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WWE Money in the Bank 2018 was an okay pay-per-view. The hype regarding the event was huge considering the brand MITB has become over the years. The show itself delivered on all fronts except for it's two big matches, the Money in the Bank ladder matches.
When one looks in hindsight, Money in the Bank 2018 appears to be the biggest dud of the year. The concept of the Money in the Bank match is to make future stars, but MITB 2018 utterly failed in this regard.
Lets start with the women's Money in the Bank Ladder match. Fans hoped for a great match, and it delivered. The finish saw Alexa Bliss capturing the coveted prize, and walking out as Miss Money in the Bank.
While this did look like a good decision at the time, it now seems like a decision which was taken in a hurry without any thought being given to the division's future. Alexa Bliss did cash-in her contract the very same night during the Nia Jax vs Ronda Rousey match, and subsequently walked away with the RAW Women's Championship for the third time in her career.
Cut to two months later, and Bliss has already lost her RAW Women's Championship to Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam in what was a squash match. Instead of an established star like Bliss, WWE could've have booked the young Ember Moon to win the match, as this win would've helped propel her career to newer heights.
Even someone like Natalya was a good choice, considering her history with Rousey. While Rousey was always penciled in to win at SummerSlam, Natalya turning heel on the Rowdy One and walking away as the RAW Women's Championship at SummerSlam would've been a great moment.
Coming to the men's MITB ladder match, Braun Strowman was the odds-on favorite to win the match, but no one really expected Strowman to actually walk away with the contract, but it happened.
Strowman obliterated his opponents en route to becoming the Monster in the Bank. The decision to give Strowman the contract came under heavy criticism from fans who felt someone like Strowman didn't need the briefcase to win the Universal Championship.
Many expected Kevin Owens to win the MITB briefcase from Strowman at SummerSlam by nefarious means, but Strowman squashed KO in less than 2 minutes. Strowman would then attempt to cash-in during the main event of SummerSlam, and the RAW after SummerSlam, but failed on both occasions.
This week on RAW, Strowman relinquished his MITB Contract in lieu of a Universal Championship match against current champion Roman Reigns at Hell in a Cell next month.
This is another case of WWE's ludicrous booking of the MITB contract. Strowman would have got a title shot irrespective of whether he was Mr. Money in the Bank. But by having him win the match, WWE lost a golden opportunity to hand over the briefcase to a more deserving superstar.
Superstars like Finn Balor, Rusev or even Kevin Owens would've made great MITB holders. Seeing where they are now, this would've certainly boosted their careers.
WWE instead had Strowman and Bliss, the company's two established stars win the contract. This was a big misstep by the WWE, and we hope the company thinks long-term before putting such a critical match in place next time.
