WWE SmackDown Wearing Out the Reset Button

First (and Second) -Ever, Women’s Money in the Bank Match

By far the most egregious instance of the WWE resetting a match, is the now infamous first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. The match had a great build up that present every woman on the roster as a threat. As chaos erupted during a Fatal Five-Way for the #1 contendership, Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that they would participate in the first-ever women’s WMITB match. It signified the next step in the women’s revolution in the WWE.

However, during the finish, James Ellsworth literally climbed the ladder and dropped the briefcase to Carmella on the ring below. That’s right, a man was the first ever holder of the women’s briefcase. The match’s finish lead to an extreme amount of criticism from from fans and media outlets that covered Money in the Bank.

Instead of turning into the swerve, WWE tried to re-write the history books by having a rematch just nine days after the controversial finish. Despite not breaking any rules, Carmella would have to put her MITB briefcase up for grabs. With that decision, WWE booked themselves into a no-win situation. If Carmella were to lose during the rematch, she would effectively be punished for WWE’s terrible booking sense and fan backlash. If she won the rematch, WWE would be passively admitting that they had made a mistake.

The same exact story played out in the ring, with many of the same spots. The only difference being that Carmella actually climbed the ladder to the claim the briefcase. So, what was the point of the rematch? There was none, outside of WWE’s inability to adjust.

Next: Major Problem WWE Creative is Facing

While these are the most significant examples they are by no means the only ones. In fact, Tye Dillinger and Aiden English were pointlessly battling on pay-per-view preshows. With an incredibly deep and talented roster that includes Sami Zayn, Luke Harper, Rusev, and Tye Dillinger , and Mike Kanellis, it’s amazing that SmackDown seems to be relying so heavily on the same matches and feuds. However, the further we get from the Superstar Shakeup it feels like SmackDown is beginning to right the ship.