WWE Money in the Bank Review - July 18, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff Show: The Usos def. Rey and Dominik Mysterio to Win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship

I remember The Usos vs. The Shield being relegated to the Money in the Bank Kickoff show in 2013 and the two teams absolutely killing it. While this wasn't on that same level, this was still a fun Kickoff show match. They worked well together and the crowd was into the action. I didn't think WWE would actually put the belts on The Usos coming off Jimmy's DUI arrest earlier this month, so that was certainly surprising. Although it is cool that everyone in The Bloodline is now a champion (especially Jey who has been firing on all cylinders since the fall), I'm not sure how I feel about bad behavior being rewarded.

Nikki A.S.H. def. Alexa Bliss, WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Natalya, WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Tamina, Naomi, Liv Morgan, Zelina Vega and Asuka to Win the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Despite the level of talent involved, this was one of the weaker Money in the Bank Ladder matches in recent memory. There were a handful of disjointed spots, and although the crowd cheered for their favorites (most notably Bliss despite the terrible supernatural silliness she's been subjected to lately), it was hard for me to get into it, personally. A lot of the stuff they did felt contrived and the execution of the finish was lame. Throw in the fact that I don't care about the Nikki A.S.H. superhero character at all and I simply wasn't a fan of any of this.

Raw Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Omos def. The Viking Raiders

This match probably had the least buzz coming into the event, simply because WWE has done nothing to make viewers think that Viking Raiders had a chance of winning here. I like them and I'm glad they're back in action following a long layoff, but they haven't been portrayed much better this time around than they were a year ago when they were doing the comedy stuff with The Street Profits. That said, this was a solid match and Styles in particular was mega over. Omos is making the most of his short spurts in the ring and wisely being kept limited. There was no reason to take the titles off Styles and Omos before they can face RK-Bro, ideally at SummerSlam.

WWE Champion Bobby Lashley def. Kofi Kingston

I can understand why some people wouldn't have liked this, but I thought it was exactly what it needed to be. Although this loss and how it was booked does nothing for Kingston (in addition to essentially eliminating any possibility of him ever being pushed at a world championship level again), it was necessary in reestablishing Lashley as a dominant WWE Champion. It was ridiculous that he lost to Xavier Woods last Monday on Raw, but he needed to bounce back and unfortunately Kingston was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I also assume this was done to make Lashley out to be more of a threat ahead of his rumored title defense against Goldberg at SummerSlam. I'm guessing this spells the end of Kingston in the title picture for good, despite the great work he's been doing lately.

Charlotte Flair def. Rhea Ripley to Win the Raw Women's Championship

The crowd was indifferent toward both women and the match as a whole early on and it's hard to blame them (though the "We Want Becky" chants were uncalled for and disrespectful to Ripley and Flair). I say that because neither Flair nor Ripley have come across as overly likable during their feud. Ripley is supposed to be the babyface as far as I can tell, but before this show, she hadn't been booked to look like one. Then, not even halfway through the matchup, Flair and Ripley got them invested because their chemistry is so strong. This truly was an excellent affair with some fantastic nearfalls down the stretch. It was also easily Ripley's best bout since debuting on Raw. I honestly didn't have an issue with the title change because Flair hasn't held that title in years and Ripley might be better in chase mode. If she doesn't get it back at SummerSlam, I'm almost positive she'll be champion again before long. My biggest issue with this was that Flair destroying Ripley's knee with the steel steps wasn't enough for her to get disqualified, but apparently Ripley hitting Flair with the top of the commentators' table at Hell in a Cell was. The inconsistency with this company is annoying.

Big E def. Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Riddle, King Nakamura, Ricochet, John Morrison and Drew McIntyre to Win the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

We've seen so many Money in the Bank Ladder matches that a lot of them tend to blend together, but I feel confident in saying that this was among the best I've seen in recent years. This was a stacked lineup and the unpredictability surrounding the outcome certainly helped. There were a ton of crazy moments and the crowd really made a major difference. Big E was the right winner as he has the most to gain from holding that briefcase and hopefully cashing in successfully down the road. I don't know what else to say about this other than that it was an absolute blast.

Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. Edge; John Cena Returned

I've seen mixed reactions to this match because of how slow it was early on, and although I also would have trimmed it down by at least 10 minutes, this was a hell of a main event. It had a big fight feel thanks to the crowd and it was one of those matches that was extremely enhanced by the electric atmosphere in the audience. Once they got past the rest holds, the nearfalls were incredibly well done, the crowd was super behind Edge, and the storytelling and drama was perfect. Rollins interfered arguably more than he should have, but it at least protected Edge in defeat and sets up Edge vs. Rollins for SummerSlam. Of course, the show went off on a high note with Cena making his triumphant return, and although it's been rumored for months, it was an amazing moment and one of the loudest pops I've ever heard. Cena has been gone for so long that it's a huge deal for him to be back and not only that but in a prominent role. Reigns vs. Cena is an awesome attraction for SummerSlam.

Overall Show

All in all, Money in the Bank was a terrific show and one of the best of the year so far. Obviously, having a hot crowd in attendance was a big reason for that, but most of the matches were above-average and the right booking decisions were made. The women's Money in the Bank Ladder match was the weakest of the night, but it wasn't all awful. Kudos to WWE for putting together such a strong show. SummerSlam is shaping up to be special. That's even assuming we'll be able to watch it given how inexcusably unbearable the Peacock stream was on the show. In all seriousness, this was a fantastic night of wrestling. WWE gets it wrong quite a bit, but when they get it right, they get it right.

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