In her home city of Toronto, Trish Stratus will be playing a role in WWE Money in the Bank.
It was announced via the Toronto Sun today that Stratus will be the host of Money in the Bank 2024, which takes place from Scotiabank Arena this Saturday. The WWE Hall of Famer also made a post on social media confirming the news.
Scotiabank Arena was the venue for Stratus’ match against Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam 2019. It was believed to be Stratus’ retirement match at the time, but she returned to WWE for an extended run and a feud with Becky Lynch in 2023. She has not competed in the ring since losing to Lynch in a steel cage match at WWE Payback last September.
Stratus, a seven-time WWE Women’s Champion, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.
Money in the Bank streams live on Peacock/WWE Network starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday. There will also be a two-hour pre-show leading into the event.
WWE Money in the Bank (Saturday, July 6) —
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Jey Uso vs. Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Chad Gable vs. LA Knight vs. Drew McIntyre
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: IYO SKY vs. Chelsea Green vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. Zoey Stark
World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest defends against Seth Rollins (If Priest retains, Rollins can’t challenge for the title again as long as Priest holds it. If Rollins wins, Priest leaves The Judgment Day)
Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton & Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline
Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn defends against Bron Breakker
Roman Reigns was pinned for the first time since December 15, 2019, when cousin Jey Uso pinned him in a tag team match at Money in the Bank, to set up the SummerSlam main event.
WWE set up the Reigns & Solo Sikoa vs. Usos main event at Money in the Bank on 7/1 in London, by pushing two different stories. One was Reigns saying he was going to stack up and pin both of them at the same time like he did in the 2021 WrestleMania match against Edge and Daniel Bryan. That set up a key spot in the match where he seemingly was going to do so, except he kicked out.
The other was the hard push of Reigns not having lost a fall in a pro wrestling ring since that date. While not acknowledged this week, that was a TLC match with Baron Corbin as part of the PPV that night from Minneapolis. That was to set up the pop when he did like the pin meant that much more.
WWE has announced that Money in the Bank 2023 and the 6/30 SmackDown set all-time revenue records for the company.
WWE sent out a press release on Wednesday touting Friday’s SmackDown from London’s O2 Arena as the highest-grossing edition of the show in history. The company also says Saturday’s Money in the Bank show is now the highest-grossing arena event in WWE history. The two shows combined to bring in more than $5.4 million in revenue.
“Notably, Money In The Bank set a new record for highest-grossing arena event in WWE history and Friday Night SmackDown from The O2 became the highest-grossing SmackDown of all-time. The weekend generated a combined gate of more than,” reads a WWE press release.
The press release continues:
Money In The Bank (MITB) also set new records for viewership, sponsorship, merchandise and social media:
Viewership jumped 17 percent from last year’s record, and surpassed the last U.K. premium live event – Clash at the Castle – by 30 percent.
Sponsorship revenue was up nine percent versus the record set in 2022.
MITB marked the highest-grossing arena event for venue merchandise in WWE history.
MITB set a new record for On Location fan experience packages, becoming the highest-grossing non-WrestleMania event ever.
The event became the most social Money In The Bank of all-time, with video views of the Bloodline Civil War match reaching 40 million in the first 48 hours –a 4X jump from the top clip at Night of Champions, Jimmy Uso super-kicking Roman Reigns.
Over 17,000 tickets were distributed for both Money in the Bank and the 6/30 SmackDown, according to WrestleTix.
The announcement follows similar ones made earlier this year regarding other PLEs. WWE announced in May that this year’s Backlash event from Puerto Rico was the company’s highest-grossing and most-watched edition of a Backlash PLE in history. In April, WWE also announced that WrestleMania 39 was the highest-grossing and most successful event in company history, setting records for viewership, gate, sponsorship, merchandise, and social media. In February, WWE announced that this year’s Elimination Chamber from Montreal also broke revenue records and was the highest-grossing version of the PLE in history.
For the first time in over three years, Roman Reigns has been pinned.
The Usos bested Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa at Money in the Bank, with Jey Uso pinning Reigns. Bryan Alvarez and Dave Metlzer shared their thoughts on the match on Sunday morning’s Wrestling Observer Radio.
“If you have time, watch the whole match,” Alvarez said. “If you do not have time, you can safely skip the first 20 minutes of this match.”
“You can watch the last five minutes and really see the match,” Meltzer added.
Both agreed, however, the last minutes of the match picked up significantly. At one point, Solo and Reigns hit a spike/spear combination on The Usos and stacked them together, something Heyman said would happen in the pre-show. The Usos still managed to kick out.
“When they did that, it meant more because Paul Heyman promised that’s how the finish was gonna be,” Meltzer said.
Despite the slow start, Bryan and Dave both praised the match and finish, though it wasn’t a match of the year contender.
“The first half of the match was just putting in time, but the second half of the match was absolutely incredible,” Alvarez said.
I thought the match was great, I mean like great, but it was really all about the finish,” Meltzer said. “The match itself to me was pretty much what you would expect.”
