WWE MITB: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good

2020 Money in the Bank was advertised as "The Most Unique Money in the Bank" in WWE history.  Curiosity loomed over the the men's and women's MITB matches (which would be held simultaneously), but what delivered on one of WWE's more popular annual PPV's was some more old fashioned wrestling.  

Drew McCintyre vs Seth Rollins:  This match was a blast.  It combined strength with athleticism and was backed by strong storytelling.  McCintyre, the newly crowned champion at Wrestlemania, was not a leader according to Seth Rollins.  This title was the cross for The Monday Night Messiah to bear.  New messianic esque music accompanied Rollins down to the ring, but there were no disciples to be seen.  The match featured a ton of highlights: a superplex into a falcon arrow; a German suplex off a reversal from the top rope; Rollins was thrown over the announce table; McCintyre survived a stomp; and the finish was classic high pace wrestling with McCintyer finishing Rollins with a Claymore after surviving a Superkick.  The only complaint many had over this match was the ending.  Rollins shook McCintyre's hand in an act of sportsmanship after the match.  Murphy didn't show up, and Rollins' Messianic character suffered embarrassment.   It is hard to know how WWE will spin this storyline, but Rollins will most likely continue as The Monday Night Messiah.  It seems like WWE missed an opportunity by having Rollins lose cleanly with no interference, but only time will tell.  Overall, there was nothing to criticize about the match itself.  Two very talented competitors created a main event worthy title match.  It seems Drew McCintyre will hold this belt for some time.

Braun Strowman vs Bray Wyatt:  History between wrestlers is always a selling point, and Strowman's Black Sheep past as a member of the Wyatt family created a compelling story.  WWE's decision (and most likely Wyatt's) to place fun-loving Mr. Rogers persona in the match instead of The Fiend gave this feud a believable longevity.  It seemed likely from the start that Strowman would retain, but the match was physical and, like all of Wyatt's matches, an artistic story.  Strowman's hands reverberated off of Wyatt's body, which heightened the reality of the match.  Wyatt landed a Sister Abigail, but Strowman kicked out at two.  Strowman would then match Wyatt's psychological attacks by placing the Black Sheep mask upon his head.  Flashbacks to the Wyatt family ensued as Bray and his Black Sheep raised their hands and laughed.  The world shook as a potential reunion occurred, but those who have watched WWE before knew what was coming.  Strowman removed the Black Sheep mask and drove his boot through the mask while figuratively ripping apart all of Wyatt's sympathy.  Strowman landed an authoritative Running Power Slam and pinned Wyatt.  As Strowman yelled at the defeated Wyatt, his character became more than a follower; Strowman proved he was his own creation.  Strowman wasn't just a bullish brute who could manipulated with words.  In an act of cinematic genius, Wyatt sat in the corner as images of The Fiend flashed on the screen.  Every creative liberty WWE gives Wyatt turns to gold.  Wyatt is the best pure actor the WWE has ever seen (his promos are just as intense without fans, and he voices all of his Fun House characters), and his match physicality rounds out his character or rather duplicitous character.  The story and feud between Wyatt and Strowman has just begun.  The Fiend versus Strowman has all the makings of a main event Summerslam match.  There are many directions for the WWE and Wyatt to take this storyline.  All the universe has to do is sit back and enjoy the artist known as Bray Wyatt.

The Tag Team Championship match was also successful.  Each team proved they have what it takes to contend for the titles.  Many hated Lashley's destruction of R-Truth, but maybe it will result in MVP taking Lashley under his wing.  R-Truth is back at what he does best: headlining the midcard as the 24-7 contender.  Comedy acts are best suited for the midcard unless they have serious wrestling aspirations, and R-Truth knows his limits.  Lashley now has the posibility to be McCintyre's next contender.  Hopefully his days with Lana are of the past.

