Reviews

The John Report: WWE Money in the Bank 2025 Review

By John Canton • Published Jun 07, 2025 23:03 EDT
WWE Money In The Bank Review 2025 Tjrwrestling

It’s WWE Money in the Bank featuring John Cena & Logan Paul facing Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso, plus two huge ladder matches.

This is the 16th edition of the WWE Money in the Bank PLE. It used to be just one match at WrestleMania, but then it became its own show, featuring the Men’s and Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Matches.

There were originally four matches on the show, but a fifth match was added during the WWE-AAA Worlds Collide PLE that took place earlier in the day in Los Angeles. That’s because the Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio got into a fight with Octagon Jr. during that show. When the fight was separated, Dominik challenged Octagon to an IC Title match at Money in the Bank. I watched Worlds Collide and enjoyed it, but I’m not doing the review until Sunday or Monday because I know I’m reviewing Money in the Bank tonight, so I’m focusing on that.

There was a 90-minute Money in the Bank Countdown Show on WWE’s YouTube channel, but I don’t review those shows. I am watching on Netflix in Canada. Let’s get to the main show.

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WWE Money in the Bank
From Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California
Saturday, June 7, 2025

There was some pre-show footage shown of Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso with Jey’s son, Logan Paul with his crew, Becky Lynch, and Dominik Mysterio hanging out with Liv Morgan. They also showed Seth Rollins walking with Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman. There was also Alexa Bliss playing with her doll, Lilly, LA Knight, and Rhea Ripley.

A video package aired about the Money in the Bank PLE. Great video, as always.

The commentary team was Michael Cole, Wade Barrett and Pat McAfee. The Spanish commentary team was at ringside. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer.

The Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match was up first. It’s the 10th Women’s MITB match and the previous nine winners have all successfully cashed in to become a champion.

Alexa Bliss was up first as a former Women’s MITB winner. Roxanne Perez was next for her first Women’s MITB match since she recently joined the main roster on Raw. It’s caution time for Naomi in her fifth Women’s MITB match and that’s tied for the most ever. In my preview of this show, Naomi is my pick as the winner. Stephanie Vaquer was next as another newcomer on the main roster since she joined Raw as well. Vaquer won a tag team match earlier in the day at Worlds Collide. Giulia was next as a newcomer on SmackDown. Lastly, Rhea Ripley from Raw, and she got the biggest ovation of the match, which isn’t a surprise because of how popular she is.

Women’s Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Naomi vs. Stephanie Vaquer vs. Giulia vs. Rhea Ripley

To win the match, you must climb a ladder to retrieve the briefcase located above the ring. Whoever gets the briefcase can cash in the contract for a championship match at any point over the next year.

Ripley, Bliss and Naomi cleared the ring of Perez, Giulia and Vaquer early on. Naomi dropkicked a ladder into Vaquer on the floor. Ripley lifted up Bliss, who kicked Naomi down. Perez and Giulia sent Ripley and Bliss into a ladder in the ring. Vaquer hit a springboard cross body block on Perez and Giulia. Vaquer hit a boot to the face and a double knee smash. Vaquer hit a double underhook into double knees on Perez. Naomi kicked Vaquer to knock her down and Naomi sent Vaquer into the ladder. Naomi used her knees to spike Ripley into a ladder. Bliss sent Naomi into the ladder and also Perez into the ladder, so Bliss hit a senton splash onto two women on the ladder. Giulia dropkicked Bliss down. Giulia sent Bliss into a ladder against the turnbuckle and Giulia kicked Bliss into the ladder. Giulia hit Vaquer with a knee to the face. Ripley was back in with a dropkick on Giulia. Ripley hit a running knee on Perez. I noticed a 7-Eleven ad the bottom turnbuckles in addition to all the ads around the ring. Ripley slammed Naomi onto a ladder in the ring. Ripley went for a Razor’s Edge on a ladder, but Perez countered it with a hurricanrana onto a ladder. Perez hit a springboard moonsault onto Ripley on a ladder. Perez set up a ladder, she climbed up and Bliss pulled her down. Giulia punched Bliss and tossed her out of the ring. Perez went after Ripley with punches and Giulia worked together to sandwich Ripley between a ladder. It wasn’t smooth, but the idea was that they slammed a ladder on Ripley. Perez and Giulia buried Ripley under five ladders on the floor.

