This year’s Money In The Bank (MITB) was hyped as being historic, which it was. But was it truly because of its substance or because of the novelty of the first female MITB Ladder Match and the fact that the venue is in the hometown of Randy Orton? Let’s cash it in and find out:
Kickoff Tag Team Match: The Hype Bros vs. The Colons
The Kickoff Match marked the return of the Hype Bros. Zack Ryder returned to the ring after a knee injury. Mojo Rawley kicked things off with his typical high energy approach. Zack received a huge pop when he got tagged in and seemed as if he never left. The Colons did manage to slow things down and get back in it by targeting Zack’s knee. The strategy wasn’t enough as the Hype Bros. won their return match.
Winners: The Hype Bros
Money in the Bank Ladder Match for WWE SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya vs. Tamina
The match kicked off with a promo that featured a montage of former WWE Women’s champs/Divas. In this writer’s opinion, the notable omission of Chyna is absurdly bad comedy, but I digress. The historic and competitive implications of this match are what made this one quite possibly the main event coming into the PPV, at least in theory, going in. The match began with Tamina physically dominating the competition as projected. Charlotte delivered her trademark WTF moments with a vicious electric chair delivered to Natalya and flying corkscrew dive to Natalya and Tamina. Becky was tenacious as usual, especially when squaring off against Natalya. The match ultimately became one of the biggest letdowns this side of the release of Gods of Egypt due to a predictable factor: James Ellsworth’s interference. He toppled the ladder when Becky went for the briefcase. He climbed it and gave the prize to his keeper, Carmella. Since MITB matches are no disqualification, James exploited the loophole. This loophole will possibly be closed now since could be a possible (virtually guaranteed but who knows?) outcome since it provides material for WWE’s writers when coupled with Daniel Bryan’s return from paternity leave.
Winner(?): Carmella
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Title Match: The Usos (c) vs. The New Day (Kofi & Big E)
The New Day came out to the ring and addressed the crowd with a roast session on the Usos, which was funny as usual. The match was a tense affair, with both teams exchanging trash talk and blows. The New Day maintained a slight edge early on until the Usos were able to isolate Kofi Kingston. They worked him over for quite awhile until he was able to elude them in order to tag in Big E. The match was a nail biter after multiple close calls by each team but the match ended with The Usos exploiting their champion’s advantage and left the match. They lost the match but retained the belts.
Winners: The New Day via count out.
Smackdown Women’s Championship Title Match: Naomi (c) vs. Lana
This title match marked Lana’s first PPV as a singles competitor. She entered the match as a huge underdog. She raised eyebrows as she showed that she made up for her inexperience with viciousness. She actually held the advantage for the majority of the match. Carmella did provide a distraction as she appeared to cash in the briefcase during the match while Lana was winning. She decided not to cash in after an exchange with the officials. Naomi was able to recover and ultimately dispatched the Ravishing Russian by getting her to submit to the FTG.
Winner: Naomi
Interlude: Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis made their rumored return and made a love themed promo. They should make their TV debut Tuesday.
WWE Title Match: Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Randy Orton
The rematch from Backlash’s main event had more pressure given that MITB was held in St. Louis, Randy Orton’s hometown. His father, Cowboy Bob Orton, was ringside alongside Ric Flair, Sargent Slaughter, and other icons. Randy physically dominated Jinder just as he did at Backlash. Jinder mounted almost no offense early on. Jinder was finally able to get into it after targeting Randy’s leg and continuing to do so for the most part throughout the match. Randy regained the advantage until The Singh Brothers interfered. They got ejected after pulling Jinder’s foot to the ropes after getting caught by an RKO. The Singhs attacked Bob Orton on the way out and were attacked by Randy Orton. The Singhs’ antic again proved to be a costly distraction that allowed Jinder to again ambush Randy for the win.
Winner: Jinder Mahal
Tag Team Match: Breezango vs. The Ascension
This match was a throw in that tied into an episode of The Fashion Files where someone attacked Tyler Breeze and challenged Breezango to a match early on during MITB. The culprits were revealed to be The Ascension. The affair was dominated by a short time by Ascension but Breezango was able to gain retribution via a savvy pin.
Winner: Breezango
Money in the Bank Ladder Match for WWE Title: AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
The main event was marred from the start. Baron Corbin ambushed Shinsuke Nakamura during his entrance. Shinsuke was taken away to receive medical attention, which made the match a five man affair. Baron put on another dominating performance early on as he has done in recent times on pay per views. Dolph and Baron did forge a brief alliance with Dolph Ziggler, which was broken when Dolph tried to congratulate him after they took everyone else out with a ladder. Shinsuke surprised everyone by returning late in the match and going after Baron Corbin. Shinsuke cleared the ring and ultimately squared off against AJ Styles. The skirmish didn’t last as Baron returned and dispatched them both. Baron did went on to climb the ladder and claim the briefcase.
Winner: Baron Corbin
