- The Pre-Show is so scripted that it is mind-numbing to listen to these people just talk the same nonsense over and over again. I'm glad the shows are happening an hour earlier. The crowd in Chicago was so loud I could hardly hear the Pre-Show team when Joe and Owens were out.
- Remember when Gallows and Anderson were one of the most talked about teams outside of WWE and came in with a bunch of fanfare about how awesome they were going to be? Seems like a long time ago, doesn't it? The Good Brothers may regret coming to WWE after these last 2 years. They still got more offense in than I expected, which is a sad commentary itself. (Side note: I hate commercial breaks during Pre-Show matches. I know it's technically considered TV to WWE, but it still puts a bad taste in the mouth.)
- Hey, if fans can bring stop signs into a WWE show, why can't they rush the Pre-Show stage and join the panel? Just saying... Security did a good enough job stopping fans from jumping on the stage. Why did they have a hard time keeping a stop sign from getting in the arena? I know, people. I'm just pointing out plot holes from NXT last night.
- Nothing is quite as electric as seeing all those arms going up in the air saying "YES! YES! YES!" Cass looks like the missing piece of ROH's The Kingdom stable, like Matt Taven on stilts. Good match with Bryan showing a good mean streak in his attack on Cass's leg and taking some big high risk moves including a jump over the ring post to Cass on the outside. Big Cass may have had one of his best matches ever. Unlike Backlash, I don't think Cass was being nearly AS carried as he was in that match. Even in losing, I thought Cass had a very good showing and doesn't lose anything. Bryan needed the win more.
- The match of Lashley's sisters, embarrassing Army brats, and obstacle courses was next between Sami Zayn and Bobby Lashley. Worst feud of 2018 by far. "Bobby's sisters" got a chant. Wish I could say the same for Bobby Lashley himself although he did get a "one more time" and polite applause from the audience. Complete dominance by Lashley once he got his hands on Zayn which is what it should have been. Decent match.
- Elias: You are all a bunch of scumbags!
Chicago: WE ARE SCUMBAGS! (Clap, clap, clap-clap, clap) WE ARE SCUMBAGS!
I love wrestling events in Chicago. One of the best crowds to see on TV.
Hard to think that Elias was a drifter you rarely saw on NXT two years ago. And at Money in the Bank, he's an over superstar challenging for the Intercontinental Championship against Seth Rollins. Proof that NXT means nothing to Vince McMahon for better and for worse. Seth Rollins was doing his usual random selling of body parts in order to tell a story but doing things he shouldn't be able to do with those injuries. (Hey, I love 2018 Seth Rollins as much as anyone, but I have to call it like I see it.) Elias did have a great 30 second attack on Seth using the guardrail, the post, the stairs, and a top rope elbow drop. Very good match between the two and another case tonight where the loser (Elias) looks better even in defeat than he did coming in.
- The Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match was next. Thankfully, James Ellsworth was nowhere to be seen for this match. Between Sasha Banks and Ember Moon's hair colors working wonders on my TV and Alexa Bliss continually activating my Amazon devices, I have plenty of reason to hate this match. Lol. That smack when Moon splashed Sasha against the ladder... OUCH! Bah Gawd, the human body was not made to smack against ladders in this fashion! I really enjoyed the match, especially in the opening moments where there were a lot of hard-hitting spots. Alexa Bliss having the briefcase was an interesting choice but not a bad one.
- Next is the battle of Vince's boys: "The Rejected One" Roman Reigns vs. "The Indian from Canada" Jinder Mahal. Roman's that guy who has the rocket strapped to his back that keeps on sputtering. I'm not recapping the match, but here are some of the things I saw the crowd do...
Crowd Chants I Heard
CM Punk
Boring
NXT
Rusev Day
This is Awful
Johnny Wrestling
"A-hole" (to the security who likely took a beachball)
Let's Go Cena/Cena Sucks (The classics, folks)
The Elite, The The Elite
Booing (at something else happening in the stands)
(Doing The Wave)
This Match Sucks
Velveteen (Velveteen Dream)
I don't know how long this match was, but it was already too long. How was this supposed to be anything but a disaster? I'm surprised it actually wasn't worse to be honest. I noticed how Michael Cole brought up Brock Lesnar during the match. I guess you know what that means folks? Yep. It's going to be a long SummerSlam.
