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Money in the Bank 2019 took place on May 19, 2019, started live at 7 PM on the WWE Network and the Kickoff Show started live at 6 PM on the WWE Network and the WWE Youtube Channel. This took place in the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut and featured top talent from Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live, and 205 Live.
There were two Money in the Bank ladder matches involving the top men and women of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live as well as matches for the Cruiserweight Championship, the United States Championship, the Raw Women's Championship, the SmackDown Women's Championship, the WWE Championship, and the Universal Championship.
The kickoff show featured a match between SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan and Monday Night Raw's the Usos. The main show featured Tony Nese vs Ariya Daivari for the Cruiserweight Championship, Samoa Joe vs Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship, Kofi Kingston vs Kevin Owens for the WWE Championship, The Miz vs Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage Match, Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship, Becky Lynch vs Lacey Evans for the Raw Women's Championship, Roman Reigns vs Elias, Seth Rollins vs AJ Styles for the Universal Championship, the women's Money in the Bank ladder match, and the men's Money in the Bank ladder match.
Kickoff Show: Daniel Bryan and Rowan vs The Usos
Result: Daniel Bryan & Rowan defeated the Usos
Grade: B
Analysis: It was a weird sight to see Daniel Bryan wrestling on the kickoff show. Especially when you realize that he was in one of the marquee matches at WrestleMania. This was a pretty good sprint of a match as all four men looked to prove why tag team wrestling deserves more of a spotlight in WWE. This victory for the Usos over Daniel Bryan & Rowan should lead to them getting a title shot. If WWE wants to make this even more interesting, maybe they should add the Revival to this feud as they are already in a rivalry with the Usos on Raw.
Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Bayley vs Carmella vs Dana Brooke vs Ember Moon vs Mandy Rose vs Naomi vs Natalya vs Nikki Cross
Result: Bayley became Ms. Money in the Bank
Grade: A-
Analysis: This was an excellent way to open the show. It made sense for WWE to put as much time as possible in between the two Money in the Bank ladder matches and the women's money in the bank ladder match was the better choice to open the show. All eight of these women brought it. Carmella did an excellent job selling a fake injury as she captured the hearts of the fans and had all of the WWE Universe worried until she took out Mandy Rose at the end.
Nikki Cross brought the frantic pace that she always brings to the match and stole the show at the very beginning of the match. Natalya served well as the powerhouse of the match. This was a very coming out party for Dana Brooke who did not look out of place with all of the top talent in this match and did a particularly amazing job when she hung from the briefcase.
Mandy Rose was excellent as the only heel in the match and the tease that she would win was amazing. Ember Moon stole the show with an insane Eclipse from the outside of the ring on a ladder.
Naomi was arguably the standout performer of this match as everything from her entrance, to her split to avoid being sandwiched by the ladders, to her Split Legged Moonsault on the ladder was amazing. Bayley was the perfect choice to win this match as she needed it more than anyone in this match. She is now able to move out of the shadow of Sasha Banks.
United States Championship: Samoa Joe (c.) vs Rey Mysterio
Result: Rey Mysterio defeated Samoa Joe. Samoa Joe brutalized Rey Mysterio after the match out of frustration.
Grade: C
Analysis: In terms of the storyline that these two have had, this was the right decision. Samoa Joe completely embarrassed Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania so it was only right that Rey Mysterio eventually got a lightning quick victory of his own against Samoa Joe.
However, given the fact that Samoa Joe was quickly busted open in the match and that his shoulder was completely off the mat, it looks like this only happened because of Samoa Joe's injury. Even if this was supposed to happen, this wasn't the best option because Samoa Joe has been losing a lot of matches and really deserved to continue his reign as champion. It would also be nice to finally be able to see an actual pay per view match in this feud.
Steel Cage Match: Shane McMahon vs The Miz
Result: Shane McMahon defeated The Miz
Grade: D
Analysis: The match between The Miz and Shane McMahon at WrestleMania was a pretty good fight. This match was boring, dull, and even had the wrong result. This match was entirely too long. The action was not even close to as fast paced as a steel cage match should be. Shane McMahon using the ropes to break out of a pin looked stupid at the moment before you realized that this was supposed to show Shane McMahon using his power to influence the referee.