The Bryan & Vinny & Craig Show is back with tons to talk about including two big shows, WWE Money in the Bank with Roman Reigns suffering his first pinfall lost since before anyone had ever even heard of COVID, and AEW Collision with more matches in the Owen Hart Tournament. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Money in the Bank this year ultimately served as a backdrop for SummerSlam next month. And the biggest example of that was in the main event.
For the first time in three and a half years, Roman Reigns was pinned. Granted, it was in a tag match. But it happened! And it immediately sets up the title match for SummerSlam, where Jey Uso will likely challenge Reigns. The match itself started off real slow, but eventually started to heat up towards the end of the match. And when Reigns was pinned, the place went wild. It was a big moment and, as it should be, was pushed hard.
Jey Uso’s win was the highlight of Money in the Bank. Everything else was fine, or in some cases just plain forgettable. It wasn’t a bad show by any means, but take away the main event and this was an exceedingly average show.
IYO SKY and Damian Priest ended up winning the two Money in the Bank matches, which I’ll get into in a bit. Both have interesting storylines going on. SKY and Bayley have been teasing dissention, especially the finish where she climbed over Bayley to win the briefcase. But the two got along fine at the press conference, so the split hasn’t happened yet. Damian Priest later inadvertently cost Finn Balor the World Heavyweight title, getting up from a chair at ringside that distracted Balor.
In terms of cashing in, it feels right to do an eventual feud between Priest and Rollins, though I don’t know when that will take place or if they’ll do a Balor-Priest match beforehand. SKY cashing in is even more of a mystery, as right now they seem interested in splitting up Damage CTRL.
Both Money in the Bank matches were good, but I don’t think they were great. Both had dangerous spots, as one would expect, but they also felt very patterned, with everyone lining up to take a dive, the splash off the ladder, getting driven through a table, those tropes were all in both matches. The problem with ladder matches these days is that there are so many across so many promotions, the big spots don’t feel as big, even as people are out there killing themselves. There’s only so many unique spots you can do with a ladder that causes people to react.
John Cena was on this show, for some reason. He just happened to be in London, I guess? He pushed the idea of a London WrestleMania hard, then got into a confrontation with Grayson Waller, eventually laying him out. Based on how strong he pushed the idea, one would think that it’s happening somewhere down the line. And it makes all the sense in the world considering WWE probably doesn’t like the idea of AEW breaking records with their own Wembley show later this summer. However, Triple H downplayed but didn’t totally dismiss the idea at the press conference after the show. In hindsight, a really weird, random appearance.
Based on the build, I was expecting more out of the World Heavyweight Championship match. It was good, but not great or memorable in any way. In fact, writing about this, I’ve forgotten a lot of the match. The finish had Priest getting up from a chair on the outside as Balor was going for the coup de gras, ultimately distracting Balor and allowing Rollins to pick up the win.
Some of the undercard didn’t get a ton of time. Cody Rhodes got a quick win over Dominik Mysterio, basically a fodder match to set up the Brock Lesnar destruction of Rhodes on Monday and the SummerSlam match in a few weeks. Gunther and Riddle did not last long either, a disappointment considering on paper this had the ability to steal the show. Instead, the match was a backdrop to a Drew McIntyre return, where he will likely be challenging Gunther.
The Women’s Tag Team Championship match was also a backdrop to an angle, where Shayna Baszler randomly turned on Ronda Rousey, allowing Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez to regain the titles they never lost. This turn came out of nowhere, and there were no real teases to the split in the weeks leading to the match. I am guessing there’s another story here we don’t know yet.
SummerSlam is up next on WWE’s schedule, and we seem to know most of the big matches based on Saturday’s booking: Reigns/Jey Uso, Gunther/McIntyre, and perhaps Baszler/Rousey. I’d also guess on a three way with Asuka, Charlotte, and Bianca Belair based on what went down at SmackDown. It’s shaping up to be a hot card, and with the show taking place at Ford Field in Detroit, it needs to be!
For the first time in nearly four years, Roman Reigns has taken a pinfall loss.
The Usos were victorious in the Bloodline Civil War at Money in the Bank, defeating Reigns & Solo Sikoa. The finish of the match saw Jey Uso pin Reigns. It’s the first time Reigns has been pinned since losing to Baron Corbin at TLC 2019.
A low blow from Jey helped The Usos win the match. Reigns delivered a spear to Jey and went for the cover, but Jey gave Reigns a low blow when he put his shoulder up to break the count. The Usos then delivered a barrage of superkicks to Reigns, took out Sikoa with a double superkick, and Jey hit a splash on Reigns from the top rope to win the match.
Sikoa had been laid out leading into the finish when he crashed through the announce table. Sikoa was going for a splash when Jimmy moved out of the way.
There was a huge near fall earlier in the bout where Reigns and Sikoa took advantage of a ref bump and laid out Jimmy and Jey. Sikoa gave Jimmy a Samoan spike, then they hit a combo spike/spear on Jey. Reigns stacked The Usos on top of each other and went for the pin. The referee woke up to make the count, but The Usos kicked out.
