Money in the Bank 2017 ought to go down as one of the worst PPVs of all time. At best, this was just a throwaway show that will soon fizzle out in people’s memories, at worst this was an awful cocktail of fan trolling and unnecessary disappointment that will hurt the company significantly going forward.
Considering the entire IWC is busy talking about New Japan at the moment, the WWE need to be putting out much better shows than this. To find out where things went wrong, here are five questions from the show that most need answering:
#1 Was this the worst ending to a match the WWE have ever done?
The controversy surrounding Money in the Bank 2017 reached its peak at the conclusion of the first ever Women's Money in the Bank ladder match itself. There are a number of legitimate reasons why fans reacted badly to this, but perhaps the signature objection was the underlying sexism of it all.
To think, Shane McMahon made such a big deal when he announced SmackDown Live would be putting together a monumental spectacle of a match as its way of further cementing WWE women’s wrestling. Instead of finishing the match with the image of a woman clutching the briefcase on top of the ladder, we instead saw a man drop the briefcase down to Carmella while the commentators and audience paused in awkward silence.
There are some who will argue that this was a great way to build heat on Carmella if indeed she is due to win the Smackdown Women’s Champion at some point in the near future.The trouble is, this moment cannot now be reversed.
When Randy Orton cashed in on Daniel Bryan at Summerslam 2013, for example, the heat that Randy built for himself was effective because we knew that at some point, Bryan was going to have his revenge.There is no real possibility of any of the women getting their revenge here because it was not just a title opportunity that was taken away from them, it was the chance to be a part of history, and now that history is ruined forever.
The WWE have been responsible for some pretty awful things over the years, and maybe, on reflection, there are worst endings to matches or storylines we can name, but the way this contest ended felt particularly offensive, not just to the female roster, but to wrestling fans in general. They should hang their heads in shame.
#2 Was there anything for the fans to be happy about?
Vince McMahon used to live by a very simple mantra, ‘send the fans home happy’. On occasion, this has made big events, especially Wrestlemanias feel a little predictable. Of course, Daniel Bryan was going to win the title at Mania 30. A Hulk Hogan main event match was only going to finish one way, and Stone Cold would forever get one over on his boss eventually. But somewhere along the line, this idea seems to have evaporated.
After the car crash of a Women's Money in the Bank ladder match opener, the crowd were again disappointed by a messy finish to the tag-team title match and then seeing their hometown hero fail to regain his WWE Championship.
The night even ended with the least popular superstar becoming Mr Money in the Bank not long after he ruined one of the most popular entrances in the company today. There was so little for the fans to cheer about last night, and considering there isn’t a lot of promise surrounding WWE’s ratings at the moment; this is a perilous game that Vince is playing.
It’s fine to annoy the crowd now and again, after all, you won’t fully appreciate the things you want to see if you don’t occasionally have to sit through things you don’t. But to build an entire show around fan disappointment is just not good enough from a company that claims to be the biggest wrestling organisation on the planet.
#3 Could Nakamura and AJ Styles give WWE a 5-star match?
The one saving grace on this card was the stare down and mini match between Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles. The two have been hovering around each other for a while on Smackdown, which should fill us all with confidence that these two are going to meet at some point. This all feels like an effective slow build towards an inevitable pay off, hopefully at Wrestlemania 34.
Considering WWE now relies more on good in-ring action as opposed to storyline and drama, the sheer lack of ‘5-star’ wrestling matches must upset WWE creative just a little bit.
Vince might claim to be above the thoughts and opinions of so-called internet marks, but he must know the IWC’s voice is as strong as it has ever been, and most of their approval is going in the opposite direction. The WWE needs a feud to rival the Omega Vs. Okada masterpiece over at NJPW, and perhaps ironically, Nakamura and Styles might be the ones to give it to them.
Some claim that Dave Meltzer, the man responsible for dishing out 5-star accolades, has a bias against WWE. His last such rating was for John Cena Vs CM Punk back in 2011, and it’s probably safe to say this is unfair.
Daniel Bryan’s victory over Triple H at Mania 30, or his loss to Bray Wyatt at the Royal Rumble 2014 could have easily been awarded the five stars, and fans wouldn’t have had many objections. Meltzer also refused to award five stars to Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate after their incredible match at NXT Takeover: Chicago last month.
The WWE seem to be doing the right things at the moment with these two. It is going to be very tempting to go too soon and have them wrestle one-on-one before the year is finished, but they simply need to hold off and give us what we want on the biggest stage possible.
5-star matches should be as much about the backdrop as it is the in-ring action, and these two have a lot of history to work off. There will be a lot of pressure resting on their shoulders when Mania 34 comes around, but if there are ever two men you’d want to put forward for the occasion, it is the Phenomenal One and the King of Strong Style.
#4 How long until Corbin cashes in?
Whether it was a popular decision or not, Baron Corbin now has the opportunity to make himself a star. Many might argue that he is not quite ready, and desperately needs to find a personality from somewhere before he can be considered a main event player, but statistically, there’s a very good chance he will be champion very soon. The only question remaining for him now is when he should cash in.
The obvious problem at the moment is we have a heel WWE Champion, so the dynamics of a Corbin Vs Mahal feud wouldn’t really make too much sense. And more importantly, would anyone actually want to see that? We also have a decent idea of what the Wrestlemania match will be for this belt, and this does not currently involve the Lone Wolf. Therefore, we know that at some point between now and April 2018, Corbin needs to have cashed in, won the title and lost it to either Nakamura or Styles.
A lot depends on how long Jinder will be champion for. After defeating Orton twice for the belt, you’d expect him to move onto somebody else. Considering Mahal’s victory has been such a talking point, it makes sense for him to at least compete in the title match at Summerslam in August.
The WWE would certainly be wise to have him drop the belt to a popular babyface like Styles or Nakamura. This seems like a decent opportunity for Corbin to cash in, as he looks to be building a persona around angering the audience, which is what a heel should be doing after all.
Nothing is for certain of course, but it feels like Corbin should have at least a couple of rivalries before he goes for the big one. His beat down of Shinsuke before the match seems to have necessitated a program between these two, which wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. The trick is to keep the Lone Wolf looking powerful while making sure he is actually ready to hold the belt. The last thing we need right now is yet another undeserving WWE Champion on Smackdown.
Also read: 5 possible opponents for Jinder Mahal after Money in the Bank
#5 Is Smackdown’s roster too thin for a Money in the Bank PPV?
Having the brand split can be both a curse and a blessing. On the one hand, you have the space to give opportunities to people lower down the card such as the Fashion Police and Dolph Ziggler. On the other hand, it will soon become very obvious when the roster is being stretched out too thinly.
Too many of Smackdown’s PPVs of late have felt like slightly exaggerated episodes of Smackdown Live itself. Too few of the main event match-ups do not feel PPV worthy because we have seen so many variations of them before. This was especially true last night, to the point where one had to question the wisdom behind giving Smackdown the MITB PPV rather than RAW.
When you do MITB, you essentially tie half of your roster to just two matches, and normally you want to put your best talent in these matches considering what is at stake. This ends up leaving far too much room that cannot be filled by the other members of the show. This became very apparent when the Fashion Police came out to wrestle the Ascension.
Normally you’d expect to see this on a pre-show to a PPV, but last night this was actually forwarded as one of the main card's attractions. This is not to say anything against the four men involved, but in the grand scheme of things, they were never going to be able to get the crowd interested, and this really hurt the show overall.
MITB used to be a nice way to open Wrestlemania, and considering how flat this show felt, maybe it’s time the WWE thought about putting it back where it actually belongs.
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