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With the Money in the Bank pay-per-view inching closer and closer every week, WWE has the pedal to the metal in the build-up to the event.
The Money in the Bank Ladder match is the main match that needed its contenders fixed from Raw’s side, and the brand wasted no time in simply announcing their four candidates without the need of any qualification matches.
Apart from that, the women’s contenders for the female version of the match were also announced during this week’s episode.
Raa also managed to build on the two main championships on the brand well, and the matches for the two titles seem to be the hottest topic at the moment. The United States Championship, however, has its fate hanging at the moment.
In this article, we will look at the 4 surprises and shocking moments WWE delivered during the episode this week, and what it could mean going forward.
#4 3 Powerhouses & a High-flyer
The Money in the Bank Ladder Match is one of the most entertaining matches WWE has all around the year. While the match was restricted to the males earlier, WWE has had a female version of the match over the past few years.
While it was expected that WWE will announce the Raw superstars who will be a part of the match which will be held at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, the names chosen are a bit questionable.
Surprisingly, Ricochet is The One and Only high-flyer who has been named in the four representatives. The other three superstars are all powerhouses, with Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman already having won the briefcase in the past. Both men had been unsuccessful in their cash-in attempts.
It would have been better to see some other superstars get a chance, and for WWE to add in another high-flyer from Raw to make things more interesting. Otherwise, Cesaro in place of Corbin would have made a much better fix.
#3 Sasha Banks’ snub
While the WWE Universe tuned in to watch A Moment of Bliss, the second edition wasn’t as predictable as the first one. The Goddess announced Natalya, Dana Brooke and Naomi would be in the women's ladder match alongside her.
This came as a surprise as Dana Brooke has been heavily buried in the women’s roster, and has mainly been fighting in Main Events.
Other than that, it was more surprising to see Sasha Banks’ name not come up in the list of superstars for the match.
While many fans expected Sasha to be named in the match, and even to go on and win it as reports of her being unhappy with WWE are floating around, she was completely ignored from the list.
Does this mean Vince is done with being blackmailed into giving superstars chances whenever they threaten to leave? It seems like so due to this shocking decision.
#2 Samoa Joe’s defeat
Since winning the United States Championship, fans have been expecting WWE to finally take Joe seriously on the main roster and book him like the monster he is.
They succeeded in doing so at WrestleMania 35, and even though veteran Rey Mysterio suffered an embarrassing defeat, it was all worth it at the end.
However, WWE has again surprised everyone by booking Joe in questionable outcomes. Last week he lost a triple-threat match which involved AJ Styles and Rey Mysterio. Before that, he was attacked and made to flee by The Monster Among Men Braun Strowman on SmackDown before he made the switch to Raw.
This week, he was beaten once again by his nemesis Rey Mysterio and was put on a 50-50 booking which he has been trying to shake away for a while. This is severely hurting his image and the value of the championship he holds, and WWE needs to do something about it before fans stop taking Joe seriously similar to what happened with Rusev.
#1 AJ Styles’ turn
AJ Styles’ move to Raw, getting into the Universal Championship picture, and the forthcoming heel turn is all happening so fast that fans might find the change hard to grasp.
While Styles’ had been the premier babyface on SmackDown especially during his WWE Championship run, it seems as though the hunger for the Universal Championship is taking him down a darker path.
While his heel turn wasn’t surprising, what shocked many was the way it was done. Instead of a misunderstanding or some insults causing Styles to turn heel, it was just the refusal of a handshake which had already taken place last week, which tipped him over the line.
Since WWE would want one of the two men to go into the fight as a heel, it was obvious that they would prefer to keep the Universal Champion Seth Rollins a babyface for a while since a heel held the championship for a long time.
Will Styles reveal has darker side fully to the WWE Universe next week? It’s worth waiting and finding out!
