Las Vegas was the home of WWE on Saturday night for its Money in the Bank pay per view event, headlined by the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches where the event’s winners had a chance to be WWE World Champions.
Scrimmage Sports has all the analysis you need from start to finish on this year’s amazing Money in the Bank, From what happened in the undercard, who became or stayed top championships for Raw and SmackDown, to the amazing night from women’s superstar Liv Morgan, who’s finally cemented her elite status as the next and best thing in women’s wrestling.
- Women’s Money in the Bank (1st match)
With that being said, The night started with a Women’s Money in the Bank matchup, it consisted of Alexa Bliss vs. Liv Morgan vs. Asuka vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Lacey Evans vs. Shotzi vs. Becky Lynch.
The match wasn’t pretty from the start, like when the early exchange between Asuka and Lynch led to a nasty ladder squat spot with Raquel Rodriguez. Lynch’s dive off the ladder was crazy, even leading to the crowd being shocked by the high intensity shown by these women and how far they will go to win a championship.
In the end, Liv Morgan was born for this very moment, tossing Becky Lynch like garbage off the ladder and retrieving the briefcase to win the Money in the Bank, and the live crowd loved every minute of it.
After two years of steadily climbing up the ranks in the women’s division in WWE, Morgan finally scored the biggest victory of her career. Morgan for the past years has consistently been pushed to mid-card status despite improving in every aspect of her wrestling and promo skills.
Liv Morgan earned this win and many fans agreed that the right woman won this highly contested match and by the end of the night, it all made sense as to why Liv Morgan won M.I.T.B tonight – We’ll talk more about that later 👀 Match grade: A-
- United States Championship Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory (2nd match)
Given the possibility of facing John Cena, WWE officials likely wanted to get the title off of Theory ahead of Wrestlemania, but it is possible Austin Theory could recapture the title at Summerslam in his rematch against Bobby Lashley.
With the possibility of a Theory vs Cena match, assuming Theory wins, would be a career-defining victory. Even if he was to lose to the more experienced John Cena, it would still be a major sign of trust in the young superstar if he put up a solid match.
Lashley has been on a roll lately, being a badass outside the ring and inside the squared circle, as the to-be champion wrestled with a bloodied mouth during the championship bout, evidence of a physical battle between him and the younger Austin Theory.
Highlight of the match has to be when Theory used Lashley’s own spear against him, gaining a close two-count – It’s clear as to why the WWE is in love with both superstars, they gave a hell of a show when most didn’t expect such a battle, especially for a WWE match. I personally loved it 🔥 Match Grade: A
- Raw Women’s Championship Match: Bianca Belair vs. Carmella (3rd match)
The EST’s greatness within the WWE circles is well known & documented. As much as I would have liked to see Carmella win this matchup, because Carmella’s story is a lot similar in terms of Liv Morgan, a superstar in the making but is extremely underrated in the women’s division for the WWE, she wasn’t beating the best on any given day.
Carmella did the best she could despite her circumstances, being able to trap The EST in submission, then added some tough kicks to the face in a tight spot.
After losing to Belair, Carmella did a post-match beatdown on the champion, showing that maybe WWE has plans for her on the road to SummerSlam. Match Grade: C+
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Street Profits vs. The Usos (4th match)
The match is what real wrestling is all about with a side of charisma. Ford repeatedly telling The Usos to “suck it” from the top rope drew a massive reaction from the fans.
The match dragged too long, but the drama and intensity of the match’s back-half fully made up for it. The live audience was red hot for both teams’ near falls.
The Usos secured their title after planting Ford with the 1-D. It was revealed after the match that Ford’s shoulder was actually off the mat, creating much controversy on the outcome and possibly setting up a potential rematch down the line, which is awesome if we can consistently get matches like this!
It was a well done matchup with high flying and high braggadocio energy, it was a beautiful thing to watch all around and WWE knows exactly what fans want in tag team matches, they are inspiring when teamwork comes together Match Grade: A-
- SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Ronda Rousey vs. Natalya (5th Match)
One word describes this match as a whole and it’s just: WOW 😲 Who would of thought that Ronda Rousey and Natalya would bring the house down on a Saturday night for the Smackdown Women’s Championship that was appropriately physical and featured a damn good finishing sequence that highlighted the submission-based offenses of both women.
That match, nor the winner, will be remembered, due to what had happened in the Smackdown Women’s Championship: Liv Morgan came out of nowhere and cashed her Women’s Money in the Bank, winning it in absolute dramatic fashion in front of a sold out crowd in Las Vegas.
That’s what Women’s Wrestling is all about, that’s what makes the average wrestling fan cheer and scream at the top of their lungs.
Liv Morgan had the crowd in her hands: the energy, the excitement and all around happiness on the faces of both Liv and the WWE Universe in Las Vegas because for Liv, she always fell short.
Not this time anymore. Riding a wave of momentum into the show, Liv Morgan did good on making her promise to capture the briefcase, then capitalized on winning the championship that has eluded her since the first time she set foot in an NXT ring as a developmental talent back in 2019.
Congratulations to Liv Morgan, You finally did what many said was impossible! 🎉 Match Grade: A+
- Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match (6th match; The Main Event)
The legend of Austin Theory has reached an all time high. Everything this man does just turns into gold and now you can understand why he’s being rumored for a WrestleMania match with the amazing John Cena himself.
With superstars like Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Madcap Moss, Riddle and Omos, who all have earned their way into Saturday night’s main event, It was the late addition of Austin Theory who had won this year’s Money in the Bank.
Zayn took serious abuse early as MadCap slammed him into various ladders. Riddle was went crazy, it’s clear the WWE creative sees him with a bright future as well. Omos ran through the competition at his 7ft height of power and destruction, It backfired though as the remainder of the field teamed up, driving him through the announcer’s table.
Towards the end of the match: Riddle knocked Rollins out the equation with a Super RKO off the ladders. The slippery one, Theory swooped in at the last moment and captured the briefcase, winning the match and securing a chance at challenging for the WWE championship. The competitors put their bodies on the lines with a number of big spots. It was a chaotic match for all involved.
It’s clear that after Roman Reigns retires, Austin Theory is the next great superstar that will be bigger than life in the WWE. He’s playing the heel role perfectly and I honestly can’t wait to see him paired up against John Cena sooner or later, because tonight was just a glimpse of his future greatness 👑.
It probably won’t go down as the greatest Money in the Bank ladder match, but it was lots of fun. Match Grade: B+
