WWE Money In The Bank Review And Results: A Dash Of Brock Lesnar Spoils The Meal
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So far, in 2019, WWE's Money in the Bank PPV was the worst of the year. With 11 matches on the card, there were only three quality matches throughout the evening from start to finish, and only one of those was a MITB ladder match. What happened? There were two matches that lasted less than two minutes, and a Brock Lesnar appearance that really angered everyone watching.
The Money in the Bank PPV Kickoff Show is over, and you'll find our review of the match below. Money in the Bank takes place at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and there are 11 matches on the card, once of which will take place on the Kickoff Show beginning one hour prior to the main PPV. Reportedly, The Usos vs. Daniel Bryan & Rowan will be that match, but it has not been confirmed by WWE. Check out the match card for the event below.
Money in the Bank Match Card:
- Daniel Bryan and Rowan vs. The Usos (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
- Tony Nese (c) to battle Ariya Daivari (Cruiserweight Championship)
- Samoa Joe (c) vs. Rey Mysterio (United States Championship)
- Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Andrade, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Finn Bálor, Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, Mustafa Ali, and Randy Orton
- Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Ember Moon, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Nikki Cross, Bayley, Natalya, Naomi, and Carmella
- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lacey Evans (Raw Women’s Championship)
- The Miz vs. Shane McMahon (Steel Cage Match)
- Roman Reigns vs. Elias
- Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Kevin Owens (WWE Championship)
- Seth Rollins (c) vs. AJ Styles (Universal Championship)
- Becky Lynch (c) vs Charlotte Flair (Smackdown Women’s Championship)
Below, you'll find our reviews of every match right after they happen. You may have to give Wrestle Buddies Mat Elfring and Chris E. Hayner a few minutes to gather their thoughts. So if you want just the facts, check out the Money in the Bank results post as that is updated as soon as each match has ended.
Kickoff Show
The Kickoff Show is currently airing on the WWE Network and on the WWE YouTube page. Watch along with us and keep refreshing to get our thoughts after each match ends.
Daniel Bryan & Rowan vs. The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships has been confirmed for the Kickoff.
Just to change things up this time around, we'll be keeping track of whether or not we were correct on our predictions for the PPV. It's time to find out who is better at guessing the winners of a predetermined sport: Mat or Chris.
Daniel Bryan and Rowan vs. The Usos [KICKOFF SHOW]
(Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
Winner: The Usos
Mat: I'm still very confused about why this match exists, as The Usos are on Raw, and the Wild Card rule is very stupid. I really like the tag team of Rowan and Bryan. It's the perfect blend of speed and power. It actually makes me bummed that The Usos were moved to Raw, as they helped define the Smackdown tag division, and I could see this match turn into a larger rivalry. This match featured so much of Rowan dominating everyone, which I was totally about. I was hoping for a Bryan and Rowan win to strengthen them as champions, but that didn't happen. For some reason, The Usos won, as commentators continued to talk about how great the Wild Card rule is and how it "shake things up." Enough. Please. Regardless of that stupidity, this was a solid match, with a bit of a bummer ending.
Score: 5.5/10
Original Prediction: Daniel Bryan & Rowan
Predictions Correct: 0/1 (0%)
Chris: Poor Daniel Bryan. He was on the hottest heel run of his WWE career in recent months, culminating with a fantastic Wrestlemania match with Kofi Kingston. How he's a placeholder tag team champion on Smackdown that lost the belts to a team from Raw. WWE's reluctance to make their own rules mean anything with nonsense like the Wild Card addition and giving Raw talent opportunities at Smackdown championships does nothing but taint any actual separate rosters they'd like to see. I have zero faith in the brand split anymore and it makes me view Smackdown in an unflattering light. It's almost constantly the better show, but WWE's allergic reaction to logic isn't exciting or riveting. It's disappointing.
Score: 2/10
Original Prediction: Daniel Bryan & Rowan
Predictions Correct: 0/1 (0%)
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
(Ember Moon, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Nikki Cross, Bayley, Natalya, Naomi, and Carmella)
Winner: Bayley
Mat: I already have a feeling this will be a rough night for my original predictions. Regardless, I'm so happy Nikki Cross is a part of this match. How about that Carmella moment where Mandy Rose kicked the ladder at her, which messed up her knee, and Carmella kept pushing Rose away? There were some rough spots with Rose, and a few "no sell" moments, but those were small hiccups for this match. We saw the future of the WWE women's division, and it's Ember Moon and Nikki Cross. Yes, Naomi was on fire as well, but she's a time tested commodity.
