WWE's latest pay-per-view in Toronto turned out to be a wild night
By Connor Casey
• 1 min read
WWE's 15th annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view turned out to be one of its most chaotic. Cody Rhodes suffered his first pinfall loss since becoming undisputed WWE champion, Tiffany Stratton and Drew McIntyre won the Money in the Bank ladder matches and CM Punk flipped the world heavyweight championship match on its head for the second pay-per-view in a row.
McIntyre opened the pay-per-view by winning the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match and, as promised, cashed in during the world title match between Damian Priest and Seth Rollins. However, Punk quickly hit the ring and attacked McIntyre, eventually setting up Priest to pin "The Scottish Warrior." The result not only robbed McIntyre of winning the world title yet again, but it also means (per the pre-established stipulation) Rollins cannot challenge for the title again as long as Priest is champion.
WWE is now barreling toward SummerSlam next month with matches like Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa, McIntyre vs. Punk and Priest vs. Gunther in their sights.
CBS Sports was with you the whole way through the event with live updates, highlights and grades as the action went down.
Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline – Jacob Fatu turned out to be the difference-maker for the Bloodline. Rhodes looked to have the match won by hitting back to back Cross Rhodes on Sikoa, only for Fatu to leap off the top rope and prevent a third. He then hit an Implant DDT and hoisted Rhodes up for Sikoa to hit a Samoan Spike and the win.
Placing this match at the end of the show made it seem like WWE was setting up either a Roman Reigns return or a surprise betrayal from Randy Orton. It turns out we got neither, and now Sikoa is at the front of the line for a title shot against Rhodes (presumably at SummerSlam). This was by no means the best match of the night, but it gradually built momentum into becoming a worthwhile pay-per-view main event. Solo Sikoa wins via pinfall. Grade: B
Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match -- Iyo Sky vs. Chelsea Green vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. Zoey Stark: Green was inches away from unhooking the briefcase while the rest of the ring was cleared out – only for Stratton to sprint her way up another ladder and send Green crashing through a pair of tables outside the ring. She then grabbed the briefcase for the victory.
People have been picking Stratton as the Money in the Bank winner for months and Toronto made it obvious from the start that she was the favorite to win. Her winning makes the most sense and it'll undoubtedly launch her to the top of SmackDown's women's division. The right call was made, and the match had some truly insane moments. Tiffany Stratton wins by retrieving the briefcase. Grade: B+
World Heavyweight Championship -- Damian Priest (c) def. Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre – McIntyre ran out late into the match and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, turning the match into a triple threat. However, McIntyre's attempt to capitalize was quickly thwarted by CM Punk, who pulled McIntyre out of the ring and started walloping him with a steel chair. Punk then smacked McIntyre in the face with the world title, and Priest hit a South of Heaven for the win.
Whether you love or hate the end result, this was yet another great chapter in the Punk/McIntyre program. It doesn't fix the problem surrounding Priest's title reign, but WWE now has a must-see match on their hands for SummerSlam. Priest wins via pinfall. Grade: A
Intercontinental Championship -- Sami Zayn (c) def. Bron Breakker – Despite Breakker having the strength advantage from the word go, most of the match saw Zayn outsmart the upstart rookie. Breakker countered Zayn's first Helluva Kick attempt and hit a Gorilla Press Powerslam, but Zayn managed to block his Spear attempt and hit the Helluva Kick for the win.
Regardless of the winner, I was expecting this to look more like a one-sided squash match. But the decision to have it be a back-and-forth contest not only continued to highlight Zayn's run as a babyface champion but also showed just how much Breakker has developed. This was solid. Zayn wins via pinfall. Grade: B+
Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match -- Jey Uso vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Andrade vs. Chad Gable vs. LA Knight vs. Drew McIntyre: McIntyre had the first opening at the briefcase, smacking his opponents with a ladder before climbing up. Chad Gable interrupted him and locked in a grapevine armbar, but was helpless as Andrade hit him with a springboard legdrop to send all three men crashing to the mat.
The final sequence saw Gable get both hands on it, only for Uso to pull the ladder out from under him and cause him to hit the mat after swinging above the ring. Uso hit a Spear and climbed the ladder only to get whacked in the face as McIntyre threw a ladder at him. McIntyre then climbed up to unhook the briefcase.
As Money in the Bank matches go, this was a fun one. We had guys like Gable and Hayes get the chance to shine, while the right man still won. Now let's see if McIntyre lives up to his promise and cashes in tonight or if he gets thwarted by Punk once again. Drew McIntyre wins by retrieving the briefcase. Grade: A-