Naomi set up a ladder under the briefcase, but Vaquer was back in to stop that climb attempt. Vaquer clotheslined Giulia and headbutted Perez. Vaquer clotheslined Naomi and hit a dropkick on Giulia. Vaquer hit a dragon screw leg whip on Naomi. Vaquer suplexed Perez. Vaquer tried a climb, but Giulia stopped that. Giulia was on Vaquer’s back, so Vaquer tried to climb a ladder but Giulia got out of it and Giulia hit a German Suplex. Giulia went for a climb, Naomi trapped her against the ladder and Giulia managed to hit a German Suplex on Naomi. Bliss was back in to dropkick Giulia down. Bliss climbed the ladder, Perez climbed up on the other side and there were more climbing attempts with two ladders set up in the ring. Bliss hit Vaquer with a Powerbomb. Bliss shoved ladders down to stop climb attempts. Perez and Giulia did a double-team move, sending Bliss ribs first onto the side of a ladder. The fans chanted, “This is awesome” for the ladies. Perez turned her back on Giulia by slamming her into the ladder repeatedly. Ripley emerged from under the ladder pile that she was under for about five minutes. Ripley sent Perez into the barricade. Ripley hit Giulia with two clotheslines, a kick to the body, and a spinning slam, sending Giulia face-first into the mat. Ripley kicked Naomi down. Ripley gave Perez a Razor’s Edge into Naomi. The fans were cheering for Ripley. Ripley put Giulia on her shoulders and Ripley slammed Giulia into the ladder. That was bridged against the ropes. Ripley set up a giant ladder under the briefcase. Ripley tried a climb, Vaquer pulled her down and Ripley headbutted Vaquer. Ripley set up a ladder bridge from a ladder against the turnbuckle. Vaquer blocked that, but Vaquer managed to get a hold of Ripley and Vaquer hit the Devil’s Kiss knee smashes on Ripley on the ladder. The fans popped for that, with Barrett calling it the most popular move in WWE. Vaquer climbed the ladder, she had her hand on the briefcase and Perez managed to stop that. That was close. Bliss went up the other side of the ladder and climbed opposite Perez. Naomi went up the ladder after Bliss and Naomi knocked Bliss down. Vaquer and Perez fought on the ladder bridge. Bliss punched Naomi in the face. Bliss hit Code Red on Naomi on the ladder bridge and Perez hit Pop Rox (same move as Code Red) on Vaquer on the ladder bridge. The fans chanted, “This is awesome” again.

Giulia set up a big ladder and climbed up top. Giulia reached the top, but Perez stopped that with punches. Giulia reached up again, but Perez grabbed Giulia’s hair to stop that. Ripley went back into the ring while Bliss was fighting with Perez. Ripley gave Giulia a Riptide while Bliss hit Sister Abigail on Perez. Ripley and Bliss climbed the ladder, so Naomi pushed it over and Ripley and Bliss went crashing into the ladder bridge in the ring. Naomi climbed the ladder, there was nobody around and Naomi reached the top. Naomi unclipped the briefcase, and she got the briefcase to win the match! Congratulations to Naomi on the Money in the Bank win. It went 25:15.

Winner: Naomi

Analysis: ****1/4 I thought it was a great match that was very long and without checking the history, it was probably one of the longest Women’s MITB matches there’s ever been. Good job by all six women taking huge bumps, lots of moments where different people nearly won and then Naomi came up with the big ladder push to take out Ripley and Bliss. I thought it was booked very well. Naomi was my pick to win and I think she was the right pick because she is a crazy heel character that is fun to watch right now, so I’m very happy for her. Since they had a lot of time, there was a lot of drama; they didn’t rush through it, and every big spot seemed to matter. I enjoyed the match.

