July 11, 2022 Observer Newsletter: Money in the Bank recap, WWE & AEW business notes

Liv Morgan won the women’s Money in the Bank match and then cashed it in to take the Smackdown women’s title from Ronda Rousey in the highlight of the 7/2 PPV from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Theory, as a late storyline addition, won the men’s briefcase and has vowed to cash it in at SummerSlam on 7/30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Even though he was added late, this was not a late change as the plan was always for Theory to win this match as a surprise.

Earlier in the show, Theory had lost the U.S. title to Bobby Lashley in the only other title change on the show.

Inadvertently, WWE may have found a better home base in the Las Vegas market. WWE always likes to run in the main sports arena in the market, which in Las Vegas would be the T-Mobile Arena. But UFC had it booked and WWE booked Allegiant Stadium after a successful SummerSlam show that drew more than 40,000 paid there last year.

Subscribers can read this week’s Observer here.

Theory wins WWE men’s Money in the Bank ladder match

Despite never even qualifying for the match, Theory is the new Mr. Money in the Bank.

Theory won the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match by defeating Riddle, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Omos, Sami Zayn, and Madcap Moss at Saturday night’s pay-per-view. There were originally only supposed to be seven wrestlers in the match, but WWE authority figure Adam Pearce came out to the stage before the match started and added Theory as an additional participant.

Theory is Vince McMahon’s protege on WWE television. It was indicated on commentary that McMahon was responsible for Theory being added to the ladder match.

Theory knocked Riddle off a ladder at the end of the match, then retrieved the Money in the Bank briefcase. Riddle had hit a super RKO on Rollins off a ladder and was trying to grab the briefcase before being thwarted by Theory.

Earlier in the night at Money in the Bank, Theory lost the United States title to Bobby Lashley.

Theory can cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase for a shot at the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at any point within the next year. Roman Reigns is the current champion and is set to defend the title against Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match at SummerSlam later this month.

Liv Morgan wins WWE women’s Money in the Bank ladder match

Update —

Liv Morgan cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase later in the night at Saturday’s PPV, defeating Ronda Rousey to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

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At Saturday night’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Liv Morgan picked up the biggest win of her career to date.

Morgan won the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, defeating Becky Lynch, Lacey Evans, Raquel Rodriguez, Alexa Bliss, Shotzi, and Asuka. The Money in the Bank briefcase guarantees Morgan a shot at the Raw or SmackDown Women’s Championship at any point within the next year.

It appeared that Lynch was poised to win the match after taking out Asuka and knocking over two ladders that Rodriguez, Shotzi, Evans, and Bliss were on. But Morgan set up a ladder next to the one Lynch was climbing and stopped her from retrieving the briefcase. Lynch tried to push over Morgan’s ladder, but Morgan put her foot on the top rope and used it to get the ladder back in place. Morgan then knocked Lynch down and grabbed the briefcase.

In one of the highlights of the match, Morgan gave Evans a sunset flip powerbomb off a ladder early on:

Bianca Belair is currently the Raw Women’s Champion and Ronda Rousey is the SmackDown Women’s Champion.

Morgan was interviewed backstage after her Money in the Bank win. Morgan said she’s never wanted anything more than to be champion. When asked if she’s decided when and who she’s going to cash in on, Morgan said WrestleMania is sounding pretty good — but she just wants to celebrate for now.

Madcap Moss qualifies for WWE Money in the Bank ladder match

Madcap Moss is the final addition to the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.

Moss defeated The Miz, Happy Corbin, and Ezekiel in a fatal four-way qualifying match. The finish had Corbin hitting The End of Days on Ezekiel, but Moss came in, posted Corbin into the corner, then pinned Ezekiel to win the match.

Earlier in the show, the four had made their claim to be the final participant in the men’s ladder match. WWE official Adam Pearce came out and made a “Good Ol’ Fashioned Battle Royal” match featuring the four and the rest of the men’s Money in the Bank participants. Corbin won that match, eliminating Drew McIntyre and Sheamus as they were fighting.

Later, the four were still arguing with Adam Pearce over who should be in the Money in the Bank ladder match, eventually setting up the fatal four-way main event.

Here is the updated lineup for tomorrow’s Money in the Bank event in Las Vegas:

WWE Money in the Bank, Saturday, July 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Omos vs. Sami Zayn vs. Riddle vs. Madcap Moss
  • Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Lacey Evans vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shotzi vs. Becky Lynch
  • Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Carmella
  • SmackDown Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Natalya
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. The Street Profits
  • United States Championship: Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley

Becky Lynch, Riddle qualify for WWE Money in the Bank ladder matches

Two more wrestlers have qualified for Saturday’s WWE Money in the Bank ladder matches.

Becky Lynch and Riddle claimed spots in the ladder bouts with wins on this week’s WWE Raw. Riddle won a 20-man battle royal to earn a spot in the men’s Money in the Bank match, while Lynch won a six-way elimination match in Raw’s main event to secure the last spot in the women’s Money in the Bank bout. 

