Reviews

TJR WWE Money in the Bank Match Reviews #21 and #22: 2018 (Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman)

By John Canton • Published 19th May 2019
TJR Wrestling

The WWE Money in the Bank match countdown concludes with a look back at the Money in the Bank ladder matches from 2018. Check out the Money in the Bank archive here.

Women’s Money in the Bank 2018

Who: Ember Moon (Raw), Alexa Bliss (Raw), Natalya (Raw), Sasha Banks (Raw), Charlotte Flair (SD), Becky Lynch (SD), Lana (SD), Naomi (SD)

When: June 17, 2018

Where: Money in the Bank 2018 @ Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois

Thoughts Before The Match

Here are some of my thoughts from our Money in the Bank 2018 preview:

“Becky Lynch (SD) and Charlotte Flair (SD) – The best friends story is fine, but it’s more fun when friends have issues in a match like this. I can see a situation where one of them of them is very close to winning and the other one pulls her down to stop it. That will lead to an issue on Smackdown. Perhaps this can be a story to turn Lynch heel or maybe Charlotte is the one that goes heel since I think she’s more comfortable in that role.

Alexa Bliss (Raw) – It fits her character to be a sneaky heel with the briefcase in hand. I would be all for it. I just think she’s had enough of a run with titles on both shows and that WWE may be looking in another direction.

Natalya (Raw) – My favorite woman in the match makes the most sense because she mentions her good friend Ronda Rousey nearly every time she’s on camera. That’s been done for a reason. I think Natalya wins this, Rousey wins the Raw Women’s Title and there will be teases of a Natalya cash-in for weeks until the perfect time for a heel turn cash-in by Natalya leading to a summer time feud between them. You could have Natalya (and perhaps Nia Jax) as Stephanie’s allies that make Ronda’s life a living hell since Stephanie wants to do the Vince-Austin story with Rousey. For the last two years, Natalya was a heel and I think that’s the best role for her. Natalya wins as a face here, but the heel turn is coming soon.

I hope it’s a good match that gets around 20 minutes with some good spots that are also safe. Don’t overdo it, ladies. You can tell a story without taking 15 foot bumps off ladders.”

The Natalya pick was popular because we had a poll in our preview and Natalya was by far in first place with 47% of the vote. Becky Lynch was second with 15% and then the actual winner Alexa Bliss was at 9%. A lot of us thought that Natalya was going to win, Ronda Rousey would have the Raw Women’s Title and Natalya would turn heel with a cash in on her. Instead, they went in another direction.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Ember Moon (Raw), Alexa Bliss (Raw), Natalya (Raw), Sasha Banks (Raw), Charlotte Flair (SD), Becky Lynch (SD), Lana (SD), Naomi (SD)

Here’s the order of entry for the women in the Money in the Bank match: Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Ember Moon, Lana, Natalya, Naomi, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair was last.

The announce team calling this match is Tom Phillips, Corey Graves and Jonathon Coachman.

