some wicked kicks and gets his knee to the midsection. Nakamura then knocks Corbin out of the ring. Nakamura gets the Kinsasha on Ziggler and catches Zayn with some kicks. Kinsasha on Zayn connects.
Nakamura attempts to bring in a ladder but Kevin Owens hangs on to the ladder. Nakamura sees the culprit and gives Owens a Kinsasha for his troubles. Nakamura sets up the ladder but sees a familiar foe in AJ Styles across from him. They put the ladder aside and shit is about to get real. The two go back and forth with punches and Nakamura gets the Exploder Suplex on AJ. Nakamura looks for the Kinsasha but AJ counters with a Forearm mid-strike. AJ and Nakamura climb one last time and go back and forth, but Corbin comes in and shoves each of them at the last minute and steals the briefcase at 29:45. I thought the match started off kind of slow, but it picked up in a huge way, especially when Nakamura entered the match. Each man took crazy bumps, had their big moments, and while the winner wasn’t ever really in question, I quite enjoyed myself towards the end there. AJ carried the majority of the match, but each man pulled their weight to tell a great story here. In terms of where this ranks on the all-time list of MITB ladder matches, while I don’t think it’s the greatest ever, it’s top tier to be sure. ****
Conclusion:
The show was falling off a cliff until the main event matches that is. New Day and The Usos went out there and gave us quality wrestling, but it was muddied by a bad finish. Lana showed that she has, something, but other than that, it was a complete two-match show, and considering that there was only five advertised matches on television going into tonight, this went far too long to get to the good stuff. I think the WWE Title match and the men’s ladder match was good enough to not make this show thumbs down, but the underwhelming undercard drags it down to no higher than thumbs in the middle. Catch only those two matches, and you’re set. If you want, catch the last 5 minutes of the tag match as well. Everything else is skippable. Considering this PPV was heading to all-time worst PPV status, the show saved itself in the end, but just barely. Let me know what you guys thought. Until next time.
