Money in the Bank has become one of the most important Pay-Per-Views in a short period of time. Similar to Royal Rumble, the results of this event leave us with a guaranteed championship match. But unlike the Rumble, we never know when that match will take place. The element of surprise always boosts interest. Luckily, for the impatient among us, Alexa Bliss doesn’t like to wait.
What better way to cash in Money in the Bank than to interrupt the first singles match of Ronda Rousey. In classic heel fashion, Little Miss Bliss took Rousey’s star power away and made it about herself. And really, it was the only logical conclusion to that match. You can’t let Ronda Rousey win the Championship in her first match. Likewise, you can’t make her look weak by losing to Nia Jax. Alexa Bliss cashing in Money in the Bank and winning the title sets up a lot of possibilities for the future. Since Bliss already feuded with Nia, expect a feud with the Goddess and Rousey very soon. This will at least give Ronda a better excuse to fight for the Raw Women’s Championship once more.
Braun Strowman winning the Men’s Money in the Bank briefcase was also the only real option in that match. Something about Braun running in at any moment to cash in and being terrifying makes me pretty happy. I hope it lasts for at least a few months, but considering it’s Braun, it probably won’t be the most calculated and strategic cash in. The next time Brock Lesnar finds himself in a compromising predicament, I expect to hear Braun’s music. But since it is Brock we’re talking about, we probably won’t even see him on TV anytime soon. So there’s time!
Fortunately, the Chicago crowd gave matches like Nakamura/Styles the love that they deserved. And Elias had a great showing in his match against Seth Rollins. Some other matches like Big Cass vs. Daniel Bryan or Sami Zayn vs. Bobby Lashley weren’t exactly WrestleMania calibur matches, but at least they had some kind of story backing them. And while I typically give wrestlers the benefit of the doubt, the match between Roman Reigns and Jinder Mahal deserved all the heckling it received. No one wants to see this feud, and it’s literally feels like a match that was thrown together because they has no idea what to do with these two. So, all the booing and “this is boring!” chants were as expected. WWE and Vince McMahon should take Chicago’s response to this match as constructive criticism. The Roman Reigns experiment simply isn’t working. I can even go as far to say that he’s has some very good matches and he’s a solid worker, but he just isn’t very likable. The Big Dog needs some grooming, and it’s certainly not coming in the form of a feud with Jinder.
And one of the best surprises of the night was the return of James Ellsworth! Donning Asuka’s signature mask and robe, Ellsworth aided in defeat of Asuka and title retention of Carmella. And it just goes to show that absence does make the heart grow fonder. Frankly, Carmella just wasn’t the same without him. He’s the best distraction in the wrestling world and we’re happy to have him back. It must be irritating to a guy like Roman Reigns who struggles to get over, while someone who looks like James Ellsworth gets one of the biggest pops of the night. But hey, that’s show business. All in all, Money inthe Bank 2018 was a success. The card wasn’t too stacked, but it the results set a lot of new ideas into motion. While the product has seemed stagnant lately, I’m once again excited to watch. The wild card factor of having a Monster in the Bank (that’s something they’ll probably start saying) is enough motivation for me.
Nathan Burke is a standup comedian based in Boston and can be found on Twitter @IamNathanBurke
