Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Money in the Bank Live from the O2 Arena in London kicked off with Shinsuke Nakamura, Ricochet, Santos Escobar, Butch, Damian Priest, LA Knight, and Logan Paul all vying to become Mr. Money in the Bank. The crowd were fully behind LA Knight throughout the contest to the point where they booed everyone who laid a hand on the Megastar. You could tell from early on that everyone was looking to put on a show and my gosh did they do that. Some of the best spots include; Butch hitting a moonsault off of a ladder. Ricochet dived through the ladder and over the top rope! Logan Paul hit a Frog Splash onto Damian Priest who was lying on a ladder. Ricochet hit a 450 onto both Santos Escobar and Butch who were lying on a ladder and the craziest spot of all came when Ricochet sent both himself and Logan Paul flying from inside the ring all the way through two tables that were set up at ringside. Shinsuke Nakamura was also in this match and he did some good stuff whilst Santos Escobar showed that he can be a main player in WWE in the future. However, the ending saw LA Knight take everybody out before he climbed up the ladder. However, he came within seconds of becoming Mr. MITB before Damian Priest arrived and hit a Broken Arrow to the Megastar off the top. This then allowed Priest to unhook the briefcase meaning Damian Priest is now “Senor. Money in the Bank”. I thought this match was fantastic. Everyone played their roles perfectly whether that be Ricochet and Logan Paul pulling off crazy dives or the crowd favourite LA Knight doing everything right. In the end, though, I’m super happy that Damian Priest picked up the victory because I’ve been a fan of his for a while and he is genuinely capable of being a star.
Grade: A-
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler VS Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez
The second match of the night saw Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez try to win back the titles that they never lost as they battled Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler. This match was mostly fine and I thought they did a decent job. However, the big talking point came when Shayna shockingly attacked her tag team partner and long-time friend Rousey. Baszler beat down Ronda and locked in the Kirifuda Clutch on her to the shock of Liv Morgan before the Queen of Spades left. This allowed Raquel to hit the Tejana Bomb before Liv nailed the Baddest Woman on the Planet with ObLIVion to win back the titles that they never lost. This was a genuinely nice surprise. Given Liv and Raquel the belts back makes sense if they’re genuinely trying to build them as a legitimate tag team and I liked the fact that Baszler took out Rousey. Whilst Shayna could’ve turned on Ronda earlier and whilst there wasn’t much build to this in the story itself, it makes total sense that the former unbeatable NXT Women’s Champion would be annoyed that the team is fully focused on Rousey.
Grade: B-
Intercontinental Championship: Gunther VS Matt Riddle
Gunther returned to London as the Ring General put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Matt Riddle. Riddle used his striking ability to give him a shot against Gunther, but the IC Champ was in control for the most part, mainly due to him targeting the injured leg of the Original Bro. Riddle was able to stay in the contest, but he was eventually forced to tap out as the former NXT UK Champion locked in an ankle lock. After the match, Drew McIntyre’s music hit as the Scottish Warrior made his return to WWE after 3 months. Drew stared down the Champion before he delivered both a Glasgow Kiss and a Claymore to leave the Ring General laying. I thought the action between Gunther and Matt Riddle was pretty decent and Drew McIntyre returning was really cool.
Grade: B-
Cody Rhodes VS Dominik Mysterio
The next match of the night got the crowd completely off their feet as they went wild for Cody Rhodes and booed heavily for Dominik Mysterio. This match was the weakest of the night, it wasn’t bad, but there just wasn’t much to it. Cody was in complete control other than when Rhea Ripley tried to get involved. However, that eventually stopped working and it allowed the American Nightmare to hit the Cross Rhodes and pick up the win. Also, Brock Lesnar didn’t show up which seemed kind of odd.
Grade: C+
John Cena Returns!
And then, from out of nowhere, John Cena’s music hit and the 16-time World Champion made his way down to the ring. Cena thanked the crowd for being an amazing fan base and he revealed that the reason why he’s here is because he wants to give London the opportunity to host WrestleMania! This sent the crowd absolutely wild before Grayson Waller’s music hit. The crowd threw lots of stick at the Arrogant Aussie, but the former NXT star kept it calm and told Cena that if there’s going to be a WrestleMania overseas, it should be in Australia. Cena and Waller then went back and forth before Grayson attacked John from behind. However, this didn’t work out too well for the Arrogant Aussie as Mr. Hustle, Loyalty and Respect laid him out with an Attitude Adjustment. This was completely unexpected and it was great. WWE is always better when John Cena’s around and after nearly two months of Grayson Waller being a fan of his guests on the Grayson Waller Effect, the Arrogant Aussie was finally able to show why he was so highly rated on NXT and one of the stars of this year’s WrestleMania weekend.
