July 18th, 2021
Fort Worth, Texas
1) Alexa Bliss vs. Liv Morgan vs. Asuka vs. Natalya vs. Tamina vs. Nikki ASP vs. Naomi vs. Zelina Vega - Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match
There's so much here that's solid. Liv Morgan's story and raw emotion, the crowd is behind her and so am I. The return of Zelina Vega which NO ONE saw coming. Then, you've got Asuka and Naomi who's in-ring work is always great. Unfortunately, these things weren't enough to keep this afloat. Nikki Cross is now "ASP" which stands for.. "Almost a Super Hero" -- I don't know and I don't care. She's good, but this sucks and her spots here were sloppy. Tamina was bad as always, Natalya is just the same every time she's around and Alexa.. poor Alexa. She's fantastic and has worked this gimmick so well, but some of the dumb shit she is asked to do like casting a "spell" on Zelina that caused her to climb off the ladder just overshadows all the positives that she brings to the table. So, yeah. This was fine, but weighed down by way too much bullshit. The finish was flat as hell with Nikki ASP winning. The premise was cool with all the women being too focused on brawling atop the three ladders to stop Nikki. That's about it, though.
Match rating - **1/4
2) AJ Styles & Omos (c) vs. The Viking Raiders - WWE Tag Team Title Match
This rocked. AJ looked better than he has in about a year, flying around like a maniac and also throwing some amazing strike combos. Not to mention selling like a madman for the Raiders and making them look like a million bucks. He & the War Machine Boys truly showed out here. Omos was there and did what he was supposed to so no complaints there. Styles & Omos retain after a very fun match.
Match rating - ***1/4
3) Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Kofi Kingston - WWE Championship Match
This one brought out the fan/mark in me. I’ve got so much love for Kofi Kingston and his pop during his entrance was insane. Seeing him get absolutely destroyed by Lashley here made me so disgruntled. How could WWE do this to him for a second time in a big title match? But the truth is, not everyone can take a beating like this and it be as effective as when Kofi does. Now everyone hates Lashley even more and he looks like an absolute beast. I’m assuming Goldberg is up next although I’m hoping for Brock. Anyways, yeah, Lashley retains after a super dominant showing.
Match rating - ***
4) Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte - Raw Women’s Title Match
These two really just have some awesome chemistry. I wasn’t really into this match to start with and the fans in the arena were even giving them a hard time (to which Charlotte responded with a middle finger) however, these ladies still delivered an amazing contest. Their WrestleMania match last year in front of no fans was great, so I’m not sure why I was surprised that they killed it here. There was an avalanche natural selection for christsake. Good drama, good spots, believable near falls, tight punches. Plus, the leg work on Rhea pays off in the finish. Superb women’s title match. Charlotte wins the belt after forcing Rhea to tap.
Match rating - ****
5) Kevin Owens vs. Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Big E vs. John Morrison vs. Seth Rollins vs. Riddle vs. Drew McIntyre - Money in the Bank Ladder Match
What fucking insanity. After leaving the first ladder match of the night a little disappointed, this made up for it and then some. It felt like all these guys wanted to go out and steal the damn show and they did just that. Absolute chaos and insane spots. Kevin Owens took a number of brutal bumps including a huge one near the end. Ricochet had some jaw dropping moments as expected. Morrison showed out and Nakamura & Riddle had a great exchange that made me realize I NEED that as a singles match. In the end, BIG E grabs the case and is officially Mr. Money in the Bank!! This better lead to the World Title reign that he is long overdue for. One of the best MITB matches of all time.
Match rating - ****1/4
6) Roman Reigns (c) (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Edge - WWE Universal Championship Match
Wow man. These classics that Roman Reigns has been having feel so much more monumental with fans in attendance. This truly felt like a WrestleMania main event type match as far as the atmosphere goes. Just the ultimate big match feel from start to finish. This story tells itself. Roman is on the villainous run of a lifetime and Edge is still trying to complete his redemption story. The boos shower down on Roman and the fans fill the arena with cheers for Edge. Some say this went too long and dragged along, I don’t think so. This was worked at a slow, deliberate pace, but it made sense and never really lost my interest because I felt like I was watching a battle. Of emotions and of physicality. It felt like there was so much at stake and these men were laying out it all out on the line, just that vintage WWE main event feel, I can’t quite describe it. Shit, with Edge being involved it partially brought me back to being a kid again. Long story short, I loved this match. 33 minutes of grueling drama. Loved Mysterio & Dominik stopping the Usos from interfering and Rollins screwing Edge sets up one hell of a match for SummerSlam.
Match rating - ****1/4
And the post match continues the same vibe. Rollins continues to beat on Edge and comes face to face with Roman. So much history there that you can’t help but FEEL IT. Edge recovers and he & Rollins brawl through the crowd before anything can happen between Rollins & Roman.
Heyman hands Roman the mic and he says “now, the world can acknowledge me.” THEN
DUNNNN
DUNNNN
DUNNNN
DUNNNN
JOHN CENA IS BACK and to the loudest pop I’ve heard since Daniel Bryan back in 2013-14. This felt so fucking huge. It felt like a return of someone the caliber of Rock or Austin because it’s big match John and he IS on that level. If anyone ever doubted it somehow, this moment and reaction proved it. No boos. Not tonight. Cena worked his whole career with mixed reactions, but no more. I think people have finally realized how special and amazing of a talent he is and boy, this feud with Roman is gonna blow the roof off. I am genuinely so excited. And the fact that it’s intertwined with the forthcoming Rollins/Edge feud makes it even more exciting because all four of these guys have SO much history and the unbelievable chemistry to match.
What an insane way to close the show.
Money in the Bank 2021 has to go down as one of the best PPV’s in the modern era. I haven’t watched a full WWE show this intently or reviewed one since even before the pandemic (besides WrestleMania) and to me, that says something.
It is WWE, though, so odds are it will probably get boring again soon, but I will be tuning in for big match John undoubtedly and SummerSlam looks to be a banger!
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