Money In The Bank 2019

[DMJ]

Just finished the show today. I'm seriously worried what I'll read from the RAW and SD results...

- Definitely a candidate for worst PPV of the Network Era. I haven't read the RAW/SD results but, reading through this thread, I also wondered if all the ref screwups was the start of an angle. I kinda hope so because, if not, those ref screw-ups were woeful.

- Like 99% of the audience in attendance on Sunday, I don't watch 205 Live and this match makes me think that's the right move. I'll say this too - the production choices around that match were all really poor too. This might be blasphemy or a "hot take" to some but this match, or most any 205 match on a major PPV, would benefit from not featuring elaborate entrances, from not having it take place right after the "international commentator round-up," from not being given more than 7 minutes. The first two things on that list made it clear this was a bathroom break opportunity. The last thing on that list is just poor design. I feel like, when the cruisers were starting to be featured, part of what made it work was that, at the time (95'/96'), you basically had two nobodies come out and, in one segment, they just AMAZED you with their skill. It was "blink and you'll miss it" - but it wasn't their entrances or poses that caught your attention, it was their in-ring ability. Nobody knows who any of these 205 guys are and their gimmicks aren't going to make me care...but if this match had just kickstarted, and they'd done some crazy shit, doing a string of ridiculous moves in under 7 minutes, I'd be like, "Woah, that was a blast!" I may not even watch 205, but I know next time they appear on RAW or SD or a PPV, I'm going to be excited about it (just as people were whenever you'd hear Liger or a Japanese women's tag team match was happening on a WCW PPV). 

I don't think Rey Mysterio, Psicosis, Juvi, La Parka, etc. would've gotten over without a bit of that "blitzkreig" production style where Nitro almost "jump-cutted" from main event guys (Randy Savage, Ric Flair) cutting promos to, out of the blue, two guys in colorful costumes wrestling a completely different style at a breakneck pace with (admittedly) a bit less focus on psychology. We get enough elaborate entrances from the rest of the roster, that elaborate entrances for nobodies is driving away the live crowd's engagement.

- Bayley's cash-in was a great moment. Proves to me that she still has goodwill and support from the audience that the WWE unwisely chose to ignore for the past few years. It was interesting that they mentioned Sasha in the post-match interview too. Maybe she is coming back after all?

- I am SHOCKED that some people really liked Styles/Rollins. As a match it was fine, but I found it be heatless and was not really engaged. I was rooting for Styles (kinda) because I dislike Rollins, but the build and "hype" for this match made no sense to me. I can get behind face/face matches when there has been a clear collision course (Hogan/Warrior) or when there is a culture clash (Hart/Michaels). I don't mind a "passing the torch" type deal (again Warrior/Hogan). This was none of those. It was two guys known for having good matches having a good match because they can have a good match and, look, one of them is going to win but they're both really great, right? Yawn. They seemed to try to paint it as Styles being the more seasoned veteran and Rollins "chasing" him, but Styles was never a dominant champion on RAW and Rollins has been in the WWE, in a main event position, for longer too. I know the actual timeline of careers make it clear that AJ is the vet and Rollins is (comparatively) the young lion, but in "WWE age," I don't see the "veteran vs. upstart" dynamic at all. Plus, yeah, with neither guy working remotely heel, this was just a really good exhibition match. 

- I am ALSO SHOCKED that everyone here is shitting on Brock Lesnar winning the MITB. I found that to be a WELCOME curveball that I didn't see anyone predict before the show. I can't believe that on the same board that regularly bashes Rollins for not eliciting any real responses from crowds, that regularly talks about how the WWE has no stars, that regularly discusses how much the company has failed with Reigns since his return, that we're going to then criticize the WWE for *hopefully* putting the Universal Championship back on Brock Lesnar? Come on. You can't have it both ways. Either you want one of these "good match for good matches sake" nerds to be your champion or you want the title around a guy that evokes a visceral response  and a "big fight feel" from the crowd like Lesnar does. The AJ/Rollins match might have been *technically* a great match, but it had zero "big fight feel." Every Lesnar match has that.

