Money in the Bank 2020 was good. I was entertained. Of course, the lack of a live crowd is the major detriment, but kudos to all, they played it so well as though there was a crowd of screaming fans. R-Truth wad the funniest, Rollins plays his part so well, regardless if there was one or thousands in attendance. Just shows how great they can be as actors. They don’t need a crowd, they’ll still roar from turnbuckles, talk big during bouts, and make it a great show.
The pre-show features a hot-start with Jeff Hardy defeating Cesaro. Damn, Hardy’s back and we know back from injury no rust here. Cesaro is always the workhorse, but I was surprised just how good and how fast they worked together. Hardy got the win, but Cesaro is always the MVP.
Opening match: The New Day retains the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships against Lucha House Party, Miz & Morrison, and The Forgotten Sons
It wouldn’t have been a surprise if there was a title change, but it was fine with the New Day retaining. All teams worked well, of course a live crowd would have jumped for every high risk and high impact move. Forgotten Sons looked fantastic here. Lucha House party even meshed well with everyone. Miz and Morrison might have the spotlight for the time being, but my prediction the next title change will go to The Forgotten Sons. This match showed they could be title holders in the future. I enjoyed this match a lot.
Bobby Lashley defeated R-Truth
This was originally R-Truth against MVP, but after some funny banter, Lashley interrupted, told MVP to take the night off, and then demolished Truth in mere minutes. Meh.
Bayley retains the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Tamina
Good match. More focus on Tamina, which I think was a smart move. We’ve never seen Tamina have much of a singles run, so her having a match, a title match even, proved its worth here. Bayley played the overpowered role well, and it took interference from Sasha Banks to earn the win. Banks appeared a little Two-Face-ish, but they’ve always teased a rivalry between Bayley and Banks as long as they’ve been on main roster, I’d like for once to not have to know that’s in the background. Tamnia did good tonight. Wonder if that’s it for her?
Braun Strowman retained the WWE Universal Championship against Bray Wyatt
Weird match, but another good one. Bray, in Mr. Rogers attire tries to be all friendly throughout the whole match. It’s great, but Strowman easily the stronger man. For two big lugs, it was a good match, longer than I’m sure anyone thought, with a finish which could have turned crazy. Towards the end, Strowman kicked out of a Sister Abigail, only to find his old Black Sheep Mask. It looked like he was about to return to the fold, with puppets at ringside cheering “Welcome Home!” Instead, it was a feint, and Strowman powerslams his way to victory. We get the glitch ending, letting us know The Fiend may be coming to play soon.
I don’t get this whole “Truth will be revealed” bit. I saw Mr. Robot. I don’t think this is it.
WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre retains against Seth Rollins
New entrance for Rollins. BRILLIANT. A holier-than-thou music, tron, everything. Beautiful. I will say, when Seth Rollins was announced, and there was no sound, his persona, just standing with hands folded, then reaching to the sky, was perfect. No sound needed, it’s as though we were all in his character’s head with the silence of being a higher power. Truly a Monday Night Messiah.
This match was straight-out great. Live crowd would easily chant “this is awesome” or “fight forever” or any number of chants. Good grief was this insane. An advantage with the empty arena, allows for lots of trash talking which adds to the dramatic feel of the match. Good storytelling. No, great. This is the match which would make McIntyre a legit titleholder. It did. The final sequence of a Stomp, Glasgow Kiss, Superkick, then Claymore, was a work of art. Bam. It’s over, and Drew wins.
After the match, Drew offers his hand to Seth, who reluctantly accepts. Drew says, “if you’re a real leader, you’ll shake my hand.” Interesting. Very interesting way to close this. I’m guessing we will see them cross paths again, but much later.
Men’s and Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Matches:
Yep, both took place at the same time. Like WrestleMania, this took the form of a cinematic approach. Mix of humor, storytelling, some very odd and random appearances from Brother Love in the restroom, a Doink-wannabe, Stephanie, Vince McMahon, and a room full of Undertaker’s caskets. I’ll cut right to the chase. Asuka wins after knocking Bacon Rorbin off the ladder. In the shock of the year, AJ Styles and Bacon Rorbin slug it out atop a ladder, both with the briefcase in hand, when Elias shows up to bash a guitar on the Royal Jerk, however the case slips from AJ’s hands, into the waiting arms of a guy who couldn’t climb the ladder without breaking it… OTIS. Yes, BIG OTIS.
We had a men vs. women food fight, AJ Styles with symptoms of PTSD from seeing a poster of The Undertaker, and Dana Brooke grabbing the “Conference Room Money in the Bank” briefcase filled with lots and lots of money. Great bit where Styles and Daniel Bryan brawl into Vince McMahon’s office and the chairman none-too-pleased. They reset his room, apologize, and leave.
The guy looks OLD and SICK. I’m sorry, there’s no better way to say it. He just didn’t look good at all. Funny how he used the hand sanitizer though.
I’m sure the use of a cinematic show rather than an actual match might bother some, but I thought this was great screenwriting and made for a solid show. I enjoyed tonight’s Money in the Bank event. Really did.
WWE Money in the Bank 2020 is now streaming on the WWE Network.
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