Hiya!

Isn’t it amazing how Money in the Bank became its own pay-per-view? It’s simply a variation of the ladder match but, instead of a WWE title belt hanging up in the rafters, it’s a briefcase containing a contract giving the holder a title shot at any time. It used to be just a part of Wrestlemania but has blossomed into its very own show. It’s become even bigger with both the Men’s and the Women’s division getting their own Money in the Bank matches during the titular pay-per-view event.

Anyway, let’s stop wasting time with the history lesson. Let’s go check out what happened during this year’s Money in the Bank show!

The first match was the Men’s Money in the Bank match with 7 participants instead of the regular 6. This had Shinosuke Nakamura, Ricochet, Butch from the Brawling Brutes, Santos Escobar from the lWo, Damian Priest from The Judgement Day, the crowd favorite LA Knight and Logan Paul, who basically inserted himself into the match. Like with every Money in the Bank match, there were a plethora of really fun and brutal spots, like everyone ganging up on Logan Paul every chance they got, Logan Paul doing a frog splash on Damian Priest while The Judgement Day member was prone on a ladder, Ricochet performing a springboard 450 splash onto Santos Escobar while Butch was applying a headlock on a ladder and Butch doing a moonsault onto a butch of his opponents.

The finish came after LA Knight pushed the ladder Ricochet and Logan Paul were climbing, which led to Ricochet doing a Spanish Fly to Logan Paul onto a butch of tables on the outside. It was looking like LA Knight was going to unhook the Money in the Bank briefcase as he tossed Priest, Escobar and Nakamura to the outside. However, Priest decided to play spoiler as he hit a Broken Arrow from the top of the ladder. This gave The Judgement Day member enough breathing room to climb back up the ladder, unhook the briefcase and become Mr. Money in the Bank.

This was a fun match but it was ruined for me due to the number of WWE Superstars who could believably carry the briefcase legitimately. I didn’t believe Butch, Santos Escobar and Ricochet would work as the 2023 Money in the Bank briefcase holder. I also couldn’t see Logan Paul holding onto it as it would just ruffle too many of the fans’ feathers. This just left Priest, Nakamuka and the crowd favorite, LA Knight. Well, this meant the odds were in Damian Priest’s favor as, historically, it’s a heel who benefits the most from becoming Mr. Money in the Bank. Other than the predictability, this was good but it did feel a little too set-up heavy, which is par for the course for a Money in the Bank match. I just wish there was a little more imagination put into it.

The next match had Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defending the Women’s Tag Team Titles against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. I have to say I went into this match with a whole bunch of indifference because of how the WWE has treated the Women’s Tag Team Championships very poorly. I thought giving it to Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler would show the WWE have a modicum of respect for it. Well, based on this match, it shows they still don’t. This felt like a very standard match, with the heels focusing on the smaller Liv Morgan, who overacted most of the time. The only real match highlight would be Raquel Rodriguez reversing an armbar of Rousey into a powerbomb from the top rope.

The finish shows how little the WWE cares for the Women’s Tag Team belts as it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Morgan reversed Baszler’s Kirafuda Clutch, sending the Queen of Spades into her corner and Rousey tagging herself in. The Baddest Woman on the Planet then taunted Morgan but Baszler blindsided her partner and left her in the middle of the ring. This allowed Morgan to Rodriguez in and she hit Rousey with a slam and Morgan comboed into her Ob-Liv-ion finisher to become the NEW WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

It’s hard for me to recommend watching this match as I didn’t like it a whole lot. The action was okay for the most part but I really hate the screwjob finish. It’s supposed to set up a feud between Rousey and Baszler but, without any hints this was going to happen, it feels like what it is: a set up for a feud between the two. It also makes the Women’s Tag Team belts feel worthless because Baszler was okay with backstabbing her co-champion even when they had the match pretty much won. If they lost and Baszler blames Rousey for the lost, fine. This? Well, this sucks.

The next match had Gunther defending the Intercontinental Championship against Matt Riddle. There’s not really much to say about this match as it was quite short. The Original Bro got a few licks in but The Ring General overwhelmed his opponent with efficient and hard hitting strikes. Riddle tried to make a comeback several times but Gunther proved too much to overcome, especially with his injured ankle.

The finish came after Gunther reversed Riddle’s triangle choke into a powerbomb. The Ring General then locked in a half crab onto the Original Bro’s injured ankle. Riddle tried to fight out of it but this just led to Guther to start chopping on the injury! Gunther then locked in an ankle hold and that was too much to bear for Riddle as he tapped out. Gunther is still your Intercontinental Champion.

After the match, however, there was a surprise for fans. As Gunther was celebrating his win, Drew McIntyre walked out and entered the ring! Gunther delivered the first strike and the Scottish Warrior retaliated with a Glassgow Kiss headbutt, sending The Ring General to the mat. Drew then laid out Gunther with his Claymore kick finisher to signify he’s officially back and has his sights on the Intercontinental Championship.

I actually liked this match. While it doesn’t do a whole lot for Matt Riddle, it does show how much of a unstoppable monster Gunther is. I do like the no-frills style The Ring General showed off here as well. The simplicity of the beatdown really shows how efficient and effective his style is. This neatly leads into Drew McIntyre taking down Gunther as, despite looking so dominant just a few minutes ago, the Scottish Warrior took him down fairly easily, leading to a nice little feud between the two. This isn’t a match for everyone but I did like how simplistic it was.

The next match pitted Cody Rhodes against Dominik Mysterio, who had Rhea Ripley by her side. This was peculiarly a pretty quick match as well. I expected this was supposed to be much longer mostly due to shenanigans from Rhea Ripley. Heck, the entrances of both Superstars felts as long as the actual match! She did make her presence felt by tripping Cody early in the match to allow Dominik to get the upper hand. But she didn’t factor in as much as I would have liked.

The finish came after the American Nightmare reversed a Three Amigos attempt by Con Dom. Cody rallied and hit a Disaster Kick to Dominik’s head for a 2-count. Cody went for another Disaster Kick but Rhea distracted him by climbing on top of the ring apron. The distraction allowed Dominik to do the most devastating move in all of sports entertainment: the roll up. It didn’t work as Cody kicked out. Dominik then went for 619 but Cody blocked it and turned it into an airplane spin into an Alabama Slam. The American Nightmare hit a Cody Cutter and finished off his opponent with a Cross Rhodes.

This was ultimately a fun match but it did feel a little too short. Then again, it didn’t really need to be a marathon as well. I just wished Rhea Ripley did more to make it feel like Cody Rhodes had the deck stacked against him. Instead, we got a match which wouldn’t feel out of place on a RAW or Smackdown. It’s fine but it could’ve been a whole lot better.