Two things WWE got right at Money in the Bank 2021

For the last few months, WWE fans have waited to see a show with a live audience. Well, that time finally came on July 18, as the promotion held the 2021 Money in the Bank Pay-Per-View in front of the Fort Worth, Texas faithful.

The return of fans made for a livelier show than what fans had grown accustomed to during the ThunderDome era, but they still had to sit through the usual mix of good, bad, and baffling that WWE events are known for (sometimes all in one match).

For now, let’s focus on what the promotion got right.

These are the two things WWE got right at Money in the Bank 2021.

Big E is Mr. Money in the Bank.

Honestly, was there anyone else in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match that should’ve won it more than Big E?

While the New Day member’s ascent up the card has hardly resembled a straight incline (see: him losing the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 37, the ultimately-scrapped feud with Aleister Black), he has shown that he’s worthy of the top babyface spot in WWE. As such, it was nice to see that work validated here.

The rest of the participants here will be fine without the briefcase. Drew McIntyre is a top guy who didn’t need it and was protected by being screwed by Jinder Mahal; McIntyre will likely kick Mahal’s head off at SummerSlam. Kevin Owens is Kevin Owens. Shinsuke Nakamura is Shinsuke Nakamura. Both will still be as over as they always are. Ricochet and John Morrison haven’t been presented as serious threats to either world champion. Riddle shouldn’t even be on TV. And Seth Rollins is about to start a program with Edge.

This was Big E’s time, and it’s great to see that WWE came to the same conclusion.

Bobby Lashley destroys Kofi Kingston

As great a night as Big E had, the same can’t be said for New Day stablemate Kofi Kingston, in-storyline. The former WWE Champion faced Bobby Lashley in his quest to regain the title, but despite receiving a tremendous response from a crowd that wanted to see a repeat of “KofiMania”, but those hopes dissipated with every passing second that this match lasted.

While the challenger got a few flurries in, it eventually became a showcase of the champion’s strength and renewed focus. In a lot of ways, it sucked to watch, but it was what WWE needed to do in this spot.

Look, if the rumors are true and Lashley is facing Goldberg at SummerSlam, WWE needed to present Lashley as a monster; this wasn’t about making Kingston look like a scrub, it was about reinforcing how much of a threat Lashley is, especially after losing to Xavier Woods on the July 12 episode of Raw.

WWE should still consider pushing Kingston as a singles star coming out of this, as they could tell a story where he works to get another title shot and ultimately wins the title from Lashley. But in the short term, they made the right move using Kingston’s popularity to heat Lashley up for the big show next month.