Money In The Bank Is This Sunday On The WWE Network

[d-d-d-dAz]

He’s legitimately their only star. I’m not sure why anyone would be surprised they’ve given him a lot of money to come back.

Good Wrestlers wrestling good wrestling matches is sinking the ship. Might as well bring in a legit star to provide the illusion of floating for a while.

[Supremo]

Yeah. You can't begrudge them throwing money at Brock. Him as Mr. Money in the Bank is actually quite a funny, interesting, fresh idea, too. Plus, there's no denying he held up his end of the bargain - he looked to be completely out of the USADA testing pool, fully back on the gear and super tanned.

Fuck me though. As time goes on, that piss poor booking of him last year continues to gets worse with age. Even at the time it was insanely counterproductive, taking their one true star and conditioning the fans to hate him for being a supposed lazy, selfish, greedy prick. But as the dust settles with guys like Roman and Braun, both having clearly peaked, the idea that they forced such apathy towards Lesnar becomes even more mind boggling. People should be buzzing that Brock is back but they've done everything in their power to make his character absolutely toxic. You even see it on here from supposed smart fans who should know better. Everyone has fallen for it and it's left Brock a shell of his former self and everything involving him having this slight stink.

A pretty average show, filled with really bad referee botches, saved almost entirely by them doing a relatively good job rehabbing Bayley and a cracking AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins match. That match was fantastic. My only criticism is that they didn't save that stunning Curb-Stomp-into-a-Styles-Clash spot for a finish somewhere down the line. That was far too good to be wasted on a near fall. Still hoping AJ Styles turns heel and reforms The Club against Seth. Long may this feud continue. This match delivered in every way those Nakamura vs. Styles matches didn't.

But yeah, imagine being Finn Balor right now. Spine smashed to fuck and then Brock runs down for three minutes work, laughing his arse off at the top of the ladder. LOL.

 

Edited May 20, 2019 by Supremo

[UK Kat Von D]

The stomp/clash spot was ridiculously smooth and got a legit pop out of me. Saved an otherwise boring match, which is the risk when a match is built up on the premise of it being a classic. Put two great workers in the ring and fans will expect a good match. Don’t need to hammer it home that we will see a “clinic” because it sets the bar unrealistically high. If fans are expecting match of the year, then anything less will come off as a disappointment. Still best thing on the show from that I saw. 

Got too drunk and forgot the men’s MITB match was happening, so stopped watching, but I’ll get round to it. Currently in LA so having a 4pm start time really improved the show for me. Midnight starts or replays ruins the spectacle 

[BomberPat]

I only got as far as the start of Owens/Kofi before tapping out. 

I had guessed that Sami being strung up backstage was a swerve that wouldn't lead to Strowman's involvement, hadn't guessed at Brock. I had predicted he would run-in and spoil the Rollins/Styles match to set up a Triple Threat in Saudi Arabia.

I'm pretty sick of the Magical Briefcase gimmick, but Lesnar having it isn't too bad. Brock's not going to be showing up to RAW every week lugging it around, but in kayfabe the idea of the champions having to be wary that Brock Lesnar could show up to wreck their shit at any opportunity could be an interesting dynamic. It also adds another layer to Lesnar's "shows up when he feels like it" gimmick.

 

Otherwise, the show up to where I've watched so far felt inconsequential and dripping in the problems I have with modern WWE. To whit;

• Daniel Bryan going from WWE Champion at Wrestlemania to jobbing in the pre-show of the subsequent PPV. Is it any wonder they struggle to build new stars when they can't present the stars they have as any different from the interchangeable midcarders?
• The first backstage segment with Sami Zayn. This is something we're so conditioned to accept from WWE, but it's infuriating if you give it a moment's thought. The camera crew just happen to be filming Triple H in his office, live, during a PPV - he's not doing anything, he's on the phone, and Sami Zayn interrupts him. So Triple H clearly wasn't doing anything worth filming, and wasn't expecting Sami. So why was he being filmed? Why were they conveniently broadcasting that footage at that exact moment? And just doubly conveniently moments after a video package to remind us what Sami and Strowman got up to? Did Sami clue up the production crew that he was going to speak to Triple H? Isn't it, again, very convenient that this meeting happened in an interstitial period, rather than during a match? Maybe this is nitpicking, but it's my number one bugbear with WWE - it's of a piece with show opening promo segments setting up that night's main event; what, you went live on a three hour show without having booked a main event?! It's just stale, lazy booking, and lacking any sense of believability.
• Addendum to previous point - Triple H saying that Braun was barred from the building then, five minutes later, Braun being in the building without anyone challenging him or questioning him has to be a new record in WWE disregarding the story they're telling. Particularly when, later in the show, Triple H punishes Braun by banning him from the building again. Is the lack of consistency and internal logic a sign of inept writing, or just open contempt for their audience?
• Similarly, the "Charlotte is having her match now" angle was just too smooth. For a match to happen at the wrong place in the card, it should feel flustered and chaotic. It would throw off the running order, you'd have a different referee assigned to the match, the announcers, timekeeper, production crew, maybe even the camera crew wouldn't be prepared for this match to happen now. WWE are so obsessed with everything looking smooth and polished that it strips any credibility from moments like this that are supposed to be unexpected and off-the-cuff, which would benefit from being a little rougher around the edges. Again, zero believability that this was anything other than the plan all along.

