WWE SmackDown Smacks/Downs: Braun Strowman receives a chilling threat

Down: formulaic angles to “excite” fans for Money in the Bank

Seeing Corbin atop the ladder with the briefcase is an obvious message that he won’t grab either briefcase on Sunday, right? Right? Please say I’m right.

(I’m sorry I even put the idea of Corbin grabbing the women’s briefcase into the universe.)

Then again, we all knew the show would end with Corbin atop the ladder with the briefcase to build hype for Sunday.

When the bell rang with six minutes left until the top of the hour, ladder shenanigans were predictably coming. This is where Otis had his ladder-climbing issues I mentioned earlier. Bryan took a nasty bump to the side of his head when he was thrown into a hinge connecting the two sides of the ladder.

It’s all so predictable and so formulaic. “We need to show fans what a ladder match can be like so they buy the pay-per-vi- I mean subscribe to the WWE Network!” It’s not like this event happens every year, or that there are multiple ladder matches every year…

Further, The Forgotten Sons are winning the Tag Team Championship, aren’t they? They once again decimated the champion The New Day in an eight-man tag match involving all four teams for Sunday’s match.

Readers know how much I dislike The Sons, and it’s not because they’re good heels; it’s because their time in NXT was nothing short of bleh. Their gimmick doesn’t help either…except to the one person that matters in WWE.

They’re going to get the push in the men’s tag division as the hot new act that should have gone to Shayna Baszler on RAW in the women’s division. The best way to put over how strong an act is and how seriously we should take them is to have them dominate and become champions early. That seems to be the route we’re taking with The Sons, unfortunately.

Again, formulaic, and it’s not necessarily positive.

Lastly, while it seems like a similar build for Tamina, I’m fairly certain she is losing Sunday. Unlike The Sons, Tamina isn’t a new act, so her complete domination of Women’s Champion Bayley and her partner Sasha Banks since just before WrestleMania serves a different purpose.

Mainly, she is fodder for Bayley’s continued title run (with the eventual match against Banks).

In one aspect, this is wonderful for Tamina because she is in high-profile feuds and Women’s Championship matches in consecutive PPVs. This may be the most prominent spot on the card Tamina has occupied in WWE, especially in recent years.

In another aspect, however, the timing couldn’t be worse.

Tamina has finally been given the space to show more of her personality, particularly on Twitter. It started with Tamina tweeting she’s working on her “anger issues,” then another about going to therapy. Her biting humor, sarcasm, and personality shine through in these videos! My first response was, “Where has this been on television all these years?!”

Further, she just seems to be a genuine individual. Look at these videos from The Usos cheering her on and telling her it’s “her time” to become champion. Look at her reaction and listen to her words.

Look, Tamina probably shouldn’t become champion tomorrow. That’s OK! Use the videos from Twitter and her genuine character as a basis to build her over a couple of months (coupled with consistent victories) and then she could conceivably become champion.

What we have are three truly formulaic and predictable builds for tomorrow night’s event. As long as Corbin and The Sons don’t win, however, I’ll be fine.

Hopefully, I didn’t damper your enthusiasm for Money in the Bank, at least, any more than WWE already has with both on and off-screen issues. Still, please enjoy the show should you watch, stay healthy, and see you all next week!