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We break down the best, worst, and downright ugliest moments from Chicago, Illinois' Money in the Bank pay-per-view. From the 2nd ever Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match to former UFC star Ronda Rousey's very first WWE singles match to the Last Man Standing Match between A.J. Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, Money in the Bank lived up to its billing and left most wrestling fans thrilled and yearning for more.
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James Ellsworth returned to aid Carmella in what was a stunning championship defense over fellow Smackdown LIVE Superstar Asuka; but, as far as shock value is concerned, his return was dwarfed by Alexa Bliss' cash-in and inevitable WWE RAW Women's Championship victory, her historic fifth world championship reign. Bliss stood toe to toe with what are arguably professional wrestling's two most dominant women and not only lived to tell the tale but also left Chicago with RAW Women's Championship gold.
Wrestling fans now have a new Monster in the Bank in Braun Strowman, who despite being the focus of seven other Superstars, stood victorious as this year's Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match victor. Strowman annihilated his competition and asserted his absolute dominance over the RAW roster. His Money in the Bank Ladder Match victory may ultimately be a declaration that Vince McMahon has declared a new chosen one.
Two matches were never really allowed to get off to a start. Bobby Lashley vs Sami Zayn fell flat and failed to live up to its pre-match heat, disappointing fans in attendance and those watching at home via the WWE Network. The Chicago, Illinois crowd never gave Roman Reigns vs Jinder Mahal much of a chance, as they were much more interested in NXT chants and a game of beach ball; but, is that really Roman Reigns or Jinder Mahal's fault? It's definitely no fault of Sunil Singh, who can now be called wrestling Jesus, especially in light of Corey Graves' astounding call plus Seth Rollins is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world and can lay claim to being RAW's hottest Superstar so what could possibly be wrong with a Seth Rollins match?
All of the above are examined in detail in a special Money in the Bank edition of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly:
The Good - Women's Money in the Bank Match
The 2nd annual Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match was filled with high spots and stiff shots. The match left the Chicago crowd happy and lacked any of the ridiculousness James Ellsworth brought to last year's event. Filled with violent ladder spots and near grabs, the women's match outperformed this year's Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match. The bout's winner, Alexa Bliss, would become a major factor later in the pay-per-view.
No one really knew who would win the match. This added to the thrill of the entire event as each woman had virtually equal odds of winning. This left fans on the edge of their seats in eager anticipation. Ember Moon, in her first ever Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match, far exceeded expectations, as did Lana who performed amazingly on a gigantic stage.
The women were unafraid to take risks and some terrifying bumps with the ladder. In a terrifying moment, Becky Lynch had the point of the ladder drop onto the middle of her forehead. Charlotte Flair aggressively powerbombed Ember Moon onto the ladder. This year the women worked with confidence & aggression, in what was arguably the greatest Women's Ladder Match of all time.
The Good - It's A Miracle
Ever the loyalist, a wheelchair-bound Sunil Singh stuck by Jinder Mahal's side at this year's Money in the Bank. After facing Roman Reigns last week on RAW, Singh apparently suffered major injuries that left the Punjabi valet unable to walk, or so we thought. Later in the match, Singh miraculously rose from his wheelchair to push Reigns into the ring post outside the ring.
While this has happened in wrestling history before and Roman Reigns should have known better than to ever believe anything coming from the Mahal camp, what makes the incident special is Corey Graves hilarious live call. As Singh rose from his wheelchair, Graves summoned the spirit of the late great Bobby Heenan and expressed utter amazement, "It's a miracle! He can walk....a miracle!" Graves then compared Singh to a modern-day Lazarus, invoking religious imagery that made even the most poker-faced wrestling fans smile.
The Good - A.J. Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura
AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura was arguably the match of the night and their best yet. The two excelled in the Last Man Standing format, putting their bodies through levels of violence neither have endured before. In an era where it has become vogue to poo anything on the main roster, this potential match of the year candidate was better than any match on the previous evening's NXT: Takeover Chicago.
The two wrestlers brutalized one another with stiff blows, MMA style kicks, & chair shots from hell. Nakamura took a shot to his nether regions that could be heard (and felt) throughout the entire arena. The match ended when Styles utilized the top rope to dive onto an already maimed Nakamura, putting his rival through a table. It was near perfection and a fitting exclamation on what has been an intense feud between two of the world's finest wrestlers.
The Good - Nia Jax
Nia Jax may not have left the evening as RAW Women's Champion; however, she did leave as RAW's true monster. Jax started the match more aggressively than any other in her career, going after Rousey with an unparalleled intensity that Jax has previously lacked. For much of the match, Jax had her way with Rousey physically, overpowering her in ways never before thought possible.
When Jax did lose her RAW Women's Championship, it wasn't to Ronda Rousey as many had expected. Instead, it came as a result of an underhanded attack from her former best friend, Money in the Bank briefcase winner Alexa Bliss. In the end, Jax came away from the bout relatively unscathed and looking stronger than ever.
The Good - Alexa Bliss' Cash-In
Alexa Bliss wasted no time in cashing in her newfound Money in the Bank briefcase. Unlike last year's winner, Baron Corbin, Bliss waited for the most opportune time and came in when both Rousey and Jax were bruised, battered, and extremely fatigued. Bliss first focused her attack on Rousey, who she made sure to incapacitate outside the ring. Then Bliss focused her former best friend, Nia Jax, brutalizing her with the briefcase. In the end, Bliss' cash in was both exciting and unsuspected, a delightful and memorable moment that ended with Little Miss Bliss' fifth WWE Championship.