[FMKK]

54 minutes ago, DMJ said:

Just finished the show today. I'm seriously worried what I'll read from the RAW and SD results...

- Definitely a candidate for worst PPV of the Network Era. I haven't read the RAW/SD results but, reading through this thread, I also wondered if all the ref screwups was the start of an angle. I kinda hope so because, if not, those ref screw-ups were woeful.

- Like 99% of the audience in attendance on Sunday, I don't watch 205 Live and this match makes me think that's the right move. I'll say this too - the production choices around that match were all really poor too. This might be blasphemy or a "hot take" to some but this match, or most any 205 match on a major PPV, would benefit from not featuring elaborate entrances, from not having it take place right after the "international commentator round-up," from not being given more than 7 minutes. The first two things on that list made it clear this was a bathroom break opportunity. The last thing on that list is just poor design. I feel like, when the cruisers were starting to be featured, part of what made it work was that, at the time (95'/96'), you basically had two nobodies come out and, in one segment, they just AMAZED you with their skill. It was "blink and you'll miss it" - but it wasn't their entrances or poses that caught your attention, it was their in-ring ability. Nobody knows who any of these 205 guys are and their gimmicks aren't going to make me care...but if this match had just kickstarted, and they'd done some crazy shit, doing a string of ridiculous moves in under 7 minutes, I'd be like, "Woah, that was a blast!" I may not even watch 205, but I know next time they appear on RAW or SD or a PPV, I'm going to be excited about it (just as people were whenever you'd hear Liger or a Japanese women's tag team match was happening on a WCW PPV). 

I don't think Rey Mysterio, Psicosis, Juvi, La Parka, etc. would've gotten over without a bit of that "blitzkreig" production style where Nitro almost "jump-cutted" from main event guys (Randy Savage, Ric Flair) cutting promos to, out of the blue, two guys in colorful costumes wrestling a completely different style at a breakneck pace with (admittedly) a bit less focus on psychology. We get enough elaborate entrances from the rest of the roster, that elaborate entrances for nobodies is driving away the live crowd's engagement.

- Bayley's cash-in was a great moment. Proves to me that she still has goodwill and support from the audience that the WWE unwisely chose to ignore for the past few years. It was interesting that they mentioned Sasha in the post-match interview too. Maybe she is coming back after all?

- I am SHOCKED that some people really liked Styles/Rollins. As a match it was fine, but I found it be heatless and was not really engaged. I was rooting for Styles (kinda) because I dislike Rollins, but the build and "hype" for this match made no sense to me. I can get behind face/face matches when there has been a clear collision course (Hogan/Warrior) or when there is a culture clash (Hart/Michaels). I don't mind a "passing the torch" type deal (again Warrior/Hogan). This was none of those. It was two guys known for having good matches having a good match because they can have a good match and, look, one of them is going to win but they're both really great, right? Yawn. They seemed to try to paint it as Styles being the more seasoned veteran and Rollins "chasing" him, but Styles was never a dominant champion on RAW and Rollins has been in the WWE, in a main event position, for longer too. I know the actual timeline of careers make it clear that AJ is the vet and Rollins is (comparatively) the young lion, but in "WWE age," I don't see the "veteran vs. upstart" dynamic at all. Plus, yeah, with neither guy working remotely heel, this was just a really good exhibition match. 

- I am ALSO SHOCKED that everyone here is shitting on Brock Lesnar winning the MITB. I found that to be a WELCOME curveball that I didn't see anyone predict before the show. I can't believe that on the same board that regularly bashes Rollins for not eliciting any real responses from crowds, that regularly talks about how the WWE has no stars, that regularly discusses how much the company has failed with Reigns since his return, that we're going to then criticize the WWE for *hopefully* putting the Universal Championship back on Brock Lesnar? Come on. You can't have it both ways. Either you want one of these "good match for good matches sake" nerds to be your champion or you want the title around a guy that evokes a visceral response  and a "big fight feel" from the crowd like Lesnar does. The AJ/Rollins match might have been *technically* a great match, but it had zero "big fight feel." Every Lesnar match has that.

It shouldn't be the case of Lesnar or no stars though.