Fed up with Reigns’ disrespect, Jimmy left The Bloodline when he dropped Reigns with a superkick at Night of Champions this May. The implosion of The Bloodline then continued when Jey decided to stick with Jimmy instead of siding with Reigns and Sikoa.
The victory figures to set Jey up for a shot at Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
IYO SKY is now the holder of the women’s Money in the Bank briefcase.
SKY emerged as the winner of the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match on Saturday’s pay-per-view. Towards the end of the match, SKY was climbing the ladder when Bayley, her Damage CTRL stablemate, pushed her off the ladder. As Bayley and Becky Lynch started to climb the ladder, IYO SKY grabbed the handcuffs that were on Lynch after Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark had attempted to handcuff Lynch earlier. SKY handcuffed Bayley and Lynch together, allowing her to climb up and grab the briefcase to win the match.
Dissension between Sky and Bayley had been shown in recent weeks on SmackDown. Bayley cost IYO SKY a match against Zelina Vega last month. IYO then accepted a match for Bayley against Shotzi where Bayley’s spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match was on the line. On Friday’s SmackDown, SKY helped Bayley win the match.
New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions were crowned as Shayna Baszler betrayed Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank.
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez won the titles after Baszler attacked Rousey. Baszler blindsided Rousey with a forearm, beat her down, and put her in the Kirifuda Clutch. Baszler then walked out on Rousey. With Rousey left on her own, Rodriguez hit the Tejana Bomb and Morgan hit Oblivion. Morgan then pinned Rousey to win the titles.
The turn from Baszler came out of nowhere. Rousey had just tagged herself into the match before being attacked by Baszler.
With their victory, Morgan & Rodriguez reclaimed the titles that they were forced to vacate in May. They had to relinquish the Women’s Tag Team titles then due to a shoulder injury that Morgan suffered. Morgan made her return from injury on SmackDown last week.
Rousey & Baszler won a fatal four-way match for the titles after they were vacated by Morgan & Rodriguez. Last month, the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles were unified with the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles when Rousey & Baszler defeated Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn.
Date: July 1, 2023 Location: O2 Arena in London, England
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Show Recap —
Happy Canada Day.
KICK-OFF SHOW
The pre-show panel was held in WWE’s studio with Jackie Redmond, Matt Camp and Peter Rosenberg. Redmond’s co-hosts gave her a shoutout for her upcoming gig on Raw.
They spoke around videos for the MITB ladder matches, Dominik Mysterio/Cody Rhodes, and Gunther/Matt Riddle. Camp said Rhea Ripley would be with Dominik tonight but Rhodes’ promo on Raw made it seem like Dom would be alone.
The men’s MITB ladder match will open the show. They noted that the briefcase will be in play tonight as a result. The panel spoke about that match and Seth Rollins/Finn Bálor and Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler/Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan.
There will be a post-show press conference on the network and on Youtube.
Paul Heyman interview
Kayla Braxton was backstage and spoke with Paul Heyman who exited Roman Reigns’ locker room in tears. Braxton sincerely asked Heyman if the issues with the Bloodline was finally getting to him.
Heyman spoke about his history with their family and said we would see Reigns tonight as a warrior raised by Sika. It won’t be enough for Reigns to prove that the Usos are not the greatest tag team in WWE, he would wipe them from WWE and expunge their names from the history books.
The Usos would not be welcome at their next family gathering. This isn’t going to be fun to watch and won’t be PG. Smashed, stacked, pinned, shipped out of WWE — permanently. “And there’s nothing I can do to stop him.”
(Besides the Heyman promo, this was another nothing pre-show. I complain about this monthly but I have no idea why they don’t do more with these pre-shows, especially now that they’re on a hot streak.)
MONEY IN THE BANK MAIN SHOW —
Michael Cole announced a sold-out crowd of 18,885.
Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Damian Priest defeated Logan Paul, Butch, Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, LA Knight and Santos Escobar (20:26)
The crowd sang Nakamura’s song as you’d expect but LA Knight was the big crowd favourite.
Everyone jumped Logan Paul when it started to the delight of the crowd. They also ganged up on Damian Priest, and Wade Barrett attributed that to Judgment Day making enemies. There was an exchange between Nakamura and Knight and the crowd was all-in on Knight. Butch attacked everyone with a cricket bat.
Priest was about to go after Paul but Paul talked him out of it by noting that they were both tall and they should team up. They set up two tables side-by-side (like Darby Allin and Sting) but Priest decked Paul. Ricochet hit a flip dive through a table to the outside.
Knight tried climbing the ladder but Paul brought him down with a Russian leg sweep. The crowd chanted obscenities at Paul who dove into a right hand by Priest. The crowd booed Butch for saving Paul from Priest but chanted “Brusierweight” moments later.
Paul gave Priest a brutal frog splash off the apron onto an elevated ladder and the crowd chanted “You still suck.” Butch put Escobar in a sleeper on an elevated ladder and Ricochet nailed them both with a crazy springboard 450.
