WWE Money In The Bank 2018 Final Rating: Monster In The Bank Arrives
WWE Money In The Bank 2018 is officially in the books and the very landscape of the WWE has changed courtesy of what should be considered the best main roster pay-per-view of the year so far.
There were a few standout matches at WWE Money In The Bank 2018 that had fans excited, but the show ended up being much more consistent than what people thought with a few lesser-perceived matches shining.
The show’s main card kicked off with Daniel Bryan battling Big Cass for the second straight pay-per-view and for a match with little hype, it more than exceeded expectations. It was a very good match and probably Cass’s best match as a singles competitor before Bryan, the ever-crafty technician, made the big man tap out to likely end this feud on a high note.
The weakest match of the night came via the WWE’s worst feud, Sami Zayn vs. Bobby Lashley. It was a decent enough over-glorified squash match, but it really didn’t do anything for either individual before Lashley got the win to hopefully end this lackluster feud.
The Intercontinental Championship was at stake next with Seth Rollins defending his title against Elias. And simply put, this match was pretty outstanding from both individuals, especially Rollins. It featured so much great action and selling with The Architect eventually pulling out the win with a heel-Rollins like move by grabbing the tights of Elias.
Eight of the top women’s competitors in the WWE were on display with the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match and these women pulled out all the stops. It was a great match filled with so many creative and innovative spots before Alexa Bliss got the win.
It wasn’t the most exciting or fresh individual that could have won the match, but Bliss has proven her worth several times over and as we would soon find out, there was a bigger picture taking place with Bliss as Ms. Money in the Bank.
Roman Reigns’ battle with Jinder Mahal followed and to say the crowd never gave this match a chance would be an understatement. It wasn’t a special match, but it was at least decent with Reigns getting the win in predictable fashion.
The SmackDown Women’s Championship was on the line next with Carmella defending against Asuka and the two would put on a pretty good match. It started a bit slow, but picked up towards the end with Carmella retaining her title thanks to the surprise return of James Ellsworth.
A few months of building between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura would come to a head next in a Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship. The two put on quite possibly the best main roster match of the year up to this point in the WWE with a brilliant piece of wrestling and storytelling.
This match was a bit of a marathon before Styles finally put Nakamura down for the count of 10 with a huge phenomenal forearm from the top of the rope through an announce table on the floor. This hurts Nakamura at first glance, given how many times he has failed to capture the WWE Championship, but hopefully the WWE has something else in store for him.
It was dubbed the biggest Raw Women’s Championship match in history and Nia Jax’s title defense against Ronda Rousey lived up to the hype. It was a very good match with both women shining bright, especially Rousey in her first one-on-one match in the WWE. But the ending was where the fun really began.
Bliss interfered and attacked both women with her Money in the Bank briefcase, causing a disqualification. She wasn’t done, however, and Bliss cashed in her contract and became Raw Women’s Champion by pinning Jax, the woman who took the title from her at WrestleMania 34. This angle should only get better moving forward.
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The main event of the night was the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match and much like its women’s predecessor, this match was very good with a ton of great action and big spots. But in the end, there was just no overcoming The Monster Among Men.
Braun Strowman was the target of multiple gang attacks throughout the match, but he ended up taking out ringleader Kevin Owens with a massive spot and eventually broke through to win the briefcase. Strowman now has a guaranteed Universal Championship match and the thought of him dethroning Brock Lesnar is as exciting as it gets.
Overall, this was an outstanding pay-per-view outing by the WWE. There were so many standout matches that left a lasting impact, and the Styles vs. Nakamura match could be the match of the year so far. Bliss cashing in was a great moment and seeing what Strowman can do with his opportunity in the future is enticing.
This was arguably the best Money In The Bank since the famous 2011 event and should be considered the best main roster pay-per-view by the WWE this year with the only other pay-per-view even coming close being the Royal Rumble.