[DMJ]

Oh, I agree...but in 2019, Cena is gone, Reigns was somehow a bigger deal before he beat cancer (!) Daniel Bryan is in a tag team, and as much as I like and think the WWE could do a better job at making guys like Orton, Jeff Hardy, Mysterio, and AJ come off as bigger attractions, none of them have much aura right now. And that's before we even talk about guys that could've/should've/would've been main event stars like Strowman or Rusev or Big E. Sadly, I think we'll see the same thing with someone like Velveteen Dream - someone whose Takeover matches have become "must see" to me and who oozes charisma and feels like a transcendent star (the way Nakamura did in his WWE debut). But they'll probably have him come in and feud with Robert Roode over the 24/7 Title or whatever and that "specialness" will disappear.

So, you're right, it shouldn't be a "Lesnar Or No Stars" situation...but it IS a "Lesnar Or No Stars" situation because unless I'm missing someone, I don't see anyone with the same aura as Lesnar on the main roster currently and, even when the WWE does seem to have someone that has that aura, they crush it almost immediately with 50/50 booking and overexposure. 

[DMJ]

Oh, I agree...but in 2019, Cena is gone, Reigns was somehow a bigger deal before he beat cancer (!) Daniel Bryan is in a tag team, and as much as I like and think the WWE could do a better job at making guys like Orton, Jeff Hardy, Mysterio, and AJ come off as bigger attractions, none of them have much aura right now. And that's before we even talk about guys that could've/should've/would've been main event stars like Strowman or Rusev or Big E. Sadly, I think we'll see the same thing with someone like Velveteen Dream - someone whose Takeover matches have become "must see" to me and who oozes charisma and feels like a transcendent star (the way Nakamura did in his WWE debut). But they'll probably have him come in and feud with Robert Roode over the 24/7 Title or whatever and that "specialness" will disappear.

So, you're right, it shouldn't be a "Lesnar Or No Stars" situation...but it IS a "Lesnar Or No Stars" situation because unless I'm missing someone, I don't see anyone with the same aura as Lesnar on the main roster currently and, even when the WWE does seem to have someone that has that aura, they crush it almost immediately with 50/50 booking and overexposure. 

[Coffey]

I was OK with the Brock surprise & actually popped when his music hit. I just wish he would have laid a bigger path of destruction before grabbing the briefcase. Some more suplexes & F-5s or whatever. 

Of course, the biggest reason for me was two fold: 1. I didn't care about anyone in the match outside of Andrade and 2. it was a better surprise than Fat Rob Zombie in a clown mask coming back would have been. 

I hate that Kofi & Seth are world champs. I hate that one of the title matches on a PPV was Kofi Vs. Owens. Two scruds.

Also, if I'm being honest, I hate the force-feeding us women's matches too. Women's Money in the Bank Match, then back-to-back Becky title defense matches (with the super pushed Lacey to start) and then the Bayley cash-in all on the same show. Maybe I'm in the minority there but when I read that Stephanie McMahon's goal was to have equal matches on a show of women & men - like say both have four matches each - I got a look of horror on my face. We've had the all-women's PPV, the women's Rumble & women Main Event Wrestlemania now. It feels like they're hot-shotting this "revolution."

Cage match sucked. 205 match sucked. Mysterio/Joe was a nothing match. Then you factor in all the ref flubs & it was a truly bad PPV experience.

Once again though, I think most of it goes back to WWE just not having any stars. Brock despite feeling... oversaturated, at least still comes off as a star BECAUSE he's part-time & they protect him. Roman doesn't have that aura. Braun doesn't have that aura. Bobby Lashley & Drew MacIntyre certainly don't. And don't even get me started on Kofi, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins. Oof.

[SomethingSavage]

7 hours ago, Coffey said:

I was OK with the Brock surprise & actually popped when his music hit. I just wish he would have laid a bigger path of destruction before grabbing the briefcase. Some more suplexes & F-5s or whatever. 

Of course, the biggest reason for me was two fold: 1. I didn't care about anyone in the match outside of Andrade and 2. it was a better surprise than Fat Rob Zombie in a clown mask coming back would have been. 