Naomi celebrated with the Money in the Bank briefcase on the top of the ladder. The other women were shown on the floor, looking frustrated about losing. Naomi celebrated as Miss Money in the Bank.

There were some commercials for upcoming events like Night of Champions on June 28th and SummerSlam on August 2 & 3.

The AAA Mega Champion El Hijo Del Vikingo was at ringside. Mr. Iguana was also at ringside. The trio of Konnan, Psycho Clown and Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. were at ringside.

A clip was shown about how Dominik Mysterio and Octagon Jr. got involved at Words Collide to set up their match.

There was a video promoting Jey Uso defending the World Heavyweight Title against Gunther on the June 9th episode of Raw in Phoenix.

Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio (w/Liv Morgan) vs. Octagon Jr.

Octagon got some offense early with a corkscrew cross body block. Octagon hit a suicide dive on the floor. Back in the ring, Dominik took control by tying Octagon’s mask to the ropes, so Dominik stomped on Octagon a few times. Dominik missed a splash, Octagon hit an armdrag and a jumping kick. Octagon hit a springboard twisting splash on Dominik for a two count. Dominik suplexed Octagon, who broke free from another one and Dominik hit a Michinoku Driver for two. Dominik dropkicked Octagon into the ropes, Octagon avoided a 619 kick and Octagon hit a spinning splash for a two count. Octagon hit a cradle-twisting neckbreaker. Octagon went to the turnbuckle, Liv went on the apron and Dominik knocked Octagon down. Dominik hit a dropkick followed by the 619 kick off the ropes. Dominik went up top and hit a Frog Splash for the pinfall win at 4:55.

Winner by pinfall: Dominik Mysterio

Analysis: **1/2 An easy win for Dominik thanks to the distraction by Liv and Dominik finished off Octagon after that. Octagon isn’t one of the top singles guys in AAA, so he was just used as a guy for Dominik to do an angle with and set up this match that Dominik won easily. Dominik winning cheap works for him, but against a guy like Octagon, I think they booked it well, with Dominik getting an easy win.

Chad Gable was shown talking to The Creed Brothers backstage earlier today. Gable said that he knows things didn’t go his way, but he has a plan. Gable had a Fireball whiskey ladder, so Gable told The Creeds to put it under the ladder so El Grande Americano could find it. Gable told them to tell him too, which is, of course, a wink and a nod since we know Gable is Americano.

Analysis: I’m sure there are people on social media whining about the ladder having an ad on it. Does it bother me? No. Move on. It’s not a big deal.

There were commercials for things like Cash App and Fanatics Fest.

The Thomas Family was shown at ringside. It was a mom with four sons who lost their home and school due to the LA Wildfires earlier this year. Those fires were brutal.

A video package aired to set up the Lyra Valkyria-Becky Lynch match for the Women’s IC Title.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Lyra Valkyria vs. Becky Lynch

If Lynch loses, she can no longer challenge for the title for as long as Valkyria is champion. If Valkyria loses, she will be forced to raise Lynch’s hand and acknowledge Lynch as the better woman.