Natalya kicked Banks and threw her out of the ring. The other women all paired off outside the ring. Natalya isn’t wearing a knee brace. Charlotte tossed Moon over the barricade at ringside. Lynch dropkicked a ladder into Natalya and a dropkick into her buddy Charlotte. Moon hit a somersault dive off the barricade. Moon whipped Natalya shoulder first into the steel steps. Moon with a dropkick, Moon kicked a ladder into Banks, Moon shoved Naomi out of the ring and a step up enziguri by Moon connected on Banks. Moon hit a cross body block onto Banks on a ladder that was folded in the ring. Ouch. Lana pulled down Moon by the hair. Lana hit the X-Factor facebuster on Moon onto a ladder. Lana set up a bigger ladder, but Natalya stopped that with a clothesline. Natalya with a body slam on the ladder that was folded in the ring. Natalya slammed Naomi legs first onto the ladder that was in the ring. Charlotte smiled at Natalya followed by hard chops to the chest since these two have worked a lot. Charlotte with an overhead suplex. Lynch confronted her buddy Charlotte. The fans chanted for Becky as they fought for possession of a ladder. Naomi back into it with a clothesline on Natalya and Naomi hit a dropkick to the ladder that knocked Charlotte and Lynch down. Bliss back into it, but Naomi took her out with a dive over the top to the floor. Naomi jumped off the apron with a Blockbuster on Banks on the floor. All eight women were down outside the ring. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for them. The pacing was very fast for the start of this match. Naomi and Moon slammed a ladder onto Lynch followed by a double dropkick by Naomi and Moon. Naomi and Moon had a face off in the ring with Moon hitting a knee lift, Naomi kick to the head and Moon hit an arm drag on Naomi that sent Naomi back first into a ladder against the turnbuckle. Banks sent Moon into the ring post. Lana in, but Banks kicked her hard. Banks set up Lana on Moon on the ladder that was against the turnbuckle, so Banks hit a double knee attack on both women. Banks set up a ladder in the middle of the ring, Charlotte pulled her off and those two familiar women had a staredown. They both climbed up and knocked eachother down at the same time. Charlotte hit a neckbreaker on Banks. Charlotte wanted a Powerbomb on a ladder, but Banks climbed up the ladder under the briefcase. Natalya back in, Lynch in and Banks hit a double knee attack on Charlotte and Natalya. Bliss back in the ring with a punch on Lynch. Bliss barely did anything in the first ten minutes.

Banks climbed the ladder, Bliss went up the other side, Lynch pulled Bliss down, Banks slugged it out with Banks and Lana brought in a bigger ladder into the match. Lana climbed the bigger ladder, Banks had her hand on the bottom of the briefcase, Moon got in on the climb, Natalya joined so there were six women on the two ladders. Natalya picked up Banks and gave her a Powerbomb into a ladder, which took out Banks and Lynch went crashing down. Charlotte back in with a boot on Natalya. Moon, Lana and Bliss were fighting on a ladder. Charlotte gave Moon a Powerbomb into a ladder. Charlotte took care of Lana with a backbreaker. Charlotte pulled Bliss off the apron and Bliss hit a sunset flip Powerbomb on Charlotte that looked impressive. Lana shoved Bliss down. Bliss told Lana it’s her briefcase and Lana nailed her with a kick to the head. Lana slapped on the Accolade submission on Bliss to a huge ovation. Lana climbed the big ladder that wasn’t directly under the briefcase. Naomi jumped onto the ladder. Naomi kicked Lana off. Naomi reached up, but she was too far away to unhook it and Lynch pulled Naomi down. Lynch pulled the ladder under the briefcase. Charlotte climbed up the other side to block Lynch. They slugged it out with punches. Bliss shoved the ladder over, but Charlotte nailed Bliss with a Spear. Charlotte climbed, Banks pulled her down with a Backstabber to Charlotte. Naomi sent Banks into the ladder. Lana pulled Naomi off. Natalya got back into it, she put Lana on her shoulders and hit an Electric Chair Drop on Lana. Moon back into it with a kick that sent Natalya down. Charlotte stopped Moon’s climb and Charlotte hit a Spear onto a ladder that was against the turnbuckle. Lynch with a knee to Charlotte and Lynch hit a Bexploder suplex on Charlotte. The foot of Charlotte hit the bottom of a ladder. Lynch climbed up the ladder, Lynch had her hand on the briefcase ready to unhook it, but Bliss tipped the ladder over sending Lynch face first into a ladder. Bliss may have been a second too late because Lynch looked dumb reaching when she had her hand on the briefcase. Bliss climbed up the tall ladder and grabbed the briefcase to win the match at 18:30.

Winner: Alexa Bliss

Post match, Bliss celebrated with the briefcase. The fans cheered while the other women in the match were down around the ring.

