Bayley wins Women’s Money in The Bank Ladder Match
Someone change the number on that dial, because I called it. Mandy Rose seemed like the answer that was too obvious. Therefore, the next best option is typically correct.
Anyways, this match was kind of weird to watch. I definitely liked a lot of it. There were some creative spots, they worked with a sense of urgency from the opening bell, and that eclipse from Ember Moon was beautiful to watch.
However, a lot of it was awkward as well. First, some of the spots looked over-choreographed. That’s always a risk when it comes to ladder matches with a large field. The set up spot, break, set up spot, break formula kind of hurt the pacing. Therefore, I couldn’t enjoy what they were doing fully.
Also, the sequence with Mandy and Carmella was incredibly weird to see. So Mandy attacks Carmella and she sells an injury that didn’t appear to be a work at first glance. Then, Mandy actually looked like she was trying to help Carmella and Carmella pushed her away, as if to say she didn’t want her help after injuring her.
Then, Carmella limps back out and beats Mandy up only to be taken out by Deville. It just seemed like a weird subplot with no endgame. The other participants in the match in Ember, Naomi, Cross and Natalya played their roles well. Even Dana Brooke had a few moments.
I think this may be the best women’s MITB ladder match, but considering there’s only been 4 in existence, the bar isn’t exactly high. I think there was more fun and little nonsense, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. ***1/2
Rey Mysterio def. Samoa Joe (C) – United States Championship
Some people naturally think an audible was called to end the match early to subdue Joe’s bleeding. It’s certainly plausible. But they also had a short match at WrestleMania and Rey returned the favor. Also, since Joe’s shoulders were up, it does protect him.
I don’t mind the finish and I don’t mind the match length. However, there is one thing that bugged me. If you’re going to do the screwy pin finish, you can’t make it overtly obvious Joe’s shoulders were up. I mean, his entire arm was up.
It’s one thing if the shoulder is up for a brief second, but you didn’t even need a replay to see that. The consistent replays of that finish only exacerbated how poorly done that was. Then again, if everything had to be improvised on the spot to cut the match short, then I guess it can be forgiven.
Congrats to Mysterio for becoming a Grand Slam Champion, though. Match gets no rating because it lasted about 2 minutes.
Shane McMahon def. The Miz – Steel Cage Match
First, I’m grading this match on a bit of a curve because I dislike steel cage matches. At least, I dislike the modern day WWE version of a steel cage match. These days, a steel cage match is nothing more than a regular match which just so happens to have a steel cage around it.
The Miz and Shane tried, but this didn’t click for me. It’s just hard for me to take Shane seriously as anything more than a stunt man. I’m sure we were all expecting what was the most unsourced way Shane would try to kill himself, like a Shooting Star Press from the top of the cage or something. We didn’t even really get that.
The two just don’t work as a tandem to me. As for the finish, I didn’t hate it. I’m just wondering why? For what purpose does Shane still need to be defeating one of WWE’s elite superstars. Even if they are flukes, a loss is a loss.
Also, what was up with that rope break? Maybe I misinterpret it, but there shouldn’t be any rope breaks in a No DQ match. So why didn’t The Miz contest this with the official? That was just incredibly weird.
Overall, it was kind of a snooze fest, and didn’t accomplish anything that WrestleMania match didn’t. *3/4
Tony Nese (C) def. Ariya Davairi – Cruiserweight Championship
It is going to take some getting used to not seeing Buddy Murphy not represent the CW division.
I really have nothing much to say here. I haven’t been paying attention to either of these two. They worked a match and it was most certainly a wrestling match. It was decent enough and didn’t overstay it’s welcome. It’s also nothing that warrants an extended review. Why? Because it was just a match. **1/4
Becky Lynch (C) def. Lacey Evans – RAW Women’s Championship
I’d like to preface this by saying that I love Lacey Evans because she has a distinct look and plays her character up perfectly to a tee. Everything from the MITB themed wardrobe to her slowly and meticulously wiping sweat off of her is what she’s about. That’s what I like to see.
I think she made a positive impression here, as I believed there was a lot to like. However, it also felt kind of rushed. The finish (what is with the referees tonight), was once again awkward as Lacey was trying to cover Becky and the ref decides not to count it for whatever reason. Becky easily counters and boom. Match over.
I liked the limb work front Lacey and how she gave Becky a specific obstacle to overcome. However, it didn’t feel like there was an adequate pay off to that story. Maybe it’s just me, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more out of this. But relatively solid aside from a few sloppy spots. **1/2
Charlotte Flair def. Becky Lynch (C) – Smackdown Women’s Championship
So, I got a few things to say about this. First of all, why was Becky and everyone else surprised when Charlotte came out immediately after? Clearly, it looks like I’m the only person who was in on this.
Becky has two independent belts, which means she will have two sets of challengers for each belt. If she holds two belts, it means she has to pull double duty. So when Charlotte came out, and Becky looked concerned, I was taken aback. After all the talk of her not being afraid to overcome challenges, she sure didn’t look up to the task when the rubber met the road.
Next, I wouldn’t even classify the match as an actual match. It was just 5 minutes of Charlotte jumping Becky, Lacey attacking Becky from behind, and winning off a botched kick. Since the match was at least approaching a regular match length, I suppose I could grade it. But if this was a regular segment and not a match on an episode of Smackdown, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. *1/4
Now, as for Bayley cashing in, I didn’t expect that either. First, I thought they were going to milk out the Becky 2 Belts thing for a bit longer. I didn’t expect the hype to end on her first PPV as a dual champion. No one has ever defended two titles successfully on the same night, but with the way they’ve been pushing her, I thought she was gonna break that mold. Guess I was wrong.
