Money in the Bank 2017 was a night of bizarre finishes. With a wide variety of “unique” finishes that are likely not to be very popular with the WWE Universe, the Smackdown only pay-per-view is clearly going to divide the WWE audience. The main event had some brutal spots and was clearly the highlight of the night.
Also Read: WWE Money in the Bank 2017 Results: Biggest winners and losers
However when you get to that point with a count out victory, a bout of deja vu and a terrible ending to a historic match, you have a surprising night, to say the least.
With all of this in mind, I present my list of the top five most surprising moments of the WWE Money in the Bank 2017:
#5 A count out finish
You know what ruins a really good tag match? A terrible finish. I certainly wasn’t surprised that the WWE would want The Usos-New Day feud to continue beyond MITB but did they have to get there in such a terrible way?
After the unusual finish of the Women’s Money in the Bank, this show needed a solid tag match from these veteran competitors. We thankfully got that match with some fast-paced tag action, cool spots and believable near falls. The crowd was truly enjoying the tag match. Then The Usos simply left and got counted out after 13 minutes.
Couldn’t they have been written to cheat and get disqualified? A count out finish was cheap and boring. The show started with two straight solid matches but ruined by terrible booking decisions. That is a bad way to start.
#4 Lana clears a low bar
It was strange to see Lana get a title match at this pay-per-view. Granted the rest of the Women’s Division was in the Money in the Bank match, but to see Lana, who has had one match on the Main Roster, get an instant title match was strange.
Giving an inexperienced wrestler a title match at a WWE pay-per-view could be a very risky move but I think it was worth the risk.
I think there wasn’t a lot to really lose in the grand scheme of things. As long as Lana looked credible and didn’t seem too green against the much more experienced Naomi, Lana could be part of the division good forward. Lana cleared that low bar and got some credible offence in the short match. It was good for her, but I hope she will stay away from the title hunt for a long time.
#3 Jinder Mahal wins the same way
I am a big fan of the movie “Groundhog Day”. It is where the same day repeats over and over again for Bill Murray’s character. Who knew I would see the premise of that great movie on display at a WWE Smackdown pay-per-view in 2017.
The match was fine and was likely better than the previous encounter by Orton and Mahal. I don’t know if we should buy Jinder as a credible champion, but he is getting more comfortable in the role. But the ending was weird – it was almost the same thing we saw last month.
Orton had issues with the Singh Bros., almost killed them with brutal table spots and rolled into the ring to take a Mahal finisher. It was the same exact finish from Backlash in May. It was another strange finish on a strange night in St. Louis. I hope we don’t see the same match and same finish in July’s pay-per-view.
#2 A man wins the first Women’s Money in the Bank
I was really looking forward to the first Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. The work rate of the Smackdown Women’s Division has been top-notch as was the booking of the division. Every woman on the Smackdown Women’s Division had meaningful feuds and all seemed a legit threat to win the first Money in the Bank.
The match had a lot riding on it. The division needed a strong showing to push future ladder matches for the female wrestlers. And to their credit, they delivered in the fast-paced 13-minute match. It was smartly booked with everyone hitting good ladder spots throughout and made all of them seemed credible threats going forward.
Charlotte, of course, remained the MVP with her crazy, twisting jump off the top rope. The crowd was rightfully getting into the fun but then the ending derailed the whole thing.
We know heels cheat and I don’t mind Carmella cheating to win and even having Ellsworth help her to do so. The issue is the first ever women’s ladder match, ended with a man winning it. In 2017, that is pretty pathetic.
The women wrestlers worked really hard in that match and to have a male have to get the prize for a female wrestler seems very backwards in 2017. It will take a lot of time to undo the damage to the Women’s division caused by that slap in the face.
#1 Maria and Mike Kanellis Debut
Maria’s return is certainly proof that anyone can return to the WWE. She had long and loudly complained about the Bella Twins preventing her from returning to the WWE. With the twins’ importance in the company, it seemed unlikely that Maria could return to the WWE despite her solid heel manager work with her husband Mike Bennett in Ring of Honor and TNA Wrestling.
Last night is why you never say never in pro wrestling. Their debut certainly qualifies as a surprise and especially a debut on a WWE pay-per-view. The crowd clearly knew who she was and she was quick to explain a bit of her history in the company.
The content of her reappearance was “interesting”, to say the least. It seems her goal was to annoy the WWE audience with her husband Mike Kanellis. Why Mike Kanellis? Because the WWE writers think a man taking a women’s name is deserving of heel heat.
Regardless, it was a surprise on a night that clearly needed one.
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