Here’s our final thoughts on SmackDown Live’s WWE Money in the Bank 2017!
The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder) vs. The Colóns (Primo Colón and Epico Colón)
Reactions: One of the things I didn’t miss when The Hype Bros weren’t around – those overly bright tights of theirs. Anyways, this was your basic SD Live tag team match. The good guys start off strong, get taken down for a bit by the dominating baddies, the hot tag leads to the good guys making a comeback and then the finish follows shortly thereafter. Short, simple and straight to the point. It wasn’t offensive by any means nor was it anything special and memorable. The returning Hype Bros got a win, which this match was set out to do. It did its job. That’s all there is to it.
Rating: 1 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Naomi (c) vs. Lana (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)
Reactions: Lana’s new luxurious dancer gimmick has breathed new life into her career. So much so that she was given a title shot upon her arrival on the Blue Brand. This Women’s Title match seemed like the perfect chance for Lana to silence the doubters and prove her worth, but that didd’t happen. This turned into another basic and overall bland match that was only worth watching due to a potential MITB cash-in. Carmella’s music hit and popped the crowd huge since everyone expected her to enter into the match. But it just wasn’t meant to be on this evening. Naomi won nonetheless. A part of me wished the MITB cash-in actually came to be, but oh well. Skip the match, but watch and listen to how unglued the crowd became when Carmella hit the ring.
Rating: 1 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya vs. Tamina vs. Carmella (with James Ellsworth) (Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship Match Contract)
Reactions: Huh? That’s the best they could do during the first ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match? Most of the action that transpired was as basic as you could get. This one featured all of the tried and true spots every ladder match has ever featured – two individuals got pushed off the ladder simultaneously, ladders were used as battering rams, someone got slammed onto one etc. The only impressive moment that was worth mentioning is Charlotte’s top rope splash onto Tamina and Charlotte. All five women had a chance to go above and beyond what was expected of them, but they didn’t do anything to shock the world and show off even more with ladders involved. Oh and the ending? That is what truly made this whole ordeal such a disappointment. History was made, sure. But no one will ever go back and willingly watch this by-the-numbers ladder match ever again. Congrats to Carmella, I guess. What a letdown…
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods)
(WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship)
Reactions: What was showcased here was a fast paced tag team match with near falls that had me biting my nails every time. The Usos got control of the match early and kept their domination over Kofi interesting all the while. Once Big E got a chance to shine, this match entered into its most exciting phase. Both teams exchanged a number of devastating holds, such as an impressive Big Ending that was handed to one of the twins after he got caught in midair. Kofi and Jey’s mid-match duel was full of high-octane action, plus Kofi’s big dive to the outside added even more excitement to the bout’s intense proceedings. The Usos were as excellent as they’ve always been thanks to their constant pin break up’s and heel synergy. And The New Day were there to provide that same balls to the wall energy. The ending was to be expected since this is a feud that can’t be relegated to just one PPV. What was given to fans here was a pretty good match that was more of a preview of an even greater rematch.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) vs. The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor)
Reactions: Pointless. Devoid of any meaningful action. And downright offensive. A terrible time filler.
Rating: 1 out of 5 Stars
Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a WWE Championship Match Contract)
Reactions: This may have been one of the weaker MITB matches in recent memory. It certainly had its shining moments, but it still didn’t deliver on its promise of delivering a truly incredible matchup. With quality Superstars like AJ, Owens, Zayn, Ziggler and Nakamura involved, I expected a MOTY candidate. The feeling I got from this match once it wrapped up was “good, but not worth a rewatch.” Zayn deserves MVP honors for his Sunset Powerbomb off the ladder to Ziggler and his devastating Half-Nelson Suplex to Owens on the ring apron. AJ had a few cool moments in this match too, but they only ended in him getting destroyed by falling off or onto a ladder. Ziggler and Owens seemed to be there just to soak up damage, Nakamura pulled off a cool last-minute sprint and Corbin ultimately pulled off the shocking win. Even with all the car crash moments that took place during this MITB Ladder Match, it still left me a bit dissatisfied. Congrats to Corbin, though.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Jinder Mahal (c) (with Sunil Singh and Samir Singh) vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship)
Reactions: So the presence of Mahal’s lackeys and several wrestling legends at ringside signaled that this match would be full of theatrics. That’s exactly what this match was filled with – outside madness that tried to make this passable title match just a bit more entertaining. While it succeeded at doing just that, this Mahal vs. Orton rematch still wasn’t all that great. Mahal’s legwork on Orton was pretty tiresome since it went on so long. Plus Orton’s comeback work has grown even more stale over the years, which made its appearance here not too thrilling. It’s crazy to say this, but the Singh Brothers ended up being the most entertaining part of this match. They took another nasty Orton beatdown like champs after throughly disrespecting the ringside legends. Once Orton was finished with them, he ran right back into the ring to reenact the very same ending that took place at Backlash. I hope this feud is over. Both guys’ styles of wrestling really don’t compliment each other, which makes for average matches such as this one. Just watch the closing moments of this one if you can.
Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Match of the Night
The Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match!
Final Verdict
It’s pretty hard to say this, but SD Live actually put on a stinker of a PPV. This was basically a 2-match show – the WWE Tag Team Championship match and the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Everything else was pretty lukewarm and extremely underwhelming. The first ever Women’s Ladder in the Bank Match was unmemorable, plus its ending did nothing to make the actual female winner of that match look any better than she was before. Naomi and Lana’s match was devoid of anything worth watching except for Carmella’s tease of a MITB cash-in. The WWE Championship Match was as bland as it gets and it’s amazing to see that The Singh Brothers were the best parts of the whole thing. Mike Bennett and Maria’s arrival to the WWE was a decent segment, but time will tell if his addition to SD Live was worth the big entrance. There’s really no need to speak about the rest of the card. WWE Money in the Bank 2017 may have set up some interesting feuds for the future, but the PPV as a whole was marred by terrible endings and blah wrestling.
Final Score: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars
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