Lyra was aggressive early on with punches and a cross body block. Lyra picked up Lynch and put her onto the apron. Lyra had to adjust her wardrobe. The referee helped Lyra with it. Remember Lyra’s wardrobe issues at Royal Rumble? Don’t let that happen again. Lynch grabbed Lyra by the legs and slammed her down. Lynch sent Lyra into the commentary table and the barricade. Lynch hit a running forearm smash and a Bexploder suplex across the ring. I agree with the “Push Karrion Kross” sign in the crowd, for the record. Lyra got a backslide pin for two. Lynch went for the Manhandle Slam, Lyra countered it and got a two count. Lynch hit a reverse DDT slam for a two count. Lynch hit two leg drops on Lyra for a two count. Lyra hit Lynch with elbows to the jaw, and Lyra hit a spinning neckbreaker. Lyra worked over Lynch with strikes, along with a roundhouse kick. Lyra hit a gutwrench Powerbomb for a two count. Lynch shoved Lyra into the turnbuckle and they each got two counts. Lynch flipped Lyra over, and Lyra hit a DDT, which led to Lyra selling it with a handstand bump, so that got a two count for Lynch. Lyra sent Lynch to the apron and Lynch punched Lyra down. Lyra hit an impressive superplex from the middle turnbuckle and a Fisherman’s suplex for a two count. Lyra jumped off the middle turnbuckle with a moonsault, Lynch avoided it and Lyra hit a spinning heel kick. Lynch applied an armbar, but it wasn’t her finishing move, and Lyra got a two count. Lyra applied a half-crab submission until Lynch got to the bottom rope. Lyra hit a running dropkick to send Lynch out of the ring and Lyra hit a cross body block on the floor. Lyra put Lynch across the barricade, Lyra climbed the Spanish announce table and Lyra hit a leg drop to the back of Lynch. Good move as Lyra sent Lynch back into the ring.

Lyra went up top, jumped off with nothing and Lynch countered that move with Powerbomb for two. They were both down selling for about a minute. Lyra teased going for a move off the turnbuckle, but Lynch hit a Manhandle Slam off the middle turnbuckle for two. Great move and it worked as a nearfall because it was a big move that could have ended the match. They left the ring where Lynch slammed Lyra into the ring post. Lynch hit a Manhandle Slam on the floor. Lynch went into the ring to break the ref’s count, then Lynch went back out and Lyra hit Nightwing on the floor. The referee was counting them both down, so they both got back in the ring at nine to beat the count. Lyra and Lynch exchanged punches. Lynch got a rollup, Lyra countered it into her own rollup for two and Lynch kicked out. Lyra covered for two. Lynch countered it, sat on top and held onto the tights for the one…two…and three. It lasted 15:25. A replay showed that Lynch may have pulled the tights, but it wasn’t as blatant as some people when they pull the tights to cheat to win.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW Women’s Intercontinental Champion: Becky Lynch

Analysis: ***1/2 A very good match, like their Backlash match, but I rated the Backlash match a bit higher. Lynch is obviously one of the best women’s wrestlers ever, while Lyra is so skilled technically, and she is getting better. There were a lot of counter moves throughout the match. Lynch getting the win was my prediction because I felt it was time for a title change, and having Lynch win in a cheap way was the right way to do it, as it effectively put over Lynch as a heel. The cheating by Lynch wasn’t as bad as I would have thought for a cheap pin like that.

After the match, Lynch made Lyra raise her hand. Lyra was reluctant, but Lyra raised Lynch’s hand as the winner. Lynch wanted Lyra to raise her hand and turn around all four sides of the ring. Lyra wasn’t happy about it, but she did it. Lynch told Lyra to put the title around Lynch’s waist. Lyra put the Women’s IC Title around Lynch’s waist and Lyra hit a German Suplex. Lyra hit a Nightwing slam on Lynch as well. They played Lyra’s music as she left. Wade called Lyra a sore loser.

Analysis: Lynch was greedy as the heel there and Lyra was sick of it. An easy way for Lyra to get revenge.

A commercial aired for the WWE 2K25 video game and Night of Champions on June 28th.

They showed Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian, and their baby boy at ringside.

There was a video package leading to the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Wade Barrett narrated a video while going over some MITB numbers.

It was time for the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Seth Rollins was up first joined by Paul Heyman. The fans were singing Seth’s song on his way to the ring, even though he’s a top heel now. Penta got a good ovation for his entrance. El Grande Americano was next, as Cole claimed it was Chad Gable, while McAfee and Barrett denied it was Gable. Andrade was next, and he didn’t get much of a reaction. It’s funny watching on Netflix because when Cole mentions sponsors, they just mute the announcers on our broadcast. Solo Sikoa was next, and he was on his own. The last man up was LA Knight, who was cheered heavily…yeah.

