The annual presentation of WWE’s Money In The Bank gave us a new look, and newly crowned briefcase holders live on 5/10/20 from the WWE performance center.
Jeff Hardy defeated Cesaro via pin fall with the Swanton Bomb.
During the pre-show, Jeff Hardy bested the veteran Cesaro in a fine match. This wasn’t long, but we got to see two industry staples getting after it to start the broadcast. Hardy gained needed momentum for his return as he came away with the victory after his signature spot, moving up the Smackdown ladder in the process.
The New Day retained the tag team titles in a fatal four-way match against the Forgotten Sons, Miz and Morrison and Lucha House Party after a Big Ending from Big E. on Gran Metallik.
The Forgotten Sons were made to look good here and they didn’t eat the pin fall as Smackdown needs new teams developed with the injury to the Usos.
Lince Dorado and Gran Metallik hit many of their high spots as did Miz and Morrison and a number of near falls were teased.
The champs ended up retaining the titles after the ring was cleared and Metallik found himself in the arms of Big E, who hoisted him up and delivered his patented maneuver, scoring the victory for the title retention.
Bobby Lashley defeated R-Truth via pin fall after a spear.
It was supposed to Truth and MVP, but after a hilarious exchange between the two, we found out the former 24/7 champion would not be facing the savvy veteran, but the dominant Bobby Lashley.
Poor Truth. You actually would think this was an enhancement match on Raw because Lashley buried him, getting back the momentum he lost after bad storytelling on Raw over the past few months.
A spear was all that was needed in the end for Lashley to retain.
Bayley defeated Tamina via pin fall with a crucifix variant to retain the Women’s title.
Tamina got in plenty of offense here, but the story as it is often, was Sasha Banks on the outside.
Tamina countered several of Bayley’s moves and nearly came away with the title after a superkick, but a distraction from Banks allowed Bayley to hit a combination of what appeared to be an inside cradle and a crucifix to trap the shoulders for the three count. Bayley retains and continues her dominant reign.
Braun Strowman defeated Bray Wyatt via pin fall with a running powerslam.
As soon as Wyatt appeared and not “The Fiend”, I knew this one was over as I’m sure many did.
These two had one heck of an interaction and Wyatt kept saying he promised “him” that he’d bring Strowman back into the fold.
Strowman donned the old black sheep mask and Wyatt was excited that he’d returned until he removed it and powerslammed Wyatt for the three count.
Wyatt stared a hole through Strowman after the match from the corner and he saw flickers of “The Fiend”. I have a feeling this one is far from over.
Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins via pin fall with a Claymore Kick.
This was the match of the night in my opinion. No fans, nothing to play off of and they still beat the holy hell out of one another.
Rollins controlled the early portions of the match and McInytyre was favoring both the knee and shoulder which Rollins worked over.
“The Monday Night Messiah” not only came out with new music this evening, but he continued his in-ring dominance until McIntyre countered with a brilliant overhead throw through the announce table. Two more throws followed in the ring.
Rollins would comeback and he nearly had things at hand with the Blackout Stomp, but McIntyre countered with a glasgow kiss and a Claymore for a three count.
After the match, McIntyre offered his hand to Rollins, thanking him for a hell of a match. A dejected Rollins shook his hand, but looked empty in doing so. This might continue as well.
Oh boy, so the MITB match literally saw both the Men and the Women competing simultaneously and this was filmed in the same fashion as the Wyatt/Cena and Last Ride matches at Wrestlemania.
It was a lot of fun with many cameos, including Paul Heyman, Brother Love, John Laurinitis, Vince and Stephanie McMahon and Doink The Clown.
Baron Corbin was dominant as he, Daniel Bryan, Otis and Aleister Black interacted as AJ Styles and Rey Mysterio did business as well.
Asuka was like a stealth assassin, picking her spots and the other women battled. Dana Brooke grabbed a briefcase at one point, but it turned out to be in a conference room and not the actual briefcase.
Brooke was ousted after a spin and fall on a wet floor. Shayna Baszler held her own, but Nia Jax put her down and she, Lacey Evans and Carmella made it out to the roof. Nia Jax and Lacey Evans were ultimately handled by Asuka, who ended up pushing Baron Corbin off a ladder, yes, you read that right, to win the Women’s briefcase. This was an excellent choice.
Asuka is your 2020 Women’s MITB winner.
The action continued as the men made their way out and we literally witnessed murder twice as Baron Corbin tossed both Rey Mysterio and Aleister Black off the roof. Yup, you read that right as well. There was no fanfare, nothing from the announcer’s, the spot fell flat. I was waiting for The Big Show and “Yeti” to appear.
Daniel Bryan was sent out of the ring as AJ Styles and Baron Corbin climbed the briefcase and pulled it down simultaneously. Elias returned and smashed a guitar over Corbin’s back so it appeared Styles won. He bobbled the briefcase and it landed it the hands of Otis.
Otis is your 2020 Men’s MITB winner.
Otis won the match. Personally, this wasn’t my cup of tea. Otis is entertaining as hell, but to steal a page from JR, I don’t think so.
The fans seemed to love this and it was a hell of a swerve in these trying times. The reaction was positive and overall, a pretty solid PPV as we continue through these unfamiliar waters tomorrow on Raw.
