WWE’s Money in the Bank PPV got a little creative this time around, but how did the PPV fair out? Who came out on top? We have the results!
Last night WWE held its annual Money in the Bank PPV. It was being dubbed as “the most unique money in the bank in WWE history”. Well, it turns out that it was. This year the women and men’s Money in the Bank ladder match was going to be a little different. 12 superstars (6 men & 6 women) must climb the ladder to retrieve the briefcase that holds a contract for a WWE title match against the champion of their choosing.
The match itself would be held for the first time ever at WWE Headquarters in Stamford CT. Superstars will start on the ground floor and have to make their way to the roof where a ring was assembled and surrounded by ladders. The superstars must then literally climb the “corporate ladder” to retrieve the briefcase. Fans were curious to see how this match was going to play out but before we get to that we kick off with the opening match which was Jeff Hardy vs Cesaro.
JEFF HARDY vs CESARO:
The match ended up outside pretty quickly with the stronger Cesaro getting the upper hand on Hardy. Cesaro had his way with Hardy who almost got counted out. Cesaro continued to have his way with Hardy until Hardy started to get his second wind and connected with not one but two Twist of Fate which Cesaro kicked out of. The two then fought outside again with Hardy having the upper hand this time around. Once both men got back inside, Hardy hit Cesaro with a Swanton Bomb to pick up the victory. Next up was the Smackdown tag team titles.
THE NEW DAY (c) vs MIZ & MORRISON vs THE FORGOTTEN SONS vs LUCHA HOUSE PARTY:
The New Day and Lucha House Party started the match with both teams being represented in the ring at once. Metalik had a big highlight in the match doing a splash fly with Morrison from the top rope onto the outside on top of everyone else. The sons then hit their finisher with the opportunistic Miz and Morrison attempting to steal the pin. Lucha House Party double-teamed Big E but The Sons ended up breaking up the pin. The match had a lot of high flying good spots. Jaxon Ryker from The Sons who was at ringside pulled the ropes and Big E got send to the outside. The ref kicked Ryker out of the ringside area. Back inside Dorado got hit with Trouble in Paradise by Kofi and then Big E hit The Big Ending to Metalik to pick up with the win. Pretty decent match. The next match would be an impromptu unadvertised match between MVP and R-Truth.
MVP vs R-TRUTH:
In classic R-truth fashion, Truth came out rapping a full rap song and asking the empty performance center to make some noise. We have to agree at this point that R-truth is a national treasure and must be protected at all times. When MVP made his way out, Truth told MVP he was going to teach the former United States champ about “Ballin”. They’re both interrupted by Bobby Lashley who told MVP he’ll take care of Truth for him. When R-truth tried to leave the ring he accidentally ends up slapping Lashley. The match starts with Truth trying to calm down Lashley who ends up making quick work of R-truth by hitting him with a spear and picking up the win. The next match was Bayley vs Tamina for the smackdown women’s title.
BAYLEY (c) vs TAMINA:
Before the match started, there was a backstage interview with more tension being teased between Sasha Banks and Bayley. Bayley with Sasha Banks made their way to ring first and then started booing Tamina while the ring announcer made the introduction. Bayley was doing a lot of trash-talking when the match started. Slapping Tamina around. After Tamina took control of the match early, Bayley slammed Tamina’s leg into the ring post to gain the upper hand.
Bayley counters a superkick into a kneebar but Tamina would end up grabbing the bottom rope. The fight would then make its way outside with Tamina throwing Bayley across the announce table. Once back in the ring Tamina was rolling with steam and hit Bayley with a superkick followed by a Samoan Drop. Sasha would get involved by coming in the ring to cause a distraction. Tamina chased Sasha around which gave Bayley the chance to sneak Tamina up for a roll-up pin and pick up the win. Sasha then attacked Tamina after the match and handed Bayley the belt. The next match featured Bray Wyatt vs Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship.
BRUAN STROWMAN (c) vs BRAY WYATT:
Now notice how I said Bray Wyatt and not ‘The Fiend’. That’s because Bray Wyatt would be wrestling this match as his “human” self and not the monster fiend. One must think there had to be a reason behind this. Before this match, all the previous matches had the “Live” logo on the top right corner of the broadcast. This match did not which leads you to assume that this match was probably pre-recorded in some way. Strowman would end up overpowering Wyatt in the early moments of the match with Wyatt praising Braun for his strength.
Both men took the fight outside with Wyatt tossing Strowman into the ringside announce table to gain the advantage. Husky the pig would make a cameo at ringside to cheer Bray on. Bray then hit a DDT on Strowman on the outside floor. Once back inside, Wyatt hit Sister Abigail but Strowman kicked out. Wyatt went for another one but Strowman countered with a chokeslam of his own.
Wyatt knocked Strowman to the outside of the ring again. Strowman then appeared wearing the black sheep mask that he wore when he first debuted with the Wyatt Family back then. He hugged Bray while the puppets all applauded and celebrated. Strowman then took off the mask with a menacing look on his face and hit Bray with a running power slam to pick up the victory and retain his title. The following match was for the WWE title.
