WWE Money in the Bank (June 2018)

Original Airdate: June 17, 2018

From Chicago, Illinois; Your Hosts are Michael Cole and Jonathan Coachman (RAW), Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton (Smackdown), with Corey Graves sitting in with both teams

Opening Match: Daniel Bryan v Big Cass: Cass is looking really full of himself and smarmy on his way out, like a man who knows his days are numbered, and wants you to think he doesn't care. Bryan targets the leg at the bell, but gets thrown into the barricade to stop that effort, and Cass follows to press-drop him across the apron. Back in, Cass hits a pair of elbowdrops for two, coupled with more smarm. Bryan slugs back at him, but gets trapped in a bearhug before he can follow up, and Cass hits a spinning scrapbuster for two. Cass abuses him in the corner while mocking the 'yes' chant, but Bryan manages a drop-toehold into the middle buckle to fight him off. That allows Daniel a series of kicks, and he goes back after the wheel with a pair of corkscrew legwhips. He bashes the leg into the apron and the post, but it just doesn't have that same impact since they switched to the LED screen posts, sorry. I mean, I'm sure it would be painful, but it doesn't have the same sensory appeal. Bryan with a flying dropkick and a pair of corner dropkicks to set up the Yes Lock, but Cass makes the ropes, and escapes to the outside. Bryan dropkicks him through the ropes to set up a flying bodypress on the floor, but Daniel gets crotched on the top turnbuckle while trying another dive on the way back in. Cass brings him down with a fallaway slam off the middle, but it only gets two, so he tries a torture rack next. He's not really putting anything into it though - very lazy execution. Big boot, but Daniel ducks, and Cass crotches himself on the top rope. That allows Bryan to clip the leg a few times, but another kick combo gets cut off with a choke. Cass tries to turn it into something, but Bryan dropkicks the knee to stop him, and goes for the kill, but Cass counters with a pop-up flapjack and a big boot for two. Another torture rack into a neckbreaker, but Bryan dodges, and hits the running kneesmash. That grounds Cass for a heel hook, and he taps at 15:17. A perfectly passable opener. ** ¼

Sami Zayn v Bobby Lashley: Extended stall session from Sami at the bell, but Bobby catches up to him and starts hammering. Zayn manages to big boot him to the outside to buy time, and he follows to send Lashley into the post, but Bobby still looks to beat the count, so a frustrated Sami puts the boots to him. Bobby responds with a short-clothesline, but eats boot on a corner charge, and Zayn dives with a flying bodypress - only for Lashley to catch him in a fallaway slam. Bobby adds a corner clothesline, but Sami slips free of a suplex, so Lashley hits him with a spinebuster instead. That softens Sami up for a hanging vertical suplex, and Lashley impressively dead lifts him into an overhead backbreaker rack. Another hanging vertical suplex follows, followed by another overhead backbreaker rack, before a third hanging vertical finishes at 6:36. Pretty much a whole lot of nothing, though there were some nice power displays by Lashley here. ½*

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Seth Rollins v Elias: These guys look too alike. I mean, not up close, but at a quick glance it's hard to tell them apart. Feeling out process starts us off, until Seth dropkicks him to the outside, and dives after him with a plancha. Didn't really stick the landing there. Rollins with a springboard clothesline on the way back in, and he hammers his challenger in the corner, but misses a charge, and ends up getting clotheslined to the outside. Elias goes to work, hitting a DDT for two, and a kneedrop for two. Cobra clutch, but Seth escapes, so Elias snapmares him down for another kneedrop - only for Rollins to roll out of the way. He drops Elias into the corner with a reverse STO, and a sling blade leads to the challenger getting clotheslined over the top. Rollins dives after him with a tope (not really sticking the landing again, though), and a 2^nd rope flying somersault neckbreaker is worth two on the way back in. Seth tries another springboard, but ends up hurting his knee on the landing, allowing Elias a high knee for two. Electric chair looks to follow, but Seth slips free, so Elias simply schoolboys him for two instead. Slugfest ends in Elias hitting a big boot, but Rollins dodges the follow-up with a schoolboy, and throws a superkick for two. Seth goes up for a flying frogsplash (doing a great job of selling the leg throughout), but Elias lifts his knees to block, and covers for two. Elias goes up himself, but Rollins manages to bring him down with a vertical superplex into a falcon arrow for two. I've talked about this before, but there's no world where that shouldn't be a murderdeathkill finisher. I feel like things have gone completely backwards now, where stuff like Okada's Rainmaker or Omega's V-Trigger are considered finishes, but crazy shit like this is just a transitional move. Seth tries a curb stomp, but Elias dodges, and rushes him to the outside for a few quick trips into the post. Right back in with a flying elbowdrop, but it only gets two, as Elias' blitz fails. Good sequence, though. He tries to take Seth up next, but Rollins counters with the bucklebomb - only for the knee to give out. That allows Elias to go for a fisherman suplex, but Rollins counters with a small package for two! I totally thought that was the finish! Elias with a rollup for two, but Rollins reverses for three at 17:01. Honestly, the small package should have been the finish if that's all they had afterwards anyway. This took a little while to get going, but good stuff once it did. ** ½

