The 10th annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view started tonight with Bayley vs. Naomi vs. Ember Moon vs. Natalya vs. Carmella vs. Mandy Rose vs. Nikki Cross vs. Dana Brooke. The match started with everyone brawling to see who would become Ms. Money in the Bank. Cross took control early on by grabbing a ladder and doing an airplane spin with it wrapped around her neck knocking down her opponents. This was eventually put to an end by a dropkick from Brooke. The first ever Ms. Money in the Bank Carmella suffered an injury when her leg was kicked from under her by Rose, and had to be sent to the back. Bayley was able to hit a sunset flip and drove Brooke into a ladder in the corner. Naomi displayed her athleticism by doing a split when she dodged two ladders that the other women tried to smash her with about midway through the match.
Moon jumped off the top of the ladder and hit an Eclipse stunner on Natalya bringing the crowd to its feet. Carmella was able to make her way back into the match with her knee taped and laid out Rose with a superkick only for her momentum to be halted by Rose's tag team partner Sonya Deville as she climbed the ladder to grab the briefcase. Bayley was able to make a recovery from earlier in the match when she took a falling ladder to her stomach which cut her. As Deville put Rose on her back and climbed the ladder for the latter to become Ms. Money in the Bank, Bayley was able to intercept the duo and knocked them off the ladder to win the match.
Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio for Joe's United States Championship ended quickly after the champ suffered a bloody nose from a seated senton and a reverse powerbomb attempt led to the three count. Mysterio was unable to celebrate his first U.S. Championship win with his son as Joe attacked him after the match. It will be interesting to see where they go from here as the quick finish might have happened due to Joe being busted open.
Shane McMahon vs. The Miz inside of a steel cage took place after Joe vs. Mysterio. Miz started out with a flurry attacking the self proclaimed Best in the World. Miz tackled Shane and landed repeated punches after Shane tried to escape the cage to win. The momentum of the match turned when Shane countered a kick from Miz and slammed him into the cage. The Miz took a beating for a few minutes, but was able to counter the onslaught and put Shane into a figure four leglock. Shane tried to escape again and grabbed a chair from under the ring only to have it used against him.
Miz hit a Skull Crushing Finale on the chair and appeared to have the win wrapped up, but the referee inexplicably stopped his count at two and pointed to Shane's foot being on the rope. This was odd considering that the ref did not force Miz to release the figure four submission earlier in the match when Shane got to the ropes. Shane tried to climb the cage again only to be thrown from the top by Miz and hit with a splash for only a two count. Shane got Miz into a triangle choke only for Miz to fight out and Shane climbed the cage again. As it looked like Miz was going to superplex Shane from the top of the cage, Miz lost his grip and Shane's shirt came off as he fell to the floor for the win.
Ariya Daivari challenged Tony Nese for The Cruiserweight Championship. After initially struggling to get the fans into their match with some boring chants breaking out, Daivari and Nese picked up the pace. Nese hit a picture perfect 450 splash from the top rope late in the match, but was not able to put his challenger away. Daivari threw Nese from the top rope with both arms hooked and hit a viscous clothesline, but could not with the title. Nese capitalized on Daivari trying to go high risk on the top rope by hitting him with a palm strike, a hurricanrana and a running knee in the corner for the pin.
Becky Lynch defended the Raw Women's Championship vs. Lacey Evans. Lynch started off on fire backing Evans into the corner with kicks and punches. The crowd favorite Lynch took things to the outside and threw Evans into the barricade after she tried to stop the assault. Evans would stop Lynch in her tracks by twisting her arm and slamming it into the mat. Evans worked over Lynch's arm to try and keep her from being able to have the strength to apply her armbar submission. Lynch eventually fought back and was able to hit a T-bone suplex, but Evans was up for the challenge as she landed an inverted springboard stunner for a two count. Evans was thrown to the outside and went after Becky's knee with a chop block after she quickly dived back into the ring. The challenger went for a rollup, but it was countered into Lynch's armbar for the tapout.
Charlotte Flair would not let her former best friend bask in her win as she challenged Lynch for her SmackDown Women's Championship right after she retained vs. Evans. The two know each other so well and traded shots with Lynch somehow being able to still stand on her feet. Charlotte tried to plant Lynch face first into the ring apron, but was countered as Lynch dodged the Natural Selection attempt. Evans was angry about her loss and punched Lynch in the face, but Becky was able to roll up Charlotte for a count of two and a half with the referee's hand appearing to pause mid count.