I hate that Kofi & Seth are world champs. I hate that one of the title matches on a PPV was Kofi Vs. Owens. Two scruds.

Also, if I'm being honest, I hate the force-feeding us women's matches too. Women's Money in the Bank Match, then back-to-back Becky title defense matches (with the super pushed Lacey to start) and then the Bayley cash-in all on the same show. Maybe I'm in the minority there but when I read that Stephanie McMahon's goal was to have equal matches on a show of women & men - like say both have four matches each - I got a look of horror on my face. We've had the all-women's PPV, the women's Rumble & women Main Event Wrestlemania now. It feels like they're hot-shotting this "revolution."

Cage match sucked. 205 match sucked. Mysterio/Joe was a nothing match. Then you factor in all the ref flubs & it was a truly bad PPV experience.

Once again though, I think most of it goes back to WWE just not having any stars. Brock despite feeling... oversaturated, at least still comes off as a star BECAUSE he's part-time & they protect him. Roman doesn't have that aura. Braun doesn't have that aura. Bobby Lashley & Drew MacIntyre certainly don't. And don't even get me started on Kofi, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins. Oof.

This.

The women were finally the main event of WrestleMania, sure. But these women were the main event of WrestleMania at a very specific point in history where being the main event of WrestleMania no longer really means what it once did.

When Chris Jericho had Meltzer on his podcast a few weeks back, they were talking about how Mania sells itself now. And Jericho jokingly said the main event next year could literally be Funaki vs Bryan Alvarez, and attendance would still be the same. Buys would still remain unharmed. And he's right.

The women were the main event because, "What could it hurt??" And the answer is, "Nothing at all."

Besides that, the buildup was some sub-WCW 2000 level shit. I know Becky has had her fans in the lead-up, but honestly. The whole Becky/Ronda/Charlotte feud was practically lifted, copied, and pasted from Nash/Steiner/Goldberg at fucking New Blood Rising.

Oh noooo. They're not following the script, y'all. What now?!?

Gross. Awful, hideous stuff.

And hopefully we can now put to rest this silly, GREATLY exaggerated idea of Becky being Stone Cold 2.0. She's not the second coming of Austin. She's not the Yes Movement part deux. She ain't even Bret in 94.

It's a month after Mania, and she barely feels any more over than any other woman that's held the belt before her. The phrase "nothing special" sounds mean, and I don't mean it to be. But she really is presented as nothing special, and so she comes off that way.

Already. One month after her BIG, career-defining win - which itself felt like nothing special.

Honest to God, go back and watch Mickie James versus Trish from Mania 22. As it happened, that win for Mickie felt like a bigger deal - a more significant moment in history - than the finish to the forced scene we saw unfold last month for Becky.

And none of this is a knock on her, by the way. She gift-wrapped them an over act, and they still managed to royally fuck it up before they could drag it across the finish line.

[Coffey]

They have a lot of good women. They have a lot of talent. I'm not against women's wrestling or it being on the show. I am against mediocrity & when it's overlooked because of the fear of being labeled a misogynist or whatever. We're in this era of wrestling now where some things are a lot harder to talk about because everyone feels like they're walking on eggshells. If you're not a fan of Kofi as champ, as an example, you risk being labeled a racist (especially on Twitter), if you say negative things about the women or big people or whatever. Not really a concern or fear that pops-up here but if you venture away from PWO & talk about wrestling?

I'm also against anything that feels like it's being shoved down your throat. How a lot of fans felt toward Roman Reigns before the cancer is how I feel about what WWE is doing with the women. 

No denying at one time, Becky was white hot. But they definitely flubbed it in the build & I think adding Charlotte hurt things too (despite her being a great worker). So by the time Wrestlemania did roll around, it felt more like Kofi/Bryan was the "main" & the women just got to go on last as some sort of prize. It felt gifted instead of earned. Which maybe isn't fair to them, as it wasn't their fault. 

 

 

[rovert]

I am a big supporter of (good/great) Women's Wrestling. A SHIMMER DVD buyer from the start. But yeah the 24/7 title and a grittier third hour seem to be a move against Women's Wrestling. The hour used to be Ronda and the rest of women's division territory to mixed to bad results in the ratings. The time and thought to the division has to me at least has regressed to pre-Ronda levels.

