Nikki A.S.H Wins Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
A really interesting decision in a middle of the road ladder match. Starting with the finish, I suppose you could say it was lacking, stupid or anywhere in between. You could say it fits Nikki’s new persona, as a lucky, opportunistic, optimistic underdog. Whatever the case, I didn’t really like how it was done, but beggars can’t be choosers.
The actual match itself was kind of disjointed for my linking. I suppose it just felt too overly choreographed to me. It was spot, rest, set up new spot, etc.
The best example of this were the spots including Naomi on the ladder that Natalya and Morgan were fighting over. Liv and Nattie were just holding the ladder doing nothing while waiting for the next spot. The flow just felt too cluttered.
The field for this ladder match also wasn’t the strongest either. There really wasn’t anyone in this field that you’d expect to hit a big spot with a ladder outside of Naomi. Nikki’s dive from the outside was okay, but again, that also felt overly choreographed since everyone was just waiting for her to dive as opposed to doing the wise thing, getting out of the way.
So all in all, rather forgettable altogether. **1/2
AJ Styles (C) and Omos (C) def. The Viking Raiders – RAW Tag Team Championships
The match started it out with kind of a sluggish pace but once we got to the near-falls, it actually got pretty good. And I can visibly see Omos learning the intricacies of being a big man in WWE. He’s played the role admirably so far and I look for bigger things as he continues. Overall, a real solid tag match with a basic formula that worked. **3/4
Bobby Lashley (C) def. Kofi Kingston – WWE Championship
Bottom line is this is the kind of match this needed to be as Bobby prepares for Summerslam. He said that he was going to rip Kofi Kingston apart and that’s exactly what he did. Kofi used Bobby’s overeagerness against him to start, but once Bobby got the advantage, he never let up.
Its always nice to see heels actually deliver on their promises and so what they say. Bobby is built like he’s out of Greek mythology, and he certainly looked like it. The end result was never in question. Shouts to Kofi for doing the job. You can obviously only rate this match so high because of how one sided it was, but because the squash was fun to watch, I’ll show some love. ***
Charlotte Flair def. Rhea Ripley (C) – RAW Women’s Championship
I can only assume that this was the match they were planning on delivering at WrestleMania last year. Now I know what people are thinking. Boo-hoo, Charlotte wins again. Listen guys. In big match situations; there aren’t a great deal of people you’d pick above Charlotte to deliver. She always delivers when she needs too, and this match was absolutely fantastic.
These two have absolutely impeccable chemistry and there were so many moments where you might have been convinced the match was going to be over. It was just fantastic all the way through. I absolutely loved all of it. ****1/4
Big E Wins Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Now that’s a damn Money In The Bank ladder match. First m, in regards to the winner Big E, they absolutely nailed it with that one. They’ve been slowly building towards this Big E singles run from the moment he was brought over to SmackDown away from New Day, but now we can really get down to business with that briefcase.
The actual match was just bonkers and balls to the wall. You had high flyers everywhere, bodies going through ladders, superb athleticism and great moments of drama. I honestly can’t recap everything because this match went through so seamlessly, but just know that this was absolutely fantastic action and would argue that it’s a top 5 MITB match ever. ****1/2
Roman Reigns (C) def. Edge – Universal Championship
Surely we all knew that Rollins was getting involved, right? I mean, it’s not like WWE made it completely obvious. Let’s talk about the journey there. Definitely very hard-worked, definitely a lot of drama, and definitely came down to the wire. I think the only problem I had with the match was that the first Rollins interference wasn’t needed. Because Edge and Roman still fought for like a good 4-5 minutes after the distraction.
That being said, this was a very, very good main event that delivered great intensity, and as always, Roman continues to fire on all cylinders. And Edge is still proving on this comeback tour that he is capable of keeping up with the fresh blood. It’s just so amazing to see matches we never thought possible come to fruition. And now we get Roman/Cena part 2 for Summerslam as Roman continues his Ruthless Aggression Tour. Speaking of which I don’t think Roman has had a match under four stars this year, not counting his squash of Daniel Bryan at Elimination Chamber. Dude is just in another universe right now. ****1/4
Conclusion:
Suffice it to say, the last three matches knocked it out of the park and makes for a high recommendation for this show, as this was arguably WWE’s best showing of the year. The right people won the ladder matches, Ripley/Charlotte was a classic and the main event was a drama-filled bonanza that teased two big Summerslam matches in Rollins/Edge and Roman/Cena. This is how you end a PPV. Thumbs all the way up on one of WWE’s best efforts of the year.
