The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa, teaming with Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga, defeated Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton & Kevin Owens after Sikoa pinned Rhodes after the throat spike. It was the expected result as they have built up the idea of that match in the last few weeks.
The match itself was pretty good and maybe slightly better than the usual main event TV match thanks to a hot crowd. The question in my mind heading into MITB was how Fatu would look in a WWE ring and he did a fine job. He clearly has something, and I wonder if somewhere down the line, this turns into a situation where he becomes more over than Sikoa. But that’s another story for way, way down the line, I imagine.
Another big story coming out of Saturday is John Cena announcing his retirement tour for next year. Given he’s repeatedly talked about wrapping things up soon, it makes sense. He’s nearing 50 and at this point, he has a career narrating car commercials for as long as he wants to. The tour doesn’t begin until 2025, so probably best not to speculate on future Cena matches until then. Well, okay, one: Cena vs. Gunther. Let’s will it into existence.
Elsewhere on the card:
The men’s Money in the Bank ladder match opened the show. Like I said in my last review containing a ladder match (last Sunday’s Forbidden Door), I can’t think of a more overused match type in wrestling right now. With that said, I’d say this was the best match on the show. It was your typical PPV ladder match filled with crazy spots. Drew McIntyre ended up winning as expected, but I can’t talk about what this means because it’s a moot point (more shortly).
Bron Breakker surprisingly failed to defeat Sami Zayn to win the Intercontinental title. This was very good as they did a great job showcasing Breakker’s explosiveness while Zayn is one of the best babyfaces in WWE. Triple H’s booking is pretty predictable, so I was surprised to see Zayn keep the title. This does fit in with his usual booking traits in another way: he really likes long title reigns. The Zayn run with the IC title isn’t over, but where it takes him next is anyone’s guess.
The World Heavyweight title match will probably be remembered more for the angle than the match which seems like a recurring theme with Damian Priest’s title run. He and Seth Rollins were having a pretty good match when McIntyre came down with the briefcase. For whatever reason, instead of waiting until the match finished, he cashed in during the match and made it a three way…until CM Punk made his return and attacked McIntyre once again, costing him the match. I am guessing this will all come together at SummerSlam, but with Punk’s status still in the air, it’s a wait-and-see approach. One thing I can say is WWE has done a great job of keeping Punk fresh in everyone’s minds while he’s recovering from the triceps injury.
The women’s Money in the Bank ladder match was…sloppy. Things looked really bad in some spots like that Unprettier by Chelsea Green or Zoey Stark landing right on her head after a corkscrew springboard. Everyone worked hard and I don’t think it was a bad match per se. It was a weird combination of sloppiness and people looking like they were actually attempting to hurt people. Weird match. Tiffany Stratton ended up the winner, so she’ll have the briefcase for a time. I wonder if Nia Jax wins the WWE Women’s title next month and then Stratton turns on Jax at SummerSlam and pins her to take the title.
That’ll do it for Money in the Bank. Next up is SummerSlam: one of the bigger WWE shows of the year. Will Roman Reigns return? Will CM Punk wrestle? Just how dangerous is Nia Jax? We’ll learn all of these answers in less than a month.
