Love Brings Maria Back To WWE
The First Lady is back and she is bringing her husband with her. Mike and Maria Kanellis debuted at WWE Money in the Bank and the line of the night came from JBL. “He took her name” was delivered in such a hilarious way that really showed you what WWE wants to do with this couple. They will get immediate heat, especially Mike Kanellis, because of the reversal of genders (once again). Mike Bennett is a good performer, there is no doubt about that, but Maria is the big piece her. She established herself in WWE and then got EVEN BETTER outside of WWE. Upon her return, they needed to lean on her history and background. The 80’s love music, the hearts in the air and both really cheesing it up gives me hope that there could be entertaining things in store for them.
Smackdown Live is the perfect opportunity for them. I do not expect them to be in main event storylines, but I do think there is a gap on the show that can be filled by them. The mid card could be really solid with this group, Dillinger, Owens, Ziggler, etc. Their first feud should be Sami Zayn or Randy Orton. If you want him to get over and feel imporant, book him with two guys that are generally loved by the WWE Universe. I am on board with this and am happy to see something fresh come up again on Smackdown Live.
The Lone Wolf Was The Right Call
Baron Corbin became Mr. Money in the Bank by defeating Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura. He attacked Nakamura early in the match, which forced the former NXT Champion to miss the majority of it. When the match progressed and Baron was in control, Nakamura’s music hit and out came The Rockstar. He attacked everyone in sight, hitting exploder suplexes and Kinsasha’s all over the place. The high moves from Zayn and Owens would quickly become overshadowed when Nakamura and Styles stood face to face. Electricity hit the crowd and both men began to brawl. Both men began to climb, but Baron tossed both of them off from the top, climbed the ladder and grabbed the briefcase.
The highlights of this excellent match:
- AJ Styles hitting an AA on Kevin Owens, bouncing him off the ladder placed outside of the ring.
- AJ Styles hanging from the rope, trying to push himself up and grab the briefcase, but having a crazy spill to the mat.
- Sami Zayn’s over the top powerbomb onto Dolph Ziggler
- Sami Zayn tossing Owens into a ladder from the top rope.
- Nakamura’s pop coming back into the match, along with his face off with AJ Styles (Hello, WrestleMania)
These were the moments that stuck out in my mind and made this main event an excellent showcase of what talent Smackdown Live has on Tuesday nights. There is so much depth and options for them, but the best option for the briefcase is Baron Corbin. I was so skeptical of Nakamura being eliminated early, but his “hero” welcome was very Attitude Era feeling and that is the best compliment I could give to the ST. Louis crowd.
Overall, Smackdown’s Money in the Bank Pay-Per-View showed some bright spots with their young talent, but was an overall average show. Without the main event, this would have felt like a very good Smackdown Live episode. Some storylines should have been wrapped up or shown some sort of finality, but it was more about continuing them than finding a resolution. I am satisfied with this night and hope they give us something special for Battleground and SummerSlam. They sure as hell have the talent for it.
@JoshIsenberg4 on Twitter. WWE Money in the Bank Rating:
To compare from last year’s Money in the Bank, check out my reaction from one year ago here. It featured all three Shield Members being champion in one night and AJ Styles vs. John Cena.