The Miz's Frog Splash also did not look that good and it is probably better for him to stay on the ground. His promos are so good that he doesn't need to worry about using high-flying skills to get cheers from the WWE Universe. The Miz also badly needed this victory a lot more than Shane McMahon did as he deserves to be able to end up winning this rivalry which seems to be over instead of losing because Shane McMahon slipped out of his shirt.
Cruiserweight Championship: Tony Nese (c.) vs Ariya Daivari
Result: Tony Nese defeated Ariya Daivari
Grade: C+
Analysis: There was nothing objectively wrong about this match. There was a pretty good exchange of moves from both men, a few good near falls, and a few exciting moves from Tony Nese. However, the match was pretty slow and unlike most other Cruiserweight matches, the two Cruiserweights were not able to get the crowd invested at all.
This is likely due to the fact that Ariya Daivari is not a particularly exciting performer. While he is perfectly serviceable in the ring, his matches lack the spark of some of his other fellow cruiser-weights like Akira Tozawa, Oney Lorcan, Mike Kanellis, and Drew Gulak.
Tony Nese meanwhile has proven himself to be an excellent wrestler this year alone with excellent matches with superstars like Drew Gulak, Cedric Alexander, Buddy Murphy, and most recently NXT UK's Ligero. It will be exciting to see his reign continue.
Raw Women's Championship: Becky Lynch (c.) vs Lacey Evans
Result: Becky Lynch defeated Lacey Evans
Grade: C+
Analysis: This was a breakout performance for Lacey Evans. Despite her inexperience, she never looked out of place when wrestling one of WWE's best wrestlers. Becky Lynch also proved that she has the inability to guide younger talent to good matches. Lacey Evans was in control for the majority of this match and proved that she is not undeserving of the spotlight that she has recently been receiving.
The finish at the end was a little bit confusing as it looked like Lacey Evans had Becky Lynch pinned with a roll up for at least (or more than) three seconds. However, it was the right finish for Becky Lynch to get the win as she has only just started her career on Monday Night Raw and deserves to continue her reign as champion.
SmackDown Women's Champion: Becky Lynch (c.) vs Charlotte Flair
Result: Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair.
Grade: B
Analysis: There was nothing wrong with this match. It makes a lot of sense from a storyline perspective that Charlotte Flair used her backstage pull to make sure that her match was right after Lacey Evan's match. Becky Lynch was already exhausted after successfully defending the Raw Women's Championship against a tough Lacey Evans.
This match thankfully did not last that long as the WWE Universe would likely get bored by having to see a long match between these two as they have faced off in many (mostly entertaining) matches. Charlotte Flair winning was the right decision.
While Becky Lynch's "Becky 2 Belts" has been entertaining, she needed to lose so that she can be on only one brand. This way she does not get stale in the eyes of the WWE Universe. It also made sense that Lacey Evans cost Becky Lynch the match as it is a good way to continue their feud which has exceeded expectations.
SmackDown Women's Championship: Charlotte Flair (c.) vs Bayley
Result: Bayley cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated Charlotte Flair
Grade: A+
Analysis: This was a perfect wrestling moment. It started off with an attack from Lacey Evans and Charlotte Flair on Becky Lynch after the match. When Bayley came out, it looked like she might turn heel on Becky Lynch and take the Raw Women's Championship from her.
She then made the save by attacking both Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans. When Bayley eventually cashed in for the championship, everyone was ecstatic. As she went on the top rope and delivered the Elbow Drop and won the championship everyone went crazy.
After years of booking Bayley as a joke, WWE finally booked her correctly. She deserved this moment for all the trouble she has gone through on the Raw roster. She was treated as second best to almost everyone and her reign as Raw Women's Champion and WWE Women's Tag Team Champion were abruptly ended.
WWE also managed to make a star out of Bayley without turning her heel. Bayley cashing in on Charlotte Flair was perfectly just, as Charlotte had attacked her after a match several weeks ago, cheated to win the championship, and attacked Becky Lynch after the match. In the eyes of the WWE Universe, Bayley saved them from another Charlotte Flair title reign. WWE managed to have a face cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase while still making her look like the hero.
Elias vs Roman Reigns
Result: Roman Reigns defeated Elias
Grade: B+
Analysis: This was the perfect way to handle this match. Elias attacked Roman Reigns before the match backstage with his guitar. Roman Reigns then came back out and sneak attacked Elias during his guitar performance. Roman Reigns then quickly got the victory over Elias.