The women’s field is now set at seven competitors, while it appears as though there will be one more men’s qualifying match on this week’s SmackDown to bring that lineup to seven. 

Here is the lineup for Money in the Bank:

WWE Money in the Bank, Saturday, July 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Omos vs. Sami Zayn vs. Riddle vs. TBD
  • Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Lacey Evans vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shotzi vs. Becky Lynch
  • Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Carmella
  • SmackDown Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Natalya
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. The Street Profits
  • United States Championship: Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley

Money in the Bank cavalcade announced for next week’s WWE SmackDown

A cavalcade of wrestlers qualified for WWE Money in the Bank ladder matches has been announced for next week’s SmackDown. 

WWE announced during this week’s episode that all of the wrestlers who have qualified for this year’s Money in the Bank ladder matches will appear on next Friday’s go-home show for the Saturday, July 2 Money in the Bank event. 

Also announced for next week, Happy Corbin will respond to Pat McAfee’s challenge to a match at SummerSlam. 

Here is next week’s SmackDown lineup: 

WWE SmackDown, Friday, July 1 —

  • Cavalcade featuring men’s and women’s Money in the Bank ladder match qualifiers
  • Happy Corbin responds to Pat McAfee’s SummerSlam challenge

Here is the updated Money in the Bank lineup following this week’s SmackDown: 

WWE Money in the Bank, Saturday, July 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Omos vs. Sami Zayn vs. TBD vs. TBD
  • Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Lacey Evans vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shotzi vs. TBD
  • Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Carmella
  • SmackDown Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Natalya
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. The Street Profits
  • United States Championship: Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley

Shotzi & Sami Zayn qualify for WWE Money in the Bank ladder match

Shotzi and Sami Zayn have qualified for their Money in the Bank ladder matches.

On tonight’s SmackDown, Shotzi defeated Tamina with a DDT to advance. Zayn, meanwhile, defeated Shinsuke Nakamura after Nakamura got hit with the helluva kick as he was re-entering the ring. Both will now compete in their respective Money in the Bank ladder matches on July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Already qualified for the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match include Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, and Omos, with two participants remaining. The women’s Money in the Bank match has Lacey Evans, Alexa Bliss, Raquel Rodriguez, and Asuska, with one spot remaining.

Here is the updated lineup for next Saturday’s Money in the Bank:

WWE Money in the Bank, Saturday, July 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Omos vs. Sami Zayn vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD
  • Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Lacey Evans vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shotzi vs. TBD
  • Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Carmella
  • SmackDown Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Natalya
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. The Street Profits
  • United States Championship: Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley

Asuka, Omos qualify for WWE Money in the Bank ladder matches

Asuka and Omos won qualifying matches for Money in the Bank on WWE Raw and will appear in ladder matches at the event. 

Asuka defeated Becky Lynch in the main event of Raw to qualify for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. She joins Alexa Bliss, Lacey Evans, Liv Morgan, and Raquel Rodriguez in the bout, with two spots still to be determined. 

Earlier in the evening, Omos defeated Riddle to qualify for the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Omos joins Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, the winner of this Friday’s Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn qualifier, and three competitors yet to be determined in the bout.

Here is the updated Money in the Bank card following Raw: 

WWE Money in the Bank, Saturday, July 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Omos vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Sami Zayn vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD
  • Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Lacey Evans vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. TBD vs. TBD
  • Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Carmella
  • SmackDown Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Natalya
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. The Street Profits
  • United States Championship: Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley

IC title match, two MITB qualifiers set for next week’s WWE SmackDown

An Intercontinental Championship bout, plus two Money in the Bank qualifying matches have been announced for next week’s WWE SmackDown. 

New IC champ Gunther will defend the title against former champ Ricochet. Gunther defeated Ricochet on last week’s SmackDown to win the title. 

In a men’s Money in the Bank qualifier, Sami Zayn will face Shinsuke Nakamura. So far, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, and Sheamus have been announced for the men’s Money in the Bank match on July 2. 

Also announced for next week, Shotzi will face Aliyah in a women’s Money in the Bank qualifying match. To this point, Lacey Evans, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, and Raquel Rodriguez have qualified for the women’s Money in the Bank match, with a Becky Lynch vs. Asuka qualifier also set for this Monday’s Raw.

Here is next week’s SmackDown lineup:

WWE SmackDown, Friday, June 24 —

  • Intercontinental Championship match: Gunther (c) vs. Ricochet
  • Men’s Money in the Bank qualifying match: Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Women’s Money in the Bank qualifying match: Shotzi vs. Aliyah 

Rollins, Bliss, Morgan qualify for WWE Money in the Bank ladder matches

Three wrestlers qualified for WWE Money in the Bank ladder matches on Monday’s Raw. 

Seth Rollins defeated AJ Styles in a qualifying match to become the first official entrant in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match on July 2 in Las Vegas. Rollins pinned Styles with a cradle to claim the victory. 