Priest climbed the ladder as everyone brawled but Knight brought him down with a back suplex. Paul gave Knight a blockbuster and Ricochet hit Paul with an SSP. Escobar took out Ricochet with a falcon arrow. With everyone huddled outside the ring, Butch hit a moonsault off a ladder.
Paul was not in the huddle and he prevented Butch from climbing. Paul also took out Ricochet before Santos took out Paul. Nakamura and Ricochet battled atop a ladder after Escobar took out Knight with a hurricanrana.
Ricochet and Paul leaped onto a second ladder (mimicking their Royal Rumble spot) before kicking Namakura and Escobar off their ladder.
Knight shoved the ladder with Paul and Ricochet which led to Ricochet giving Paul a Spanish Fly through the tables set up earlier. This didn’t go nearly as smoothly as they wanted and Paul seemed to land badly on his face/head as a result. (Paul appeared to be fine after the match but his shoulder was bloody.)
Butch knocked Knight off the ladder before Priest shoved Butch off into a ladder in the corner. Knight shoved Priest out of the ring before also getting rid of Escobar and Nakamura.
Knight was on the verge of winning and everyone was cheering but Priest brought him down with a version of the falcon arrow. Priest climbed the ladder and grabbed the briefcase to win as the crowd booed. Priest is Mr. Money in the Bank.
********
There was a commercial break/Ronda Rousey video package.
Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan defeated Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships (9:02)
Baszler turned on Rousey.
Rodriguez and Morgan had the edge until Baszler yanked Morgan off the top and targeted her previously injured arm/shoulder. Rousey applied an ankle lock but Morgan fought out, hit a Codebreaker and made the tag to Rodriguez. Rodriguez gave Baszler a fallaway slam before powerslamming Rousey for two.
Rousey tried an armbar with Rodriguez on the middle rope but Rodriguez countered into a powerbomb for two because Baszler broke up the cover.
Baszler put Morgan in an armbar as Rousey applied an ankle lock but Rodriguez broke it up. Morgan couldn’t make a tag because Rousey wiped out Rodriguez. Baszler gave Morgan a German suplex and applied Kirifuda Clutch. Morgan slipped out and Rousey tagged in.
Completely out of nowhere, Baszler attacked Rousey from behind. The crowd went nuts as Baszler put Rousey down with Kirifuda Clutch.
Rodriguez gave Rousey a Tejana Bomb and Morgan followed with Oblivion for the pinfall win. Morgan and Rodriguez are the new tag champs. The crowd was happy.
(Bud Light is a new sponsor and they’re sponsoring the post-match replays.)
********
Kayla Braxton interviewed Damian Priest who wanted to be called Señor Money in the Bank. Priest didn’t know which title belt he would cash in on but knew one thing for sure: he would be champion.
Gunther (w/Imperium) defeated Matt Riddle to retain the Intercontinental Championship (7:47)
(Cole mentioned Gunther previously wrestling Riddle in PROGRESS.)
Gunther worked over Riddle’s bum ankle. Riddle hit an exploder at one point but couldn’t follow up because of the ankle and Gunther hit a clothesline for two. Riddle fought back moments later and hit a senton for two. Gunther came off the top with a splash but Riddle caught him in a triangle. Gunther hoisted him up and hit a powerbomb for two.
Gunther immediately transitioned into a single leg crab. Riddle tried fighting out so Gunther repeatedly smacked Riddle’s injured ankle. Gunther applied a leg lock and Riddle quickly tapped out.
— Drew McIntyre entered as Gunther celebrated and the crowd popped huge. Cole spat out: “The rumours of Drew McIntyre’s demise in WWE… are not true.”
Gunther shoved McIntyre so McIntyre headbutted him and hit Claymore Kick. McIntyre posed with the IC title belt. The crowd was very happy to see McIntyre.
********
There was a commercial/video package for the upcoming match.
Barrett put over Rhodes’ entrance and said he came across as the biggest star in WWE.
Dom smacked Rhodes before Rhodes ripped off his cast. Cole said doctors told him that Rhodes’ injury had pretty much healed. Dom bailed and tried running to the back but Rhodes caught him. Dom tried leaving through the crowd so Rhodes went after him again.
Ripley got in Rhodes’ face as Dom removed a turnbuckle cover. Dom followed with a suicide dive on the distracted Rhodes to take over. The crowd called Dom a wanker and sang loudly for Cody.
Dom tried three amigos but Rhodes countered into a gore buster before hitting a powerslam and disaster kick for two. Rhodes went for a dive but Ripley got in his way. The distraction allowed Dom to set up for a 619 but Rhodes caught him and hit a spinning Alabama Slam.
Rhodes followed with a Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes for the decisive win.
********
John Cena segment
John Cena entered to a massive reception.
Cena entered the ring and said, “Surprise!” Cena himself was surprised because he’s used to hearing “John Cena sucks” during his entrance but the crowd sang his song instead.
Cena said this was the first premium live event in London in over 20 years. Cena asked, “What the hell took us so long to spend some time with you?” The crowd cheered.
Cena said it wasn’t up to him, it was up to the decision-makers who didn’t know how to feel about London. Cena said “they” think this is a hostile environment and that the crowd can be a distraction. Cena said this crowd wasn’t a distraction, they were the show.