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Alexa Bliss v Charlotte Flair v Becky Lynch v Naomi v Sasha Banks v Natalya v Lana v Ember Moon: Everyone spills to the outside right away, except for Becky, who decides to stay in the ring and hit anyone who tries bringing a ladder in with a baseball slide. When that leaves most everyone down, Becky heads out to grab a ladder herself, but Ember dives off the barricade at her to cut that off. Moon takes the ladder in, but she's cut off with Naomi and Sasha. Moon manages to dump Naomi, but Sasha isn't going quietly, so Ember hits a springboard bodypress onto the ladder to get rid of her. Unfortunately, all of those distractions have allowed Lana to recover, and now she comes in to beat up Ember before a climb can happen. Lana looks to climb, but now here comes Natalya to slam her onto a ladder, and she does the same to Naomi. Naomi looks like she raided Crush's closet from 1992 for tonight. Flair comes in to unload on Natalya with chops, and an exploder suplex sends her to the apron. Flair wants the ladder, but now Becky's back to have a tug of war with it, and also to look sexy. Naomi attacks them both to end that squabble, but gets pulled to the outside by Sasha, and the ring is left empty. I get why they book this way, but I really dislike these multi-person matches because of the ridiculous extended selling sessions. In every other match, no one stays down for more than ten seconds, but all of a sudden you have stuff like Alexa down for close to ten minutes off of a baseball slide? Why can't the people not in the ring brawl on the outside, like those old tornado matches in WCW? I guess they're trying to conserve energy for their next spot session in the ring, but it comes across poorly, and kinda negates the chaotic nature that's supposed to be an inherent attribute of these matches. After several more such sequences, we get Becky and Alexa (who finally wakes up, over ten minutes since we last saw her) climbing, but Becky interferes, and all three end up fighting on the ladder. Meanwhile, Lana sets up a second ladder beside them, and just calmly climbs as well. That leads to Natalya coming in to slingshot powerbomb Banks into the ladder to knock Becky and Alexa off (in theory, anyway), and Flair powerbombs Moon on a ladder as well. Alexa tries hurrying up the ladder as Charlotte does that, but nearly gets powerbombed off, only to counter with a sunsetbomb. She climbs, but Lana won't leave her in peace, putting on the Accolade to stop her in her tracks. Lana climbs, but here comes Naomi up the other side, and she quite nearly snags the case before Becky manages to yank her off. That was a close one. Lynch climbs, but how Flair comes up the other side, and we get a slugfest at the top of the ladder - ending when Alexa tips them over. Unfortunately for Bliss, both land on their feet, and Alexa pays for it. Flair climbs, but Bank yanks her down for a lungblower - only to get shoved into the ladder by Naomi before she can climb. Naomi climbs, but Lana yanks HER down - only to have Natalya cut off her climb with an electric chair. Natalya climbs, but Moon cuts her off, only to have Flair yank her down, and spear her into a ladder. Becky rushes in with an exploder suplex before Charlotte can climb, and Lynch quite nearly gets the case before getting tipped off by Alexa - who grabs it herself at 18:31. Eh, I dunno, I wasn't feeling this. Everyone worked hard, and there was lots going on, but the 'taking turns' style booking drove me nuts, and took me out of the match constantly. But, at least a man didn't win it on behalf of any of the women this year. So there's that. * ¾