With SomethingSavage on his post above but you have to point to history too in terms of Women's Wrestling never being a draw in the US. Similarly the issues with a lot of Women's sport. While ratings are this dire I am not sold on strongly emphasizing serious Women's Wrestling is commercially wise. I honestly wish that was different.

Becky's WWE 24 documentary released this week was amazingly great and something every fan should seek out. But even in that Becky and Nattie made mention of Wrestlemania starting 7th April and the main event hitting the ring after midnight and on the 8th April. There are endless nonsense and factors that take away from things not being as over as they should. To the degree is unfair to draw conclusions about serious Women's Wrestling and it's viability on a National level. 

Hopely AEW's presentation of their Women's division is more thoughtful and just better so we have more to work with. 

[NintendoLogic]

There needs to be more discussion about how the ending of Wrestlemania took the wind out of Becky's sails. She was set up to establish herself as The Man and end the undefeated streak of The Baddest Woman on the Planet, and she does it by...pinning Ronda with a crucifix? With Ronda's shoulders clearly off the mat? It's up there with Sting/Hogan as a kneecapping of a babyface at their moment of triumph.

[rovert]

 

 

 

10 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

There needs to be more discussion about how the ending of Wrestlemania took the wind out of Becky's sails. She was set up to establish herself as The Man and end the undefeated streak of The Baddest Woman on the Planet, and she does it by...pinning Ronda with a crucifix? With Ronda's shoulders clearly off the mat? It's up there with Sting/Hogan as a kneecapping of a babyface at their moment of triumph.

I agree personally and as a fan.

But watch Becky's WWE 24 WWE Network Special. It simply isn't WWE canon. The documentary editor did a miracle edit on the finish. And Vince's reaction was that of someone who didn't mind.

Also, it wasn't mentioned on the Raw episode after Wrestlemania.

Wish I  knew what the wider perception of the fanbase was on the finish and if they noticed. Becky's reactions on TV in the weeks was good to great while at MITB they were red hot for her. 

[sek69]

I'm not saying anyone critical of Kofi is racist, but it does seem like a lot of folks in the wrestling bubble are eager to deem this run he's on a failure. Lots of minutiae and nitpitckery that I don't recall other recent champs having to deal with. I don't blame folks for thinking it's another case of a black person having to work 2x as hard to get the same amount of benefit.

[El-P]

I dunno. Kofi was an mid-card tag team comedy act and a yearly gimmick performer at the Royal Rumble for ever. He stumbled into a great spot because Ali got hurt, got over like crazy thanks to Daniel Bryan in the cage, then Bryan worked his magic again at Mania. Kofi is not exactly a great worker himself. It's like back in 2000 if Grandmasta Sexay of all of sudden worked a program against The Rock and won the title. Once the great moment is done, he's still Grandmasta Sexay.

[SomethingSavage]

I'm still waiting to make my mind up on Kofi as champ.

With that being said, I've absolutely praised his efforts in recent months. He took an opportunity and totally made the most of it. He gave a wonderful, spirited performance back in that gauntlet - one that eclipsed the overrated Raw gauntlet match people were praising just a year before.

Kofi took the story meant for Ali, openly embraced it, and made it his own. He won the people over and had them fully in his corner. I respect the hell out of that.

Unfortunately, at the end of the day, he's still kind of just the same worker. Working the same matches. Hitting the same notes. Without Daniel Bryan there stirring the drink, the cocktail as a whole just isn't as satisfying. And so now we're left with this weird aftertaste - where Kofi's still *sort of* riding high on that Mania momentum, but it's also slightly awkward and out of place at best.

I just wish he felt the freedom to alter his character a bit. He can't keep tossing around pancakes and stuff all the time. There can be comedic elements that remain intact, for sure. But I'm also left wanting a rougher edge in my top champion, ya know.

In short, I've enjoyed the shit out of Kofi's journey. But he needs to step it up now that he's in this spot.

