It’s time for Money in the Bank which means it’s time to see just how serious WWE is about having Jinder Mahal as its champion as well as seeing who will get the upper hand to claim the WWE championship after winning the MITB ladder match. .
WWE comes to us live from St. Louis, Missouri tonight.
Main Event: Money in the Bank Ladder Match (AJ Styles vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin).
Baron Corbin wastes no time as he attacks Nakamura before Nak even leaves the entrance ramp. A ladder and a camera are both used to incapacitate him. Corbin demands the bell be rung and it is. The announce team informs us that Shinsuke is being taken to the back so this will either be a 5-man match or Nak will show up later to mess with Corbin..
Dolph and Baron team up and use a ladder to take out Styles. The alliance lasts just that move as Corbin attacks Dolph and then puts the ladder in the ring. Dolph superkicks Corbin before he attempts to enter the ring..
We get a bunch of ladder teases with all 5 participants who are simply preventing anyone from taking a ladder into the ring. Finally Owens and Styles both make it to the ring and Owns starts unloading on Styles and the other four participants.
Owens back flips Styles out of the ring but before he can set up the ladder Sami interferes briefly. Owens contemplates a dicing attack outside of the ring but Sami catches him and uses a modified choke slam/gorilla press to throw Owens on top of the ladder, which breaks the first ladder. Sami goes outside to get a working ladder.
Dolph knocks Sami out of the ring. And everybody starts to battle using the ladder as a weapon. AJ climbs the ladder and battles against Corbin and Dolph before he’s knocked off the ladder. Corbin get hits with a Zig Zag while on the ladder. It’s now a three-man race with Sami, Dolph and Styles all on the ladder. AJ is knocked off and then Sami hits a sunset flip powerbomb on the top of the ladder to take Dolph out. That finally gets the crowd to pop as it’s been quiet for most of the match.
Sami and Owens fight on the edge of the ring. Sami hits a modified suplex on Owens on the ring apron and Sami crawls to the ladder. As Sami climbs, AJ hits the Phenomenal Forearm and then Corbin tosses Styles into the announce desk.
Styles and Corbin go at it out of the ring. AJ goes for another Phenomenal Forearm but Baron catches him and choke slams him on top of a ladder. Sami knocks Corbin out of the ring and goes to climb the ladder. Sami knocks Dolph off the ladder but Owens catches him and blatantly kicks Sami in the crotch.
Owens climbs the ladder but AJ prevents him from getting the briefcase. The two battle on the ring apron and Styles hits a modified AA to Owens on top of the ladder that Corbin used on him a few minutes ago.
AJ climbs the ladder and Dolph pulls the ladder out from under him. AJ can’t hold on forever and falls while trying to unhook the briefcase. Dolph clears the ring and Nak’s music hits. Shinsuke gets to the ring and goes to work on the Lone Wolf.
Shinsuke hits Dolph with two modified Kinshasa’s, gets Sami out of the ring and gets a new ladder to put in the match. Kevin holds onto the ladder to make it harder for Nak. Bad idea for Owens as he gets a Kinshasa for his troubles.
Shinsuke sets up the ladder but AJ Styles is waiting for him. Rather than both fight on top of the ladder, they share a mutual moment of respect for each other as they both move the ladder to the edge of the ring and then start unloading on each other. For those who didn’t see these two fight in NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom, it’s not as good, but the initial aura of the two does come close in that respect.
The two finally start to climb the ladder and Nak and Styles both reach for the briefcase. Corbin pushes both men off, climbs the ladder and is your new Mr. Money in the Bank.
Winner…Mr. Money in the Bank…Baron Corbin
As Corbin celebrates we see the carnage surrounding the ring. The question of course is when will Baron cash in his contract?
Match 1: Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Tamina Snuka vs. Carmella w/ James Ellsworth vs. Natalya Neidhart)
I wonder what the over/under of the announce team saying “history making” or “first ever women’s MITB match” throughout this one? My guess is 10.
We get a nice package that showcases some of the female wrestlers who paved the way for this MITB match including, but not limited to, Mae Young, Trish Stratus and Lita.
The bell rings and everyone but Tamina goes to grab a ladder. All five return to the ring and Tamina gets the better of the exchanges. She set up a ladder on the ringpost and drives Natalya into it. She then tosses a ladder into Becky but Charlotte gets a ladder and it’s time for the ladder spot highlights.
Becky and Natalya get in a tug of war over a ladder and hit Tamina with it. Nattie slams Becky into the ladder and then sets up the ladder. Charlotte catches Nattie and hits an electric chair on her. As Charlotte climbs the ladder Carmella catches her and climbs over Flair.
The two battles near the top of the ladder but Tamina pushes them both off the ladder. Becky and Nattie have a good exchange which Becky wins with an Irish Whip into a ladder. Carmella gets in the ring and clears out Becky. She climbs the ladder but Charlotte catches her. Charlotte goes to climb the ladder but Tamina stops her and headbutts Charlotte of the ladder.
Charlotts hits Tamina with a spear and that knocks both women out of the ring. Charlotte kick Nattie and then hits a diving corkscrew move on both Nattie and Tamina outside of the ring. This leaves the ring empty for Carmella. Becky grabs her and hits a powerbomb on Carmella. Becky climbs the ladder but Ellsworth pushes her off. James tries to wake up Carmella but she’s out. Ellsworth gets a crazy idea to climb the ladder himself. He unhooks it and tosses the case to Carmella for the win.