Jinder Mahal v Roman Reigns: We're already at the length of one of the old In Your House shows at this point, and there's still so much more to go. Slugfest to start, obviously won by Reigns. He beats on Jinder with a series of turnbuckle smashes and a Samoan drop for two, as the crowd aggressively shits on the match. Mahal bails, so Roman follows for the Drive-By, but misses - allowing Sunil Singh to shove him into the post. Jinder rams him into the announce table and the barricade before taking things back inside for a chinlock. Did they really already need a break after three whole minutes of low key action? Reigns looks to escape, so Mahal preemptively corner whips him, and a pair of elbowdrops get two. Jinder works him over in listless fashion, but Reigns starts making a comeback, as the crowd continues shitting on the match by doing the wave. Haven't seen that one in a while. Jinder puts him down for the cobra clutch, but Reigns counters to a Samoan drop, but Mahal blocks, so Reigns big boots him for two instead. Superman Punch, but Jinder dodges, and hits a double-kneeling gutbuster for two. Jinder is somehow busted open hardway now, probably from getting skinned on Roman's stubble. And man, if there was ever a time the crowd would actually cheer them stopping the match due to blood, this is it. Roman tries the spear, but Jinder kicks him in the brain to block, and tosses him through the buckles and into the post. That leaves Reigns on the apron, but as Jinder goes after him, Reigns is able to fight him off with a rocker dropper across the middle rope, followed by the Drive-By. Singh tries to get involved, but this time Reigns blocks, and drills him with a Superman. One for Jinder as well, but Mahal manages a small package for two on the way back in - only to eat a spear at 15:41. Yeah, so this was bad. And that's not even getting into the aggressive atmosphere they were working in here (much of which I glossed over), but the work didn't exactly stand up on its own. Even if you were watching it on mute, and didn't notice the crowd at all, what's left was a legitimately boring match. ½*

WWE Smackdown Women's Title Match: Carmella v Asuka: Carmella dances around to avoid Asuka in the early going, taunting her challenger at every turn. She does a quality moonwalk though, that much is undeniable. Asuka whacks her with the hip attack, and adds a few more, so Carmella tries driving her into the buckles, but Asuka sees it coming, and starts unloading with kicks. Another hip attack knocks the champion to the outside, so she decides to take her belt and go home, but Asuka cuts that off with a shining wizard from the apron. She tries to take things back inside, but Carmella rams her into the post on the way, and covers for two. Carmella slaps on a modified crossface chickenwing, but Asuka manages to roll it back into a cradle for two. She goes for the Asuka Lock, but Carmella is able to block, and a pair of sidekicks put Asuka down for two. Carmella grounds her again with a front-facelock, but Asuka fights out, and blocks a handstand rana. She goes in for the kill, but Carmella hides in the ropes to avoid getting trapped in a hold, and they slug it out. Asuka fires off a dropkick and a series of kicks ahead of a German suplex, followed by another hip attack for two. Asuka Lock, but Carmella is in the ropes again to avoid it, so Asuka charges - only to end up wiping out on the floor when Carmella dodges her. The champ dives after her with a tope, and hustles her challenger back in to cover, but it only gets two. Superkick, but Asuka strikes back with some spinning backfists, and hooks a victory cradle for two. Shining wizard looks to set up the finish, but suddenly there's someone standing on the apron in Asuka's mask and robe, and Asuka freezes like she's being visited my Mozart's dad in the night or something, allowing Carmella to schoolgirl her for two. Asuka fights her off, but then goes back into her Amadeus trance, only for the masked person to reveal himself as James Ellsworth. And he's looking terribly weathered for a 33 year old, damn. Anyway, this allows Carmella to sneak up again with the Princess Kick, and that's enough at 11:02. That finish was garbage, but it was all right up until then. * ¾