Most of the WWE Universe did not want to see a match between Roman Reigns and Elias that would have likely been a chin lock fest. This allows the momentum of the show to not be slowed down. Roman Reigns got a quick victory after a sneak attack. This made sure that Elias was not buried. Roman Reigns also still looks like a top face because he only attacked Elias from behind after Elias did the same thing to him. This was a great way to protect both superstars.
Universal Championship: Seth Rollins (c.) vs AJ Styles
Result: Seth Rollins defeated AJ Styles
Grade: A+
Analysis: This was the best match of the night. We are in an era in WWE in which so many dream matches disappoint. Some examples of dream matches that disappoint are Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose at TLC, Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman, and AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania.
This dream match between Seth Rollins and AJ Styles did not disappoint. This match did not work the traditional WWE style of someone taking control of the match as neither man could stay in control for a long period of time. This helped to show how these superstars are of equal talent.
The two then pulled out all the stops with Seth Rollins hitting an Inverted Superplex/Inverted Falcon Arrow, AJ Styles pulling out the Torture Rack Bomb, AJ Styles countering the Revolution Knee into an Ushigoroshi, and AJ Styles fluently countering the Stomp into the Calf Crusher. The reversal of the Curb Stomp into a Pop Up Styles Clash was the best reversal of the year.
It was right for Seth Rollins to get the victory as his reign has only just began. However, it is unfortunate that it seems that this feud is over as another match between these two would be great.
WWE Championship: Kofi Kingston (c.) vs Kevin Owens
Result: Kofi Kingston defeated Kevin Owens
Grade: A-
Analysis: This was another great title defence for Kofi Kingston who has never looked better as a singles competitor. He has had great matches with Daniel Bryan, Sami Zayn, and AJ Styles over the past few weeks. This was another great match as both superstars delivered in another fascinating bout.
Kofi Kingston used his agility to his advantage early in the match with excellent high flying skills. Kevin Owens showed a lot of brutality with his Frog Splash from the apron to the floor. The Prizefighter did an excellent job of targeting the back of the champion.
When Kofi Kingston made his comeback, the match kicked into second gear with Kofi Kingston getting a near fall off of the SOS, Kofi Kingston kicking out of a Pop Up Powerbomb, Kofi Kingston hitting a double stomp on the apron, and Kevin Owens catching Kofi Kingston out of the air with a Superkick.
Both superstars survived each other's finishers before Kevin Owens went for an always amazing Swanton Bomb. Kofi then got the knees up and hit the Trouble in Paradise. Kofi Kingston has had a great reign so far and it is exciting to see where both of these superstars go next.
Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Ali vs Andrade vs Baron Corbin vs Brock Lesnar vs Drew McIntyre vs Finn Balor vs Randy Orton vs Ricochet
Result: Brock Lesnar became Mr. Money in the Bank
Grade: A-
Analysis: Just to be clear, this match is deserving of an A+. However, the result of the match takes a few points off of it. The seven men that actually positively contributed to this match did a great job and they were definitely worthy of the main event.
Randy Orton was great as the opportunistic veteran who picked his spots as his back suplex on the announce table and his out of nowhere RKO were both excellent. Ricochet did great as one of the sellers in this match as he selflessly sold Baron Corbin's Deep Six on the floor, Ali's Reverse Rana, and Drew McIntyre throwing him from the ring onto a ladder bridge.
Finn Balor was the most selfless in this match as he took a brutal Sunset Flip Powerbomb from a ladder onto another one, a Chokeslam onto a ladder, and an Inverted Alabama Slam onto the ladder. Baron Corbin looked like a beast as he hit several Chokeslams and him winning the match was an excellent tease that sent the WWE Universe into a frenzy.
Drew McIntyre was a beast at the end with his moves on Ricochet and Finn Balor. Ali and Andrade were the stars of the match. Andrade hit the spot of the night with a Sunset Flip Powerbomb from a ladder onto the other ladder. Ali hit several moves including the Reverse Rana. He would have been a deserving winner and one has to feel bad for how Brock Lesnar just swooped in and stole the victory from him.
Brock Lesnar winning was a horrible idea as WWE once again decided to push Brock Lesnar over other rising stars like Drew McIntyre or Andrade who could have used this victory.
