Here are my final thoughts on Raw and SmackDown Live’s WWE Money in the Bank 2020!
Jeff Hardy vs. Cesaro
Reactions: This was actually much better than your usual Kickoff Show fare. Cesaro can always be entrusted with providing a good match with just about anyone he’s pitted against, plus this newly rejuvenated version of Jeff Hardy was extra energetic for his return bout here.
Both men got more than enough time to produce a match that was built up perfectly with good near falls and the type of wild action Jeff is known to dish out with the use of outside padding. Cesaro can do no wrong in the ring at this point – he was the perfect base for Jeff’s daredevil antics. Cesaro didn’t go down easily and made sure to showcase himself as a formidable comeback opponent for Jeff. This was paced greatly and made Jeff look as if he’s fully prepared to make it to the top of the WWE “ladder” once again.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (c) vs. John Morrison and The Miz vs. The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler, Jaxson Ryker and/or Wesley Blake) vs. The Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado) (Tag Team 4-Way Match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship)
Reactions: Now this is the right way to start a show! With four teams in the ring at the same time and relaxed rules put in place, I knew this multi-man contest was going to be a barnburner. After about 10 minutes or so, the action turned up a notch and became the type of chaotic contest that’s entertaining from start to finish.
Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, and The Lucha House Party gave viewers all of the high-risk maneuvers this match required. Every team got the chance to shine and there were a bunch of times where it looked as if we were getting new SD tag team champions. The Forgotten Sons looked as if they belonged after their first WWE PPV performance here. This was pure action and not one moment of slowdown brought it to a disappointing halt. Imagine how this would have turned out with ladders! This was the best type of multi-man mayhem I’ve come to enjoy.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley
Reactions: I was actually kind of hyped to see MVP wrestle again, but we got a swerve that led to Bobby Lashley taking his place. And to no one’s surprise, Bobby ran through R-Truth in no time at all. This really didn’t need to be here, honestly – it really belonged on Monday Night Raw as a way to keep pushing MVP and his managing efforts even further. Presenting this type of storyline development on a PPV was just unnecessary.
Rating: SQUASH!
Bayley (c) vs. Tamina (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)
Reactions: How is it that Tamina has been with WWE this long and still looks as uncoordinated as a first-year Performance Center trainee? It seems like the only move she’s capable of making look halfway decent is a Superkick. Modern-day Bayley is one of the most boring wrestlers on the roster, so I’m usually half asleep when she’s on my screen. The match wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be, but it still wasn’t all that good either. Tamina was her usual uninspiring self and Bayley’s tired cowardly heel shtick did nothing to make me care all that much.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
Braun Strowman (c) vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE Universal Championship)
Reactions: Bray Wyatt and his psychological warfare kind of put a damper on this Universal Championship match. I could have done without the extra commentary from Bray’s Firefly Funhouse puppets and that finishing sequence that took forever to end.
The action that transpired in between all those zany moments was okay at best. It was pretty strange seeing Bray Wyatt actually complete in his Mister Rogers gimmick and pull out a lot of the maneuvers his more sinister side is known for. Based on the ending we got here, it’s clear that Bray will be forced to reach into his “fiendish” bag of tricks in a bid to take down his former “Black Sheep” once and for all. This was below average at best.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Seth Rollins (WWE Championship)
Reactions: Seth Rollins has been on fire lately. He’s been great on the mic as the “Monday Night Messiah” and has more than held up his end of the bargain in the matches he’s been apart of. So I already knew he’d make for a great first challenger for the new WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre.
While I was a little irked by Rollins’ repeated Suicide Dives near the start of this bout, I enjoyed the majority of the back and forth action that took place soon after. Rollins was in control for a good portion of the match, but things finally reached a higher plateau of quality when McIntyre made his eventual comeback. The counters both men pulled off played into the familiarity both men have with each other, plus the finisher sequence we got during the closing stretch was pretty dope. This was a good bout overall, but this match could have been even better with a better control sequence from Rollins at the start that didn’t involve repeated Suicide Dives.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Daniel Bryan vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Aleister Black vs. King Corbin vs. Otis vs. AJ Styles (Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a World Championship Match Contract) and Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax vs. Dana Brooke vs. Lacey Evans vs. Carmella (Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a Women’s Championship Match Contract)
Reactions: Asuka is my Queen and I will forever Stan her. The way she kicked off this wild segment was immensely entertaining and a pretty smart move to pull off on her behalf. So WWE stuffed this cinematic presentation with everything but the kitchen sink – there were cameos from the McMahons and past WWE gimmicks, plenty of humorous moments (that weren’t all that funny, but I digress), some fun hardcore spots here and there and even a few callbacks to previous feuds. Once the ladies got to the roof first, things got a tad bit dull as the action that took place there was uninspired and downright generic. It made no sense for King Corbin to try and stop Asuka from retrieving the women’s briefcase since the men’s version was right there for him to grab – Corbin came out of this looking like an even bigger tool than he already is.
Shortly after Asuka won the women’s side of the contest, the men finally reached the top of the roof and got into a big brawl of their own. Then the silliness erupted once more when Baron threw both Rey Mysterio and Aleister Black off of the roof to their supposed deaths below (kind of like how Big Show got shoved off a skyscraper by Hulk Hogan back in the day). The men didn’t really do a whole lot to make me care about their portion of the match, but the ending was quite the jaw-dropper. Elias inadvertently helped Otis claim the men’s MITB briefcase after smashing King Corbin with a guitar. AJ let that future title shot slip right into Otis’ waiting arms and the big man left this show on a high note. This wasn’t as great as the WrestleMania 36 Boneyard Match, but it was miles ahead of that confounding Firefly Funhouse Match. It rests right in the middle-quality scale as far as WWE’s special cinematic matches go.
Rating: CINEMATIC MADNESS!
Match of the Night
The Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Championship Match!
Final Verdict
This year’s MITB PPV lies smack dab in the middle when it comes to how worthwhile it ended up being. The matches that looked good on paper were good, while the matches that appeared as if they were going to be a letdown…well, were a letdown. Hardy vs. Cesaro, the Fatal 4-Way tag-team match, and McIntyre vs. Rollins all delivered in their own way, while the rest of the Performance Center bouts were either a total waste of time or well below average.
As for the MITB match that this show placed all of its hype behind, it certainly had its moments. But the cornball attempts at humor and lame roof “deaths” brought it down a tad. The good parts of that show ending madness were a joy to watch and the winners on both sides of the MITB coin left me with a good taste in my mouth, however. WWE MITB 2020 was a show that lacked any real surprises (besides big Otis’ show-closing victory!), but it still provided some good bouts of entertainment and the right winners at the end of each contest.
Final Score: 3 out of 5 Stars
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