MONEY IN THE BANK XIV - 7/1/2022

[The Natural]

 

[DJ Hero Morganti]

The crowd singing everyone's theme songs made me really happy

[Coach]

Fantastic PLE. Minus Knight not winning this show overdelivered. 
 

Main event was pure cinema. Heyman is the best manager of the 21st century and it’s not even close. He’s tied this together so perfectly. 

[James F'n X]

Kind of a mediocre show. I enjoyed the Women's MITB and thought it had a really clever ending. GUNTHER was good, but the match was a glorified squash. Rollins/Balor was looking to be decent in the beginning with Rollins slowing down to work the ribs, but forget that after like 3 minutes. Main was a slog, Cody/Dominik was a nothingburger, and the only thing I remember from the men's MITB was Ricochet's dive through the ladder to the floor (which was pretty sweet! All props to him for the kind of spot that is new and isn't escalating ladder idiocy.)

[Eivion]

Men's MITB was fun for Paul being everyone's punching bag and the final stretch with Knight coming so close. Paul & Ricochet are lucky to be alive and not crippled. That table spot was just frightening. 

Raquel/Liv vs. Ronda/Shayna was pretty solid. Finish was kind of weird with the Shayna turn coming out of nowhere, but the crowd loved it (and so did I). Nice to see Raquel and Liv as champs again.

Gunther/Riddle was shorter than expected but damn good while it lasted. Loved the finish. One of the things I love abut Gunther matches is you never quite know how he will finish someone. He is one of the few guys around who doesn't have one or two finishers alongside the occasional flash pin.

Dug Cody/Dom. Loved the hit and run tactics from Dom. He was such a cheap bastard, and I loved how it ended for him when Cody fully caught him in the finish.

Really dug the the Women's MITB. Had less crazy spots than the men's match, but it had better story elements with the Becky vs. Trish and Stark feud coming into play alongside the Io/Bayley breakup. Everyone got in decent moments. Trish in particular bumped around more than I expected, and I think may have broken her nose. Thought finish was neat. Glad Io won.

Cena coming out to push for a Wrestlemania in London was nice to see. Waller handled himself well in that segment.

Dug how much of a fight Seth/Finn was with the action never quite slowing down much and Finn continuously going after Rollins ribs. Did feel like it lost something when Priest came out. 

Usos vs. Roman/Solo built into a fine match. The action wasn't always the most interesting in the first half, but I loved how Roman worked the crowd with his reactions and trash talk. Loved when things kicked into to next gear with the Usos' comeback, the false finishes, and callbacks to Roman's run as champ so far. All of that was so damn great. This was definitely a match made for people who have been following this from the beginning. Will be fun to see how they follow it up.

Thought this as good how overall even though there was necessarily some crazy MOTY candidate. Everything was fairly enjoyable with some nice storytelling in a decent amount.

[dragonzombie]

Happy Liv won.

I knew Drew wouldn't be going to AEW. 

 

[AxB]

I only watched the last two matches and I thought they were both terrible.

[blitzkrieg]

Really fun show. None of the matches were spectacular but they were all entertaining and moved things along.

Both of the MitB matches were sloppy at times but I also appreciate that they kept the nasty and/or crazy spots to a minimum. I did find myself going "Please don't die" with Io's moonsault off the ladder("Thank you Trish" for holding the other side of the ladder) and Paul/Ricochet's bump the floor wasn't exactly turning lemons to lemonade from what it looked like they were originally going for. Happy that they're seemingly pulling the trigger on Io, whom I think fans are just waiting to cheer, and I feel like Priest's push isn't surprising with the faith they put in him with Bad Bunny.

Cody and Dom was a fun little match which really showcased both guys really well. I assume that we return to the Brock/Cody feud now.

Cena is great at what he does and Grayson really held his own out there. Even if this doesn't lead to a Cena match, I do hope that we see Waller wrestle sooner than later.

I liked the story that Finn and Seth were telling but feels like the build up to the match was wasted with all the stuff after Priest came out. 

The main event wasn't an incredible workrate fest but told a great story. Great payoff with Jimmy pinning Roman while also keeping the "What next?" aspect to the storyline.

[Phantom Lord]

It was a really good show today. I had a feeling Damien Priest would win the MITB and he did. Didn't see Shayna turning on Ronda. That was a bit WTF in an otherwise okay match.

Dom vs. Cody was fun. Dominic is such a great little shit, but it was nice to see Cody demolish him.

Riddle/Gunther was good from what I saw of it. I thought it was over too quick.