Cena wanted the world to know that they were underappreciated. Cena was big on respect and over the last 20 years, the fans have earned his respect. The crowd loudly chanted “Thank you, Cena.”
Cena said “they” don’t like it when the performers stop and let the crowd cheer but that’s what made nights like these special. Cena said there was no crowd more exciting than London, England.
“I’m here to try to bring WrestleMania to London.” The crowd absolutely erupted with “Yes” chants. Cena encouraged the crowd to let “them” know what WrestleMania would sound like.
The crowd cheered for a moment but was interrupted by Grayson Waller. The crowd chanted “Who are you” and “Shut the f*ck up.” Waller said he was a fan of Cena and said his performance in Scooby-Doo really moved him.
Waller said Cena was lying to the fans if he thought WrestleMania was coming there. He hated the weather in London and wanted WrestleMania to go to Australia. The crowd yelled “wanker” at Waller and he quickly responded, “Trust me, I don’t need to.”
Waller noted that things haven’t been going well for Cena lately. He’s lost to Austin Theory, Roman Reigns and The Fiend. But the fans were simple and only remembered the most recent thing they saw. Waller offered to save Cena by having him on his show at WrestleMania: Australia.
Cena said no and was about to leave but Waller stopped him. Waller said nobody said “no” to him which Cena didn’t appreciate. Cena wanted to soak in the London crowd one more time but Waller decked him from behind.
Waller posed until Cena dropped him with an AA. Cena left while slapping hands with the fans.
(Waller did well on the mic here and certainly better than the last guy Cena feuded with.)
********
There was a commercial break/video package for the upcoming match. (This is a much better use of commercial time than what they used to do, which was play random, unrelated video packages.)
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: IYO SKY defeated Bayley, Becky Lynch, Zelina Vega, Zoey Stark and Trish Stratus (18:04)
Lynch entered last and Stark attacked her in the aisle which started the match. Stratus and Stark worked together to take control of the match but Bayley and SKY teamed up to take over next. The crowd sang for Bayley so she told them to shut up. Vega fought off SKY for a moment but Damage CTRL bounced her back and forth in between a ladder.
Lynch prevented Bayley and SKY (who were having trouble staying on the same page) from climbing the ladder. Vega used Stratus’ body as a bridge between two ladders and eventually everyone took turns clearing each other off the ladder.
SKY climbed a ladder but wasn’t close to the briefcase so she wiped out everyone (except Stratus) with a moonsault. The crowd chanted for her.
Stratus climbed the ladder but Lynch went after her. Lynch fought off Stratus and Stark but Vega took out Lynch and Stratus with a crossbody. Vega shoved SKY out of the ring before Lynch and Stratus teamed up to give Vega a double powerbomb. Stratus gave Bayley a Stratusfaction onto a ladder before Stark drove Lynch into the ring post.
Stark put a handcuff on Lynch but couldn’t latch it to the ring before Lynch fought her off. Lynch chucked Stratus over the announce desk and dropped Stark on a ladder. Lynch gave Stratus a Man-handle slam on a ladder before Stark gave Lynch a neckbreaker.
Vega and Stark stood near the top of a ladder and Vega hit a sunset flip powerbomb onto a ladder bridge. (This was probably the highlight spot of the match.)
SKY climbed the ladder but Bayley shoved the ladder down. Bayley showed some regret on her face but proceeded to climb the ladder. Lynch hooked the other end of the handcuffs to fishhook Bayley’s mouth and brought her down the ladder.
Bayley tried fighting back but SKY handcuffed Bayley and Lynch together, so Lynch and Bayley were stuck. This popped the crowd.
SKY climbed over Bayley and grabbed the briefcase for the win. The crowd cheered and chanted “You deserve it.”
(The finishing sequence was good.)
********
Seth Rollins defeated Finn Bálor to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (12:31)
Cole noted that Bálor attacked Rollins again last night at a nearby live event. Rollins hit an early suicide dive but didn’t pop up as quickly as usual because of his injured ribs and Bálor took over by targetting the ribs.
Rollins fought back with strikes, a backbreaker and a knee strike. Bálor went back to the ribs and hit a headlock elbow drop but Rollins defiantly kicked out at one. Bálor hit a slingblade but Rollins came back with a superkick and buckle bomb.
Bálor got his knees up on a frog splash and followed with a shotgun dropkick. Rollins avoided a Coup de Grace and Bálor avoided a curb stomp. They traded strikes until Rollins caught Bálor’s Pelé Kick and hit a Pedigree for two.
Priest walked out with the MITB briefcase and the crowd chanted “Cash it in.” Rollins was distracted so Bálor tried a schoolboy for two.
Rollins confronted Priest who simply grabbed a chair and sat down. Bálor used that distraction to dropkick Rollins into the barricade. Bálor hit a Coup de Grace off the announce table and off the steel steps.
Back in the ring, Bálor hit a dropkick and went to the top but stopped when he saw Priest get to his feet.