WWE Title Last Man Standing Match: AJ Styles v Shinsuke Nakamura: Feeling out process to start, as the announcers note that there's "no doubt" this is going to be a great matchup. Really? No doubt? Even after these two had disappointing matches against each other on THREE pay per views in a row? No doubt? And then they wonder why their announcers lack credibility with the audience. The action spills to the outside, where AJ hits a plancha, but Nakamura beats the count, and suplexes him onto the ramp. Styles beats his count, so Nakamura drills him with a running kneesmash on the apron, then curb stomps him back to the floor. AJ beats the count, and they head back in, where Nakamura uses a snapmare to set up a kneedrop. Nakamura with a series of kicks, but AJ beats the count, so the challenger bootchokes him in the corner, and hits a spinheel kick. Styles beats the count again, so Nakamura uses another knee to send the champ over the top, but AJ beats the count. Nakamura responds by bootchoking him against the steps, and he tosses AJ over the barricade for some kicks out in the crowd. If you're going to go out into the crowd, at least do something that would damage the guy more than it would in the ring or ringside. Why bother making the trip if you're only going to use the same kicks you could do on the other side of the barricade? Piledrive him on the concrete or something, dude! AJ fights him off, but gets knocked off the barricade while trying a springboard back to ringside, and Nakamura takes him into the ring. He tries a suplex, but AJ back flips onto his feet to block, and corner whips his challenger. Nakamura tries to dive off the middle to stop the assault, but Styles swats him out of the air with a dropkick, and delivers a wheelbarrow facebuster. Clash, so Nakamura tries a low blow, but AJ sees it coming, and pulls back. He whacks Nakamura with the pele kick, but misses a seated forearm smash, and Nakamura delivers an inverted exploder suplex. Kinshasa, but AJ drills him with a forearm to block, and hits a fireman’s neckbreaker. Nakamura beats the count, so AJ tries the Phenomenal Forearm, but Shinsuke kicks the ropes to divert the champion. They spill to the outside, where Nakamura drops him front-first across the barricade, then suplex-slams him onto an announce table. Kinshasa on the announce table follows - which is another case like when they went into the crowd earlier, where I'm not really sure how the inclusion of the table makes the move in any way more devastating than it would be anywhere else. It's not like he put him through the table, or anything. And speaking of tables, Nakamura grabs one from underneath the ring so he can take it inside, but takes roughly ten years setting it up, while AJ plays dead. Finally, Nakamura takes him upstairs to superplex through the table, but AJ blocks, and they both end up back on the mat. Nakamura drops him front-first across the edge of the table, then props it up in the corner and throws the champion through it. Well, at least he's getting the hang of things. I was worried he might simply put AJ on the table and punch him. Styles beats the count, so Nakamura tries sending him into an exposed turnbuckle, but AJ blocks. He tries doing it, but Nakamura blocks, and tries a knee, but ends up bashing his own leg into the exposed buckle when Styles dodges. AJ hammers the leg, and slaps on the Calf Crusher, with Nakamura openly tapping, but it doesn't mean anything in the context of the match. AJ lets off to let the referee count, but Nakamura beats it, so Styles beats on the leg with a chair. They spill to the outside, where AJ keeps going after him with the weapon, so Nakamura cracks his nuts to stop it. AJ beats the count though, so Nakamura rams him with the Kinshasa - only for it to aggravate his damaged knee in the process. I will say that Nakamura's normally annoying facial expressions are actually serving him very well in this match. Both beat the count up, so Nakamura takes AJ onto an announce table for something, but Styles shoves him down to block it. AJ then dives off the table with a Phenomenal Forearm, but Nakamura looks like he's going to beat the count, so AJ delivers a Clash off of the steps to give it another shot! Nakamura beats the count, but barely now, and he defiantly tells AJ to finish him. Styles responds by punting him in the balls, and he goes back into the ring to dive with a Phenomenal Forearm through an announce table! Both guys are left down in the rubble (or, well, puzzle pieces, if we're being accurate), but AJ is able to pick himself up in time, while Nakamura is not at 31:05. The last bits of this were tremendous, with all sorts of callbacks and payoffs to their earlier matches and feud, but it dragged at over thirty minutes, and could have just as easily told this story in two-thirds of the time. ** ¾

WWE RAW Women's Title Match: Nia Jax v Ronda Rousey: For those keeping score, this is only Ronda's second televised match (and first single's match period), but it's already for the title. Not that I blame them, but couldn't they at least have her squash some geeks on TV to at least pay lip service to rankings? Glad to see that the WrestleMania outfit is a regular thing, including DEM SHORTS. Nia blitzes her in the early going, but takes too long gloating about it, and nearly gets caught in a cross-armbreaker. She dead lifts Rousey to a vertical base for a sitout powerbomb, and Ronda is so rattled that she literally falls out of the ring while selling it. I do appreciate that she sells like she does, because someone at her level with the wrong attitude would probably half smirk, but Rousey is the real deal. Nia follows to the outside, so Ronda tries a rana, but gets smacked into the barricade instead. Back in, Jax covers for two, and press-drops her for two. Ronda tries fighting back with a guillotine choke, but Jax powers out, so Rousey tries a sunset flip, but Jax blocks that as well. Nia slams her around and grabs a bearhug, but Ronda starts drilling her with rights to escape, so Jax drops her like a Samoan for two. Looked like that one almost got away from them, but luckily it didn't end in injury. Jax tries a legdrop, but Rousey dodges, and she dodges a charge in the corner as well. Still selling the back the whole way, bless her. Ronda tries going for the arm, but they're in the ropes, and the referee forces a break. Ronda goes up with a flying bodypress for two, then starts lighting the champ up with rights and lefts ahead of a judo throw for two. Cross-armbreaker, but Nia shifts into a cradle for two, so Ronda drops her with a uranage. Armbreaker, but now Alexa Bliss runs in, whacking Ronda with her briefcase to cause a DQ at 11:10! That was a creative way to keep from jobbing either. Solid match, as Rousey still has that glow of stardom on her, and she absolutely gets this whole wrestling thing. She could develop into a top level worker, given time. Afterwards, Alexa beats on both women with the case, before electing to cash in on Nia right here and now. ** ¾

