The crowds are back and the fans were completely energized in the arena for Sunday’s Money in the Bank Pea-Per-View. Outside of this year’s TWO-NIGHT WRESTLEMANIA, we’ve been stuck with empty arenas or video monitors for almost a year and a half, and it was nice to hear the fans going crazy for the action again.
While I enjoyed last year’s Corporate MONEY IN THE BANK battle through WWE Headquarters – which is maybe the last time WWE had fun with the idea of no fans – this was the perfect event to hold In front of a packed arena. The women’s ladder match kicked off the show and the fans were rabid for it. Alexa Bliss came out first and got a pretty impressive reaction. Maybe it was just her being the first competitor out or maybe the fans are really digging her mystical HARLEY QUINN vibes. Probably a little of both.
I actually expected Bliss to come out of the ladder match with a win and the briefcase, but all of her supernatural shenanigans during the match resulted in Bliss getting buried under a half-dozen ladders outside the ring by all of her opponents towards the end of the match. The rest of the women ended up fighting on ladders inside the ring trying to grab the briefcase, and our Almost a Superhero, Nikki ASH, climbed on top of all of them to get the win.
Again, I ended up surprised, because I went to bed thinking Nikki ASH would be the first woman to cash in the briefcase and lose, but she cashed it in the next night on Raw and is now your Raw Women’s Champion.
The men’s side of things was a little easier to call, with Big E overcoming the odds and scoring the win. I hope this is a sign of good things to come for Big E, and I’m very much looking forward to him challenging for the Universal Championship.
Best Match: Raw Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley (c) – Say what you will about Charlotte Flair winning ANOTHER women’s championship, but when she’s motivated, there are very few people better than her. This was a great match that built to a logical conclusion, though I wouldn’t have expected it to end the feud. Maybe Nikki ASH cashing in on Raw the next night does that, but I’m sure we haven’t seen the last match between Ripley and Flair.
Worst Match: Raw Tag Team Championship Match: AJ Styles and Omos (c) defeated the Viking Raiders – It’s so rare for an AJ Styles match to rank so low on a card, but nothing about this match worked for me. Omos is an impressive-looking dude, but he still meanders around the ring like he’s Zeus. He’s still stiff and awkward in the ring, and he was in the ring a lot in this match. It completely disrupted the flow and I couldn’t get into it.
Acknowledge Him – Roman Reigns had a great Universal Championship defense against Edge filled with craziness. With the referee down and Edge in control, new SmackDown! Tag Team Champions The Usos tried to help the Head of the Table, but the twins were cut off by Rey Mysterio and Domenik. Instead, Reigns’ former Shield brother Seth Rollins ended up costing Edge the match, surely setting up a battle between the two. Reigns continues to be one of the best parts of WWE programming (maybe THE best now that Geekery Role Model and favorite women’s wrestler Bayley is injured) over the last year. Take a look at the rankings below and you’ll see he’s even dominated the best matches of the year. And now, he’s got a challenge from the 21st Century’s best WWE Champion.
With the match over and Reigns celebrating in the ring, John Cena’s music hit. The former champion hit the ring, played to the crowd, then gestured towards Reigns with a “U Can’t See Me.” The star of HBO Max’s upcoming Peacemaker series looks like he wants to try and tame the Big Dog. SummerSlam should be a lot of fun.
New Day Squash – WWE Champion Bobby Lashley ended his brief feud with the New Day by completely dominating Kofi Kingston. There was never any doubt the Almighty would come out of this with the title in tact, but the level of pain he inflicted on Kingston was brutal. It was good to see, as Lashley keeps getting better.
Ranking Money in the Bank 2021
*DISCLAIMER* The rankings are for discussion purposes only and in no way reflect an official or authoritative list. It is simply my opinion. If you disagree, let me know in the comment.
1 – Raw Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley (c)
2 – Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) defeated Edge
3 – Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Nikki ASH defeated Alexa Bliss, Natalya, Tamina, Liv Morgan, Asuka, Naomi and Zelina Vega
4 – Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Big E defeated Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, John Morrison, Kevin Owens, Ricochet, King Nakamura and Riddle
5 – WWE Championship Match: Bobby Lashley (c) defeated Kofi KIngston
6 – Raw Tag Team Championship Match: AJ Styles and Omos (c) defeated the Viking Raiders
The 2021 WWE PEA-PER-VIEW Top 10
Roman Reigns takes his fifth spot in the 2021 Top 10, while Rhea Ripley and Charlotte both take a second spot. New additions to the rankings are in bold.
1 – Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns ( c ) defeated Cesaro – WrestleMania Backlash
2 – Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) defeated Daniel Bryan w/ Edge as Special Enforcer – Fast Lane 2021
3 – Raw Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley (c) – Money in the Bank 2021
4 – Universal Championship Triple Threat Match: Roman Reigns (c) defeated Edge and Daniel Bryan – WrestleMania 37 Night 2
5 – Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) defeated Edge – Money in the Bank 2021
6 – Elimination Chamber No. 1 Contenders Match: Daniel Bryan defeated Jey Uso, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin – Elimination Chamber 2021
7 – Universal Championship Last Man Standing Match: Roman Reigns (c) defeated Kevin Owens – Royal Rumble 2021
8 – No Holds Barred Match: Drew McIntyre defeated Sheamus – Fast Lane 2021
9 – Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn – WrestleMania 37 Night 2
10 – Raw Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match: Rhea Ripley ( c ) defeated Asuka and Charlotte Flair – WrestleMania Backlash
Next up, WWE heads to Las Vegas for what should be a stacked Saturday-night SummerSlam! Stay tuned!