To be fair, it doesn't help that he's gone from Daniel Bryan - magnificent, revelation of a heel - to heatless Kevin Owens and retread mid-card lifer Dolph Ziggler as his prime opposition. This is truly uninspired stuff, even if Kofi is racking up some wins.

Sometimes, the quest to reach the top of the mountain is the story. Sometimes that's all the fans want to see. That doesn't make them racist or hypocritical. Sometimes you want a guy to get there. But then he's standing there atop the mountain, and you realize you don't really like the way that looks after all.

Maybe that's how some people feel. Maybe it's a combination of everything. I don't know. Like I said, I'm still reserving judgment and waiting for them to give him a worthwhile opponent again.

Because it's kind of hard to rate his status as a top guy when he's essentially still booked like a mid-card guy, working mid-card opponents in the middle of the card.

[sek69]

He stumbled into the spot because of Ali, but he stayed there because it got over and clicked with the fans at a level almost nothing else does in today's WWE.  Giving all the credit to Daniel (while he certainly deserves a portion) is suspect as hell. 

[Alucard]

5 hours ago, SomethingSavage said:

And hopefully we can now put to rest this silly, GREATLY exaggerated idea of Becky being Stone Cold 2.0. She's not the second coming of Austin. She's not the Yes Movement part deux. She ain't even Bret in 94.

It's a month after Mania, and she barely feels any more over than any other woman that's held the belt before her. The phrase "nothing special" sounds mean, and I don't mean it to be. But she really is presented as nothing special, and so she comes off that way.

Already. One month after her BIG, career-defining win - which itself felt like nothing special.

Amen. Absolutely ridiculous exaggeration that was. Personally, I don't think Becky's had any great matches without Charlotte in a few years now. Massively cooled off since the Nia incident in November.

Also agreed on Kofi - getting stuck with heatless Owens as his first post-Bryan feud is the 2019 equivalent of the new champion's first feud being Kane in years past, but worse.

[Badlittlekitten]

Still don't get why they turned KO back heel again. People wanted to cheer him. I thought it was to cover for Bryan, but Bryan is back. They've totally botched his return.

[El-P]

7 hours ago, sek69 said:

He stumbled into the spot because of Ali, but he stayed there because it got over and clicked with the fans at a level almost nothing else does in today's WWE.  Giving all the credit to Daniel (while he certainly deserves a portion) is suspect as hell. 

Have Corbin work that last part of the cage match and then the Mania main event, I don't think Kofi gets the reaction he did. Sure, Kofi deserves tons of credit for getting over. But it's hard to ask people to see him as a legit main eventer past the context of the great Mania match after a decade of being a goof. 

[Coffey]

I will say, I like Kofi on top more than I would have liked Ali on top. Even in the MITB ladder match, I thought Ali stuck out like a sore thumb. 

Also, I know the New Day themselves are adamant about not splitting up the group & I'm OK with that, but I would love to see some Big E. solo stuff. That guy is a bucket of charisma. 

Also, as a side note, I thought Money in the Bank was a pretty bad PPV but us getting this much discussion from it is pretty cool.

[C.S.]

13 hours ago, Coffey said:

I will say, I like Kofi on top more than I would have liked Ali on top. Even in the MITB ladder match, I thought Ali stuck out like a sore thumb. 

I never got the impression that it would have been Bryan vs. Ali at Mania though.

My best guess is that we would've gotten Bryan vs. KO at the big show. Remember those weird vignettes KO was doing? When you think about it, they were all pro-consumerism - which is exactly what Bryan was railing against at the time. 

[Kadaveri]

Remember Bryan vs. Kofi was originally going to happen at Fastlane, but got pulled the week before for Bryan vs. Owens. My guess is Bryan vs. Ali was only meant to be a Fastlane match anyway, Kofi took Ali's spot, then he got really hot so that match was moved to Mania.

[Jimmy Redman]

I've been pretty out of the loop with wrestling for a good while, and I know I'm like two weeks late to be talking about this PPV that I only half watched but I had a thought that I still want to unload so bear with me.

