There were some twists and turns at Money in the Bank with the end result being not one but two massive title changes in a row
Just two minutes after Seth Rollins reclaimed the World Heavyweight Championship late Sunday night at WWE Money in the Bank, Dean Ambrose stepped to up to the plate, cashed in his newly won MITB briefcase and pinned Rollins to win the title.
For Ambrose, who won the guaranteed title match earlier in the night in the Money in the Bank ladder match, it is his first world championship. For WWE, it may mark a turn in company direction after an extremely predictable last few months.
e start of the scheduled championship match between Rollins and defending champion Roman Reigns was relatively slow as it took a while for the two to find their rhythm. Business picked up eventually and reached a crescendo a few minutes before the finish with high-energy maneuvers -- Falcon's Arrow, frog splash, one-handed lift-up powerbomb, Razor's Edge into a powerbomb -- and plenty of near falls.
Outside the ring, Reigns threw himself into the outside barricade as Rollins dove out of the way, shifting it more than three feet and staggering once returning to a standing position.
WWE seemingly putting the strap back on Rollins makes a lot of sense considering he never lost the belt and could continue a feud with Reigns. It was an even better decision after the Ambrose cash-in -- more on that in a moment -- as it creates a three-way mess atop the world title picture and sets up an ideal triple threat match for the main event of SummerSlam in two months.
Ambrose's music hit mere moments after Rollins regained the title, but Rollins was unable to find him as he scanned the entrance to the ring. Once Rollins turned around, Ambrose nailed him atop the head with the briefcase, cashed the contract in to a referee standing outside the ring and jumped back in to hit Dirty Deeds and earn the pinfall victory after just 120 seconds of Rollins' second title reign.
WWE delayed the end of Money in the Bank well past the 11 p.m. cut-off, allowing it to serve as dessert following a busy day including a U.S. Open win for Dustin Johnson and improbable come-from-behind NBA title win for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. (Ambrose, by the way, hails from Cincinnati.)
Ultimately, as with most things involving WWE, it will be up to the writers to determine whether this huge opportunity is wasted. WWE in Ambrose has a lead character who could right a lot of recent wrongs and set the company in a new creative direction, particularly with its brand split upcoming in July.
Results
United States Championship -- Rusev (c) def. Titus O'Neil via submission to retain: The result here was obvious as O'Neil was in his first singles title match, likely in large part as a measure of an apology for a ridiculous WWE suspension. Back to the match, though, O'Neil got in some offense, but Rusev winning and retaining his title was never a question. I wouldn't expect him to drop it until a top-tier challenger faces him, likely at SummerSlam. O'Neil's family and children were ringside for the match, and Rusev made sure to go over and mock them after beating their dad on Father's Day.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match -- Dean Ambrose def. Chris Jericho, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Alberto Del Rio: Most of the match was typical of a MITB. There were some very impressive spots, everyone got an opportunity to climb near the top of the ladder, etc. Then things kicked up into another gear starting with Zayn bodyslamming Owens on top of a ladder laying vertically on the mat. The ladders were then erected to look like an A in the middle of the ring with two standing in the middle and others connecting them to opposite ring posts. It was at that point that all six competitors were on top contesting for the briefcase. From there, they picked each other apart one by one until Ambrose found an open window to knock Owens down and ascend to the top of the ladder and grab the briefcase.
A.J. Styles def. John Cena via pinfall: Just a fantastic match. Saying that plenty with Cena these days, huh? So much for, "You can't wrestle." It was non-stop action for Cena-Styles with Styles dominating much of the early going with his high-energy moves. Cena and Styles exchanged submission moves and then finishers with Cena's Attitude Adjustment and Styles' Styles Clash both resulting in kick outs at two. Styles attempted a shooting star press from the top rope, but Cena held up his knees to regain the advantage. Cena eventually hit a second AA, though Styles' feet kicked the referee and knocked him out of the ring, resulting in no count and the rest of The Club running to the ring to interfere. After knocking Cena out, The Club placed Styles on top as the referee slid back into the right for the pin count.
Apollo Crews def. Sheamus via pinfall: Good featured spot here for Crews, who got a clean victory just not one you'd hope to see from a young talent WWE is looking to build. After Sheamus hit White Noise from the top rope, he sat up on the canvas angry over only getting a two count. Crews took advantage of the distraction, rolling up Sheamus for the 1-2-3. The young NXT call-up has a lot of potential and could really stand out in the midcard picture as a titleholder if he gets the push. Obviously the athleticism is not an issue for Crews.
Charlotte & Dana Brooke def. Natalya & Becky Lynch via pinfall: As I said before the show, the only way this made sense was to strengthen the Charlotte/Brooke duo, which is exactly what happened. Natalya looked to have a win in the books after locking in the Sharpshooter, but it was broken up. She then ran into her teammate, Lynch, allowing Charlotte to take advantage of the distraction by hitting Natural Selection for the pin and victory. After the match, a frustrated Natty turned full heel, hitting Lynch from behind hard into the ropes. The first surprise of the night.
Baron Corbin def. Dolph Ziggler via pinfall: Corbin finally got his singles-match moment against Ziggler. He's beaten him before, of course, but he looked dominant at the end of this one and took a clean victory after some hard shots and an End of Days for the pinfall.
Tag Team Championship (Fatal 4-Way Match) -- New Day (c) def. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Enzo Amore & Big Cass and The Vaudevillains via pinfall to retain: The show opened up hot with Amore on the mic and stayed that way through the first match. Big Cass launching Amore out of the ring onto the rest of the participants stood as an early highlight, and at one point it looked as if they might pull off the surprise win. Instead, after Anderson and Gallows got involved, New Day received a bit of help from a big boot by Cass and was able to double team Anderson for the pinfall victory to retain their tag team titles.
Lucha Dragons def. Dudley Boyz via pinfall (Kickoff Show): Man, are the Dudleyz are jobbing for every tag team in WWE these days.
Golden Truth def. Breezango via pinfall (Kickoff Show): This went exactly as you would have expected. If I'm being candid, I was catching the end of the U.S. Open and missed it because, really, we've seen this 15 times on TV already. Upon watching on the replay, the gimmick here was that Breezango had over-tanned. Their chests were bright red with skin peeling off them, giving Golden Truth some sort of advantage that led to an eventual pinfall victory by Goldust.
