WWE Money in the Bank 2018: Results, Highlights, and Grades
By Bryan Heaton
Who showed up at WWE Money in the Bank 2018? Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
WWE Money in the Bank 2018 features two ladder matches, each for a guaranteed championship opportunity. There’s also a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura.
On Sunday, June 17, WWE Money in the Bank 2018 takes place in Chicago. Since the titular match was expanded into its own pay per view event, Money in the Bank has slowly become as big a show as the classic “Big 4” WWE PPVs — WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series. Perhaps it’s because of the importance of the namesake ladder matches, and the prize for winning one.
This year, there’s a pair of MITB matches, one for the men and one for the women. Each one will feature four superstars from Raw and four from SmackDown Live, and the prize is a briefcase. Inside the briefcase is a contract for a world championship match at any time or place within one calendar year. The first superstar to grab the briefcase has the chance to change the course of their career in an instant if they can successfully cash in their opportunity.
On the men’s side, Braun Strowman, Bobby Roode, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, The Miz, Rusev, Samoa Joe, and an as yet unidentified member of New Day will compete. The women’s match features Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Lana, Naomi, Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, Natalya, and Sasha Banks.
But who will the winners be able to cash in on? Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is still MIA, but WWE Champion AJ Styles defends against Shinsuke Nakamura. This time, it’ll be a Last Man Standing Match. Will this rivalry finally be put to bed?
Two Women’s Championship matches will determine the target for Ms. Money in the Bank this year. For SmackDown Live, Carmella — the winner of the first (and second) Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match — defends her title against Asuka. As someone who successfully cashed in, Carmella will be on the lookout — if she can retain.
As for Raw, champion Nia Jax has challenged Ronda Rousey to a title match at MITB. Rousey is known as The Baddest Woman on the Planet, but can she hang with Jax?
There’s a total of ten matches on the card, including a SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match on the Kickoff Show. Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass will go down, as will Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal and Sami Zayn vs. Bobby Lashley. Plus, Seth Rollins defends the Intercontinental Championship against Elias.
Related Story: Staff Predictions for MITB
Be sure to follow along with all the action on the WWE Network at a special start time of 7 p.m. ET. The Kickoff Show, featuring the Bludgeon Brothers vs. Gallows & Anderson, gets under way at 6 p.m. And join us for our live review right here!