Charlotte got up, hit a big boot for the three count and became a nine time Women's Champion with the win. Becky went after Evans following the match only to be double teamed by Charlotte and Evans before Bayley made the save for Becky. Charlotte tried to spear Bayley in the corner, but hit head first and the time was right for Bayley to cash in her Money in the Bank briefcase. Bayley hit Charlotte with an elbow drop from the top rope for the win and became a two time Women's Champion on WWE's main roster.
Elias vs. Roman Reigns started with Reigns being attacked backstage when Elias smashed a guitar over his back. Elias thought that he had an easy night, but Reigns' music hit and Elias was smashed in the face with a Superman punch as he was walking to the back after playing a song on another guitar. Reigns threw Elias into the ring, hit a spear and got the pinfall victory.
AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins for The Universal Championship lived up to its expectations. Styles was looking to become the fourth man to win The Universal and WWE Championships. Styles backed Rollins into the corner and shoved his forearm into his face. Rollins was not going to be intimidated and did the same to his challenger. AJ used a backbreaker on Rollins to take control as the latter has had back issues recently. Styles went for a Styles Clash on the apron only for Rollins to counter, but was hit with a sliding knee. Rollins got back into the match with a couple of suicide dives through the ropes on Styles. Styles was able to counter Rollins' first attempt at a superplex from the top rope, and it looked like he was going to make the champ tap, but Rollins held on to keep the match going.
Rollins eventually hit an inverted superplex, rolled through and slammed Styles for a two count. Rollins hit a superkick and went for a Stomp, but Styles countered into a Styles Clash, but he could not put Rollins away. AJ went for hs springboard Phenomenal Forearm, but Rollins countered into a couple of superkicks and a Stomp for the win.
Kevin Owens vs. Kofi Kingston for The WWE Championship is up next. Kingston was not just fighting to retain his championship, but also for his tag partner Xavier Woods. Kingston took it to Owens early on which included a dive from the top rope on to KO. Kofi went for another springboard dive, but was met with a superkick. Kingston took more damage when he was bounced off the turnbuckle and ran into the cameraman's camera at ringside, then was hit a splash. Kingston turned things around with a back body drop into the corner on Owens. Kingston's title reign looked bleak when KO hit him with a popup powerbomb, but the champ was able to kick out. Kingston hit an S.O.S. only to get a two count and hit a Trouble in Paradise spin kick only for KO to fall out of the ring.
KO hit a stunner on Kingston after being rolled back into the ring, but frustration from being unable to put the champ away got to Owens as he took off and threw Kingston's shoes towards the commentator's table. Owens went for a senton, but Kingston got his knees up, hit another Trouble in Paradise and retained The WWE Championship.
Ali vs. Andrade vs. Randy Orton vs. Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Baron Corbin vs. Ricochet to crown Mr. Money in the Bank was the main event. After Sami Zayn was attacked backstage, the match appeared to be changed from eight to seven competitors. The action was fast and furious with Orton slamming Ali, Balor and Ricochet on the tables. Andrade hit a sunset flip powerbomb on Balor, Ali hit a Spanish Fly flip on Andrade slamming him on the mat from the top of the ladder and Corbin sent Ali through the table with a chokeslam. These guys gave it their all, and Balor will need some extra care for his back after Andrade's attack, McIntyre suplexing him on a ladder and Corbin chokeslamming him onto one.
Corbin and McIntyre appeared to have an alliance that was put to an end when Corbin through him over the barricade only to be met with a Claymore Kick from McIntyre later in the match. Ricochet continued to display his aerial arsenal with a springboard senton on Corbin and McIntyre, but paid for it later on when McIntyre slammed him through a ladder. Ali stopped Corbin from becoming a two time Money in the Bank winner by knocking him off the ladder. As Ali made his ascension, Brock Lesnar's music hit which stopped Ali dead in his tracks. Lesnar pushed Ali off the ladder revealing himself to be Zayn's replacement, climbed the ladder, grabbed the briefcase and became Mr. Money in the Bank for the first time in his 10 year career.
It was announced last year that the Money in the Bank winner could cash in on either brand's champion, so if this rule is in play again this year, it will be interesting to see who Lesnar cashes in against. Will Lesnar seek revenge against Rollins for using a low blow to win The Universal Championship last month at WrestleMania 35, or will he cash in against Kingston? SmackDown Live is moving to Fox in October of this year, so we could see The Beast cash in on Kingston and go back to the brand where he made his name over 15 years ago.
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