This past Saturday when 2024’s Money in the Bank went off the air, I confidently felt like it was the single worst premium live event of the Triple H era. And now that I’ve had a full five days to let it sink in fully, I must admit I was a bit harsh.
Every superstar that competed in Saturday’s event really threw caution to the wind. They gave us some memorable in-ring moments and did their job (for the most part). I’d even go as far as saying this year’s Women’s Money in the Bank match was the best one ever.
But I’ll stand firm with this claim: 2024’s Money in the Bank event was the worst BOOKED premium live event in the Paul Levesque era.
From lackluster finishes, to the misuse of the namesake of the event, to just overall bland predictability this event passed with a bit of a sour taste in the mouth of most WWE fans. ESPECIALLY considering how great NXT Heatwave was the following night.
So where did everything go wrong?
Mismanaging Mr. Money in the Bank (Part One)
Up until last Monday, the five men that had punched their ticket to 2024’s Money in the Bank ladder match had never held a world championship. And it was refreshing. The purpose of Money in the Bank is to make stars and is a quick way to cement someone as a future main event talent.
Jey Uso and LA Knight have been two of the hottest acts in the company. Carmelo Hayes had a generational run in NXT and is one of the best in-ring talents in the business. And Andrade and Chad Gable have been two of the most underrated and consistent talents in the company.
Insert Drew McIntyre. His long brewing rivalry with CM Punk has made for compelling television for the past few months. Seeing McIntyre’s gloating cost him the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania followed by Punk costing him the title in Scotland? Pure cinema.
Admittedly, McIntyre being a man obsessed with getting that world title by any means necessary and plowing through the Money in the Bank field makes sense. But it just felt like a waste of time. Ilja Dragunov who was in the qualifying match with McIntyre, would’ve matched the energy of the rest of the field and truly could’ve made the match unpredictable.
But no. McIntyre wins. And then disaster struck.
Mismanaging Mr. Money in the Bank (Part Two)
Not really much to say here. An unsuccessful Money in the Bank cash-in usually sucks. Having CM Punk interfere during the cash-in made it really suck.
A Punk interference was expected in some way. And that being predictable didn’t take away from the moment. It just kinda felt strange.
If Punk was here all along, why not interfere in the Money in the Bank ladder match itself to further keep McIntyre away from the title picture, and allow fans to not suffer through a full calendar year without a Mr. Money in the Bank?
The only positive takeaway was the reignition of heat between Seth Rollins and CM Punk due to his interference. But Seth Rollins still came away from this as a loser in more ways than one.
Devaluing the World Heavyweight Championship
The story building up to the World Heavyweight Championship clash between Damian Priest and Seth Rollins had some heat. Nobody expected Rollins to be back from injury so soon. And the fact that Priest has shown some face-like tendencies by respecting Rollins and immediately granting him a title match made the situation unpredictable.
Then the added stipulation of Rollins not being able to challenge for the title again if he lost, and Priest having to leave the Judgment Day if he lost, made the stakes much much higher. With the seeds being planted of Judgment Day splitting up already, and now the return of Rhea Ripley, Priest losing and leaving didn’t seem like a stretch.
Then the bell rang and both Rollins and Priest seemed obsessed with the impending arrival of Drew McIntyre. That felt like it flushed a lot of the life out of this match, even before the botched kick-out by Priest. Once McIntyre hit the ring and cashed in, the ending felt rushed and fell flat.
It just made the championship that Rollins spent nearly a full year building to legitimacy feel like a secondary prop. And worst of all, it’s made Priest look like a very weak champion who can’t win without interference, and the interference hasn’t even been his own stablemates.
I don’t see a way to present this match with Gunther at SummerSlam as anything but a guaranteed Gunther squash match. And that’s not a good sign.
Killing Bron Breakker’s Momentum
Bron Breakker has been dominant since arriving to Monday Night Raw. He literally sent Ricochet to the shadow realm. He’s speared Ludwig Kaiser out of his socks. He’s been booked as this unstoppable beast cutting through anyone in his way. Though it might’ve been fast tracked a bit, it’s no surprise that Breakker would challenge for the Intercontinental Championship.
Sami Zayn is long overdue for a legitimate title reign, and frankly it’s hard not to keep the title on him for a considerable time since he ended the historic 666-day reign of Gunther. So I had no issue with Zayn successfully defending his title.
I have an issue with the way they did it. Breakker has been unstoppable and it’s peculiar that he lost clean off a single Helluva Kick in a 14-minute match. Knowing the result made his follow-up attack on Zayn on Raw seem underwhelming. As a challenger, you have no merit at a rematch with the champ after losing in the manner he did.
And that’s bad booking.
The “New Bloodline” is BORING
It’s been known since Solo Sikoa walked out in a godfather suit slow clapping at Clash at the Castle that he would be the next challenger for Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.
And it’s been a drag for weekly television since then. Fans are bored and exhausted seeing Solo Sikoa cosplay as the Tribal Chief with none of the aura and legitimacy that Roman Reigns had.
After bringing in Jacob Fatu and the Guerillas of Destiny. After killing Paul Heyman. Even after headlining a premium live event with the WWE Champion, and two hall-of-famers. Nobody cares about the New Bloodline.
Fatu is entertaining, and was the brightest spot in nearly 25-minute snoozefest. But in the end it was predictable. The New Bloodline wins at Money in the Bank to build up to Rhodes retaining the title at SummerSlam and the return of Roman Reigns to take back control.
But for this match to have main evented and get a “meh” reaction at the very best, is very concerning for the top of the card.
Triple H has three weeks to build up to SummerSlam, and two championship matches are already set in stone, so hopefully he can redeem himself and the biggest (five match) party of the summer. What were your thoughts on 2024’s Money in the Bank?
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