Men’s Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match: Seth Rollins vs. Penta vs. El Grande Americano vs. Andrade vs. Solo Sikoa vs. LA Knight

Rollins was attacked by the other guys in the match and Solo tossed Rollins out of the ring. Penta superkicked Solo, Andrade hit an elbow on Solo and Knight hit a neckbreaker on Solo. Penta hit a handstand dropkick on Solo to knock him out of the ring. Knight kicked Grande down on the floor. Andrade dove over the top onto the three guys on the floor. Penta kicked Rollins out of the ring. Penta went up to the top of the ring post and Penta hit a cross body block on four guys on the floor. Grande dove onto Penta on the floor. Grande used the ladder to knock opponents. There’s WWE President Nick Khan with his son at ringside. Barrett mentioned Grande has different nipples than Gable and this was a discussion for about 30 seconds for some reason. Penta kicked Grande on the floor. Penta worked over Grande with a chop in the ring. Penta went for a kick on Grande, but Rollins hit Grande with a ladder. Rollins knocked down Andrade with a ladder. Grande slipped out of a move and hit a sitout slam onto the ladder in the ring. Grande set up a ladder that was too short for him to reach the briefcase. Solo sent Grande into the ladder that was in the ring. Solo gave Grande a body slam onto a ladder. Knight sent Solo into a ladder against the barricade. Solo superkicked Knight to knock him down. Knight countered Solo with a reverse DDT onto a ladder in the ring. Knight hit an elbow drop on Solo onto a ladder. Knight set up a ladder that was way too short for him to reach the briefcase. Penta and Knight fought on a ladder. Rollins had a bigger ladder and climbed it, but Grande was up there too. The six guys were on three ladders going for a climb. Rollins knocked Grande off a ladder into the ropes. Andrade got sent down from a ladder to the floor. Rollins hit a Pedigree on Penta while Solo knocked Knight out of the ring. Solo hit a superkick on Rollins, who came back with a superkick on Solo two times in a row. Rollins hit Solo in the ribs with the ladder. Rollins gave Solo a drop toe hold onto a ladder bridge. Rollins hit The Stomp on Solo.

Seth Rollins placed a larger ladder in the ring and set it up under the briefcase. Rollins climbed the ladder, Grande climbed behind Rollins and Grande applied an Ankle Lock on Rollins on the ladder. Andrade went up the ladder also and Andrade hit a Sunset Flip Bomb on Grande. Penta gave Rollins a suplex off a ladder and onto a ladder bridge in the ring. Penta and Andrade climbed up the ladder at the same time, Andrade punched Penta and Andrade sent Penta’s head into the ladder. Penta superkicked Andrade to knock him down. Andrade slammed a ladder into Penta’s back. Andrade clotheslined Knight out of the ring. Penta tried a ladder climb, Andrade stopped that and Penta gave Andrade a Mexican Destroyer onto a ladder bridge. Ouch. Penta protected Andrade well, but it’s still a brutal move to do in that spot. Solo was back in to send Penta into the ladder. Solo mocked some Penta mannerisms. Knight pulled Solo out of the ring and Knight sent Solo into the barricade. Knight set up a ladder bridge from the apron to a barricade. Knight sent Solo into the steel steps. Penta hit Knight with a superkick in the ring. Penta countered a move by Knight and hit a sunset flip Powerbomb. Penta did a slow ladder climb, but Grande was back up and hit a German Suplex. Grande hit German Suplexes on Rollins, Knight and Solo. Grande sent Rollins into the ladder.