Analysis: ****1/4 That was a very good ladder match. It’s hard to remember all of the cool spots, but I thought they did a lot of cool moves while doing some bumps that were all safe. I’m glad nobody tried to overdo with a crazy leap off a ladder. Some of the bumps they did where they landed hard on ladders was a bit rough, but I don’t think anybody got hurt too bad. I was hoping for a different outcome like Natalya or Becky Lynch winning, but clearly WWE management loves Bliss because she’s had many title reigns while also getting the briefcase in this match. Bliss doesn’t necessarily “need” the briefcase since she’s always in the title picture, but as a heel she’s the kind of woman that you want to have carrying that thing around with the chance to cash in at any time. I thought Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Ember Moon and Naomi were the best performers in the match. Bliss won, yet she barely did anything in the first ten minutes. That fits her character because she wanted to take advantage when the others were down later in the match.

(I don’t have much to add to the analysis there. Bliss didn’t really stand out with her performance since she barely did anything, but the last few minutes of the match were done well. Lynch was probably the best one in the match.)

The Cash-In Moment

Alexa Bliss didn’t take that long to cash in her Money in the Bank contract because she showed up later in the evening during the Raw Women’s Title match between champion Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey. Bliss’ reign as Miss Money in the Bank lasted just 2 hours and 52 minutes.

Let’s go to my 2018 Money in the Bank review for the conclusion of that match along with the cash-in from Bliss.

Rousey grabbed the side of Jax and did a judo throw that sent Jax across the ring for a two count. That was a move you don’t see in a wrestling ring very often. Rousey went for the armbar on the left arm, but Jax covered for two. Jax with a slam. Rousey went for the armbar on Jax’s left arm again, Jax tried to fight it and Alexa Bliss showed up with the briefcase. Uh oh. Bliss hit Rousey in the back with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Disqualification finish. It went about ten minutes.

Winner by disqualification: Ronda Rousey

Bliss hit Rousey in the back with the briefcase again. Bliss sent Rousey into the steel ring post. Bliss hit Rousey in the back with the briefcase again. Bliss sent Rousey over the announce table. Bliss hit Jax two times in the left arm with the briefcase. Bliss officially cashed in the Money in the Bank contract.

Raw Women’s Championship: Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss

Bliss kicked Jax’s arm and Bliss hit a DDT. Bliss went up top and she hit the Twisted Bliss splash on Jax. Bliss covered Jax and the ref counted the pinfall. Bliss wins the title after about one minute of action. The crowd reacted to it in a big way.

Winner by pinfall and New Raw Women’s Champion: Alexa Bliss

The win means that Bliss is a 5-time Women’s Champion.

Analysis: No rating because it was such a quick match. I thought maybe Jax would find a way to win to put over Jax as a fighter, but I’m fine with Bliss winning the title again. It’s clear that WWE management loves Bliss as a heel champion because that’s her fifth reign in less than two years. That’s a lot. I’m intrigued to see where things go next with Jax and Rousey on the hunt for Bliss.

(It was a creative way to put Bliss over Jax without hurting Rousey. That set the stage for what was to come at SummerSlam two months later.)

Title Reign Reflections

There wasn’t much of a title reign for Bliss. She beat Nia Jax at Extreme Rules thanks to some helping from my favorite Mickie James and then it was time for Bliss to defend against Rousey at SummerSlam. That match was a squash with Rousey no-selling everything Bliss did for the most part and Rousey won the Raw Women’s Title in about four minutes.

Final Thoughts on This MITB Booking

The main reason Bliss won the Money in the Bank match last year was because WWE wanted to give Rousey an easy win for the Raw Women’s Title at SummerSlam. Since SummerSlam was in a big market like Brooklyn and it was considered WWE’s second biggest show of the year, it got WWE a lot of press. If they kept the title on Jax and Rousey beat her easily, it would have hurt Jax. Plus, WWE obviously knew they wanted Rousey to hold the Raw Women’s Championship until WrestleMania and that’s what happened.

To summarize it, I don’t think the Bliss MITB win and title reign were memorable at all. It was pretty boring.