Bálor went for the Coup de Grace but Rollins moved and hit a curb stomp for the pinfall win.
— Bálor argued with Priest after the match.
(Good match but it felt like more of a backdrop and lead-up to whatever’s next with Priest and Bálor.)
********
There was an Edge video package.
Braxton interviewed Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn who were suddenly watching the show in a suite. Owens said it was great to be in London and put over some of tonight’s results.
She asked Zayn about the Bloodline Civil War. Zayn said he’s been waiting a long time to see this and tonight was the night that Reigns got exactly what was coming to him. They played Zayn’s music and the crowd sang along.
********
Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso defeated Universal Champion Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa (w/Paul Heyman) (32:05)
Jey was fired up as they did in-ring introductions. Everyone else was relatively calm. Sikoa seemed to have a moment of self-reflection before it started, while Reigns was annoyed at the “F*ck you, Roman” chants.
Sikoa had the edge over Jimmy but Jey kicked him from behind as the ref was distracted. Sikoa was caught off guard so Reigns tagged in. Sikoa hesitated before tagging out.
Jey and Reigns circled each other before locking up. Reigns had the advantage over Jey so Jimmy tagged in and they went for a double superkick but Reigns left the ring. Reigns got back in after a pep talk from Heyman and worked over Jey. Sioka tagged in and had control until Jimmy tagged in but Sikoa quickly knocked him down with a forearm.
There was a loud, “If you hate Roman, stand up” chant and everyone stood up. Barrett pointed it out on commentary and the announcers went quiet for a moment so we could hear. Funny enough, Reigns took the opportunity to sit down on the apron.
Reigns tagged in after a while and hit Jimmy with a driveby dropkick for two. Sikoa tagged back in and the match continued at a slow, deliberate pace. Reigns tagged himself in and Jimmy couldn’t tag out because Sikoa yanked Jey off the apron.
About 19 minutes into the match, Jimmy avoided a Superman punch and made a hot tag to Jey who hit Sikoa with punches (mimicking The Rock’s punches), an enziguri and a flying crossbody for two. Jey hit a running hip attack but Reigns made a blind tag. Jey figured it out and gave Reigns a suicide dive before hitting Sikoa with one too.
Jey tried another but Reigns hit him with consecutive Superman punches. Reigns set up for a spear but Jimmy tagged in and the Usos hit Reigns with a double spear and Sikoa broke up the cover.
Each side stood up and they exchanged right hands. Jey shoved Sikoa into the ring post as Reigns hit Jimmy with a Superman punch for two.
Reigns went for a spear but Jimmy hit him with consecutive superkicks. Jimmy went for a splash but Reigns caught him in a guillotine choke. Jimmy used his strength to hoist up Reigns and powered him into the corner. Jey made a blind tag as Jimmy shoved Reigns into the referee who fell out of the ring.
The Usos gave Reigns the 1D and Jey covered him but there was no ref.
The Usos went up for a double splash but Sikoa made the save. Sikoa and Reigns each hit Uranages before Sikoa hit Jimmy with a Samoan Spike.
Sikoa spiked Jey as Reigns hit a spear. Sikoa stacked up the Usos as the crowd chanted “bullshit.” Reigns covered them (as he did Edge and Daniel Bryan) but they kicked out. The crowd popped big for that.
Reigns seemed without any ideas so Sikoa hammered away on Jimmy and Jey. That encouraged Reigns to join him.
Sikoa superkicked Jimmy onto the announce table. Sikoa tried a splash off the barricade but Jimmy moved and Sikoa crashed through the table.
Jey and Reigns exchanged superkicks and Superman punches respectively until Reigns hit a spear for a nearfall. Jey actually kicked out by low-blowing Reigns (as Reigns has done before).
Jimmy tagged in and the Usos handed out superkicks to Reigns and Sikoa.
Jey tagged in and splashed Reigns for the pinfall win.
The crowd went absolutely nuts and Jimmy was almost in tears.
Cole said this was the first time in three and a half years that Reigns had been pinned (or submitted).
Jimmy and Jey posed as the crowd cheered.
(This didn’t need to go as long as it did but the last half of the match was exactly what you could’ve wanted.)
On a new edition of Wrestling Weekly, Les Thatcher and I give our final WWE Money in the Bank predictions and share some thoughts on the week that was in AEW including Forbidden Door and Dynamite.
WWE has some added motivation to make this year’s Money in the Bank a memorable show.
The company is in the midst of negotiating for its next U.S. TV rights agreement, making the coming months more important than any WrestleMania season ever could be.
This is like when a top athlete is in the final year of their deal and has a little extra incentive to have a good season. Nick Khan surely wants to pad WWE’s stats as he sits at the negotiating table, so if there was ever a time to hotshot a few angles or something else enticing, it’s now.
The exclusive WWE TV rights negotiating windows for both Fox and NBCUniversal have expired, meaning we are already deep into free agency season. WWE is now free to negotiate with other interested parties including Disney, Amazon or even the New York Yankees. (Maybe one of those isn’t legit).