Next, I never expected WWE to pull another cash-in on the same night yet again. In three out of the last four MITB PPV’s, the winner of a ladder match cashed in that same night. The gimmick is starting to get cheapened. I’d like to think WWE is doing this to get out of properly booking a briefcase holder considering winners in recent years such as Strowman and Corbin have been massive flops.
Bayley is a superstar I’ve been saying needs to get back on track, but I never expected it to come full circle in one night. Hopefully this reign will be better than her first one, and she can establish herself as an elite superstar once again. Also, she is the first woman to hold the RAW, Smackdown, NXT and Tag Titles in WWE history. That’s something.
Roman Reigns def. Elias
Well, I’m glad we weren’t subjected to a 15 minute match that made us think that Elias had a chance of winning, and they got straight to the point. I have no complaints other than I wish Elias would get one over on a bigger superstar for a change. What are we even doing with him at this point?
Seth Rollins (C) def. AJ Styles – Universal Championship
Two great pro wrestlers having a great pro wrestling match? Pinch me, I’m dreaming! My biggest fear coming into this match was that this would get AJ/Nakamura vibes. Meaning that it would be a match between two talented pro wrestlers that would leave us saying “Yeah, the match was okay” instead of “WOW, did you see what they did out there?!”
Thankfully this match met my expectations. There wasn’t a specific story to follow in the match. It was just two great superstars trying to outdo each other on a big stage. This felt like a huge match, and it delivered in a big way.
Another thing this match had going for it was the fact that this was their very first one on on encounter. Meaning we had no way of knowing how they’d fight against each other and what they’d do in order to win. Styles counter of the Curb Stomp into the Styles Clash was incredibly well done.
The winner of the match was never in question. Seth is the man (now that Becky isn’t evidently) and will be for the foreseeable future. I can’t say anything else other than that these two absolutely tore it apart and burned it down. I hope WWE doesn’t oversaturate these two fighting against each other to the point it gets stale. Save a rematch for a worthy occasion, like Summerslam. ****1/2
Kofi Kingston (C) def. Kevin Owens – WWE Championship
This match had a major obstacle to overcome. Seeing that the crowd expended a lot of energy on Seth/AJ, they needed to get the crowd back into it. While it took them a while to do that, the ending got really good when it mattered most.
I appreciated Kofi’s physicality, resilience and ring awareness to protect from Owens’ destructive offense. Kofi wanted to prove that he’s more than just a third of a pancake eating trio. He had to fend for himself, and he took all of KO’s offense and kept fighting.
The finishers and reversal sequences toward the end were well done as well. It took some time to get the crowd to warm up, but this got really entertaining towards the end. Kofi passes his first test as WWE Champion. ***3/4
Brock Lesnar wins Money in The Bank Ladder Match
Did I seriously just type that? Ugh.
First, I think we got a bit of foreshadowing that Sami being written out of the match would eventually result in a replacement and that one would win. Some suspected it might be Bray Wyatt due to the “Yowie Wowie” chants but that was a longshot. But did anyone really predict Lesnar? I’ll get to that atrocious ending in a second.
Let’s address the match. This was barbaric in the right sense. I seriously believed these guys were trying to kill each other. Finn Balor? Tough as nails tonight. I can’t imagine what his hack is going to feel like in the morning. Humans aren’t meant to bounce up and down like a basketball on a ladder. Kudos to him. The teasing of Corbin and Drew’s alliance? Beautifully done.
Ricochet and Ali? Crazy high flying action. Orton? While we didn’t get that memorable RKO spot, he was a very solid veteran presence. Andrade? Infectious energy. There were crazy spots, there was a clear sense of urgency, and they made it seem like they were fighting for something important.
I seriously loved every second of this, and I may think this is one of my five favorite MITB ladder matches. But I may have to reconsider considering that tragedy for the finish. Here’s the issue that I have.
People are mad that 7 people killed each other only to have someone come in and get a cheap win. I don’t have an issue with that because what Brock Lesnar did was the most Brock Lesnar thing to do. That’s not the issue. The issue is that it was completely unnecessary and a wasted opportunity.
Brock Lesnar DOES NOT need a briefcase to get a title shot. He’s Brock Lesnar. If he was sanctioned to be included in this match at the last minute, he could get a title shot whenever he wanted. You’re telling me the briefcase wouldn’t be better served with Andrade or McIntyre? You’re seriously going to give it to Lesnar just so he could get a rematch?
If you ask me, Lesnar winning was an excuse to get out of properly booking a MITB briefcase holder. Just when you think WWE is going to end on a high note, they throw us another head-scratcher. It’s sad. But in spite of the foolish decision, the match was still very fun to watch. I enjoyed it heavily and recommend it if you missed it. ****1/4
Conclusion:
All I have to say is thank goodness the main event matches delivered. The Universal Title match is far away your best match of the night, followed by the men’s ladder match. Kofi/Owens had some very good stuff down the stretch, and the women’s ladder match was more or less about what I expected it to be.
I believe the good on this show is enough for me to give MITB a thumbs up. The women’s matches and all the other matches were just there to occupy time as they didn’t really had much to the show. But I don’t think anyone should be upset at the big 4 matches of the night, and since this show heavily depended on how great those were, I’m satisfied.
Brock Lesnar. Money in the Bank. Ew.
