5 Surprising Moments From Money in the Bank 2019

We are never getting rid of Brock Lesnar are we? Sigh.

Money in the Bank 2019 was an interesting show to say the least. On paper, its match quality could have been the show of the year. Some matches on the card most certainly delivered. We also had some bizarrely booked matches with bad referees and some very questionable booking decisions. Then an ending to the show that will be polarizing to say the least. So I would say it is very typical WWE at this point. You just truly never know what you are going to get.

With the thoughts of another depressing Brock Lesnar world title match forthcoming, I present my list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE Money in the Bank 2019:

#5 So many ref issues

Bad ref can't see Joe's shoulder is clearly up.

What is the deal with bad refs? I mean the WWE refs are generally fragile creatures but they do successfully follow the rules and count to three when they can. That did not happen on multiple occasions on Sunday night.

We shockingly had three times were the refs messed up on Sunday. The first was the US Title match. Samoa Joe lost his title despite the fact his shoulders were clearly up the entire time. It was just another title change that occurred under very lazy circumstances.

The second error was in the Miz/Shane cage match. You just break up a three count in a no-disqualification match because a foot is on the rope. Seriously? Even Michael Cole made fun of the refs for that.

Finally, the ending of the Raw’s Women Championship match was bizarre. Lacey Evans went for a pin and the ref spend a lot of time simply looking at the mat. Then Lacey abruptly tapped out. It is strange to see the WWE refs not even follow the logic of their own rules.

#4 Brief Matches

Roman Reigns did not work very hard on Sunday night.

I don’t really understand why the WWE feels the need to have matches end in a matter of second. Elias versus Roman and Samoa Joe versus Rey Mysterio ended in very abrupt fashion on Sunday. What is the point of rushing matches that you have spent weeks building towards?

Samoa Joe’s “lengthy” title reign came to an end in ridiculous fashion. But he did get to beat up Rey Mysterio while his son watched and did nothing. The hope is Rey and Joe can actually have a match of reasonable length at some point after two very brief pay-per-view encounters.

Kudos to Elias. He finally got to finish an actual song. But his reward was to be squashed by Roman Reigns. We couldn’t have expected a great match from the two but I doubt this does any favors for either going forward. Elias is not a credible heel and Roman has few opponents that poise a credible threat.

#3 Bayley wins Money in the Bank and the Smackdown Women’s Championship

So long Becky 2 Belts.

I wanted Becky Lynch to have a longer reign with both the Raw and Smackdown Women’s Championship. However, once Charlotte Flair started her match seconds after the Raw Women’s Championship match, you had to assume something surprising was going to happen to Becky Lynch.

Charlotte Flair is now, thanks to Lacey Evans, a nine-time main roster champion. However, this Smackdown Women’s Championship reign didn’t last that long and Bayley cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship minutes later.

It has been quite an interesting journey for Bayley. She hasn’t had much singles success in a while and to be thrust back into the spotlight so suddenly is a surprising choice. Judging by the crowd reaction in Hartford, she has a chance to succeed.

#2 Both world title matches ended cleanly

Two wrestlers showing good sportsmanship? That is shocking.

It is rare to see the WWE and Universal Championship match end in such a clean fashion in 2019. Kevin Owens and Kofi Kingston had a fast-paced match. Both competitors has some believable near falls but Kofi Kingston hit a Trouble in Paradise out of nowhere to beat Kevin Owens. I don’t know who will be the next foe for Kingston but it is good to see his title reign continue for hopefully a few more months.

The Universal Championship match was naturally amazing. If you give AJ Styles and Seth Rollins twenty-five minutes they will produce a classic match. It had many moments where we believed AJ was going to be the new Champion. Especially after that unbelievable Curb Stomp that was countered into a Styles Clash. But it wasn’t to be and Seth Rollins was able to beat AJ Styles clean. Why they even shook hands after the match. It is for the best the title reigns didn’t end but on such a screwy night, it was surprising the main events didn’t also end in bizarre fashion either.

#1 Brock Lesnar wins the 2019 Men’s Money in the Bank

That is really going to hurt Finn Balor in a few seconds.

I should have figured something was up when Braun Strowman said he didn’t take out Sami Zayn earlier in the show. We all should have known that strange things would happen in the main event. The Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match itself was the usual exciting affair we come to expect. You had tons of truly painful looking spots. I still cannot believe the Sunset Flip that Andrade did to Finn Balor onto a ladder. In fact, Finn Balor took three very painful bumps in the match.

Ali, Drew McIntyre and Ricochet also were involved in some truly wonderful spots. I certainly didn’t expect Ali to win the Money in the Bank but it would have been a much better option then what actually happened. Brock Lesnar, the man of many opportunities, decided to enter the match as the eighth man without putting in any real effort. As one of the most part-time workers in the company, it makes little sense that Brock Lesnar would get another chance at a World Title. It was surprising but sad that seven other men would put their bodies on the line just to see Brock get a chance yet again.