WWE 'Money in the Bank' Recap: Match Results, Analysis, Reactions
WWE's Pay-Per-View Did Not Dissapoint
It was a night of ups and downs for WWE's "Money in the Bank" pay-per-view from Las Vegas Nevada. A lot of action happened especially with several titles on the line and the Money in the Bank briefcase up for grabs.
Fatal Four Way for the WWE Tag Team Championship
The first bout of the evening had the New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) defend their titles against three of the top tag teams in the WWE right now: the Vaudevillains, the Club as well as Enzo and Big Cass. The action was apparent from the get go and, at times, the officials had a hard time controlling who was in the ring, which is typical for this kind of match.
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Each team hit their spots in the match and it did look like the Club was about to win after hitting English of the Vaudevillains with the Magic Killer, but in the end, Big E and Kofi Kingston were able to retain after hitting the Midnight hour against Anderson of the Club.
Analysis: The New Day have held the tag belts for over 300 days now and are inching closer to the record of 331 days held by Brian Kendrick and Paul London. It does appear that the WWE will allow the New Day to keep the belts until at least "Summer Slam." The tag division of the WWE has been red hot as of late, with teams like Cass and Enzo being extremely over and the Club looking very strong as well. Look to the New Day to drop the belts to one of these two teams soon.
Baron Corbin versus Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler did what he could to defeat Baron Corbin and put an end to this feud once and for all. However, even after Corbin took both of Ziggler's enders and still kicked out, he was able to pull off the win with the End of Days.
Analysis: This should finally end the feud between the two stars and hopefully position Corbin for a title push down the line. Unfortunately for Ziggler, this could mean the former Heavyweight Champion could be stuck in mid-card status for a while.
Charlotte / Dana Brooke versus Natalya / Becky Lynch
The team of Natalya and Becky Lynch came out of the gates very quickly, doing famous tag maneuvers such as the Heart Attack and double baseball slides. But eventuall, the team of the WWE Women's Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke took control of the match.
After a hot tag to Becky Lynch, it seemed that the duo was set for victory but after a broken up sharpshooter, Bekcy found herself at the end of a Natural Selection by the Women's Champion.
Analysis: The aftermath of the match is almost important as the match itself as Natalya lost her control and ending up beating on Becky Lynch for several minutes after. This could mean a heel turn for Natalya. who has been a baby face for almost her entire wrestling career. As for the other women, it showed that Dana Brooke does have a lot of wrestling talent and that it is still unclear who will challenge next for the Women's belt.
Sheamus versus Apollo Crews
Sheamus has been going on for weeks on how the New Era of stars has gotten too much attention and wanted to stop this wave by first defeating Apollo Crews. However it seems that at this night, Apollo Crews got the best of the Celtic Warrior as he was able to sneak a crucifix pin for the victory.
Analysis: The outcome of this match was surprising given the history of WWE not putting new talent over during pay-per-views. This could be big things for Apollo Crews who has a Bobby Lashley type push currently going on. Sheamus could be taking time off soon so that could be the reason why he took the lost.
John Cena versus AJ Styles
In one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history, John Cena matched up against AJ Styles for the first time ever. The match itself was high paced and both wrestlers hit their finshers. But it was the timely intervention of Gallows and Anderson on behalf of Styles that ultimately sealed the win for Styles.
Analysis: The match itself was very well done with both wrestlers doing what they could to elevate the intensity of the fight. For a while, it looked like Cena would bury yet another push for an up-and-coming wrestler. The fact that Cena took the defeat, although not cleanly, says a lot about what the WWE thinks about AJ Styles. Clearly this feud will continue for as long as WWE wants to.
The Money in the Bank Ladder Match
The Money in the Bank match has spawned more champions than any other type of match in WWE History. This year's contestants looked more hungry than ever before, and as per the norm, the match did not let down. It was not very clear who would win for several minutes as any of the six combatants could have won at any moment of the match. After several high-risk spots, it was Dean Ambrose who came out with the briefcase.
Analysis: All of the wrestlers who competed in the match should see a push in the next few months, save for Cesaro who the WWE seems to love to just keep in the mid-card. Jericho is always in contention for something, while Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are two up and coming wrestlers who will have titles soon. However, Dean Ambrose will be champion soon.
WWE Heavyweight Championship Match
Seth Rollins would not be denied the championship that he never really lost. In the match, Rollins looked at times like a man possessed, and that is what it took to defeat Roman Reigns for the title. Rollins took three spears and several superman punches before finally pinning Reigns with a mid-air Pedigree for the win.
Analysis: Rollins looked great in his first real test after surgery and even after a few minutes of ring rust. Give credit to Reigns for making Rollins look so good in the ring for the length of the match. While Rollins won the match, he did not leave the building as WWE champion since Ambrose cashed in the briefcase and beat Rollins right after the match against Reigns.
Post-Fight Reactions
Overall, the pacing of each match was good and the action non-stop. The best thing about this year's Money in the Bank was that the results were not the typical results that fans have come to expect from the WWE.
It is good to see that the WWE is trying new things when it comes to their storylines and hopefully this is just the beginning.