The women's MITB match was good. Glad Iyo won. Trish busted her nose on the first ladder spot when she hit the ropes I think. I loved the ending with the handcuffs and Bayley and Becky being stuck together.

Shocked to see John Cena. It dragged a little bit long for Grayson Waller to eventually come out and get his ass kicked. But fun none the less.

Finn/Seth was a decent match. Can't stand that damn song of Seth's. I knew Damien would come out in this match because he wasn't going to challenge Roman. I guess Finn or Damien might be getting kicked out of The Judgement Day soon seeing the tension between them two.

The main event ruled. Loved the drama involved. Can't believe Roman took the loss for the team. That was just awesome with everything leading up to it.

[Iron Moose]

28 minutes ago, Eivion said:

a lot of smart stuff

I agree with the vast majority of this. I'll add -- they were trying to get Gunther to be using an Emerald Flosion (sp?) as a finisher, called The Last Symphony, but I appreciate the countervailing efforts to keep away from it. I'm also glad that this was a step back from Raw's winning-by-interference and just went back to beating his opponent.

I had mixed feelings about the women's MITB - I think that it was made unnecessarily challenging to book on account of two thirds of the match being in their own factions (Trish/Zoey, Bayley/Io) and a bit weird when neither Zelina (nor Santos, nor Butch) got a whiff of help from their running mates (Priest is excused, everyone else in JD had other business on the card). Great finish.

 

Finally: I have been waiting YEARS for someone to punch Roman in the dick on a kickout.

Brilliant, cathartic moment, first in a series of them in an otherwise plodding main that will surely be effusively and excessively praised.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Iron Moose

[Nineteen]

Logan ate all the shit in the world on that Spanish fly........

I liked a lot of what the show had to offer. Priest is definitely the most intriguing pick for holding the briefcase. I know Knight was the sentimental favorite but this opens up a lot of storyline possibilities for with him and Balor and the group. I was /really/ pulling for a Balor win with Priest holding it too. 

Was worried they were gonna with Riddle there but WALTER IS STRONGEST!~ 

The women's ladder match was the superior ladder match tonight. There was a lot more creativity and character interaction in it. I kind of never want to see Zelina attempt anything like that ever again. I was rooting for Iyo but didn't think she was actually going to do it though. That ending too was so creative and a nice little payoff to Iyo and Bayley's little infighting. I'm guessing Dakota is gonna be out for a while but I hope the group at least makes it to her return with her trying to play peacemaker before it dissolves. 

Cena, who saw that coming? With the crowd like that during the main event I'm hoping that London 1) does get a Wrestlemania and 2) it is open bar.

The main worked for all the right story beats. I loved bringing back the stack 'em pin for Roman trying to put a real statement on the Usos but it just not being enough. The Spear/Spike is such a disgusting spot and I really bought into that for the finish. Jey getting the pin was totally the right move, especially after the punch to the groin kick out that Roman uses. Jey was totally the right man to be the first to pin Roman too and doing it for a win with his brother too. The match itself it was.... fine, but the story totally delivered.

With WALTER/Drew and Jey/Roman seeming like the current path, I'm pretty stoked for Summerslam and I can't remember the last time I've been able to say that.

[matt925]

I enjoyed the show. Cody and dom was a fun little match, the ladder matches were pretty wild and I liked the womens finish. Crowd was great. Finish if Seth and Finn was lame.
 

They wouldn’t have pushed wrestlemania like that if that wasn’t the plan. They should schedule it for the weekend after the final four and they’ll have no comp. Wrestlemania at wembley will be big news. 

[odessasteps]

I wonder if they would want to run the Spurs stadium instead of Wembley, since the other company is running there. If so, they’d have to schedule it a weekend either when Spurs are on the road or it’s an international break. 

[Niners Fan in CT]

I watched this afternoon but I was in and out so I missed some matches.  However, I did see The Bloodline Civil War and it was fantastic stuff.  I was thinking Jey Uso might get the pin on Roman to setup a match and here we are.  That was tremendous.   Roman hadn't been pinned in over 3 years.  Jey Uso was also the first person to pin Roman on the main roster so he could say he definitely has Roman's number if they want to go that route.  

The "stack 'em"  near fall was really good too..   Solo telling Roman hey we still have fucking work to do! was a neat addition to the story.  

Good stuff here.  

[Niners Fan in CT]

Yes, I have to mention the WrestleMania thing.  So was it Vince,  Hunter and Nick Khan who said "hey...these motherfuckers have already sold 70,000 tickets, why are we running a 20K seat arena?  This is stupid!"  

