Three things WWE got wrong at Money in the Bank 2021

The return of a live audience, solid workrate from start to finish, and a memorable return made the 2021 Money in the Bank Pay-Per-View an enjoyable show. However, you could also argue that those same fans papered over a number of issues with this show (except for the Peacock glitchiness mid-way through the event).

As has become the standard with most WWE shows, the creative team dug into their bag of questionable booking tactics and sprinkled their nonsense throughout the show. Granted, these weren’t show-ruining decisions, but they did raise more questions than they needed to.

Let’s take a look at some of those decisions.

These are the three things WWE got wrong at Money in the Bank 2021.

Overbooking the Edge vs. Roman Reigns match

Edge is a very good pro wrestler, especially for someone his age. Roman Reigns is a very good WWE-style wrestler. Both have produced their fair share of compelling PPV main events and were on their way to doing the same at Money in the Bank. However, WWE just couldn’t help themselves.

First came the ref bump, which was made worse by the extended period of time it took for a replacement ref to come out. Then came the Usos, though they were quickly run off by the Mysterios. After that, Seth Rollins ran in kick Edge while “The Rated R Superstar” had Reigns locked in a crossface before interfering again toward the end with a dreaded distraction that led to Reigns picking up the clean pinfall.

Sure, WWE felt that they needed to create a pretense for the inevitable Rollins vs. Edge match while keeping the Usos/Mysterios feud going, but they picked the laziest, cheapest manner to do so, and it only served to water down what was a pretty good match beforehand.

Charlotte Flair wins the Raw Women’s Title

Before getting into this, Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley deserve a ton of credit for winning that crowd over with their work in their Raw Women’s Championship match. The initial fan response wasn’t on them — blame WWE for booking these two to be as unlikable as possible for months — but to their credit, they weathered it and produced a quality championship contest.

Now, to Charlotte winning the title again: It is what it is. Look, it’s understandable that WWE would want a heel champion leading a babyface-heavy Raw women’s division (particularly if Becky Lynch gets added to those ranks) and they could’ve picked a worse candidate to hold the belt, but this feels like another case where WWE is sacrificing going all-in on a young star (one of the youngest on the main roster) to go back to the same old stuff.

Nikki A.S.H. is Ms. Money in the Bank

This one goes in the “wait-and-see” file for now. Even though a lot of the “Almost a Superhero” stuff isn’t clicking with me, I’m still willing to give this a chance given Nikki Cross’ obvious dedication to making her brainchild work.

On the surface, her win in the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match represents an equal level of faith from her employers, but it’s also easy to see Vince McMahon tiring of this act quickly and scrambling to get the briefcase off of her. Remember, WWE went with an unconventional MitB winner last year in the form of Otis, and he’s gone from lovable babyface to bland monster heel in about a year’s time.

Nikki doesn’t need to win the title to make her story with the briefcase compelling — they could have some fun with the idea of whether the almost superhero will cash in using the same less-than-honorable means that everyone else has — but it’s up to WWE to tell that story instead of treating this making the same mistake they did last year.