WWE RAW Women's Title Match: Nia Jax v Alexa Bliss: Great bit here, as Bliss keeps whacking Nia with the briefcase over and over again before the official bell, getting in as much damage as possible without risking a DQ. Alexa drops her with a DDT right away, and yanks at the bad arm on her way to hitting the Twisted Bliss at 0:31! Great little angle here, that puts heat on Alexa from both Nia and Ronda, AND leaves the door open for another Jax/Rousey match to boot. DUD

Main Event: Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Miz v Bobby Roode v Kevin Owens v Finn Balor v Braun Strowman v Rusev v Samoa Joe v Kofi Kingston: Kofi Kingston, really? Everyone gangs up on Strowman in the corner like it's a battle royal, though they really should all just shooting for his legs. Take the wheels away, and there's no chance that big galoot is climbing a ladder. Instead, they just kind of hit him. That doesn't work, so they all arm themselves with ladders, and work together to beat him up the aisle to the entrance stage, where they bury Braun under a pile of them. All except for Miz that is, who is in the ring trying to sneak up a ladder to get the case! Love it! Joe rushes back to stop him, so Miz tries to hit him with the ladder, but it backfires. Kofi runs in to dropkick them BOTH for their troubles, but stupidly decides to legdrop a ladder covered Miz, and ends up hurting himself in the process. That was just a dumb move, where the rate of return makes no sense. Owens superkicks Balor, but Finn counters a powerbomb with a double stomp, and he climbs until Roode yanks him down. They do a reversal sequence that ends in Balor hitting a seated dropkick, but Owens bashes him with a ladder before he can do anything else, and they spill to the outside. Kevin superkicks him onto a reborn announce table (the same one that got smashed in the WWE Title match), then climbs a ladder to try and splash him, but Rusev is going for the case in the ring, so Kevin has to abandon that plan to stop him. Rusev responds with a fallaway slam onto a ladder, but the lost time has allowed Joe to head in and hit Rusev with an enzuigiri before he can climb again. Kofi then springboards in to keep Joe from climbing, but his own climb attempt is killed when Miz tips him off. Kofi responds by dumping him to the outside, and diving off the top to dog pile onto the others - only to get caught! That allows Balor to dive with a somersault suicida onto everyone, but as he goes for a ladder, suddenly Strowman comes to life from underneath the pile he was buried under. He starts swatting at everyone like Godzilla, but gets ganged up on again, and subdued with a Coquina Clutch from Joe. They work together to put Braun across a table near the entrance, but before Owens can dive off a super ladder, Strowman comes to life again, and fights them off. He follows Kevin to the top of that massive ladder, throwing Owens off, and through a table below. Strowman destroys everyone in a path of destruction back to the ring, where he finds Miz scurrying up the ladder, and has to rush to put a stop to it. Strowman climbs, but Joe manages to spear him down using a ladder, and a clothesline sends big Braun over the top. Balor adds a dropkick to send Strowman over the barricade, as Joe and Bobby get into it in the ring. Joe hits a uranage, but now Rusev stops by, and stacks both Roode and Kingston up in a double-Accolade! Miz breaks that up, so Rusev superkicks him onto the top of the stack, and it's a TRIPLE-Accolade! Joe breaks that up with the Clutch, but Rusev escapes, and throws a superkick. Meanwhile, Balor hits Roode with a sling blade, and climbs to the top of a ladder set up on the outside of the ring for an INSANE flying double stomp onto Bobby who is IN THE RING! That was extraordinary, and would have been a show stopping spot in another era, but it's just kind of a move in 2018. Finn climbs, but Strowman is coming up the other side, so Kofi springboards onto Braun's shoulders to piggyback up the ladder. Kofi manages to slug Balor off of the ladder from that position, but Strowman shakes him off, and gets the case for himself at 19:58. Like the women's version, this had a revolving door of people getting the ring to work a few spots before switching off, but they also interacted as a group a lot more than the women did, and it felt less forced. *** ¼

BUExperience: A pretty solid outing for the most part, but at over four hours, it’s just way too long to commit your time to without at least one blow away match.

DUD