Then, Carmella came back, and I was worked like a total mark. Oh well, it happens. There was never a lull in the match, and yeah, there were some sloppy spots, but I really enjoyed this. I'm just a bit confused as to what the Carmella moment was supposed to do here. Are we going feud with Mandy Rose? Bayley's clean win was nice, even if I'm not a huge fan of what creative has done with her the past few months. She's in need of rebuilding, and this is a great way to kick it off.
Score: 7.5/10
Original Prediction: Nikki Cross (Originally, Alexa Bliss before she was taken out)
Predictions Correct: 0/2 (0%) -- Oh boy...
Chris: Of the two ladder matches, this is the one I was excited for! I'm sad Alexa Bliss wasn't cleared to compete as I would have loved her to get the win here. That said, health is the most important thing for anyone on this roster and Nikki Cross getting a spotlight is exciting. That said, of those in the match, Bayly is the most exciting pick and I honestly hope she announces her csh-in in advance and WWE gives us a fantastic Bayley vs. Becky match. As for the match itself, this was a good ladder match! It wasn't always clean and crisp, but what ladder match is? I appreciate that faces like Ember Moon got their chance to be showcased in the match, even in defeat. The women's division is in an interesting place right now. After a year of Ronda Rousey dominating the conversation--and Becky Lynch dominating the ring--it's time to build up the rest of the women's roster to give Becky 2 Belts some serious competition in the coming months.
Score: 8/10
Original Prediction: Bayley
Predictions Correct: 1/2 (50%)
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Rey Mysterio (United States Championship)
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Mat: Wait… I got one right finally? Yes! This was the Wrestlemania battle part two, but Rey got the pin super-quick on Samoa Joe, who was pretty bloodied during their match--which lasted a little more than a minute and a half. The match itself if fine, but what matters is the aftermath where Dominic "Guerrero" Mysterio witnessed his father get brutally assaulted for a few minutes. I was annoyed with this storyline, but it is really growing on me, and a lot of that has to do with that crazed look in Joe's eye after the match--which was in part thanks to his nose being broken. This was solid, and I'm glad it was quick, even though these two could easily put on an amazing, long match.
Now, when will Joe and Rey has a custody for Dominic match?
Score: 6/10
Original Prediction: Rey Mysterio
Predictions Correct: 1/3 (33%)
Chris: I hate everything about this. Yes, Mat's right. It was better than the Wrestlemania squash. But this isn't what Joe needs. He's a monster. He's a brute. He shouldn't be giving up wins to a 44-year-old cruiserweight. At least they're building a story into it, and I fully expect Joe to get his championship back. That said, the US Title doesn't have enough credibility at this point to be swapped back and forth. At the very least, they get points for the post-match angle. But even with that, this isn't what I wanted or needed.
Score: 5/10
Original Prediction: Samoa Joe
Predictions Correct: 1/3 (33%)
The Miz vs. Shane McMahon (Steel Cage Match)
Winner: Shane McMahon
Mat: Remember when Shane McMahon said that if Miz showed up on Smackdown to interfere with the main event match that this cage match wouldn't happen? Well guess what? That little storyline was never resolved. It floated away in the wind like the Gorgonites going down a river to find their made-up home or whatever. Everything about this felt like set-up for "Big Spot" Shane, which is fun for a little, but man, I am tired of this storyline.
However, overall, this match was not fun, which is quite the task for a steel cage match. It was tiresome, boring, and continued a feud that isn't working for anyone. Somehow, a cage match didn't excite me, even when one of my favorite WWE superstars is the babyface in the bout.