- Asuka does the job for Carmella thanks to a returning James Ellsworth. And thus passes the credibility for Asuka. It was a nice thought while it lasted. Carmella and Ellsworth were good before. Hopefully, they can recapture lightning in a bottle. As for Asuka, she'll lose to the IIconics again by SummerSlam, if she's on TV.
- Also Rest in Peace to any chance of Shinsuke Nakamura being WWE Champion anytime soon. I enjoyed the Last Man Standing match a lot, but Nakamura's credibility is officially dead, buried, and eaten by worms. As for A.J., it's apparent to me that he's keeping this championship for a while longer (SummerSlam at least). Nakamura may get a match against Jeff Hardy for the U.S. Championship. That's the best he can hope for a long time.
- Jax vs. Rousey was very good and much better than it had any right being given that this is Rousey's first singles match. Rousey gets screwed over by an Alexa Bliss cash in. Bliss is the new Raw Women's Champion and has made a mortal enemy out of Ronda Rousey. Good storytelling.
- I thought the whole point of starting an hour early was that the show would be over by 11. Fat chance in hell of that apparently.
- Men's Money in the Bank was another exercise in great storytelling with Strowman being the unstoppable monster everyone tried to stop. The spot with Kevin Owens falling 20 feet was awesome. Braun Strowman is THE Guy now, in my opinion. Roman used to be it, but I think Vince has softened up to Strowman and sees what the fans see: $$$. So, Roman Reigns might be the big dog, but Strowman is the new "People's Champion." But in the end, I'm thankful the New Day did not get the briefcase. The last thing I wanted to hear was the announcers pulling a Jim Ross saying "PANCAKES! PANCAKES! PANCAKES! BAH GAWD, PANCAKES AND SYRUP FOR EVERYONE! NEW DAY WINS!" I'm sure there's some alternate universe where that happened, and the me that lives in that universe is a little dead inside tonight.
There's a lot to like about Money in the Bank. The Jinder/Roman match was terrible, but besides that, the rest of the show was decent wrestling-wise. I was not a fan of some of the booking decisions (Asuka and Nakamura both losing; Raw winning both Money in the Bank matches), but that's nitpicking. As long as all of this is going logically towards SummerSlam, I'll be there for the ride. Thumbs mildly up.
Thank you again for reading the post. Share with a wrestling friend. And be sure to check in Thursday for the TV reviews. Until then, take care of yourselves. And spread some awesomeness.
- Remember when Gallows and Anderson were one of the most talked about teams outside of WWE and came in with a bunch of fanfare about how awesome they were going to be? Seems like a long time ago, doesn't it? The Good Brothers may regret coming to WWE after these last 2 years. They still got more offense in than I expected, which is a sad commentary itself. (Side note: I hate commercial breaks during Pre-Show matches. I know it's technically considered TV to WWE, but it still puts a bad taste in the mouth.)
- Hey, if fans can bring stop signs into a WWE show, why can't they rush the Pre-Show stage and join the panel? Just saying... Security did a good enough job stopping fans from jumping on the stage. Why did they have a hard time keeping a stop sign from getting in the arena? I know, people. I'm just pointing out plot holes from NXT last night.
- Nothing is quite as electric as seeing all those arms going up in the air saying "YES! YES! YES!" Cass looks like the missing piece of ROH's The Kingdom stable, like Matt Taven on stilts. Good match with Bryan showing a good mean streak in his attack on Cass's leg and taking some big high risk moves including a jump over the ring post to Cass on the outside. Big Cass may have had one of his best matches ever. Unlike Backlash, I don't think Cass was being nearly AS carried as he was in that match. Even in losing, I thought Cass had a very good showing and doesn't lose anything. Bryan needed the win more.
- The match of Lashley's sisters, embarrassing Army brats, and obstacle courses was next between Sami Zayn and Bobby Lashley. Worst feud of 2018 by far. "Bobby's sisters" got a chant. Wish I could say the same for Bobby Lashley himself although he did get a "one more time" and polite applause from the audience. Complete dominance by Lashley once he got his hands on Zayn which is what it should have been. Decent match.
- Elias: You are all a bunch of scumbags!
Chicago: WE ARE SCUMBAGS! (Clap, clap, clap-clap, clap) WE ARE SCUMBAGS!
I love wrestling events in Chicago. One of the best crowds to see on TV.
