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This year’s WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view undoubtedly had its fair share of exciting moments. The main event of the PPV saw Asuka and Otis win the Women’s and Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match respectively.
Additionally, we didn’t see any title change hands during the show. Bayley, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, and The New Day retained their Championships against their respective opponents.
The recently-concluded Money in the Bank PPV also saw Jeff Hardy pick a win over Cesaro, and Bobby Lashley replace MVP in his match against R-Truth. Lashley picked up an easy win over the former 24/7 Champion who did well in putting The All Mighty over during that match.
But like every other PPV, tonight’s show saw some brilliant performances and a few underwhelming ones.
In this article, we will take a look at Superstars who flopped and Superstars who impressed in the unique edition of the PPV. So, without further ado, let’s begin.
#5 Flopped at Money in the Bank 2020: Tamina
WWE Superstar Tamina returned to in-ring action earlier this year and has been booked strongly ever since WrestleMania. At the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Tamina challenged Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship but the latter managed to retain her gold with the help of her best friend, Sasha Banks.
Their match was well-paced, and Tamina did have a few good spots in her match at Money in the Bank. She has certainly improved inside the ring, but it was not enough to portray her as Championship material.
There were quite a few spots that depicted her strength, but they were followed by shaky moments where Tamina would end up losing control of the Championship match.
Tamina made the same mistake as every other challenger that has faced Bayley for the SmackDown Championship. Her performance at Money in the Bank was better than what you would expect from her, but still, it was not at par with the rest of the talents. Hence, it might not come as a shock if Tamina meets the same fate as the rest of the female Superstars on the Blue brand.
Understandably, the storyline demands Bayley to look stronger before she enters into the much-awaited feud with Sasha Banks. However, Tamina could have still delivered a better performance to respect the push that she has been receiving for the last few weeks – even if that’s been motivated by the lack of other fresh and dominant talents in the SmackDown Women’s roster.
She did show signs of improvement inside the ring, and hopefully, she will finally get a hold of things that work best for her in the coming months.
#5 Impressed at Money in the Bank 2020: Cesaro
Including WWE Superstar Cesaro’s name in the list of Superstars who impressed at a PPV shouldn’t be a surprise at this point. He is an incredible wrestler with fascinating in-ring maneuvers, and he consistently delivers at every stage. The story wasn’t too different when he faced Jeff Hardy in a Single’s match during the kick-off show ahead of the Money in the Bank PPV.
Both Cesaro and Jeff looked equally strong inside the ring. Their exchange was well-balanced and this helped both Superstars enjoy their respective moments of glory. Cesaro certainly deserves credit for the manner in which he took the punishment to ensure that Jeff doesn’t look rusty from any angle.
Together, they raised the expectations for the Money in the Bank PPV with their opening match. This battle of endurance saw both Cesaro and Jeff bring out the best of their signature moves. In the end, the latter picked a win with the help of a beautifully executed Swanton Bomb.
With the budding feud between Jeff Hardy and Sheamus, it was quite shocking to see Cesaro square off against the returning Superstar at the Money in the Bank PPV instead of his former tag team partner.
Hopefully, WWE have not given up on Sheamus because the storyline involving him and the one half of The Hardy Boyz has a lot of potential. As for Cesaro, he will go back to battling alongside Shinsuke Nakamura, but we don’t know how often we will get see both these Superstars in the absence of Sami Zayn.
#4 Flopped at Money in the Bank 2020: Dana Brooke
Ahead of the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Dana Brooke had started to make the news because several fans dubbed her potential win as a Cinderella story. Her victory over Naomi in the qualifying match made it look all the more promising. However, what transpired at Money in the Bank was completely different.
As was expected, she was indeed the weakest female Superstar competing at tonight’s PPV.
First, she was taken down by Asuka right in the beginning when she jumped on top of all the five women. Well, Brooke was the last one to recover from that blow only to walk into another series of misfortunes.
She ended up in the Money in the Bank conference room that had a replica of the briefcase hanging from the roof. Somehow, Brooke believed this is the prize before Stephanie McMahon walked in and explained that it’s not.
After that, Carmella put a poster through Brooke’s head, and when she finally managed to catch up with the rest of the Superstars, she was demolished by Nia Jax. She got up and tried to find her counterparts once again but ended up slipping on the wet floor. And that was the last we saw of her in the Money in the Bank match.
#4 Impressed at Money in the Bank 2020: Drew McIntyre
At the Money in the Bank PPV, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre successfully defended his title against Seth Rollins. The ‘Scottish Psychopath’ had great chemistry with Rollins, and the two delivered a fantastic match that had its highs and lows. But both Superstars looked equally dominant in the match that was narrated well within the ropes.
As soon as the match started, McIntyre shoved the ‘Monday Night Messiah’ into the corner to establish his superiority. An irked Rollins retaliated with his high-paced counters and focused on damaging McIntyre’s knee.
He even brought a chair with an intention to attack the Champion but decided otherwise. By then, McIntyre had started to recover, following which there was no looking back. It was good to see that Murphy was not lurking around the ring during this Money in the Bank encounter between two top Superstars of the Red brand.
After exchanging a few more blows, McIntyre got his opening, and he capitalized. In the end, a well-placed Claymore Kick helped McIntyre in retaining his title. Following that, he offered to shake hands with Rollins as a sign of respect, and surprisingly, the ‘Monday Night Messiah’ obliged.
This was definitely one of the best matches at the Money in the Bank PPV and it played its part in establishing McIntyre as the true locker room leader.
#3 Flopped at Money in the Bank 2020: Carmella
The former two-time Money in the Bank winner, Carmella, didn’t even get to see the briefcase this year. The ‘Staten Island Princess’ started off well when she raced against the likes of Lacey Evans and Shayna Baszler in search of the fastest way to the top. She even managed to gain the upper hand in one or two altercations, but after that, everything went downhill for her.
