Hiya!
I’ve come to realize how important Money in the Bank is to the WWE. Although it isn’t one of the company’s biggest pay-per-view events, it is very significant as will probably factor into what’s going to happen on RAW and Smackdown in the future. After all, the respective winners of their Money in the Bank matches will be able to “cash in” the briefcases for a title shot at any time. This is essentially a long-term storyline for the winner and almost ensures themselves of becoming the top dog of their respective brands.
So, as this a serious matter, there’s no way the WWE will botch who’s gonna win, right? Right? Well, the only way to figure that out is to actually watch Money in the Bank. So, let’s get to it!
The pay-per-view started out big as it had Roman Reigns defending RAW’s top prize, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, against the red-hot LA Knight (Yeah!). The start did feel a little odd as, for some reason, both of these hard-hitters played it like they were seasoned mat technicians with all of the headlocks. It did get good when things heated up with some really good back and forth between them. Highlights include the Megastar hitting a gorgeous neckbreaker to the OTC, Reigns clocking Knight with a superman punch from out of nowhere, Knight connecting with a burning hammer for a 2-count, both wrestlers beating on each other outside of the ring and sliding into the ring at the same time to beat the count, Reigns kicking out of Knight’s BFT finisher and Reigns smashing through the barricade as Knight sidestepped a spear attempt and then Knight followed that up by powerbombing Reigns through the announcer’s table.
The finish came after Reigns kicked out of Knight’s elbow drop from the top rope. Knight went for his BFT finisher again but Reigns blocked it by straddling Knight on the top rope. Roman Reigns then hit 2 superman punches back to back. He then closed it out with a spear to get the pinfall win and retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, the 946 faction appeared in the crowd but, before they could get to Reigns, the rest of the Bloodline attacked them. The fight spilled throughout the arena with the 946 finally escaping in a car.
I know a lot of fans were hoping LA Knight was going to win it but, with the way the WWE has been booking Roman Reigns at this time, I already knew he wasn’t. Even so, I think it was wrong for Roman Reigns to have kicked out of the BFT as this made the move special. They could have had it close to the ropes so Roman could break the count by grabbing the bottom rope! Anyway, this was a good match even though both Roman Reigns and LA Knight were doing their standard moveset. It’s a testament to how good they are as performers.
The next match of the night was the Women’s Money in the Bank match which pitted Tiffany Stratton, Sol Ruca, Lash Legend, Roxanne Perez, Lola Vice and Jacy Jayne against each other to see who would get the briefcase. Things started with an almost disastrous botch with Stratton attempting a swanton from the top of a ladder which tipped slightly as she jump. This caused her not to get too much forward momentum and slamming hard into the floor. There was a noticeable pause as they checked on her. Thankfully, she was okay and the match proceeded. Besides that botch, the notable moments include Roxanne beating everyone with a tiny ladder until Lash booted it right into her face, the nice counter with a counter sequence between Sol and Tiffany, Perez teeter-tottering a ladder to Vice’s face, Ruca hanging onto the thing which hold the Money in the Bank briefcase before crashing into the crowd below, Sol splashing Legend through a ladder bridge, Lola choking out Jacy but landing on a ladder bridge to the outside and Sol hitting her Sol Snatcher finisher to Roxanne while on top of a ladder.
The finish came after the Sol Snatcher spot. Sol Ruca started to climb the ladder only for Las Legend to grab her and powerbomb her onto a ladder bridge which was set in the corner. Legend then started to climb but Stratton met her at the top. The two brawled with Tiffany getting the upper hand by smashing Lash’s face with the briefcase several times. Legend drops to the mat and Stratton unhooks the briefcase to become a 2-time Money in the Bank winner.
Nothing against Tiffany Stratton but I really wanted either Sol Ruca, Roxanne Perez or Jacy Jayne to have won the Women’s Money in the Bank match. We’ve already seen her with the briefcase and the ones I’ve mentioned have so many built-in storyline potential if they could cash in a title shot at any time. While I might question the WWE’s pick to win this, I can’t question the quality of how good this was. There were some really cool moments and the MVP was definitely Sol Ruca as she took some really nasty bumps throughout.
The next match of the night was Oba Femi vs. Bronson Reed. This was a brawl right from the start but The Ruler simply was much too powerful for the Oxzilla. Femi really displayed his power here by doing moves like suplexing the heavy Reed but added some extra spice by tossing his opponent in the middle of the suplex. Other highlight include Bronson hitting a back body drop to Oba on the ring apron (the hardest part of the ring!), Reed hitting a suicide dive to Femi, the Oxzilla countering Femi’s back suplex attempt by turning it into a crossbody and Oba catching Bronson’s avalanche attempt and then hitting a big spinebuster for a 2-count.
The finish came when Bronson Reed’s fellow Vision members made it to ringside. Austin Theory and Maxxine Dupri distracted Oba Femi and the referee while Logan Paul tried to slip into the ring with a steel chair. The referee caught Logan but this was all a ruse and this allowed Maxxine to slip Bronson some brass knuckles. Reed clocks Femi with the weapon twice and then hits his tsunami finisher… but Oba still kicks out! Bronson hits a death valley driver and goes for a moonsault but Oba rolls out of the way. Femi connects with a massive running european uppercut and then chokeslams Theory onto the ring apron (the hardest part of the ring!) for good measure. Femi then effortlessly tosses Reed to the mat and then hits his Fall from Grace sitout powerbomb finisher to get the pinfall victory.