Then of course, there was some shocking decisions around refereeing. Not so much the reffing itself, but their insistence on dwelling on it. Completely shitting on the credibility of refs throughout, to the point I half-assumed it must be leading to something. Joe's shoulder being up was so blatant I assume it must be the plan, to justify his rematch, but the refereeing "error" in Lynch/Evans was inconsequential, and I hated them shitting on the ref for calling a rope break in the cage match, particularly as that was clearly the intended spot.

The justification that "there are no DQs in a cage match" is meaningless. A rope break isn't the same thing as a disqualification. A rope break invalidates a pin because you're breaking the plane of the ring, not because it's grounds for a DQ. Cage matches aren't falls count anywhere, so rope breaks should still be in play. No DQ just means the referee can't disqualify you for refusing to break a hold in the ropes, but you also wouldn't be able to win with a hold in the ropes - it's still not a legal hold, you just can't be disqualified for employing it.

[air_raid]

17 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

The justification that "there are no DQs in a cage match" is meaningless. A rope break isn't the same thing as a disqualification. A rope break invalidates a pin because you're breaking the plane of the ring, not because it's grounds for a DQ. Cage matches aren't falls count anywhere, so rope breaks should still be in play. No DQ just means the referee can't disqualify you for refusing to break a hold in the ropes, but you also wouldn't be able to win with a hold in the ropes - it's still not a legal hold, you just can't be disqualified for employing it.

100%. Always confuses me that people don't understand this nuance and talk about how much they hate rope breaks in no-DQ matches. 

[TildeGuy~!]

Went to bed just before Rollins/Styles kicked off.

I thought it’ll be Bray Wyatt who was gonna be behind the Sami attack, waking up to the news Brock won the match was a dampener.

Some who are saying this will be interesting now that Brock has the briefcase need to realise there’s a Saudi event coming up and he’s probably gonna announce his intentions of cashing it in tonight at that show.

[air_raid]

32 minutes ago, TildeGuy~! said:

he’s probably gonna announce his intentions of cashing it in tonight at that show.

Through the medium of Paul, not in person.

[Jazzy G]

Is Foley announcing the return of the hardcore title on Raw tonight? 

[BomberPat]

8 minutes ago, jazzygeofferz said:

Is Foley announcing the return of the hardcore title on Raw tonight? 

I really hope not. While a 24/7 rule could be fun in the age of social media, a Hardcore Title in a PG environment where gimmick matches are already oversaturated feels like an absurd move. 

It's difficult enough to keep track of who has what meaningless belt at the best of times, so I don't see why they're introducing a new one, unless it's a bait and switch and some kind of novelty/charity "belt" to be awarded to someone?

I find it very suspicious that there's been no real rumblings (that I'm aware of) of a new belt in the works - think how long the Cruiserweight belt or the Women's Tag Titles were rumoured before they were officially announced - so I'm leaning towards this not being quite what it seems, though what it actually is is anyone's guess.

[TheBurningRed]

With this wild card thing in place, does anyone thing they could be bringing in a tv title? Would give people lower down the card like Apollo Crews and EC3 something to fight over on main event. 

[tiger_rick]

9 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

It's difficult enough to keep track of who has what meaningless belt at the best of times

This turn of phrase really annoys me. The belts aren't at all meaningless. They're the only storytelling tool they have. They are critically important because without them the entire premise for their show crumbles. With very few exceptions, nothing that isn't for a title, a title shot or revenge for a title loss or title shot loss matters at all.

[FLips]

I bet it's something really petty like an Elite Championship or something. The fact they said "new" makes me think it's not the Hardcore or European or something. I imagine it's probably a women's midcard belt but quite honestly they could do with binning a load of belts off not adding more.

[Jazzy G]

Cruiserweight tag belts?

[tiger_rick]

2 minutes ago, FelatioLips said:

quite honestly they could do with binning a load of belts off not adding more.

They produce 300 hours of telly a week. They've room to add about 30 more belts titles easy. It seemed to be the in thing in the early 2000s to moan about too many titles (I probably did it myself when I was a smarky cunt) but it was much better when you had these little divisions fighting around the hardcore title or the European title. @TheBurningRed is right, there would be benefit in having something for some of the really lower card acts to aim for. A 24/7 title would be loads of fun so they definitely won't do that.

[Undefeated Steak]

They should bring in new titles for each gimmick/stipulation match and have one title defense of each until they've gone round the clock. Would need to be careful if HIAC/Elimination Chamber title matches landed on the same night, maybe do HIAC on Smackdown and EC on Raw that week? Would be mental. 

Edited May 20, 2019 by Undefeated Steak