With WrestleMania 34, Greatest Royal Rumble, and BackLash in the bag, the WWE Universe has its sights set on the next major event: Money in the Bank. This event has a unique appeal thanks to its titular match, in which a number of superstars attempt to capture a briefcase that will grant them a free title opportunity at any given time. As of last year, there are two briefcases: One for men, and one for women.
But how will WWE decide who gets to have a shot at the briefcase? Raw General Manager Kurt Angle addressed the situation on the show this week by telling the crowd that each Money in the Bank match will have eight competitors: Four from Raw, and four from Smackdown. Who will get to compete will be determined by a series of qualifying matches over the next few weeks.
The first qualifying match pitted the gargantuan Braun Strowman against infamous trash-talker Kevin Owens. If you’ve witnessed the matches Strowman and Owens have had over the past few weeks, the outcome shouldn’t be too surprising: Strowman trashed Owens both in and out of the ring, delivering his trademark running powerslam for the pin. Pro tip: Try not to piss off “The Monster Among Men,” because he’s never going to drop his grudge.
The women’s qualifier of the night featured a brutal free-for-all showdown between Sasha Banks, Ruby Riott, and newcomer Ember Moon. Even though Riott trying to leverage her Riott Squad members to gain the upper hand, Moon eventually came out on top by landing her signature Eclipse. Moon has been on Raw for only a month, but she’s already making her presence known.
The last match of the night was another men’s qualifier—this one a three-way faceoff between Roman Reigns, Finn Bálor, and Sami Zayn. After taking down Samoa Joe on Backlash this Sunday, Reigns seemed to have the momentum in his favor going into the match.
With Reigns distracted by a surprise appearance by Jinder Mahal, though, Bálor was able to take advantage of the chaos by landing a Coup de Grace on Zayn. It might not have been exactly fair, but who can blame Bálor for seizing an opportunity?
With two out of four male superstars and one female superstar having qualified for Money in the Bank, time will tell who else will be in the running for the briefcase in the weeks to come.