In another qualifier, Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan defeated the team of Doudrop and Nikki ASH to qualify for the women’s Money in the Bank match. Bliss and Morgan join Lacey Evans as the first three participants set for the women’s ladder match. 

On next week’s Raw, Becky Lynch will face Asuka in another women’s qualifying match. 

Here is the Money in the Bank lineup to this point: 

WWE Money in the Bank, Saturday, July 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Seth Rollins vs. TBA
  • Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Lacey Evans vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Liv Morgan vs. TBA
  • Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
  • SmackDown Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Natalya

Lacey Evans qualifies for WWE women’s Money in the Bank ladder match

Lacey Evans qualified for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match on tonight’s SmackDown, while the first men’s qualifying match ended without a winner.

Evans defeated Xia Li on tonight’s SmackDown to qualify. A second qualifying match, Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre for a spot in the men’s ladder match, ended in a double count out after the two brawled outside of the ring. Later in the show both McIntyre and Sheamus complained about the result to WWE official Adam Pearce. However, a follow up regarding both McIntyre and Sheamus’ status for Money in the Bank never materialized.

The winners of the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank match will receive a briefcase with a title match that can be cashed in at any time during the next year. Last year’s winners were Big E and Nikki A.S.H., both of whom were successful in winning their championship match.

Here is the current lineup for Money in the Bank, which takes place July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas:

  • Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley for the Raw Women’s Championship
  • Ronda Rousey vs. Natalya for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
  • Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, with Lacey Evans qualifying
  • Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match

Tony Khan takes shot at WWE over Money in the Bank move

On Twitter ahead of tonight’s Rampage, AEW president and CEO Tony Khan took a shot at WWE for moving Money in the Bank to a smaller venue.

Khan tweeted that he broke the news to the UFC’s Dana White at dinner last night that WWE is moving Money in the Bank from Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium to the smaller MGM Grand Garden Arena. The pay-per-view is going against UFC 276 in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 2.

“Genius move trying to take on Dana and the UFC in Vegas during International Fight Week,” Khan tweeted.

Money in the Bank being moved to the MGM Grand Garden Arena was announced in an email to ticket holders on Thursday. WrestleTix estimated that there were 17,924 tickets distributed at the time of the move.

UFC 276 is being held at the T-Mobile Arena. The PPV will be headlined by Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier for the middleweight title

Khan also stated on Twitter that he had “the most fulfilling meeting of [his] life” with Warner Bros. Discovery leadership on Thursday. 

Executives from Warner Bros. Discovery will be attending next Wednesday’s Dynamite at The Forum in Los Angeles and will be throwing a party for AEW after the show.

WWE moving Money in the Bank to smaller venue

WWE now has one fewer stadium show on the books for this summer.

In an email sent to those who had purchased tickets for the show, WWE announced on Thursday that Money in the Bank is being moved to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view was originally scheduled to be held at the larger Allegiant Stadium, which is the home of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Money in the Bank is taking place on Saturday, July 2. UFC 276 is also being held in Las Vegas that night, headlined by a middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier.

Those who had already purchased tickets to Money in the Bank will be automatically refunded. An exclusive pre-sale for those ticket holders will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific time on Wednesday, June 1.

This would have been the first Money in the Bank PPV to be held in a stadium. Dave Meltzer reported that 16,833 tickets had been distributed for Money in the Bank as of May 6.

Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast reported last month that WWE’s goal in running more stadium shows wasn’t necessarily to sell every show out, but it would allow WWE to draw more crowds in the 20,000-35,000 range.

Allegiant Stadium has a listed capacity of 65,000. The MGM Grand Garden Arena’s capacity is 17,000.

WWE’s updated PPV schedule for the remainder of 2022 is listed below:

  • Sunday, June 5: Hell in a Cell at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
  • Saturday, July 2: Money in the Bank at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Saturday, July 30: SummerSlam at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee
  • Saturday, September 3: Clash at the Castle at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales
  • Saturday, November 5: Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Saturday, November 26: Survivor Series at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts

WWE Money in the Bank 2022 set for Las Vegas

WWE announced a return to Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium for the Money in the Bank PPV on July 2 or July 3, 2022. 

During tonight’s SummerSlam show, a commercial aired promoting the event. A QR code was also shown, directing viewers to a website where they could register for ticket pre-sale information.

The date will mark the first time that Money in the Bank will be a standalone stadium show. 

In a press release, WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan said “Las Vegas, its residents and visitors have demonstrated that Vegas is the perfect city for our biggest events. Money in the Bank, an appropriately titled event for Vegas and one of our five annual tentpoles, will bring the WWE Universe back to Allegiant Stadium July 4th weekend 2022.”

WWE ran Allegiant Stadium for the first time with tonight’s SummerSlam event. The company announced an attendance number of 51,326 for SummerSlam, while WrestleTix estimated an actual attendance of 45,690.

Money in the Bank 2021 was held at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. It was WWE’s first PPV back in front of live fans since the COVID-19 pandemic began.