Carmella took the opportunity to slow down Dana Brooke by putting her head through a poster as the latter was distracted inside the Money in the Bank conference room.
That should have ideally given her a substantial upper hand, but the food fight broke right after Nia Jax confronted her.
Once the Superstars were back on their way to look for the Money in the Bank briefcase, Carmella bumped into Jax again. The latter then powerbombed Mella, and she could not get up after that.
It would have been good if she at least got to climb the ladder, but unfortunately, Carmella couldn’t even get to the roof of the WWE Headquarters.
#3 Impressed at Money in the Bank 2020: Asuka
The Money in the Bank 2020 winner, Asuka, was the best contender in both categories. Right from the get-go, Asuka was smart and knew exactly what she had to do in order to get her hands on the briefcase. She first took out all the five contenders by jumping on them from the top and then rushed to use the elevator to get to the roof.
Following that, she more or less escaped from every chaotic encounter between all the Superstars booked for both the Money in the Bank matches. Asuka did have brief altercations against the likes of Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, and Lacey Evans before she managed to find a way to get ahead of everyone else once again.
However, the best spot of the night saw Asuka slapping the living daylights out of King Corbin as both Superstars were using the same ladder to get their hands on their respective Money in the Bank briefcases.
In the end, the one-half of The Kabuki Warriors stood tall with her contract and deservingly so. Tomorrow on RAW, Asuka will be confronted by RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, and to say that their interaction will be interesting would be quite an understatement.
#2 Flopped at Money in the Bank 2020: Rey Mysterio
For me, including Rey Mysterio’s name in this list of flopped Superstars was painful, but I am forced to do it. Mysterio did look like the weakest contender in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
Rey Mysterio got off to a great start where he was engaged in a short yet brutal encounter with Aleister Black. His decision to not help a struggling AJ Styles added the much-needed comic elements to the match.
But things took a turn for the worse when all the 12 Superstars were engaged in a food fight. By the end of this chaotic encounter, Mysterio found himself being choked by Shayna Baszler.
Following that, he was crushed between Nia Jax and Otis. Although Mysterio still found his way near the Money in the Bank briefcase, it only ended up with him being thrown off the roof by King Corbin.
It is understandable why Mysterio was booked in this manner as WWE needed him to get the other talents over. However, it would have been much better if he got more chances of gaining the upper hand on his opponents before being subjected to unfair brutality.
Following his performance at Money in the Bank, Mysterio will be desperate for redemption. Hopefully, he will feud with Aleister Black and AJ Styles – something that will immensely benefit RAW.
#2 Impressed at Money in the Bank 2020: Aleister Black
Heading into the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Aleister Black looked like the most deserving contender to win the coveted contract. Even though that didn’t happen, Black managed to impress the WWE Universe with his actions tonight. Right from the start, he looked composed and knew exactly what he had to do.
Throughout the Money in the Bank Ladder match, Black was engaged in duels with each of the other five Superstars. He first battled it out against Rey Mysterio as the two exchanged a few hard-hitting blows.
He then turned his attention towards King Corbin as both Superstars were determined to find their way to the roof. Black also locked horns with Otis when the two men had to share the elevator to the roof.
But the best bits included him squaring off against AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan. In both those encounters, Black showed his full potential and proved that he could be trusted with promising feuds.
Hopefully, WWE will capitalize on this momentum and have him engage in a compelling rivalry with The Phenomenal One on RAW – something that they can revisit from before WrestleMania 36.
#1 Flopped at Money in the Bank 2020: Shayna Baszler
Shayna Baszler’s name instantly creates an image of brutality in the mind of the spectators. But she was far from her usual self at tonight’s Money in the Bank PPV. Baszler looked strong in the beginning as she battled it out against the likes of Lacey Evans, Nia Jax, and Asuka, but those brief altercations were the only good thing about her run.
During the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, Baszler surprisingly struggled in gaining the upper hand for the most part and spent a lot of time chasing Asuka, only to fail in her attempt at catching up with The Empress of Tomorrow.
It appeared as if Baszler was the victim of over-confidence, and she had no answers for the brutality unleashed on her by Jax. She even looked weaker in comparison to Evans, which came as quite a shock.
There have been countless reports about Baszler not impressing Vince McMahon enough to win herself a title reign despite her memorable run as the NXT Women’s Champion. This became more evident when she was one of the three women who never made it to the top of the WWE Headquarters.
Hopefully, Baszler will come back stronger because she can certainly prove to be a compelling Champion on the main roster.
#1 Impressed at Money in the Bank 2020: Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman’s match against Bray Wyatt may not have been the best encounter at the Money in the Bank PPV, but it certainly had the best story-telling. At their Money in the Bank clash, Bray and Strowman worked together to present the best elements of their past and present in a spectacular fashion.
As soon as the bell rang, both men rushed to establish their dominance. Strowman pushed Bray into a corner, and the latter seemed amused by the actions of the ‘Monster Among Men’.
The Champion seemed to have the upper hand until Bray put him through the announce table. Interestingly, this is the only Money in the Bank match that had someone in the audience if you count the puppets from the Firefly Fun House, who were sitting near the barricade. They also suggested the upcoming twist that would then make this match all the more interesting.
At one point, Braun emerged with a familiar Black Sheep mask that made Bray believe that his lost ally is coming back to the family. They even went in for a hug only for Strowman to throw his mask away and crush it.
He then delivered a powerslam which helped him pin his former mentor. This match was great from a storyline perspective and it allowed Strowman to walk out of Money in the Bank with a well-deserved title defense.