[Hail Sabin]

 

I have been racking my Brain all day after MITB which Roman title defense did he use the punch in the dick on a kickout. I want to say Balor but not sure I think it was a Smackdown title defense. 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Hail Sabin

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

People are barking about Knight not getting the briefcase, but Priest & The Judgement Day needed it way more than him and besides, it's almost 10 years since they used the men's briefcase to really elevate somebody. Plus I don't think they really want him to take the title off Rollins, and lol no he isn't the one to beat Reigns.

Really he should just take the US Title off Theory at Summerslam - Knight's real challenge is to try to get a good program out of him.

[The Natural]

14 minutes ago, Hail Sabin said:

 

I have been racking my Brain all day after MITB which Roman title defense did he use the punch in the dick on a kickout. I want to say Balor but not sure I think it was a Smackdown title defense. 

Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso, Clash of Champions 2020. 

[The Natural]

Great match between the Usos vs. Roman Reigns/Solo Sikoa especially the second half with the past callbacks: stacking both Usos like Reigns did Daniel Bryan/Edge at WrestleMania XXXVII and the aforementioned low blow above. Huge deal with Roman Reigns getting pinned for the first time in three and a half years. Fitting it was Jey Uso. Funny how the crowd really got on Roman's case with "Fuck you, Roman" and "Tribal wanker" chants.

[Steventon]

Most of the card outside the MITBs and main felt like a house show. Ricochet/Paul spanish fly table spot was nutso. GUNTHER vs Riddle was shaping up pretty nicely then just ended. Cena showing up and pushing a UK Wrestlemania was probably the highlight. I thought Austin Theory was a massive chud, but somehow there is a guy here doing a pound shop Austin Theory gimmick, Christ. Main event was snooze with a good final few minutes. I will be shocked if Jey beats Roman, this is just a further way to pad out the Reigns run until the next proper challenger at next year's Wrestlemania.

[EVA]

Men’s MITB was the most “just some stuff happening” version of this played out concept yet. The only interesting bit was Knight’s little run at the end. I’m glad Logan Paul didn’t die for this shit.

Speaking of which, I wonder if all the safety police who spent last week kvetching about Omega and Ospreay executing a picture perfect Tiger Driver 91 will have as much to say about what Ricochet did here. If I was the boss, he’d have so much heat with me right now for going ahead with that spot when it was clearly fucked.

Women’s MITB matches always feel like your playing an online 2K MITB match on a bad internet connection—everything moves at this janky half-speed. And this one was no different. That said, I really liked the way they threaded through the Becky/Trish and Bayley/Iyo stories and then brought them together for a super clever finish. All the business with the handcuffs was really well built up. So I liked this match a lot more than the men’s match.

[Greggulator]

That main event was really good. Roman is one of the smartest workers ever. He has learned the importance of slowing things down and letting everything breathe so the audience can react to the story. He does “making everything in the match matter” more than anyone.

When you do the little things like he does, you get big crowd pops for comebacks or the epic response from the stack ‘‘’em double pin count out.  And why tell the story of the match with 50,000 moves if you only need five?

The one change I wish they made was that Solo got eliminated trying to take Jimmy out like he did Sheamus instead of the table. I am guessing they had a logistical issue trying to figure out how to make that happen because those guys are so detailed it had to have come up.

[The Natural]

1 minute ago, Greggulator said:

That main event was really good. Roman is one of the smartest workers ever. He has learned the importance of slowing things down and letting everything breathe so the audience can react to the story. He does “making everything in the match matter” more than anyone.

When you do the little things like he does, you get big crowd pops for comebacks or the epic response from the stack ‘‘’em double pin count out.  And why tell the story of the match with 50,000 moves if you only need five?

The one change I wish they made was that Solo got eliminated trying to take Jimmy out like he did Sheamus instead of the table. I am guessing they had a logistical issue trying to figure out how to make that happen because those guys are so detailed it had to have come up.

I think the Sola Sikoa splash was an homage to Umaga's vs. John Cena at Royal Rumble 2007 but that was across three tables. That aforementioned match was terrfic.

[odessasteps]

Stupid/dangerous spots are just that, no matter the promotion, whether it's Vince/Hunter, TK or some indy promoter running a high school. 

[Norwegian Rudo]

9 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

Yes, I have to mention the WrestleMania thing.  So was it Vince,  Hunter and Nick Khan who said "hey...these motherfuckers have already sold 70,000 tickets, why are we running a 20K seat arena?  This is stupid!"  

Apparently they were asking people there to answer a questionnaire about what show they would want to see, and where, and WM was not one of the options. It was Rumble, SummerSlam and some others.