Dave rates Money in the Bank

I’m actually still avoiding Takeover spoilers so I’m not scrolling down to that section of the Observer, but here’s Meltzer’s ratings for Money in the Bank, which was supposed to run a lean 3.5 hours and ended up going 4:15 instead. Given that they actually cut the RAW tag title match to save time, that’s pretty astonishing on their part.

To the review!

1. Harper & Rowan beat Anderson & Gallows to retain the Smackdown tag titles with the powerbomb in 7:35. **
2. Daniel Bryan beat Big Cass with the heel hook to end the program in 15:17. **3/4
3. Bobby Lashley pinned Sami Zayn in 6:34. “Served no purpose.” *1/4
4. Seth Rollins beat Elias to retain the IC title in 16:59. Dave thinks people will look back at the “we are scumbags” chants years later and cringe. ***1/2
5. Alexa Bliss won Money in the Bank in 18:24. Dave loved the match. ****
6. Roman Reigns pinned Jinder Mahal in 15:39. Crowd made it their mission to ruin the match and a lot of wrestlers were really upset with the disrespect shown by the crowd. They worked hard despite that. **1/2
7. Carmella beat Asuka to retain the Women’s title in 11:03. Asuka sold too much, especially for Carmella. The Ellsworth thing got a big pop because the crowd desperately wanted something newsworthy. *1/2
8. AJ Styles beat Nakamura to retain the WWE Title in the Last Man Standing match. Felt like a long Japan match where it’s missing the mark for the first 27:00 for whatever reason. However, the last few minutes were the hottest and best thing on the show. ****
9. Ronda Rousey beat Nia Jax in 11:05 by DQ, then Bliss cashed in and won the title in 0:31. Way better than expected. ***1/2
10. Braun Strowman won Money in the Bank in 19:54. They’re really pushing Braun v. Brock, so expect Roman to finally win and then Braun to cash in on him immediately afterwards to send the crowd home happy. ****1/4