Rather than doing a full nerd review of last Sunday's PPV, we thought we would bring you a much more concise takeaway article from the WSBF crew. What was good, what was bad and most importantly - what was FUN.
1. MATT CONNOLLY
WWE has quite rightly received a lot of praise lately for their production on some of their Marquee matches. The Money in the Bank match carried on in the same vein as The Boneyard and Firefly Funhouse matches by offering fans loads of little moments to digest and try and string a narrative from.
Whether it was Baron Corbin attempting murder on Aleister Black and Rey Mysterio or the countless cameos from John Laurinaitis to Not Doink the Clown, the match attempted to give us moments.
I had a blast with this but either way they guaranteed that you probably checked this match out even if you don't care.
2. SHAFI
I'm not a fan of intergender matches as I think that they often require an even more significant suspension of disbelief than a standard wrestling bout. I think that it is wise WWE has generally refrained from male on female violence over the last decade as the physical differences between the two genders can make such interactions appear more abusive than competitive.
There was something that happened during the MITB that changed my mind though.
When Shayna grabbed Rey in the Kirifuda Clutch my initial reaction was to burst out laughing because it was completely out of nowhere. When the hilarity subsided I was left with one thought... How great would a match between the living legend Rey Mysterio and Shayna Bayzsler be?!
It avoids all of the issues I have with intergender matches as Shayna is a shoot fighter with a significant size advantage. Rey, a former world champion and future headliner in a Hall of Fame Class, would be the underdog.
It would give Shayna the chance to work against someone with a different style than anyone in the women's division and would be a fresh match up. Damn that contest could be great...
3. NINETIES MIKE
Okay, I've tried. I've now watched AEW, NXT and WWE without crowds. It's just not the same, and I won't be watching anymore. The big moments (some career-defining) being wasted in front of no crowds are a travesty, and seemingly just because of VKM's pathetic "The Show Must Go On" mantra.
If I was in control, I'd have paused after Mania until they got the (legitimate) all-clear. The Otis MITB win wasn't without controversy as it is (AJ unhooked the damn briefcase), but if this is his big moment and it was in front of about eight people on a rooftop, was it really worth it?
Answers on a postcard, just don't lick the stamp please.
4. RYAN
Otis surprise win! Loved Otis in the ladder match, showed comedy elements eg AJ weight bar, squashing Rey & the food fight! The win keeps him riding his wave of momentum but hopefully he cashes in for the tag titles to keep him & Tucker together for now. Plenty of time to break them up.
5. DOM
My main take away from Money in the Bank is that WWE shows are still really fun to watch if you have beer to drink and mates to chat to throughout.
6. DOM
The commentary 'Jeff hardy can brawl with the best of them, but he doesn't like to do so' is horrendous. It's like me saying...
“I had a try out at Leyton Orient as a youth but I didn’t want to have to travel.”
7. ROSS
Considering all the rumour and innuendo about Vince rewriting his scripts, I thought him ending his scene by going back to pen and paper was absolutely inspired.
I like to think it was to change the winner from either Bryan or AJ to Otis. You don't upturn Vince's office chairs and get away with it.
8. DOM
The sell from Rollins on Drew's Claymore kick where he held his head off the mat instead of playing dead was amazing.
Made an already incredible move look absolutely devastating.
9. ROSS
I absolutely love a hoss woman wrestler and am into Nia and Tamina much more than your regular WWE fan, so to see Tamina perform as well as she did on PPV was a joy for me.
I i love that Sasha is proving her commitment to Bayley - that is now two PPVs in a row that the champ has held onto her title thanks to Sasha.
Banks will be ready to stab her in the back when she has 100% trust from her bestie.
10. DOM
Jekyll isn’t good. He’s just normal. He has flaws and he has to fight to keep Hyde inside. But the more power he gives to Hyde, the harder he has to work to keep him caged.
Bray is like that. He doesn’t want the fiend. But it’s inside him. And the more he allows the fiend out, the stronger the fiend becomes.
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