Grade: B+
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
It was then time for the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match as Becky Lynch, Bayley, Trish Stratus, Iyo Sky, Zoey Stark, and Zelina Vega all looked to pick up a monumental victory. Whilst this wasn’t as good as the Men’s Ladder Match, it was still a lot of fun and had some big spots. Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus brawled for most of the contest and Trish was completely taken out of the contest after she got hit with a Manhandle Slam onto the ladder. Elsewhere, Zoey Stark and Zelina Vega proved that they can be stars in the future and that became crystal clear when Zelina hit a Code Red onto Zoey that sent Stark crashing onto a ladder. In the end, Iyo Sky looked certain to win before her Damage CTRL partner Bayley pushed her off the ladder. The Role Model then looked to climb up the ladder before Becky Lynch intercepted her. The two then fought on either side of the ladder before Iyo Sky handcuffed each other's hands together meaning they couldn’t climb up any further. This allowed the Genius of the Sky to climb over her partner and unhook the MITB briefcase meaning Iyo Sky is now Miss. Money in the Bank. The ending of this match was so smart and I’m so glad that Iyo picked up the win. She was a star in NXT and she very much deserves to be a star on the main roster too.
Grade: B+
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth “Freakin” Rollins VS Finn Balor
Seth “Freakin” Rollins was the next champion to put his title on the line as he faced his long-time rival Finn Balor. Seth Rollins’ ribs were tapped up and Finn Balor did a good job at targeting Seth’s weakened area. It very much became clear that both guys were on a similar playing field and this resulted in plenty of reversals before Rollins nailed Balor with a Pedigree. However, the big turning point in the match came when Damian Priest arrived. The new Mr. Money in the Bank sat and watched from ringside as it looked like Balor was about to become champion. However, the Prince got distracted by his Judgment Day friend's appearance which allowed Seth to hit the Stomp to retain his World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Finn and Priest got into a little bit of an argument. Whilst this wasn’t an instant classic like some people were expecting, it was still good and the storytelling between Balor and Priest was great. Just please don’t break the Judgment Day up.
Grade: B
Bloodline Civil War: Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa VS The Usos
The Main Event of Money in the Bank Live from the O2 Arena in London saw the Bloodline Civil War take place as Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa teamed together to take on The Usos. Like always in Roman Reigns matches, the first 75% of the contest was a slow match in which Roman Reigns trash-talked the crowd and his opponents (the crowd particularly didn’t like the Head of the Table). However, as always, as soon as the referee gets knocked down, epicness ensues. Jimmy and Jey nailed Reigns with a 1D, but the referee was out for the count so the match had to continue. Solo Sikoa then delivered a Samoan Spike to Jimmy before Reigns and Solo hit an awesome Spear/Spike Combo. As Roman smashed the Usos, he stacked them and somehow, he didn’t pin them as Jey (and Jimmy) kicked out at the last possible second. This broke Roman Reigns who ordered Sikoa to end his cousins. Solo set up Jimmy on the announce table and went for the Flying Solo. However, Jimmy moved meaning the Street Champion went crashing through the table. Back in the ring, Jey hit Roman with a Superkick, Reigns fired back with a Superman Punch, the former Right Hand Man hit another Superkick before the Tribal Chief nailed his cousin with a devastating Spear. However, Jey somehow kicked out at 2 and low-blowed Reigns in the process, something the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion has done to great effect over the years. The Usos then double Superkicked Solo, double Superkicked Roman before Main Event Jey Uso hit an Uso Splash onto Roman Reigns and pinned him for the 1,2,3. Wow, this was a special match in which Roman Reigns was pinned for the first time since December 2019! Everyone involved is absolutely fantastic at what they do and Jey pinning Roman is more than 33 months in the making. Now he’s just got to make sure that he wins the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship off of the Tribal Chief.
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