Men’s Money in the Bank 2018

Who: Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Rusev, Kevin Owens, Bobby Roode, The Miz, Braun Strowman and Kofi Kingston

When: June 17, 2018

Where: Money in the Bank 2018 @ Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois

Thoughts Before The Match

From the WWE Money in the Bank 2018 preview. Here are my thoughts on the winner and who I picked to win:

“Braun Strowman (Raw) – The scenario that makes a lot of sense is for WWE to announce Lesnar vs. Reigns for the Universal Championship. Just as the match is about to begin, Strowman shows up, says he’s not going to wait until one of them is beaten down to cash in, he wants to do it right now. That sets up a triple threat, Strowman wins to become Universal Champion and SummerSlam ends on a happy note. I’m leaning towards a Smackdown guy.

Samoa Joe (SD) – Joe was my pick from the moment he was announced for the match, so I need to stick with my gut instinct. I think he was moved from Raw to Smackdown so that they could put the WWE Title on him as a credible heel champion that is believable in that role. You can have faces chasing him. Joe would make for a dangerous MITB contract holder. I think he’s the best choice.”

As it turned out, both guys ended up with title shots (Strowman because he won MITB) and they both failed. Looking back on it now, I think both guys should have won the major titles on their shows last summer.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Rusev, Kevin Owens, Bobby Roode, The Miz, Braun Strowman and Kofi Kingston

The order of entrants for the men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match went like this: Samoa Joe, Finn Balor got a big ovation, Aiden English did the introduction for his buddy Rusev on Rusev Day, Kevin Owens got a decent reaction, Bobby Roode got a pop for the start of it, The Miz was next and Braun Strowman got the loudest reaction of all. The New Day trio were up last with Big E looking like it would be him. Woods took his shirt off to reveal that it will be Kofi Kingston in the match. It is Kingston’s seventh MITB match, which ties him with Kane according to Cole.

The green Money in the Bank briefcase was hanging above the ring. There were ladders all around the ringside area.

Strowman cleared house early on by knocking everybody out of the ring. Owens charged at Strowman and Strowman decked him with a punch. They went up the aisle with everybody working together with ladders to knock down Strowman. They went over to the staging area where the wrestlers buried Strowman under about a dozen ladders. The Miz set up a ladder in the ring. Samoa Joe got back in to stop Miz from climbing. Joe drove Miz back first into the turnbuckle. Kingston back into the ring with Trouble in Paradise on Joe. Kingston dropkicked the ladder into Miz. The fans chanted “Kofi” as Kingston hit a boom drop leg drop onto the ladder that was on Miz. Owens back in with a superkick. Owens tried to climb up. Balor stopped him and Balor hit Owens with a double foot stomp to the chest. Roode back in and he whipped Balor into the ladder that was above the ring. Balor with a basement dropkick on Roode. Owens with a ladder shot to the ribs of Balor. Owens tripped up Balor and sent Balor into the ladder that was outside the ring. Owens with a superkick to the jaw that put Balor on the announce table. Owens grabbed a tall ladder that was near the announce table. Owens climbed up the ladder, but Owens climbed back down to go after Rusev in the ring. Rusev hit a fallaway slam onto Owens back first onto a ladder. Joe back in with a step up enziguri on Rusev. Kingston jumped off the top with a punch for Joe. There were “Kofi” chants. Miz back in the ring, Kingston knocked him out and Kingston hit his dive off the top onto a bunch of guys that were there. Balor hit a somersault dive onto the guys that were outside the ring. Strowman got back to his feet after his five minute break. Joe greeted Strowman with a suicide dive forearm. Owens with a superkick on Strowman, Rusev with a superkick on Strowman and Owens threw a ladder on Strowman. Owens got a table. Joe slapped on a Coquina Clutch on Joe and Owens hit a superkick on Strowman. Owens climbed up a huge ladder that was by the staging area. Owens teased jumping off the huge ladder, but Strowman got back to his feet. Owens was on the side of the ladder, Strowman climbed up the other side and Strowman tossed Owens about 20 feet through a table that was underneath them. That was a huge fall for Owens. I assume there was some padding under the table, but that was still a huge drop.