Grande found the Fireball ladder form under the ring, and he brought that ladder into the ring. Grande spun the ladder around to knock his opponents down. The huge Fireball ladder was set up under the briefcase as Penta climbed opposite Grande. Penta headbutted Grande down. Rollins went up top and punched Penta a few times. Penta climbed the ladder, Rollins was up the other side and Grande put a piece of metal under his mask. The camera showed it. Penta knocked Rollins down off the ladder. Penta went up top, but Knight tripped up Grande. However, Grande then climbed the ladder from the outside and used it to ascend to the Fireball ladder. Grande headbutted Penta with the loaded mask, which had a metal piece. Knight went after Grande and hit a belly-to-back suplex from near the top of the big ladder. The fans were going nuts with a “Holy Shit” chant. Rollins slowly climbed the Fireball ladder, but Andrade was back in the ring and Andrade climbed the ladder on the other side. Rollins punched Andrade down. Penta was back on the ladder and Andrade kicked Rollins out of the ring. Andrade sent Penta face first into the top of the ladder. Andrade got his hands on the briefcase, but he couldn’t reach the latch to unhook it. Knight clotheslined Rollins out of the ring. Rollins signaled for his boys to get out there, so that led to Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed making their entrance. Bron hit a Spear on Grande. Reed pulled Penta down and tossed him into a ladder. Bron tossed Knight out of the ring and Reed hit a Powerbomb on Andrade. Bron ran around the ring and hit a Spear on Knight on the floor. Reed went up top and hit a Tsunami, which Wade yelled because he loves to do that.

Jacob Fatu’s music hit as he made his entrance joined by JC Mateo. Bron and Reed got into a fight with Fatu and Mateo. The other wrestlers were all out of the ring. Bron shoved JC into the ring post. Bron gave JC a Spear through the barricade. Fatu picked up the big man Reed and hit a popup Samoan Drop. Fatu hit a suicide dive onto Reed on the floor. Fatu put Solo in the ring. Fatu set up a ladder, so Solo hugged his cousin Fatu. Solo climbed the ladder, then Fatu looked up and Fatu grabbed Solo’s foot while Solo was holding onto the briefcase. The fans were chanting “Fatu” for Jacob. Solo said “I hate you, Solo” and pulled Solo down. Fatu hit a superkick on Solo to put him down. Fatu hit a double jump moonsault off the top. Fatu gave Solo a Rock Bottom off the apron and through a ladder bridge connecting the apron to the barricade. Fatu left while the fans cheered.

Analysis: There’s the official split of Fatu from Solo. That’s been building for several weeks, so now Fatu will be a singles babyface moving forward.

Rollins set up a big Fireball ladder in the middle of the ring. Rollins climbed up top, but Knight was back in and pulled Rollins down. Knight hit a clothesline. Knight climbed the ladder, he got near the top and Rollins pulled Knight down. Rollins sent Knight into the ladder and Rollins hit The Stomp on Knight. Rollins climbed the ladder slowly, he reached up and Rollins pulled the briefcase off the latch. Congratulations to Seth Rollins as Mr. Money in the Bank. It lasted 33:34.

Winner by pinfall: Seth Rollins

Analysis: ***3/4 The most obvious winner was the winner. I mentioned in the preview that I was going with Rollins, but I also thought there was a chance he would be attacked by one of his many rivals and that he would lose because of that. Instead, Rollins got the win as expected. It was pretty good for the most part, but they also had interference from guys not in the match, so it ruined the match a bit. Maybe ruined is the wrong word. The interference affected the match, at least, and prevented it from really being a great match. I thought this MITB was lacking in terms of star power, and it showed as the match progressed. I didn’t think guys like Penta, Andrade and even Grande had a shot to win, so I think that hurt the match. The star power could have been stronger, and it would have made the match more interesting. I would have had CM Punk and Sami Zayn in the match. I also think it was too long at 34 minutes. It’s still a good match, but I’m not going to remember this as one of the better MITB matches.

Seth Rollins celebrated with the Money in the Bank briefcase, along with his friends Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman.

A video aired officially announcing that WrestleMania 42 is going to be in Las Vegas. Triple H said anything worth doing is worth doing twice. Triple H: “Are you ready to double down?” WrestleMania 42 returns to Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium and the dates are April 18 and April 19, 2026.

Analysis: Poor New Orleans. I think it’s shitty that WWE announced New Orleans and then took it away four months later. I understand that TKO loves Las Vegas, but how they did it was weak. This year’s WM was April 19-20 so it’s the same weekend, but it’s not Easter in 2026, so that’s good.

