The women’s ladder match participants meet in a drama fueled “summit”. Rusev goes one on one with Samoa Joe. We still do not know which member of The New Day will compete for the Money in the Bank briefcase.
Smackdown Live has set its card for and continues to further feuds for Money in the Bank. Superstars grow impatient and begin demanding their early. How will Paige maintain order on Smackdown Live before the big event on Sunday?
Smackdown Live comes to us live from Memphis, Tennessee this 12th of June, 2018.
The Smackdown Live Women’s Money in the Bank participants begin the show in the ring. General manage Paige emphasizes to the women how important it is to her that one of them bring the women’s briefcase home to Tuesday nights. The optic of Becky Lynch, Naomi, Lana and Charlotte surrounding Paige as an authority figure is the best showcase of of Paige’s new role thus far.
The four hopeful Superstars argue as to who will be victorious this Sunday until they are interrupted by The IIconics and Absolution.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ0RQFpoo80]
The two up and coming tag teams take to the mic claiming they stand better chance of winning the women’s brief case for Smackdown Live. The more seasoned WWE competitors respond by rushing the stage. They fight the recent NXT call ups as the segment ends leaving their issues unresolved.
Paige immediately makes a ten women tag team match for the main event featuring all eight superstars while adding Asuka and Carmella to the mix.
Daniel Bryan vs Shelton Benjamin
Daniel Bryan is visibly heated over recent comments made by Big Cass. Cass continues to mock Bryan’s height and discounts his effectiveness in the ring. In an intense backstage promo Bryan describes the gruesome ways he will once again tapout Big Cass. Tonight Bryan will take out his anger on Shelton Benjamin.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUXNy_2I6lc]
Early on in the match Benjamin slams Bryan on the announce table. This seems to hinder Bryan for the rest of the match. Benjamin takes this opportunity to showcase some offense against his high profile opponent. Determined to overcome being overlooked as of late, Benjamin gives Bryan a run for his money. Bryan remains resilient and overcomes his injuries to clench his new Heel Hook submission. Benjamin submits giving Bryan and needed boost of momentum before his match with Big Cass.
This finish of the match no doubt intends to further the effectiveness of the Heel Hook. Bryan will use this as his secret weapon against his larger opponent at Money in the Bank. In desperate need of win, will Big Cass be able to overcome Bryan’s strategy?
Must See Special Referee
The Miz somehow weasels his way into the referee spot for Rusev vs Samoa Joe. Both match participants walked out on The Miz during a six man tag team match during the previous Smackdown Live. It is hard to imagine the referee being impartial during this contest.
For the most part The Miz calls it down the middle in a somewhat reserved match. These two gladiators wrestle at a slower pace and brutally club each other. Rusev accidentally nails The Miz who misses a cover made by Joe as a result. As Joe argues with The Miz, Rusev is able to score the victory with a roll up.
After counting the three The Miz immediately hits Rusev with the Skull Crushing Finale. He grabs the Money in the Bank brief case suspended over the ring only to find it stuffed with pancakes instead of a contract. The Miz freaks out and immediately curses The New Day who are watching their prank from backstage. Although there are many different ways WWE could book the men’s ladder match, this segment makes it seem like The New Day will have the last laugh.
First Time Fantasy Match
The mind games are strong with Shinsuke Nakamura. He continues to highlight the last man standing stipulation to his upcoming WWE Championship match. Nakamura focuses his heel tactics on Jeff hardy in their first time meeting inside the squared circle. Nakamura looks extremely effective against Hardy who struggles in the early going. Hardy is able to utilize his classic offense to mount a come back. The damage inflicted by Nakamura early on in the match prevents Hardy from capitalizing on pin attempts.
Nakamura abruptly ends the match with a blatant low blow. The crowd is absolutely frustrated with the end of the match as Nakmaura counts to ten over a prone Jeff Hardy. Nakamura once again demonstrates what he is willing to do to keep his opponents down for a ten count. No doubt he plans to put AJ Styles down with a low blow at Money in the Bank.
Ten Woman Tag
Carmella, Absolution and The IIconics will face the rest of the Smackdown Live women’s roster. The team of women’s ladder match qualifiers lead by Asuka take turns against their opponents. This allows the announce team to highlight their individual motivations for winning the women’s briefcase.
Becky Lynch is tired of being a has-been while Charlotte claims to be the best of all WWE. Naomi has clawed her way through a string of recent victories. Lana has made a hurried yet successful come back to the main roster. All make compelling stories for brief case holders.
Absolution do most of the heavy lifting for their team while the IIconics provide distractions and interference. The heel team, especially Absolution, hold their own against the more experienced Superstars.
Carmella maintains her annoying heel persona perfectly and is able to avoid Asuka. Trying to postpone their encounter until their title match at Money in the Bank, Carmella teases Asuka from the ring apron. With all other opponents are preoccupied Asuka finally gets Carmella in the Asuka Lock. Carmella submits and Asuka’s team celebrates in the ring.
Although Naomi, Becky Lynch, Lana and Charlotte emerge victorious as team they remember the challenge that lay ahead of them at Money in the Bank. They will face one another along with four other equally talented Raw Superstars.
Almost all of the competitors stand a chance of winning the women’s briefcase as WWE has focused on building up its female talent. For the most part each Superstar has been given significant time to develop their motivations and advance their part of the overall story that will be told at Money in the Bank