DREW MCINTYRE (c) vs SETH ROLLINS:
Before the match, Rollins cut a promo saying he was going to win the title “for the greater good”. He came out to a new entrance theme instead of his usual ‘Burn It Down’ theme song. Safe to say Rollins has gone full-blown heel. McIntyre would get off to a strong start but Rollins would end up getting the upper hand by delivering several knee strikes on the outside of the ring. Rollins went for a running dive but McIntyre would catch him and suplex him on the announce table.
Back in the ring, Drew went for a Claymore but Rollins would roll outside the ring. After a back and forth Rollins hits McIntyre with a Frog Splash but Drew barely kicked out. McIntyre would then hit a Future Shock DDT but Rollins kicks out. Rollins would counter the Claymore and hit his Curb Stomp but again McIntyre kicked out. A lot of near finishes and back and forth up this point. Rollins would go for another stomp but McIntyre countered and connected with a Claymore to pin Rollins and retain his title.
After the match, McIntyre extended his hand as of show of respect to Rollins, and Rollins would shake his hand. McIntyre left the ring while Rollins stared him down. Now came the match that everyone had been waiting for.
MEN AND WOMEN MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH:
(Rey Mysterio vs AJ Styles vs Aleister Black vs King Corbin vs Otis vs Daniel Bryan) / (Shayna Blazer vs Nia Jaxx vs Dana Brooke vs Carmella vs Lacy Evans vs Asuka.
We were now being taken to WWE Headquarters where all the superstars would make their entrance. The women made their entrance by the elevators and the men would make theirs in the gym. Each entrance had a tab on the right of the screen with stats and accomplishments for each superstar. Asuka would make her entrance from a platform above the elevators. She would officially kick things off by diving onto the women. Asuka then took the elevators while the rest of the women took the stairs.
The men would kick things off brawling in the gym. Otis trapped Styles underneath a bar full of weights. Mysterio would duke it out with Aleister for while before taking off and running pass the bathroom where Brother Love himself made a cameo. Doink the Clown would also make a cameo after Bryan hit Otis with a couple yes kicks.
We go back to check on the women who are fighting in the conference room. Dana Brooke would eventually get on the table and grab a briefcase full of money hanging from the ceiling. Stephanie McMahon would appear and remind Dana that the real briefcase was on the roof hanging above the ring. She jokingly told Dana to clean up the mess the rest of the women had caused. Carmella then used her own poster by smashing it over Dana’s head.
Back on the men’s side, AJ styles is walking through the hallway looking for Mysterio when he comes across a huge poster of The Undertaker which spooked him. Styles begins to have flashbacks from their epic Boneyard match at WrestleMania leaving us the audience laughing at the fact that AJ is suffering from PTSD thanks to The Deadman. AJ opens the door to a room that was filled with blue smoke and lights dimmed that had a casket In the middle of the room. Aleister Black would come from behind and kick AJ into the room, closing the door leaving AJ screaming for help traumatized.
The camera cuts to Paul Heyman who’s preparing to feast in a large buffet when both the men and women show up in a face-off. Otis yelled “FOOD FIGHT!” and threw food in Heyman’s face. The whole match up to this point has been nothing but comedic entertainment. Otis then ran into Johnny Ace in the cafeteria, aka Mr. People Power himself. He would smash a whole pie on Johnny’s face.
Back on the women’s side Dana Brooke was running through a janitor who was conveniently mopping the floor which Dana slipped on. The rest of the girls continued to make their way through and Lacy Evans found the stairs. AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan would end up fighting their way into the boss’s office. Both superstars would come to a halt as Mr. McMahon would make a cameo by telling both of them to “GET OUT!” but not before having Bryan and Styles fix the boss’s chairs while Vince sanitized his hands and got back to work.
Finally, the first set of superstars to make their way to the roof would be from the women’s side. Nia Jax and Asuka would end up fighting in the ring before Lacy Evans arrived on the scene. Nia Jax tried to climb the ladder but Asuka stopped her. Asuka then climbs the ladder and for some odd reason, Corbin shows up and tries to stop Asuka but was unsuccessful and fell off the ladder. Asuka ends up retrieving the briefcase.
The men’s match continued with the rest of the superstars making their way to the roof. Otis hits Corbin with The Caterpillar. Otis then gets hit with Black Mass. Corbin ended up throwing Mysterio and Black off the roof in typical Die-Hard fashion that could’ve rivaled Bruce Willis in Hollywood. Corbin and Styles climb the ladder and just as Corbin is about to win, Elias out of nowhere comes in and hits Corbin in the back with his guitar, knocking him off the ladder. Styles grabbed the briefcase but it slipped out his hands and landed in Otis’s hands. Otis would be declared the winner.
Check out the small gallery from the Money in the Bank ladder match below:
WWE for two consecutive PPV events has been able to put their creative hats on and deliver another entertaining and exciting match. I like to think of it as cinematic wrestling coming to life. That’s the format in which they’ve chosen to film these matches. Who knows how many more of these matches we’ll see. Money in the Bank proved that WWE will do whatever it takes to keep the show going. As a fan, I can’t say that I’m disappointed one bit.
Don’t miss Monday Night Raw tonight for all the fallout from Money in the Bank. Live on the USA network. 8 pm ET.
For more recaps and updates on all things WWE, make sure to keep it locked right here at The Nerdy Basement.
Images Courtesy of WWE