This Monday night on Raw:

* King and Queen of the Ring Tournament Matches begin

* Nikki Bella returns

* Jey Uso defends the World Heavyweight Title against Gunther

It was main event time, so a video package was used to set up Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso against John Cena and Logan Paul.

Cody Rhodes made his entrance first, with the fans singing his song on his way to the ring. Cole mentioned it was Cody’s first match since WrestleMania, so it’s been nearly two months. The World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso did some Yeeting with the fans. Jey found some younger fans to do the Yeet gesture with. Jey got to ringside to slap hands with the announcers. Jey did some more Yeeting in the ring.

Logan Paul made his entrance with a drone. The drone took off and then Paul got a hold of his drone. Paul put the drone on the Prime bottle stand at ringside. John Cena made his entrance as the Undisputed WWE Champion while the fans booed him. I can applaud the fact that Cena was wearing LA Rams colors in Los Angeles since I’m a diehard, lifelong Rams fan. Those are also the TJRWrestling colors. Shocking, right? Anyway, the fans were singing “John Cena sucks” for the champ’s entrance.

Jey Uso & Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena & Logan Paul

The first couple of minutes featured stalling and heel tactics by Cena’s team. Cody hit a delayed front suplex on Paul. Jey tagged in with a punch to Paul’s left arm. Paul punched Jey a few times to stagger the champion. Jey hit a popup neckbreaker for two. Jey connected with a punch combo to knock Paul down. Paul kicked Jey and hit a Blockbuster neckbreaker for two. Cena worked over Jey with punches and Cena sent Jey into the turnbuckle. Cena sent Jey hard into the turnbuckle, so Paul hit a cheap shot elbow that the referee didn’t see. Jey sent Cena into the turnbuckle for a sternum bump. Paul was back in with a gutwrench slam for two. Cena was back in the match and he hit a clothesline to knock Jey down. It was very slow-paced as Jey jumped on Cena with a sleeper hold, so Cena backed into a turnbuckle to put an end to that hold. Paul tagged in to prevent Cody from tagging in. Paul hit a big boot and a leg drop. Paul did a Hogan-like pose and Cole said: “Yeah, that’ll get over here.” Well played since that’s where Hogan was booed heavily in January. Paul applied a chinlock, followed by some punches to keep Jey down. Cena was back in, he cheapshotted Cody and it led to more double team offense by the heels. Cena hit a suplex for two. Cena applied a chinlock again, and Jey broke free with an enziguri kick to knock Cena down. Paul tagged in, Cena didn’t like that, so Cena tagged himself back in. Paul and Cena argued, so Cena told Paul he was trying to teach him. Jey managed to crawl to the corner and bring in Cody.

Cody was on fire with a scoop powerslam on Paul, a punch on Cena and Cody hit a Cody Cutter on Cena. Cody sent Paul out of the ring leading to a suicide dive on Paul on the floor. Cody went up top and hit a missile dropkick to knock Cena down. Cena shoved Cody into the apron and Paul punched Cody. Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment on Cody for two because Jey made the save. Paul went for the Buckshot Lariat, he slipped, so Jey superkicked him. Cena hit the AA on Jey. Cody was back up with a Cross Rhodes on Cena. Paul went for a springboard splash, Cody moved and Paul splashed Cena by accident. Jey hit Paul with a Spear. All four guys were down in the ring. Cena and Jey exchanged punches. Cena hit Jey with a knee, Jey avoided a slam and Jey superkicked Cena out of the ring. Paul decked Jey with an uppercut. Cody was back in the ring, he exchanged strikes with Paul and Cody hit a punch combo. Paul kicked Cody in the ribs, Paul launched Cody and Paul hit a Paulverizer. Paul pointed at his drone as he went up top. Cody jumped up to the top rope while Cody hit a superplex and Paul was holding onto the drone. Jey jumped off the top with an Uso Splash on Paul. Jey hit a running hip attack on Paul against the turnbuckle. Cena hit an AA to Jey and Cena hit an AA on Cody as well for a two count. Cena sent Cody into the steel steps. Cena cleared off the commentary table on the English and Spanish tables. Cena put Cody on the commentary table. Cena wanted the AA on a table, Cody avoided it and Jey hit Cena with a Spear from one commentary table onto another and it didn’t break the table. Paul jumped off the middle ropes and Paul hit a moonsault on Jey through the table. That spot broke the table and it was very impressive by Paul.