Strowman went back to ringside and destroyed a ladder. The Miz freaked out realizing he was the only one in the ring. Strowman punched Miz in the chest. Joe hit Strowman in the back with a ladder. Balor with a running dropkick that sent Strowman over the barricade at ringside. Roode sent Balor into the ring post. Roode charged at Joe, but Joe hit a uranage slam on Roode. Fans chanted “Rusev Day” as Rusev sent Joe out of the ring. Rusev with a kick to the head of Roode. Rusev nailed Kingston with a kick to the head. Rusev applied his Accolade submission on Roode and Kingston at the same time. Rusev kicked Miz and Rusev tried a three man Accolade, but Joe went back in with a Coquina Clutch. Rusev rolled through and hit a superkick. Rusev climbed up, Miz tipped the ladder and Rusev went crashing into the top rope. The Miz climbed up, he got his hands on the briefcase and Kingston stopped him. Kingston got his hands on the briefcase. Roode shoved the ladder to knock Kingston and Miz down. Balor with a Slingblade on Roode. Balor with clotheslines that sent Miz and Kingston out of the ring. Balor kicked Roode. Balor climbed up a ladder that was against the ring. Balor jumped off with a Coup de Gras double foot stomp on Roode. That was pretty high up. Balor climbed up, the crowd cheered, but Strowman was back. Strowman sent Balor into the ladder. Strowman with a Powerslam on Joe and a Powerslam on Miz. Balor climbed one side of the ladder, Strowman was on the other side and Kingston jumped on Strowman’s back. Strowman pulled Kingston down. Strowman was alone at the top and Strowman unhooked the briefcase to win the match after 19 minutes.

Winner: Braun Strowman

The crowd cheered loudly as Strowman posed with the briefcase in his hands.

Analysis: **** I thought it was a very good match. The most memorable part was when Owens took that massive bump off a 20-foot-high ladder through a table underneath. I’m sure it was a bump that they did as safely as possible, but it’s still scary to see a guy fall that far. Some of the guys in the match didn’t get to do much, nor did they have moments where it looked like they might win. The Miz came close a few times, but he just took a beating for most of it. I thought Samoa Joe and Rusev both could have been booked better and both of them should have had a moment or two where they could have won. The outcome surprised me a bit because I thought that Strowman winning was too obvious. I don’t mind the move at all because Strowman’s an entertaining character that was the most popular guy in the match. It’s just a question of whether he really “needed” the briefcase and I think the answer to that is no. I would have liked to see somebody else win it that could have been elevated by it. That doesn’t mean I hate this because I like Strowman. I’m just saying I would have gone in another direction.

Strowman celebrated with the briefcase while the announcers wondered when he might cash in the contract. That’s how the show ended.

(I didn’t really think Strowman was a good choice back then and then when you look back on how he was booked as the Money in the Bank holder, the decision really was poor. It was a pretty good match, though.)

The Cash-In Moment…That Failed

Braun Strowman held the Money in the Bank contract for 70 days. The crowd really wanted him to cash in at SummerSlam to become Universal Champion, but that didn’t happen because Brock Lesnar kicked his ass, which didn’t make Strowman look good at all. Instead, Strowman announced on the August 27, 2018 edition of Raw that he was going to challenge Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Hell in a Cell on September 26, 2018.

From my Hell in a Cell 2018 review.

WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman (Mick Foley is the referee)

Strowman took control early by whipping Reigns shoulder first into the steel ring post. Reigns was on the apron and Strowman ran into him to send Reigns crashing into the cell. Strowman whipped Reigns into the cell and said that Reigns’ boys can’t help him. When Reigns tried to hit Strowman with a clothesline, Strowman no sold it and Reigns hit a leaping clothesline that sent Strowman out of the ring. When Reigns left the ring, Strowman ran over Reigns with a shoulder tackle that sent him into the cell. Strowman picked up the steel steps and Reigns hit a Drive By kick into the steps followed by another Drive By kick on Strowman. Reigns ran at Strowman, who caught him and Strowman hit a Chokeslam onto the ring apron. Strowman grabbed a kendo stick and then a chair from under the ring. Reigns hit Strowman with the kendo stick, Strowman broke the kendo stick over his knee and they went back in the ring. Reigns with a chair to the ribs and back of Strowman. Reigns went for another chair swing, but Strowman caught him and Strowman went running shoulder first into the ring post after Reigns moved. Strowman does that bump in nearly every match he’s in especially when Strowman is a heel. Reigns hit a DDT on the chair, but Strowman did a power out kickout at two. Reigns hit two Superman Punches, Strowman was staggered and Strowman blocked a third punch with a Chokeslam. Foley counted and it looked like three with the announcers even saying it. Foley told him it was a two count while Strowman told him to get his old ass down and count. Foley said it was just two and said “my bad” to him. Reigns got a boot to the face, Strowman charged, Reigns got back into it with a Superman Punch for two.

Reigns slowly brought a table into the ring while Strowman was down on the other side of the ring. Reigns sprinted around the ring and ran right into the steel steps that Strowman had in his hands. Good spot. Strowman brought the steps into the ring and hit Reigns in the head again. Strowman covered for two and yelled at Reigns: “Why don’t you stay down, you moron?” Strowman hit Reigns in the ribs with the steel steps. Strowman hit his Running Powerslam finisher for a two count. Graves complained about the refereeing from Foley. Strowman set up the table against the turnbuckle. Reigns got back into it with a Spear that sent Strowman through the table, which led to a two count for Reigns.

Reigns and Strowman were out on the mat. Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler went down to ringside. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose showed up to go after them. Ziggler tried to run away, but Rollins and Ambrose stopped him. Rollins and Ambrose cleared off the English announce table. McIntyre saved Ziggler leading to them clearing off the Spanish announce table. McIntyre and Ambrose went brawling into the crowd. Ziggler climbed up the cell, so Rollins went after him. McIntyre climbed the cell as well while Rollins and Ziggler battled on the roof. McIntyre kicked Rollins down, so Ambrose started his climb up with a kendo stick on his back. The fans chanted “this is awesome” as the guys battled on the cell. Ziggler hit Rollins with a superkick. Ambrose went wild with kendo stick shots to Ziggler and McIntyre. There was a double clothesline by Ambrose and McIntyre, so all four of those guys laid down on top of the cell. Ziggler was the first guy to move and he tried to climb off the cell. Rollins went after him and they were on the cell on the middle part of the cell about ten feet high. They checked to see if they were in position, Rollins and Ziggler kept sending eachother head first into the cell and they did it at the same time leading to Rollins going through the English announce table while Ziggler went through the Spanish announce table. Cole had an obviously scripted line about Rollins burning it down when he broke the table. Meanwhile, Reigns and Strowman were still down for about five minutes.

Brock Lesnar’s music hit to a huge reaction from the crowd. They were shocked by it. It was a big superstar reaction for Lesnar’s appearance. Lesnar had Paul Heyman with him and they wanted to get inside the cell. The ref did not let them in, so Lesnar kicked the door and that led to Lesnar getting inside the cell. Fans chanted “holy shit” at Lesnar, who had a beard. Foley went up to Heyman wondering what they were doing, so Heyman sprayed something in Foley’s eyes. Lesnar picked up a broken table, he hit Strowman with it and hit Reigns in the back with it. Lesnar hit both guys with the table again. Lesnar picked up Strowman and hit him with a F5. Some fans chanted “Suplex City” for Lesnar. Lesnar picked up Reigns and hit a F5 on Reigns that saw Reigns landing on Strowman. Cole said that nobody expected Lesnar there even though it was online before the show. The new referee went into the ring and called the match off, which drew boos. The match went about 24:05.