Bayley winning MITB was a really cool moment. Of the people in the ring she seemed like the best possible option, so I was expecting a cheap heel win for someone like Mandy and was pleasantly surprised that they went with her. And that people reacted so well to it shows you that there's still always potential there to salvage someone who was once as over and as captivating to her audience as Bayley was.

I'm fine with what they did with the title switches on the show in the context of current TV, wanting to get a belt off Becky and onto Smackdown. This isn't about that, but more of a general point about how WWE TV *feels* in 2019, from something that just struck me all at once, when she grabbed the briefcase.

What a wasted opportunity that was.

The idea of 2015 NXT Bayley graduating and eventually holding the MITB briefcase on the main roster is a FASCINATING prospect. (Even moreso if you pretend she hadn't already won the Raw title a bunch of times already, but here we are.)

Bayley is the ultimate babyface. Good and sweet and upstanding and our eternal rooting interest. Very Cena-esqe, in the sense that her character's instinct is to always do what is right, even when it is hard. What would she do with the ultimate heelish shortcut device? Would she give into the temptation to make a surprise cash in, like so many other babyfaces have? Would she do what Cena did and announce it in advance, being noble, perhaps, but foolhardy? Would she grapple with the decision?

Consider also her best friend, Sasha Banks (yes I heard she's on holiday, continue to bear with me). Sasha who loves Bayley, who idolises Bayley, who has always wanted to BE Bayley, going back to the start of their NXT rivalry. But a Sasha who has historically NOT been able to live up to her idol's ideals, who has taken the easy way out and turned heel in the pursuit of championships and success. She ultimately doesn't see the value in principle if it's not going to get you to your dreams. Not for her, anyway.

So after becoming closer than ever as a tag team and having a title run, only to lose them on the grand stage, how would Sasha react to Bayley's win? Would she be happy for her? Jealous? Resentful? Supportive? Would she try to convince Bayley to do the smart thing and cash in unannounced, tell her to resist the urge to be a hero? Or would she support her best friend, and admire her even more for sticking to her principles? Or would Bayley cashing in and becoming women's champion again stir up all of Sasha's inadequacies and jealousies and cause her to snap? Would that be the catalyst for the main roster Bayley/Sasha feud they always wanted to do?

There's an extra layer if both champions are (as they were for a moment in real time) the other members of the Four Horsewomen. Would Bayley feel conflicted about ambushing one of her fellow sisters with a cash in? Would a heel Charlotte belittle Bayley and tell her she wouldn't DARE? How would Becky Lynch confront Bayley holding the briefcase? And if the champ was a heel like Alexa or Lacey, say, would Sasha be in her ear telling her to cash in, they deserve it anyway? Would that kind of heel champ mock Bayley for being weak and stupid if she hesitated? If she was unsure? But wouldn't pure at heart, ultimate babyface Bayley hesitate about taking the biggest shortcut in the business?

There are just a million possibilities, and a million storyline beats they could hit with that, IF they had any fucking clue how to develop characters on the main roster, and IF Bayley was anywhere near the person she was in 2015. Of course, those are IFs so big you could land a plane on them.

My other side point to that is how frustrating, and narratively limiting it is that a surprise MITB cash in is portrayed as just something you do, instead of a heelish cheapshot. They literally have no ideas for it other than "I wonder when X will surprisingly run in and cash it in!" The point where cash ins became like... nearfalls, where they'd run out and stare at a dead guy and stare at the case and stare back at the dead guy and then signal for a cash in but then OH someone distracted me so nothing happened and it wasn't a cash in we were just teasing, until the next time we try it... eww. I'm glad Brock is having fun dancing on telly but this shit needed to die yesterday.

Anyway hi guys what the fuck is up.

 

[Al]

Spot on. When Van Dam won it in 2006 he used it to set up the match with Cena at Extreme Rules. That was logical. Having a face cash in as a cheapshot makes the face look bad for taking advantage, and makes the heel look bad for not skirting the rules and taking a cheap DQ or something.

[El-P]

7 hours ago, Jimmy Redman said:

Anyway hi guys what the fuck is up.

AEW, pretty much. Kylie Ray is gonna be your next favourite worker ever.