John Cena brought the WWE Title into the ring while Cody Rhodes was in there. The referee was checking on the guys on the floor. Cena hit Cody in the head with the WWE Title to knock Cody down. Somebody ran into the ring to punch Cena a few times. It was a wrestler in a hoodie. The wrestler was R-Truth, so the fans cheered. Truth hit Cena with the WWE Title in the head! Cole mentioned that people thought Truth had left the company. Cody hit Cena with a Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win at 23:45, so that means the WWE Champion Cena was pinned in the match.

Winners by pinfall: Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a long match where half of it was about the heels working over Jey Uso before Cody Rhodes got the hot tag. After that, the match was chaos with table bumps, the referee not in the right spot, and, of course, the R-Truth surprise attack to cost Cena’s team the match. I wouldn’t call it a great match because it was all over the place and the referee lost control about who was legal in the match. The finish was Cody pinning Cena, which is what I expected to happen in this match to set up Cody against Cena. That could be at Night of Champions or maybe SummerSlam. The R-Truth spot worked so well, and I didn’t predict it, but I’m glad it happened.

After the match, Cody Rhodes picked up Jey Uso, who was selling by the commentary table after Paul put Jey through the table. When they reviewed the replays, Cole discussed the R-Truth story and the fans’ desire for Truth to return.

Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso celebrated the win in the ring. Cole mentioned that Cody pinned the WWE Champion, and that’s the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That was the end of the show.

Analysis: That could lead to Cody Rhodes getting a WWE Title match against John Cena since Cody pinned Cena in this tag team match. That could be at Night of Champions in three weeks or maybe SummerSlam.

WWE Money in the Bank had a runtime of 3 hours, 17 minutes.

UPDATE: We found out after the show that R-Truth is back in WWE on a new deal of some kind. They might be calling him Ron Killings based on the new merchandise they put out. Perhaps that will be a way to utilize him so that he’s more than just a comedy character.

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Five Stars of the Show

  1. Naomi
  2. Seth Rollins
  3. Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso
  4. R-Truth
  5. Becky Lynch

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Final Thoughts on WWE Backlash

I’m going 7.5 out of 10 for this show.

I thought it was a pretty good PLE, but not necessarily a great one. I think the Women’s MITB match was better than the guys because it was just the six women involved fighting to win and it didn’t involve others. I get why the Men’s MITB had to involve others with a heel like Seth Rollins getting help to win while they did the Jacob Fatu-Solo Sikoa spot to pop the fans. It fits the story, but it also hurts the match, which was really long . Great job by the women in their match, and I’m happy that Naomi won.

It’s good to see R-Truth back in WWE less than one week after he said that the company told him that his contract wouldn’t be renewed. Fans complained online, they chanted “We Want Truth” in arenas and kudos to WWE for listening. They also should have been smart enough not to let the guy go in the first place, but it ended up turning out well.

I went four for four on predictions in the advertised matches. I don’t necessarily think the whole show was predictable, but some aspects of it were obvious.

Here are my rankings of WWE PLE’s in 2025:

Elimination Chamber (March 1) – 9 (out of 10)

Royal Rumble (February 1) – 8.5

WrestleMania 41 (April 19 & 20) – 7.5

Money in the Bank (June 7) – 7.5

Backlash (May 10) – 7.25

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As a reminder, I have a listing of every WWE PPV that I reviewed in order by year. Thank you for supporting us at TJRWrestling. We appreciate you.

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