Score: 2/10
Original Prediction: The Miz
Predictions Correct: 1/4 (25%)
Chris: I'm not having much fun with the show yet. I didn't think this match should happen and how that is had, I feel vindicated. What a mistake. Shane McMahon continues to b a middle-aged man getting the best of one of the most talented and devious wrestlers on the roster. What's more, all of these losses are doing nothing for The Miz, who is someone that should be in contention for a World Championship, rather than futzing about with Shane. And now we have Shane squeaking out yet another win, even though Miz clearly had Shane pinned--there are no rope breaks in cage matches, so that was just a dumb moment. What upsets me most is this won't be the end of the storyline because Miz still hasn't gotten is revenge. Why is WWE attacking me so personally?
Score: 2/10
Original Prediction: The Miz
Predictions Correct: 1/4 (25%)
Tony Nese (c) to battle Ariya Daivari (Cruiserweight Championship)
Winner: Tony Nese
Mat: I was so not in the mood to care about this match, and much like the audience in attendance, it took me a while to get into this. It was good, and out-of-context, I'm sure this would have been dynamite, but man, you're following up probably my least favorite cage match in WWE history. What is going on with this PPV?
Score: 7/10
Original Prediction: Tony Nese
Predictions Correct: 2/5 (40%)
Chris: It's strange. This time out, the Cruiserweight Championship match not being on the pre-show worked against it. This show has me tired and frustrated. And in that burnout, I honestly didn't care too much about this bout, which is unfortunate. Like Mat, it took me some time to get my had into this match, which is unfair to the guys who worked hard to make it work. That said, I'm a fan of Tony Nese retaining the title and look forward to wherever 205 Live goes next.
Score 7/10
Original Prediction: Tony Nese
Predictions Correct: 2/5 (40%)
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lacey Evans (Raw Women’s Championship)
Winner: Becky Lynch
Mat: As a character, Lacey Evans is there. She's a fantastic heel with a little something extra. She really does have that "it" factor you look for in a WWE superstar. However, in the ring, she's not there yet. She's close, but she's not on the same level as Lynch or any other the other main event women. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable. It was a nice palate cleanser after the bitter taste of the previous matches. But the finish of this match was so weird. The official didn't count at all, when Becky was pinned and then Becky just got the Disarmher in and Lacey tapped. This finish knocked the match down a few pegs for me. The real icing on the cake to the bout was Charlotte coming down to challenge Becky for the Smackdown title right after this championship match.
Score: 5.5
Original Prediction: Becky Lynch
Predictions Correct: 3/6 (50%)
Chris: I like Lacey Evans. I found her very entertaining in NXT and think she can become a big deal on the main roster. She's not there yet, though, and I could see that in this match. She's not on Becky's level and that was clear more than once during the bout. The match was fine but nothing to write home about and the finish was bad. The wonky referee stuff tonight is obnoxious and this match suffered because of it. At the very least, these two tried hard to have an acceptable championship match. And, honestly, I'd like to see them work together more. I think they could eventually put on something great.
Score: 5/10
Original Prediction: Becky Lynch
Predictions Correct: 3/6 (50%)
Becky Lynch (c) vs Charlotte Flair (Smackdown Women’s Championship)
Winner: Charlotte
Mat: Man… I am hating me some finishes tonight. We have some referees straight from 1987 that are distracted by everything. Mike Chioda, get your act together. The match between Charlotte and Becky was fine. It was the weakest of all their matches against each other, but it wasn't awful. The whole point of the match was to tell the story of Becky overcoming all the odds, which she didn't. And again, I can get behind that story, if done correctly, but I feel as though I have whiplash from everything happening here, from Becky almost winning to Lacey interfering as the ref is distracting to Lacey and Charlotte jumping Becky to Bayley cashing in here MITB contract. My head hurts. All of these things happening right after the other puts the focus on nothing. There is no impact when everything happening is the most impactful thing right now. I feel like the angry WWE fans I see on the internet complaining about every little thing, but putting Becky Lynch in both of these matches should have been a home run for the PPV. Instead, it's aggravating.