The refs discuss if the move is legal or not. While they argue James grabs the microphone and announces Carmella as the winner. The announce team also argues over the legality of this move. While it’s a cheap win, I don’t see any reason to dispute it.
Winner…Miss Money in the Bank…Carmella
Match 2/5
Match 2: Smackdown Tag Team Championship – The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E Langston) vs. The Usos (c)
Before the match we get a couple of prison jokes courtesy of Big E. The Usos go to work on Kofi and hit a double move knocking Kofi upside-down on the outside of the ring post. Ouch!
After an extended beatdown Big E finally gets the tag in and goes to work on the Usos. Big E goes for a diving move on Jimmy and then throws him back in the ring. Jay makes the tag and hits Kofi with a kick to Kofi’s leg. He then gets a single Boston Crab on the injured leg. Jimmy goes for a dive on Big E but Langston grabs him mid-air and tosses him.
Big E goes for the save in the ring but Jay breaks the hold to take out Langston. Kofi gets a submission hold and then hits SOS but only gets a two-count.
Big E gets the tag in. A botched move in which Langston tries to catch Jay in the air but corrects himself and hits the Big Ending for another two-count. Kofi gets the tag and jumps to the outside and takes out both Usos. Jay is tossed in the ring and Kofi hits the Midnight Hour but Jimmy pulls Jay out of the ring for the save.
The Usos want nothing more to do and take the count out loss to retain.
Winners by count out…The New Day
Rating 2/5
Match 3: Smackdown Women’s Championship – Naomi (c) vs. Lana
So no Rusev in Lana’s corner. Lana starts off on fire, working on Niamoi’s right leg. That’s the theme of Lana’s attack as she hits a suplex that drives the leg into the ring ropes and continues to work on the leg. While it might not be the most entertaining match, it’s certainly a smart one given that this is Lana’s first singles match in WWE proper.
Naomi kicks Lana three times in the head with the injured leg and realizes that’s not the smartest thing to do. Lana hits a sit-out spinebuster but can’t get the win. Carmella’s music hits after the spinebuster and Lana is enraged. Carmella teases to cash in the case but doesn’t. This distracts Lana long enough for Naomi to lock in her submission for the victory.
Winner by submission and STILL Smackdown Women’s Champion… Naomi
Match 2/5
We get another Fashion Police segment. This one has a Miami Vice theme to it. Not going to lie, this was the best part of the PPV so far. So we find out who attacked the Fashion Police later tonight in a match.
Mike and Maria Kanellis make their way to the ring. Maria says the First Lady of WWE is back. Cue the cheesy music and the vomit-enduing mushiness of it all.
Match 4: WWE Championship Match: Jinder Mahal (c) w/ the Singh brothers vs. Randy Orton
Before the match, we get a nice history reminder of some of the St. Louis legends. In attendance are Greg Gagne, Larry “The Axe Hennig” (Curtis Axel gets a shout-out here), Baron Von Raschke, Sgt. Slaughter, “Cowboy” Bob Orton Jr. and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. JBL tells us that Harley Race was supposed to be in attendance but due to an injury he suffered at home he was unable to attend.
Of course the crowd is all for their hometown boy of Randy Orton. Orton starts off hot but can’t hit an RKO early in the match. Mahal regroups outside but when he gets back in the ring Orton continues to go to work on him. Randy knocks Jinder out of the ring and continues to hit clotheslines and simply scares off the Singh brothers by looking at them.
Orton tries to hit the elevated rope DDT but Jinder drops him out of the ring, tweaking his leg in the process, and then goes to work on Randy’s injured left leg. The assault on the leg continues including dropping Randy on the announce table, knee-first, and Jinder finally gets Randy in the ring.
Randy gets some offense and goes for another RKO but can’t hit it. He eats a boot to the mouth for his troubles. Jinder slaps on a submission to the leg and just continues to beat the Viper down. Jinder goes up to hit a superplex but Orton knocks him off. Orton now sets up Jinder for a superplex of his own and hits it. Randy goes for the cover but gets just a two-count.
Randy starts to get life and finally hits a few clotheslines and the elevated DDT. He hits the RKO but the Singh brothers pull Jinder out of the ring. The ref kicks the brothers out of the arena and before they leave the brothers eye the WWE legends in the front row. They decide to talk some smack to the legends and grab Bob Jr. Big mistake as Randy grabs both of them and knocks them silly.
This beatdown includes an RKO on one of the brothers on the announce table which shatters it but just like the previous PPV, Orton being focused on the Singh brothers proves his downfall as Jinder hits hit finisher for another win over the Viper.
Winner by pinfall and STILL WWE Champion…Jinder Mahal
Match 3/5
Match 5: Tag Team BreeZango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) vs. ????
So now we find out who destroyed the Fashion Police office. It’s the Ascension? There is no way this ends well for the Ascension.
The Ascension actually gets in a good amount of offense which would be nice if WWE hasn’t neutered them when they first made the jump to the main roster a few years ago. Fandango gets a roll-up win. Hopefully this doesn’t end the Fashion Police files. I like that show.
Winner by pinfall…BreeZango
Match 2/5
Main Event Match 2/5
PPV rating 2/5
Matthew Asher is the sports editor for the Kirksville Daily Express in Kirksville, Mo. He was in St. Louis yesterday and is glad he didn’t stay the extra night to see this PPV live. He is now dreading the inevitable return of John Cena on July 4 to take the title off Jinder because…reasons.