The Bad

The three men's championship matches were all entertaining and solid matches.  Storylines backed up the matches, and WWE provided themselves with future rivalries.  As always, there were some not so great moments.  Bayley's heel turn after winning the title (or was it before, honestly it's hard to remember) featured a different hairstyle, new music, and some sasssy one liners.  Sasha Banks one upped Bayley by marking her heel turn with blue hair instead of pink and a strange remix of her entrance song.  The fact that these two women continue to dominate Women's wrestling is pathetic.  There are plenty of strong women wrestlers: Lacey Evans, Charlotte Flair, Ruby Riott, Sonya Deville, and Shayna Baszler to name a few.  Hell, even Liv Morgan is improving every week.  Tamina and Nia Jax have raw strength, and Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross have proved to be useful mic workers as well as interesting Tag Team Champions, but Bayley and Banks somehow are placed above all these (with the exception of Flair at times, but the fact that they are even in the same category tarnishes Flair's prowess).  To put it simply, Banks and Bayley can't wrestle; they never have been able to and have not improved.  The only reason Paige no longer wrestles is because Sasha Banks kicked her in the back when she wasn't looking (that would be a better Banks Statement than her actual finisher).  Bayley consistently muffs moves, even though her moveset is limited and unimpressive.  The Banks Statement is basically a back stretch.  There are a multitude of ways to escape it, but every woman is forced to tap out.  Yes, WWE is scripted, but the wrestlers actually should try to make it look real.  Bayley's finisher is a belly to belly suplex: one of the easier moves to pull off.  And currently she does this weird DDT that looks more like one of Matt Hardy's Deletion turnbuckle head bops.  This time Bayley face off with Tamina and won on a pathetic roll up.  Tamina landed all of the memorable moves: a stiff closeline on the outside, a superkick, and a samoan drop.  But Banks interfered, and Bayley retained.  Clearly, a Banks and Bayley rivalry is on the horizon.  Many will begin to fastforward to the real matches.  Hopefully, new talent will override the posers known as Bayley and Sasha Banks.

The Ugly

The majority of the PPV was well booked and well done.  The absence of fans didn't affect most of the show.  But WWE loves to put a sour taste in their fans.  They put on a great show just to ruin the main event.  The Money in the Bank match featured more comedy than actual wrestling.  Shades of Randy Orton and Edge came to mind when the men began in the weight room.  There was a lot of brawling, and a lot of Otis doing dumb shit.  He placed a weighted bench press bar on AJ Styles, he started a food fight, and he put a pie in James Lauranitis' face.  Cameos by Vince McMahon, Lauranitis, Doink, and Brother Love brought more comedy.  It foreshadowed an end that brought anger to the wrestling purists, sadness to the young kids who enjoy strength and athleticism, and disappointment to those who love the story, but oh those who love clown shows in humor were in for an early Christmas present.  The women's action of the match was not much better than the men's.  Asuka danced around, Dana Brooke became a larger clown than Doink, and Carmella looked out of place.  Shayna Baszler didn't even make it to the top ring.  Nia Jax, Lacey Evans, and Asuka battled it out near the top, and Asuka claimed the prize.  While Auska is comedic, she is a fierce in ring competitor who is worthy of the MITB and an eventual championship.  Baron Corbin was humiliated further by being shoved off of the top ladder by Asuka.  He did manage to almost murder Aleister Black and Rey Mysterio by tossing them off the side of the tower (by the way, have they located the bodies?.  Corbin and Styles fought at the top for the briefcase.  They both unclipped it and wrestled over it.  Elias hit Corbin with a guitar, Styles butterfingered the case, and Otis caught it.  Yes, the overweight Tag Team competitor who couldn't even win a Tag championship.  The same person who goes around acting like the Kool Aid man.  The same man who was involved in a love triangle with Mandy Rose and Dolph Ziggler.  The same man who does the worm and a weak elbow drop for a finisher.  Yes that clown who covered all of the comedy of the MITB match was named Mr. Money in the Bank.  It has been said that Mr. McMahon loves Otis and values him above many other wrestlers.  Otis fills the sweetspot of most fans.  He is entertaining, but he would be much better on a reality TV show titled: Otis goes undercover as the Kool Aid Man.  Comedy is not meant for the headlining championships.  Otis' character has been built purely on low level comedy, and WWE's face should never be Otis Dozovich.  Christ Jericho, Kevin Owens, and even Triple H were funny, but their characters were so much more.  No one will be laughing when Otis cashes in on The Fiend, Braun Strowman, or Drew McCintyre.  No one will be laughing when the main event at Wrestlemania includes Otis and his humor.  No one will be laughing when WWE loses viewers when people realize that Otis can never be the face of WWE.  Hopefully, WWE makes Otis' cash in the dumbest of all time, but he has an 85% chance to cash in successfully.  WWE has messed up in the past, but this maybe one mess up that overarches every other mess up.  Maybe people are dumb enough to drool over Otis, but WWE has altered its character forever by choosing Otis over real competitors.