Score: 4/10
Original Prediction: Becky Lynch
Predictions Correct: 3/7 (43%)
Chris: The word clusterf*** has ben used to describe some of wrestling's more convoluted moments that seem needlessly overbooked. This match was a clusterf***. The portion of the math that was Charlotte vs. Becky was actually pretty exciting. Then, Lacey Evans magically returned and cost Becky her title--RIP Becky 2 Belts. Then Lacey and Charlotte destroyed Becky until Miss Money in the Bank Bayley made the save, laid out both Charlotte and Lacy, and cashed in to defeat Charlotte. Yes, Bayley winning the Smackdown Women's Championship is exciting, but it also seems rather out of character for someone who is always the ultimate babyface.And it was just so much happening in so short a time that none of it really had the chance to sink in. What's more, all those Becky 2 Belts shirts are pointless now. The segment as a whole was kind of a chaotic mess, which is a bummer.
Score: 5/10
Original Prediction: Becky Lynch
Predictions Correct: 3/7 (43%)
Roman Reigns vs. Elias
Winner: Roman Reigns
Mat: MATCH OF THE NIGHT! MATCH OF THE NIGHT! I was really excited for an Elias match, but this PPV has been problematic, so I'm very ok with this being a squash match and an Elias performance. Whatever. I've given up on this show. Let's just get weird.
Score: Over 9000/10
Original Prediction: Elias
Predictions Correct: 3/8 (38%)
Chris: What? I was actually excited for Elias to have a real match for once. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about getting an electric performance but this continues to be the weirdest night of WWE nonsense in recent memory. And I don't know when we'll all recover. Roman winning the match so quickly doesn't really do anything for either of them, but at least they tried to be entertaining? Is this somehow the new match of the night? No, but it's better than a lot of the other stuff we've seen on this card.
Score:5.5/10
Original Prediction: Roman Reigns
Predictions Correct: 4/8 (50%)
Seth Rollins (c) vs. AJ Styles (Universal Championship)
Winner: Seth Rollins
Mat: I've checked out completely. I've been thinking a lot about Booking Mode in Fire Pro Wrestling. I might run a cross-promotion with ROW after this PPV is over. Oh yes, this match. I like this match very much so. The story building towards it was mediocre at best, but these two are phenomenal--pun intended. This is the first time tonight I've felt really invested in a singles match. At no time do I feel bored with what's going on. These guys are putting it all on the line in an amazing back-and-forth battle. What a shining gem on a card that has turned out to be snake oil dipped in bullet ants which also happen to have the ability to eat souls. Dude, a reverse vertical suplex off the top rope? Hell yes. That's what I'm talking about. The was the best thing on the card to date by a long shot. Why can't we have more of this?
Score: 8.5/10
Original Prediction: Seth Rollins
Predictions Correct: 4/9 (44%)
Chris: Cole said Styles and Rollins were "two men considered the best in-ring tacticians in the entire world," which is a stretch, even for WWE. That's all I thought about the opening minutes of this match. That said, this match was pretty good. It's the kind of bout this show has been missing. A hard-hitting bout filled with signature moves, high spots, and compelling near-falls. It actually felt like there were stakes here, thankfully. I may not be very invested in a feud between these two but it's as if they knew that's where my head was at and they worked to get me interested. Tat top rope reverse suplex was the coolest thing that happened on the show and was executed perfectly, as the match slowly built to bigger and bigger moves in an attempt by each man to put the other away. This is why Seth Rollins at Universal Champion is a much better idea than having Brock Lesnar in that role. Lesnar wouldn't even be on this show, let alone put this much effort into any match.
Score: 8/10
Original Prediction: Seth Rollins
Predictions Correct: 5/9 (55%)
Lucha House Party vs. Lars Sullivan
Mat: What was the point of this? It was supposed to be a six-man tag match, so who were the Lucha House Party supposed to fight for this unscheduled match? Considering the racist postings the surfaced from Sullivan's past, you'd think WWE wouldn't put him in a situation where he's just beating up a bunch of Hispanic wrestlers. Regardless of the postings, Sullivan's history, etc, if you want Sullivan to be an unstoppable beast, maybe have him interfere against someone like Braun Strowman or another monster face, instead of Lucha House Party, who feel like they just job out to everyone.
Score: 0/10
Chris: In an evening of segments that are largely bad in quality, this was another level of insane--even for WWE. Lars Sullivan came under fire recently for making racist, homophobic, and misogynistic comments online. WWE even publicly fined him for the comments to the tune of $100,000. In what world is the next logical step to present an unscheduled segment in which Lars Sullivan beats up a trio of Hispanic wrestlers? There are moments when WWE is absolutely tone-deaf, but this is ridiculous even for World Wrestling Entertainment. Whoever thought up this segment should be ashamed.