The Bad - Bobby Lashley vs Sami Zayn
In a match that had a promising build, its output can only be described as disappointing. Leading up to their Money in the Bank clash, Zayn questioned Lashley's military service and did his best to humiliate Lashley's family; but, struggled to get a reaction from the former Impact star.
Lashley has a naturally quiet personality and likes to do his talking in the ring; but, when it came time to get physical, Lashley lacked the killer instinct that one would expect, especially after enduring such taunting.
Instead, the match seemed like a regular day at work for Lashley, who didn't come after Zayn with any sense of urgency or the hatred one would expect from a man who has endured so many audacious insults. The two Superstars lost the crowd and the bout ended in Lashley attaining a pinfall victory, with little fanfare.
The Bad - James Ellsworth's return
As expected, James Ellsworth made his WWE return at the 2018 WWE Money in the Bank. Coming to aid his beloved Carmella, Ellsworth cost Asuka her chance at the WWE Championship when he distracted her. Carmella made the most of her opportunity and attacked Asuka from behind to achieve the pinfall victory.
Ellsworth's return in itself isn't bad and neither was the interesting way he did it, dressed from head to toe as a mirror image of Asuka. James Ellsworth's return at Money in the Bank; however, brings back awful memories of his interference at last year's Money in the Bank Match. In a blight on history, Ellsworth ruined the first ever Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match by climbing the ladder and handed the briefcase to Carmella.
The move was so unpopular the match had to be redone on an episode of Smackdown. The event was so preposterous and such a proverbial slap in the face to the Women's Revolution, one has to wonder why the WWE would revel in reliving it, even celebrating it by allowing Ellsworth to return on its one year anniversary.
The Bad - Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins is undoubtedly one of the best wrestlers in the business. That is an indisputable fact; however, his psychology in his MITB match against Elias was questionable at best. Appearing to hurt his knee earlier in the match, Rollins did not change his high flying reckless style. Instead, he continued his top rope frog leaps and suicide dives, all with a supposedly injured knee.
Ask yourself. If involved in an altercation, would you change your style if injured? If you broke your punching hand, would you continue to use it in the same way you used it before, especially after previously suffering a devastating injury that cost you a year away from the profession that you love? That's exactly what Rollins did when he refused to appropriately sell his injured knee.
The Bad - Shinsuke Not Winning The WWE Championship
At this point, one has to wonder if Shinsuke Nakamura will ever become WWE Champion. No time seemed better to crown the King of Strong Style than at the conclusion of his Last Man Standing Match against A.J. Styles.
Styles is a phenomenal champion but Shinsuke has proven that he deserves the opportunity to wear WWE main roster gold as well. For whatever reason, the WWE has been reluctant in putting the Title around his waist. After winning the Royal Rumble and coming up short three times against Styles, Nakamura will likely have to find another way to make his way back up the championship ladder.
The Bad - Braun Strowman Winning Money in the Bank
After winning the 2018 Men's Money in the Bank briefcase, the WWE proclaimed Braun Strowman as Monster in the Bank. There is one major problem with that proclamation. Monsters don't need Money in the Bank briefcases.
They don't need the element of surprise or sneak attacks. They don't need to level a playing field that already tilts to their advantage. If anything, holding the briefcase weakens Strowman as a monster and says to the world, "This monster needs a special advantage over others."
In this writer's humble estimation, it isn't the appropriate way to book Braun, who should never need to utilize any advantage outside of his superior size, strength, and brute force.
The Ugly - The Chicago Crowd
The Chicago crowd didn't even give the Roman Reigns vs Jinder Mahal match an iota of a chance. Instead, the audience stood determined to make themselves the show, interjecting themselves when entirely unnecessary. At a point, the Chicago audience even garnered an angry reaction from Jinder Mahal who mid-match turned to the crowd and screamed, "I am the show." From the get-go, the crowd began chanting, "Johnny Wrestling, Velveteen, Boring, As*hole," and whatever else came to mind. They started doing the wave and childishly began playing with beach balls.
Undoubtedly, there were some children in that audience that went to Money in the Bank just to see Roman Reigns and a selfish crowd like that ruins the experience for those kids, who don't understand why people are dumb enough to attempt to ruin their favorite superhero's match. While selfish people may dismiss such an idea, many of those fans that attempted to hijack the Reigns match were at NXT Takeover the previous night. When a fan attempted to get a beach ball party started, the crowd acted angrily and eventually tore the ball to shreds; but, those were their favorite superheroes and hypocrisy knows no bounds with some wrestling fans.
Here's an idea. How about giving the match an actual chance? Whether you like the wrestlers involved or not, have enough respect to acknowledge the insane amount of work they put into their craft and just be decent. No one paid to hear crowd chants. Like it or not, they paid to see Roman Reigns and the other wrestlers on the card. Instead of trying to become the show, take the time to get a concession or take that long-awaited bathroom break. If you don't like something, do as they did in the old days, "boo," or better yet, say nothing at all. Just don't ruin the experience for everyone else.
Which were your favorite matches from MITB? Let us know in the comments section below!
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