Another reason WWE is motivated to put on a good show in London this weekend is that they have been trying for years to turn Money in the Bank into an annual event on the level of Royal Rumble or SummerSlam.
Having to move last year’s edition out of Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium and into the MGM Grand certainly didn’t help matters in that regard. A fun and newsworthy 2023 show in London could be exactly what the 13-year-old event needs.
Another potential factor for Saturday’s show is that AEW will run nearby Wembley Stadium 57 days later for All In. The big stadium event will make AEW look like a major league promotion in a way it never has before and that could motivate WWE to make sure theirs is the more fondly remembered of the two shows. Maybe we see a surprise return or debut, a big angle, or something else meant to create a historical moment as a result.
Below are previews and predictions for Saturday’s event (2 PM Eastern on Peacock and/or WWE Network):
Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa vs. Jimmy & Jey Uso
Reigns and Sikoa are -140 favorites to defeat The Usos in what will be the first civil war to take place in England since the 17th century.
In terms of betting odds, this is the closest match on the show. Ultimately, the Usos will win the blowoff to this feud but that could be several months away. I just don’t think they are going to beat the WWE Universal Champion and Sikoa so soon in the story.
You can also make the argument that Sikoa and Reigns need to get a win after losing to Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn at Night of Champions. Of course, it won’t be a clean win. Something underhanded will be done to both give the heels an advantage and also move WWE’s top storyline into its next chapter.
One thought is that a new member of The Bloodline could possibly debut on Saturday.
With only Sikoa and Paul Heyman by his side now, it seems like Reigns needs more people to acknowledge him as their Tribal Chief. The problem is that I’m not certain who is available to be slotted into that role. Jacob Fatu is believed to be under contract with MLW until 2025, Lance Anoa’i was just announced for NOAH’s N1 tournament this summer, and others in the family are still too early in their training.
When it looked as though Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Hikuleo could be WWE bound, I thought they could be added to the mix. While not members of the Anoa’i dynasty, Haku’s kids are close enough to the family that they could choose to acknowledge Reigns as their Tribal Chief. But then Vince McMahon returned to WWE and rumors of the Guerrillas of Destiny coming in became less and less.
If it’s not a new member of The Bloodline, there will have to be some other storyline development leading to the finish of this match.
Prediction: Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
Rollins is a -2000 favorite to retain his title.
He’s tied for being the biggest favorite on the card as very few fans are giving Balor much of a chance. He and Rollins will have a great match but ultimately, we are still at the beginning of Rollins’ story as the fighting World champion.
As much as I know some wrestling fans don’t want to admit it, this version of Seth Rollins is incredibly popular. Fans love him, they love singing his song, and they love that he’s World champion. His weird laughing and sing-songy entrance have made him more of a larger-than-life character than he ever has been before.
Whether you find fans singing his song annoying or even his over-the-top Joaquin Phoenix Joker impression gets on your nerves, he’s still Seth Rollins once the bell rings. He will win what is expected to be a great match in London.
Prediction: Rollins retains
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match
IYO Sky is a -500 favorite to win the briefcase.
Most people are banking on Sky winning and it setting up a showdown with Asuka at a later date. You just have to wonder how that plays into the tension they are building between Bayley (+500) and Sky. Something will happen during this match that furthers their story like Bayley preventing Sky from climbing the ladder or vice versa. Maybe Bayley acts happy for Sky winning at first, but then costs her a match against Asuka, etc.
Trish Stratus (+2000), Becky Lynch (+350), and Zoey Stark (+900) all have their own storyline going on that will eventually lead to Lynch vs. Stratus at SummerSlam, I’m assuming. They will tell their own story as this match goes on, but it won’t have anything to do with the finish.
Then, there is Zelina Vega (+2000). While I don’t think she’ll win, the +2000 odds are a little off. I don’t recommend actually betting on wrestling but if I was going to, I might put a little money on Vega with those numbers. Perhaps the reason few are giving her much of a chance is because she just had her big match for the title at the Puerto Rican WrestleMania that was Backlash. Still, Vega will probably wear something cool to the ring and everyone likes it when she does that.
Prediction: IYO Sky
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match
LA Knight is a -250 favorite to win the briefcase.
It feels as though both WWE fans and Triple H want the company to go all the way with Knight. However, the real question is how far is Vince McMahon willing to go with him?
McMahon was reportedly not high on the guy after he was cast in the role of Max Dupri last year. Knight is also over the age that McMahon generally likes to push new stars. Will the fan response to Knight be enough for McMahon to admit he was wrong about the guy? Maybe, maybe not.
If this was Triple H booking the show, the Money in the Bank match is the perfect opportunity to strap the rocket pack onto Knight. It’s possible that is what happens, but I feel Logan Paul (+150) is actually more likely to win.
Paul carrying around the Money in the Bank briefcase while he’s doing his other non-WWE stuff is perfect crossover promotion. The briefcase sitting in the background during Impaulsive and the potential of him being asked about it during media appearances are all things Nick Khan seems to enjoy very much.