Score: 0/10
Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Kevin Owens (WWE Championship)
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Mat: This is what I need. Kofi Kingston is an amazing face and Kevin Owens is a great heel. I just want some good wrestling and character work in a match that tells a story. Owens taunting when he has the upper-hand makes me smile, and Kingston trying to come from behind gets me pumped from wrestling. Also, I just noticed one of Owens' new tattoos is a panda, which makes me like him even more as a person, and I don't know why. He's so good when he's yelling at the crowd for cheering on Kofi, and the WWE Champion is putting it all on the line for this one, showing a more aggressive side. This is some excellent in-ring storytelling. While Rollins/Styles was a master class in technical wrestling, Owens/Kingston tells the story of their characters, and for me, it's near protection. The one fault came from when Owens took of Kingston's boots, and threw them to the outside. I have no clue why this happened and it made no sense. Regardless, this was the match of the night--to this point.
Score: 9/10
Original Prediction: Kofi Kingston
Predictions Correct: 5/10 (50%)
Chris: Here's the fun match I've needed all night. Kofi and Owens are practically perfect in their hero and villain roles, respectively. And those roles played into this match so well, especially with the loudmouth Owens taunting Kofi throughout the fight. Styles and Rollins may have had the flashier spots in their match, but this--thus far--is the best bout of the night in my mind. The story told here, which includes Kofi tapping into a more aggressive side of his character, was done so well and wildly entertaining. I just don't understand why Owens took off Kofi's shoes. I...I don't get it. But it's fine because the rest of the match was fantastic.
Score: 9/10
Original Prediction: Kofi Kingston
Predictions Correct: 6/10 (60%)
Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Mat: Give Ricochet back his entrance lasers, you cowards! I was really hoping WWE would do something rad like have Bray Wyatt take Sami Zayn's place, but that didn't happen. The match just started out of nowhere, like an RKO, right? Speaking of RKO, what the heck was Randy Orton doing before giving Corbin the DDT? If you don't know what I'm talking about, please see the image above.
Andrade giving Finn Balor a sunset flip powerbomb over the ladder, onto another ladder, was insane. However, what killed it for me was hearing one of the officials say "stay down, stay down," while talking to Andrade. But man, this was a really fun match. It was exactly what I wanted to see from a MITB ladder match, up until the final moments of the bout.
Former part-time champion Bork Laznr came out and won the match. What? He wasn't in the match, but I'm sure we'll get a dumb explaination that Vince put him in the match because he's a "great" champion or something. This is all clearly a play to promote the next Saudi Arabia show, which we won't be covering. I don't mind a heel coming out and winning a match to get some heat, but Laznr doesn't drive ticket sales. WWE fans don't hate him because he's bad. They hate him because they're tired of seeing the same old same old.
I hate that I'm about to say this--because I want to keep these two companies as separate entities here at GameSpot--but AEW's Double or Nothing can't come soon enough. Money in the Bank was a stinker with a couple of decent matches.
Score: Before Bork: 7/10
After Bork: 2/10
Chris: PACHEW! Here comes Ricochet! Seriously, though, pulling Sami Zayn from this match makes it a lot less exciting for me. I was already on the fence about this one before he got added because WWE has gone out of its way to make none of the remaining competitors feel special. The match wasn't bad, though none of it was particularly exciting. How could you tell? Even when Andrade powerbombed Finn Balor onto a ladder--an incredible-looking spot--the crowd chanted "Yowie Wowie" for Bray Wyatt, who wasn't part of the match. It happened again for Ali's insane Spanish Fly off the top of the ladder. The crowd is just done with this show and it's painfully obvious, which sucks for the guys putting their bodies on the line for this match. But can you blame them? Especially given how it ended. Brock Lesnar? Really? Again? We have to deal with Brock again? What a perfectly awful ending to a pretty awful show. Were I rating this solely on the result, it would be a 0/10. However, I'm not going to do that because too many men worked too hard to get stuck with that. I should note that none of those men were Brock Lesnar. He did nothing and sucks.
Score: 2/10