What’s the story?
According to an article on WWE.com, the Money in the Bank pay-per-view will be exclusive to the SmackDown Live! brand in 2017.
The event is scheduled for June 18 in St. Louis, Missouri, and previous advertisements on the arena’s website listed only Smackdown talent, tipping that the show might be branded that way. Monday’s WWE article also announced that tickets would officially go on sale for Money in the Bank on Feb. 17.
In case you didn’t know...
Since the brand split last summer, WWE’s pay-per-views have been brand-exclusive except for the major events – SummerSlam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. This was identical to the way the major events were handled during the previous brand split.
At that time, the Money in the Bank ladder match, which grants its winner a briefcase containing a contract for a world championship opportunity, was part of the WrestleMania card. By the time the match became the feature of its own show, the brands had merged again.
Dean Ambrose won the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match, cashing in his contract at the conclusion of Seth Rollins’ world title victory over Roman Reigns later that night. As a result, Ambrose took the world title to the Smackdown brand when he was drafted there.
The heart of the matter
It’s hard to be surprised about which brand got this particular show, if it was going to be branded. The only surprise might be that it wasn’t a cross-branded show, since the WWE previously announced that there would be 19 pay-per-view events this year. Taking out the four major shows, that leaves 15 more pay-per-views, which would seem to suggest that another event would be cross-branded, unless one brand is going to have more pay-per-views than the other.
Either way, after Sunday’s Elimination Chamber match, won by Bray Wyatt, SmackDown Live! seems poised to put on an impressive multi-man match.
What’s next?
The blue brand has plenty of time to prepare for this event, and with at least two pay-per-views – including WrestleMania 33 – between now and then, it’s hard to expect any build toward Money in the Bank at this point.
We’ll also have to see how the expected brand draft, also rumored to take place in June, would affect this event. Could there be some crossover talent, even at a SmackDown show?
Sportskeeda’s take
This seems like a wasted opportunity for an incredibly enjoyable cross-branded show. Whether through one Money in the Bank ladder match comprising talent from both shows or whether there would be a match for each show, the MITB concept is prime to gather as much talent as possible into one arena.
Beyond that, SmackDown Live! has been putting on the far more entertaining pay-per-views in recent months. After the blue brand got Elimination Chamber, it would seem that Money in the Bank would give RAW the chance at an easy spark to its roster.
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