Time for another half-assed "premium live event" from WWE. Ya know, I used to think PLEs and PPVs were the same thing, but WWE keeps proving that theory wrong, don't they? AEW's Double or Nothing was an absolute banger, one of the best shows they've ever produced, easily the best show of 2025 thus far, but hold up, here comes a near-throwaway PLE from the bastion of mediocrity!
Four matches, two of them Money in the Bank ladder matches, and if you've read my stuff at all over the past several years I've been saying for a long time it's time to retire this concept. It's a lazy, undisciplined way to elevate new stars and usually doesn't do much to elevate anyone long-term (not to mention the multi-person ladder match is so beyond played out at this point). Surely the "Booker of the Year" can figure out an effective way to get someone over without resorting to a cheap cash-in after the champion's already wrestled.
Anyway, let's look at the lineup (For the record, only one black wrestler on the card, Naomi. Never Beating Those Allegations. N.B.T.A.).....
Women's Intercontinental Championship: Lyra Valkyria vs. Becky Lynch
I expect this to steal the show like it did at Backlash, and it's Becky's "last chance" so I imagine she'll win the title here. I guess Becky/WWE wanted to give Lyra a big win before taking the belt off her. It does however follow WWE's tired pattern of "Babyface champion beats heel challenger clean but gives heel challenger another shot anyway."
Pick: Becky
John Cena & Logan Paul vs. Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso
Why isn't a match like this on Saturday Night's Main Event instead of a PPV? And why doesn't the brand split mean jack squat in this company? Anyway this should be a lot better than any of Cena's 2025 singles matches since he won't have to carry half the load. Does it matter fuck-all who wins this though?
Pick: I'll go with Cody and Jey I guess
Women's Money in the Bank: Rhea Ripley vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia vs. Stephanie Vaquer
Seems kinda goofy to me that any multi-time world champions like Rhea Ripley would ever be in a Money in the Bank match at this point since she clearly doesn't need it to earn title shots; she gets them on her own all the time to the point that some fans are actually complaining how consistently she gets pushed. Newcomers and frustrated contenders who need a shortcut to greatness obviously benefit the most from this opportunity from a kayfabe standpoint (which further illustrates why it's outlived its usefulness as a tool to properly make a new star). If I'm booking this I'd probably give it to one of the NXT call-ups, Stephanie in particular, so she'd make some kind of memorable splash and be an immediate threat to the status quo. But they generally don't push call-ups quite that fast. Naomi is apparently the Vegas favorite so I guess we'll go with her? She certainly qualifies as a frustrated character who needs a shortcut.
Pick: Naomi
Men's Money in the Bank: Seth Rollins vs. El Grande Americano vs. Solo Sikoa vs. LA Knight vs. Andrade vs. Penta
Speaking of needing shortcuts, in this match you have Solo, Knight, Andrade and the fake lucha guy. They also are certainly frustrated contenders. Then you have newcomer Penta, and multi-time headliner Seth Rollins who doesn't need the briefcase at all. The only two guys who really have big stories at the moment are Seth and El Grande so it's probably one of those two, and I don't really see El Grande ever winning a world championship. That leaves Seth, who's the top heel on RAW at least, but couldn't he win back the World Title without a lame cash-in? Doesn't it make him more of a threat if he controls the top belt by winning in the traditional fashion? Shouldn't winning the Night 1 main event at WrestleMania put him right back in front of the line? This is kinda like when Brock won MITB in 2019 and it was totally unnecessary since he was portrayed as being good enough to win the title whenever the fuck he wanted.
Pick: Seth
So yeah, pretty skippable-looking show. Hey remember when they tried to run Money in the Bank from a stadium? Lineups like these are why that didn't work out.
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