The other contenders to win the briefcase are Damian Priest (+170), Shinsuke Nakamura (+2000), Santos Escobar (+2000), Butch (+2500), and Ricochet (+3000).
Prediction: Logan Paul
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler defend against Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
Rousey & Baszler are -1000 favorites to retain over Morgan and Rodriguez.
I’m a little surprised that Morgan and Rodriguez aren’t bigger underdogs. It seems as though the plan is for Rousey and Baszler to defend the WWE tag titles on all three brands moving forward. That’s an excuse to bring Rousey’s star power to any of WWE’s weekly shows while in the middle of TV rights negotiations.
WWE has had success getting the ratings up for NXT by bringing on main roster stars recently. Rousey and Baszler showing up on Tuesday nights from time to time is a good way to keep that trend going.
Prediction: Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler retain
Intercontinental Champion Gunther defends against Matt Riddle
Gunther is a -2000 favorite to retain over Riddle.
This is the match that will steal the show. These two have a long history together dating back to a 2017 WXW tour in Germany. In fact, Saturday won’t even be the first title match they have had against each other in London.
Riddle successfully defended the Progress Atlas title against then-WALTER at Progress 46 from the Electric Ballroom in London on March 26, 2017. The match followed WALTER eliminating Riddle in the semifinals of the 16 Carat Gold tournament two weeks prior. In total, they have wrestled each other 11 times across promotions such as EVOLVE, Progress, WXW, Ambition, and PWG before either signed with WWE. Their styles align nicely.
Imperium injured Riddle’s ankle recently on Raw, so I’m expecting that to factor into the finish of what should be an excellent match.
Prediction: Gunther retains
Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio
Rhodes is a -700 favorite to defeat Mysterio.
An interesting note about the odds is that Rhodes was actually a bigger favorite to defeat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania than he is to beat Dominik here.
In storyline, this is a significant drop in competition for Rhodes. He’s spent the last two pay-per-views facing Brock Lesnar and went up against Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania before that. No offense to Dominik, but he doesn’t quite have the pedigree of Rhodes’ other recent opponents.
This will be a good match. Rhodes is going to go out of his way to make Dominik look good, perhaps doing so in a way that hasn’t been done for Dom Dom since he started getting hot alongside Judgment Day.
WWE has given Dominik wins over Xavier Woods, Apollo Crews, and Akira Tozawa since WrestleMania. If they want to take full advantage of the massive heat the guy is generating at the moment, it makes sense to give him some wins over bigger names. I just don’t see them doing that against Rhodes, however.
The consensus after the Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega match on 1/4 at the Tokyo Dome, was that for the next 361 days of 2023, when it comes to match of the year, people will be fighting for second place as their match.
After AEW/New Japan Forbidden Door on 6/25 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the race has tightened up, and one could argue the field is fighting for third place, or perhaps fourth place when you factor in the Revolution Iron Man match with MJF and Bryan Danielson.
While the creativity, intensity, athleticism, and crowd reactions for the nearly 40:00 match were spectacular, the other feeling of watching these types of matches is one of concern.
Omega and Ospreay are so driven to put on classic matches that they’ve taken themselves to a dangerous place in attempting to top the levels they’ve already reached. We are long past the days when Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat could have one of the best matches anyone had ever seen, and then come back the next day and pretty much do it all again. Omega and Ospreay are working matches that have career-shortening consequences.
Trish Stratus defeated Raquel Rodriguez on Monday’s Raw to earn the final spot in the July 1 women’s WWE Money in the Bank match.
Stratus won the last qualifying match via disqualification after Becky Lynch interfered, attacking Stratus outside the ring and throwing her into the barricade.
The field for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match is now set, with Stratus joining Lynch, Bayley, IYO SKY, Zelina Vega, and Zoey Stark in the bout.
The updated Money in the Bank lineup:
WWE Money in the Bank, Saturday, July 1, 3 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
Bloodline Civil War: Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa vs. The Usos
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Logan Paul vs. LA Knight vs. Damian Priest vs. Butch vs. Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Santos Escobar
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. IYO SKY vs. Zoey Stark vs. Zelina Vega
The field for the men’s WWE Money in the Bank ladder match is finalized.
Damian Priest defeated Matt Riddle on Monday’s Raw to claim the final spot in the men’s ladder match set for Money in the Bank on Saturday, July 1 in London. The match winner will earn a shot at any WWE title of their choosing at any time for up to one year.
Priest joins a six-man lineup that includes Shinsuke Nakamura, Ricochet, LA Knight, Santos Escobar, and Butch.
One spot remains in the women’s Money in the Bank lineup which currently consists of Becky Lynch, Zoey Stark, Bayley, IYO SKY, and Zelina Vega.
Two matches were also added to the Money in the Bank card on Monday’s Raw.
Seth Rollins is set to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Finn Balor in the first new match added to the July 1 card, while Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio has also been added to the lineup.
The updated card:
WWE Money in the Bank, Saturday, July 1, 3 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ricochet vs. LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar vs. Butch vs. Damian Priest
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Becky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. IYO SKY vs. Zoey Stark vs. Zelina Vega vs. TBD
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
