New Orleans
ROMAN REIGNS vs. LA KNIGHT (26:51): It's been awhile. The last WWE PPV was Summerslam in the beginning of August. They didn't have a September PPV for whatever reason (they did have a few big AAA shows that had a few WWE wrestlers on them in September). It's also strange that Money in the Bank is in October this year. Usually, this show is in July. This was pretty much a typical WWE PPV. It was fine and nothing special. This first match was the best on the show. I don't know why, but I really thought that LA Knight was going to win the title in this match. Three years ago, LA Knight was getting really popular with the crowds so they gave him a main event title match against Roman in Saudi Arabia during Roman's epic 3 and 1/2 year title reign. They didn't pull the trigger then (I said they should have) and they didn't tonight, either. So...what was the point of having this match then? Do they not want LA Knight to be a main event star...ever? I have a weird feeling that they just don't know what to do with Roman Reigns if he isn't champion. That, or they're just scared of biting the bullet and trying something new. They did give Sami Zayn the title three years too late. Maybe LA Knight will finally win the title in a couple of years when it's meaningless and the crowds are tired of him. This New Orleans crowd did boo Roman at certain points. The crowd was super hot for this match. Some of that was because it went on early. My one gripe with this match was that there were actually too many kick-outs. After awhile, the drama is lost. **1/2
TIFFANY STRATTON vs. JACY JAYNE vs. LASH LEGEND vs. LOLA VICE vs. ROXANNE PEREZ vs. SOL RUCA "LADDER MATCH" (15:18): This was pretty sloppy. Tiffany did a moonsault off of a ladder at ringside and barely made it all around. She hit the back of her head on the mat. After that spot, everyone was just laying around as if the match had stopped. There was another spot where two of the women did a backdrop onto a ladder bridge and the ladder and the women slid out of the ring to the floor. Even bad ladder matches are watchable, though, so this was never dull. This is Tiffany's 2nd time winning a Money in the Bank briefcase, which got everyone online pissed off for some reason. **
OBA FEMI vs. BRONSON REED (11:37): Bronson Reed got injured and was out for awhile and came back in better shape. That's a bit of a problem since he was this big, fat beast, portrayed as a monster, and now he's...not really that. Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and Maxine all tried to interfere. Bronson hit Oba with brass knuckles twice when the ref wasn't looking. None of that mattered. Oba still won. This match was pretty boring, actually. During it I was thinking, 'Man, they really shouldn't put Oba in long matches like this.' It was only 11 minutes long! The horror! *1/2
LIV MORGAN vs. BECKY LYNCH vs. STEPHANIE VAQUER (16:58): The WWE had a house show in Chile, where Stephanie Vaquer is from. On that show, Stephanie beat Liv for the title. Liv quickly won the title back in this match. This match wasn't very exciting. Vaquer and Lynch have been in good matches before. I'm not sure I've ever seen a really good Liv Morgan match. Giving her the title just seems to cement that the WWE fucking loves the Judgment Day group. After all, Edge started that group and he's been in AEW for three years already. It's been around that long and, apparently, not going anywhere. *1/2
PENTA vs. BRON BREAKKER vs. CM PUNK vs. JE'VON EVANS vs. KEVIN OWENS vs. TRICK WILLIAMS "LADDER MATCH" (31:55): The WWE has been pretty stale for awhile now, probably since that fantastic Sami Zayn/Bloodline breakup feud years ago. Kevin Owens returning from injury has definitely gave the WWE a shot in the arm. He's fantastic on the mic and in the ring and brings a level of excitement and unpolished oomph that the WWE lacks (ever since TKO bought WWE, it's felt like a polished, safe, boring "product"). Owens and Punk going at it was the highlight (they actually wrestle like they really hate eachother). Penta did a package piledriver onto a ladder bridge on Bron. The big spot was set up by Bron giving Je'Von Evans a spear and Je'Von being stretchered out in an ambulance. Je'Von returned later on driving the ambulance. Eventually, Je'Von was on top of a ladder and was pushed off, crashing through the roof of the ambulance. That was a cool spot and something new, though the spot made zero sense. Je'Von had to climb the ladder next to the ropes. The briefcase is in the middle of the ring. Why was he climbing the ladder next to the ropes then? They definitely could have set it up better. Like...he was climbing up to jump off onto a group at ringside or something. Penta ended up winning. That seems a bit silly, as Penta just had a title match against Roman and lost. Oh, now you want to push him? Why didn't you just have him win the title in front of a mega hot Mexico City crowd? This fucking company baffles me sometimes. I was thinking of what the most memorable briefcase cash in spots were in the past and could only think of 2: The Miz winning the title on the Monday Night RAW before Thanksgiving, and Seth Rollins cashing in after the main event of Wrestlemania to beat Roman. Those two cash ins were years ago (The Miz was in 2010, Rollins was in 2015). It's been too long since this whole briefcase thing was shocking and exciting. Will that change with Penta and Tiffany? I don't have much hope. **1/2