This was a really fun match. Despite knowing there was no way the WWE would allow Oba Femi to lose when he’s this white hot, I did do a double take when Reed hit The Ruler with the brass knuckles! The match showcased Oba Femi’s remarkable power but, despite the loss, didn’t make Bronson Reed look helpless as he got some good licks in.
The next match of the night saw Stephanie Vaquer defending the RAW Women’s Championship against Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch in a Triple Threat match. This did follow the general WWE formula for a Triple Threat match as there would be one of the competitors just lollygagging outside the ring while the other two would be battling it out in the ring. Some of the highlights include La Primera hitting a top rope crossbody to The Man and Morgan who were slugging it out outside the ring, Liv hitting a sunset flip powerbomb to Lynch to the outside, Stephanie dropping Becky onto Liv from the top rope, Lynch performing a DDT on Vaquer and Morgan simultaneously and Becky Lynch and Stephanie Vaquer teaming up temporarily to beat on Liv Morgan.
The finish came after Becky Lynch took out a table and set it up outside the ring. Vaquer hit Morgan with her meteora trademark and then used her as a springboard to hit Lynch with a tornado DDT. Liv hit a double foot stomp to Stephanie for a 2-count. Vaquer dodges Morgan’s roundhouse kick and takes her down with an elbow. La Primera catches The Man climbing the top turnbuckle and meets her there. Morgan then uses Vaquer as a platform to his a headscissors takedown on Lynch and then locks in a half crab on Stephanie. Vaquer rolls through and locks in a half crab of her own while Beckly locks in her Dis-Arm-Her finisher on Liv.
They break the hold by headbutting each other and Morgan tries to sneak in a pinfall by rolling up Lynch but Becky hits her Manhandle Slam finisher to Liv but Stephanie braks up the count. Lynch starts beating down Vaquer and the fight spills to the outside. Stephanie hits meteoras on both her opponents and then rolls Liv into the ring. Stephanie connects with her Inferno corkscrew splash on Liv but Becky pulls out the official to break the count. Vaquer sets up for her Inferno again but Lynch pulls her off the top rope. Stephanie then superkicks Becky off the ring apron and into the table they set up (which doesn’t break, making it weirdly look more painful). Liv Morgan takes this opportunity to hit her Ob-Liv-Ion finisher to Stephanie Vaquer to get the pinfall victory and become, once again, the NEW RAW Women’s Champion.
While things did get better by the end as all 3 competitors started mixing it up at the same time, I do have some issues with the match. It felt a little too long and, if they trimmed out a few minutes or got to the finish earlier, this would have flowed better. I do get why they had Liv Morgan getting the title back as they only had Stephanie Vaquer win it because she was in her home country. Still, I honestly would’ve preferred it if Vaquer retained as I was getting bored with Liv’s title reign. This was a good match but it just could’ve been a whole lot better.
The final match of the night was the Men’s Money in the Bank match. This has CM Punk, PENTA, Bron Breakker, Je’Von Evans, Trick Williams and Kevin Owens vying for the briefcase. I will say, for a Money in the Bank match, this one took its sweet time before really showing us some interesting spots! Anyway, highlight include Breakker hitting a back suplex on Punk and PENTA at the same time, Bron running the barricade to spear Trick, KO stomping on Punk’s groin area (not really a “wow” move but that’s sound strategy!), Trick’s buddy, Lil Yachty, distracting Bron so Williams can take him out, Owen feeding a stunner to Lil Yachty and Breakker spearing Owens into a ladder as well as spearing both KO and Punk through the barricade.
The finish came after Je’Von Evans, who was taken out of the match by Bron Breakker, driving back into the arena in the ambulance he was put into! Evans assaulted Breakker before hitting a springboard clothesline to PENTA. He then backflipped to dodge Trick’s attack and hit a spinning wheel kick to Williams. Je’Von then hit a variation of sliced bread #2 to PENTA and takes out Williams with his OG Cutter finisher.
Evans then takes a massive ladder and sets it up. He starts climbing but Breakker plays spoiler by hitting a gutbuster to Je’Von. Bron goes for a spear but Je’Von counters with his Red Dot trademark. Evans makes it to the top of the ladder but he’s out of position as Breakker moved it from under the briefcase. Bron then tips the ladder and sends Je’Von smashing through the ambulance’s roof!
Breakker then sets up the massive ladder under the Money in the Bank briefcase and starts climbing. This time, it’s PENTA’s turn to play spoiler as he drags Bron off the ladder. He stuns Breakker with a superkick before setting up a ladder bridge in the corner before starting to climb. Bron starts fighting on the ladder but PENTA smashes Breakker’s face into the ladder. This allows him to hit his Mexican Destroyer finisher on Bron on the ladder bridge he set up! PENTA manages to steel himself as he climbs the ladder unimpeded. He retrieves the briefcase to become this year’s Money in the Bank winner!
I just know this is going to be a very divisive match as it’s going to just be remembered for the ambulance spot. I’m fine with Je’Von Evans Loony Tunes smashing through the roof as professional wrestling is supposed to be a little goofy. Yeah, I will admit it’s dumb but it’s dumb fun! The actual nuts and bolts of the match, however, lacked electricity. The spots just didn’t feel cool enough. I guess CM Punk didn’t really want any scary moments, which I understand. Still, if that’s the case, then it would be up to the rest of the competitors to make up for it and they just didn’t do enough. It just needed more.
Overall, I do think this year’s Money in the Bank was good. The action was, in general, pretty good. What I do have an issue with are mainly the winners as it looks like the WWE were playing it safe. Money in the Bank is supposed to be intriguing because it opens up storylines but it didn’t feel like it this year.
Byee!
What did you think of this year’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view? Let me know in the comments section below!