Match Result: No Contest

Analysis: **1/2 The action was good, but all fans are going to remember is the ending and it was the kind of ending you don’t expect in a HIAC match. We have never seen HIAC end in a No Contest like that. I didn’t like it. Brock Lesnar being back in the mix was a nice surprise even though it was known online a few hours before the show. I get why it was done to protect both guys and not have either guy lose the match. Fans want to see winners and losers in big matches like that, but WWE obviously feels differently. The appearance from Ziggler, McIntyre, Rollins and Ambrose was predictable although I hated that while that was going on for five minutes, Reigns and Strowman just laid there in the ring as if they were unable to move. The Rollins and Ziggler bump through the table was impressive, but it’s also been done a lot. If I had to summarize it, I liked the first 15 minutes and then the last ten minutes were not as good.

After the match was ruled a no contest, Reigns and Strowman were down on the mat selling injuries from Lesnar’s attack with the announcers saying that neither man could continue. The show signed off with Reigns and Strowman down on the mat thanks to Brock Lesnar’s attack.

(Strowman was made to look like such an afterthought here. They put Money in the Bank on him for this? It was pretty lame.)

Title Reign Reflections…Nope

Braun Strowman did not get a run as Universal Champion. Should he have? Yeah. I thought he should have been Universal Champion in the second half of 2017. I wasn’t surprised when he failed in 2018 either because Reigns just won it at SummerSlam. It’s just a shame because of how popular Strowman was with the crowd.

Final Thoughts on This MITB Booking

I didn’t agree with the choice at the time and I don’t agree with it one year later either. They could have done the same Reigns/Strowman match at Hell in a Cell without wasting the Money in the Bank briefcase on Strowman and they could have put the briefcase on somebody else.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match Rankings so far

The best rating a match can get is five stars out of five. Every Money in the Bank ladder match is over three stars, which means very good. What’s the best? Here are my rankings.

  1. Money in the Bank 2017 won by Baron Corbin – ****1/2
  2. WrestleMania 21 (2005) won by Edge – ****1/2
  3. Money in the Bank 2016 won by Dean Ambrose – ****1/2
  4. Money in the Bank 2013 (WWE Title) won by Randy Orton – ****1/4
  5. Money in the Bank 2010 (Smackdown) won by Kane – ****1/4
  6. Money in the Bank 2014 won by Seth Rollins – ****1/4
  7. Money in the Bank 2018 won by Alexa Bliss – ****1/4
  8. Money in the Bank 2011 (Smackdown) won by Daniel Bryan – ****
  9. WrestleMania 23 (2007) won Mr. (Ken) Kennedy – ****
  10. Smackdown June 27, 2017 won by Carmella – ****
  11. Money in the Bank 2012 (World Title) won by Dolph Ziggler – ****
  12. Money in the Bank 2010 (Raw) won by The Miz – ****
  13. Money in the Bank 2013 (World Title) won by Damien Sandow – ****
  14. Money in the Bank 2018 won by Braun Strowman – ****
  15. WrestleMania 24 (2008) won by CM Punk – ***3/4
  16. WrestleMania 22 (2006) won by Rob Van Dam – ***3/4
  17. WrestleMania 26 (2010) won by Jack Swagger – ***1/2
  18. WrestleMania 25 (2009) won by CM Punk – ***1/2
  19. Money in the Bank 2011 (Raw) won by Alberto Del Rio – ***1/2
  20. Money in the Bank 2015 won by Sheamus – ***1/2
  21. Money in the Bank 2012 (WWE Title) won by John Cena – ***1/4
  22. Money in the Bank 2017 (MITB 2017) won by Carmella – ***1/4

Those are the final rankings…until this year’s show.

In addition to that, I wrote a ranking of the Money in the Bank cash-in moments over at The Comeback in 2016. I don’t write there anymore. It doesn’t include the last two years, but it’s comprehensive.

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Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

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