Hard to think that Elias was a drifter you rarely saw on NXT two years ago. And at Money in the Bank, he's an over superstar challenging for the Intercontinental Championship against Seth Rollins. Proof that NXT means nothing to Vince McMahon for better and for worse. Seth Rollins was doing his usual random selling of body parts in order to tell a story but doing things he shouldn't be able to do with those injuries. (Hey, I love 2018 Seth Rollins as much as anyone, but I have to call it like I see it.) Elias did have a great 30 second attack on Seth using the guardrail, the post, the stairs, and a top rope elbow drop. Very good match between the two and another case tonight where the loser (Elias) looks better even in defeat than he did coming in.
- The Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match was next. Thankfully, James Ellsworth was nowhere to be seen for this match. Between Sasha Banks and Ember Moon's hair colors working wonders on my TV and Alexa Bliss continually activating my Amazon devices, I have plenty of reason to hate this match. Lol. That smack when Moon splashed Sasha against the ladder... OUCH! Bah Gawd, the human body was not made to smack against ladders in this fashion! I really enjoyed the match, especially in the opening moments where there were a lot of hard-hitting spots. Alexa Bliss having the briefcase was an interesting choice but not a bad one.
- Next is the battle of Vince's boys: "The Rejected One" Roman Reigns vs. "The Indian from Canada" Jinder Mahal. Roman's that guy who has the rocket strapped to his back that keeps on sputtering. I'm not recapping the match, but here are some of the things I saw the crowd do...
Crowd Chants I Heard
CM Punk
Boring
NXT
Rusev Day
This is Awful
Johnny Wrestling
"A-hole" (to the security who likely took a beachball)
Let's Go Cena/Cena Sucks (The classics, folks)
The Elite, The The Elite
Booing (at something else happening in the stands)
(Doing The Wave)
This Match Sucks
Velveteen (Velveteen Dream)
I don't know how long this match was, but it was already too long. How was this supposed to be anything but a disaster? I'm surprised it actually wasn't worse to be honest. I noticed how Michael Cole brought up Brock Lesnar during the match. I guess you know what that means folks? Yep. It's going to be a long SummerSlam.
- Asuka does the job for Carmella thanks to a returning James Ellsworth. And thus passes the credibility for Asuka. It was a nice thought while it lasted. Carmella and Ellsworth were good before. Hopefully, they can recapture lightning in a bottle. As for Asuka, she'll lose to the IIconics again by SummerSlam, if she's on TV.
- Also Rest in Peace to any chance of Shinsuke Nakamura being WWE Champion anytime soon. I enjoyed the Last Man Standing match a lot, but Nakamura's credibility is officially dead, buried, and eaten by worms. As for A.J., it's apparent to me that he's keeping this championship for a while longer (SummerSlam at least). Nakamura may get a match against Jeff Hardy for the U.S. Championship. That's the best he can hope for a long time.
- Jax vs. Rousey was very good and much better than it had any right being given that this is Rousey's first singles match. Rousey gets screwed over by an Alexa Bliss cash in. Bliss is the new Raw Women's Champion and has made a mortal enemy out of Ronda Rousey. Good storytelling.
- I thought the whole point of starting an hour early was that the show would be over by 11. Fat chance in hell of that apparently.
- Men's Money in the Bank was another exercise in great storytelling with Strowman being the unstoppable monster everyone tried to stop. The spot with Kevin Owens falling 20 feet was awesome. Braun Strowman is THE Guy now, in my opinion. Roman used to be it, but I think Vince has softened up to Strowman and sees what the fans see: $$$. So, Roman Reigns might be the big dog, but Strowman is the new "People's Champion." But in the end, I'm thankful the New Day did not get the briefcase. The last thing I wanted to hear was the announcers pulling a Jim Ross saying "PANCAKES! PANCAKES! PANCAKES! BAH GAWD, PANCAKES AND SYRUP FOR EVERYONE! NEW DAY WINS!" I'm sure there's some alternate universe where that happened, and the me that lives in that universe is a little dead inside tonight.
There's a lot to like about Money in the Bank. The Jinder/Roman match was terrible, but besides that, the rest of the show was decent wrestling-wise. I was not a fan of some of the booking decisions (Asuka and Nakamura both losing; Raw winning both Money in the Bank matches), but that's nitpicking. As long as all of this is going logically towards SummerSlam, I'll be there for the ride. Thumbs mildly up.
Thank you again for reading the post. Share with a wrestling friend. And be sure to check in Thursday for the TV reviews. Until then, take care of yourselves. And spread some awesomeness.
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