The biggest winners and losers of Money in the Bank 2019
(Note: The opinions expressed in the article are author's own and do not reflect Sportskeeda's stand on the same.)
Money in the Bank 2019 was emblematic of WWE's inconsistency. After a rough patch to begin the show, the event sailed smoothly, delivering us a match of the year candidate, until a uniquely disastrous ending stunk up the entire show.
Who got the most and least out of this show? Let's take a look.
Loser: Samoa Joe
As I feared, WWE opted to give Rey Mysterio the paper accolade instead of keeping the United States Championship on the right man. The match was bad too, more notable for referee shenanigans than the actual wrestling involved.
Joe's reaction after the screwy finish, and his pummeling of Mysterio in front of his son, tells us that this feud is continuing, even though it should have ended at WrestleMania after Mysterio got destroyed in seconds.
Such is a common problem within the WWE umbrella, that feuds continue long past their point of expiration. Meanwhile, Joe gets bad booking again.
Loser: The Miz
Shane McMahon's toxic presence continues. Some in the crowd were clearly disinterested in this match, as chants of "CM Punk" and "AEW" echoed through the arena. This match, too, like the one before it, saw silly referee shenanigans, as The Miz delivered a Skull Crushing Finale onto a steel chair, only for the referee to stop counting to three as Shane put his foot on the bottom rope...except there are no rope breaks in a steel cage! The crowd booed immediately.
The fight continued for the longest time, and of course, Shane McMahon escaped through a fluke, as Miz tore his shirt off on the top of the cage, allowing him to slide down to hit the floor.
Winner: Lacey Evans
Evans came up short in her quest for the Raw Women's Championship, but that was to be expected. She performed much better last night, in her first big match situation, than she did at the Royal Rumble or against Natalya on Raw, and that's what needed to happen. She's still a work in progress, and she's not yet championship material, but with a good amount of more experience, she should be.
Lacey found ways to stand out in the match as well, throwing the dollar bills around and with the handkerchief spot.
That "Women's Right" punch needs to go, though.
Winner: Bayley
Bayley was the night's biggest winner, having won the women's Money in the Bank briefcase to kick off the show and then successfully cashing in on Charlotte Flair after her own victory against Becky Lynch. The crowd was demanding Bayley and Bayley is who they got.
By virtue of her victory, Bayley became the first woman to win the "grand slam" - the NXT, Raw, SmackDown, and tag team women's championships.
The cynicism which WWE has well-earned amongst its fans might suggest that this was only done to pad out the number of Charlotte Flair title reigns on the one hand, and spite Sasha Banks on the other. That may be true, but for now, Bayley is riding high, and the women's division is benefiting from a much-needed refresher.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins got his Universal Championship reign off to a fantastic start. The "dream match" with AJ Styles did indeed live up to the hype. Both of these men put on a clinic. The sequences and reversals were all smoothly executed and both men sold well.
Best of all, the match ended cleanly. This really was just about letting the wrestlers wrestle.
In every way, this match made up for the poor buildup. It was every bit as good as advertised and serves in stark contrast to what we may get thanks to the disastrous ending to this show.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Much against my expectations and to my own relief, Kofi Kingston's title reign is no fluke. He defeated Kevin Owens cleanly by himself in another standout showing and retained his WWE Championship.
The top of the card on SmackDown is wide open with Kofi Kingston at the top, as it wouldn't have been with a Kevin Owens title reign. We'll have to see who steps up to challenge him next. Hopefully it won't be a certain Money in the Bank winner.
Loser: WWE
This was a hell of a match and was well on its way to becoming the best ladder match on the main roster in some years. Yet, there were shenanigans throughout the night before it, and everyone wondered who the new eighth man would be.
Perhaps Aleister Black, whose character the company appears to be putting effort into?
Perhaps Bray Wyatt, who's been doing some great work of late and had a dramatic reveal on his latest Firefly Funhouse segment?
Perhaps Sami Zayn, who has gotten hot, and who would make a sudden and shock return from his trip to a "local medical facility?"
No, it was Brock Lesnar, who, after the seven other guys killed each other, taking huge bumps, just climbed the ladder and grabbed the briefcase, despite not being part of the match. And he was declared the winner anyway.
However, it winds up (he may try to cash in on Kofi Kingston so he can headline SmackDown's move to Fox), Brock Lesnar being back in the title picture is another catastrophe. This was easily the worst pay per view ending in recent memory, at least since WrestleMania 34.
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Kingshuk Kusari