Money In The Bank Recap, Plus Becky Lynch Is Pregnant?
This past Sunday, WWE presented its annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view and it was an excellent show. The best match of the night was clearly the match between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre, which was won by McIntyre. We also saw Bayley retain her title against Tamina, The New Day retained their titles in a fatal four-way match with the Lucha House Party, The Forgotten Sons, and Miz and Morrison, while Braun Stroman retained his title against Bray Wyatt and Jeff Hardy knocked off Cesaro.
The main part of the event was the Money in the Bank ladder matches themselves. The Men’s M.I.T.B. winner was a shocker. At the end of the match, AJ Styles and Baron Corbin were both atop the ladder and each had unhooked the briefcase at the same time and they both held on to it. While fighting for full control, the briefcase slipped out of their hands and fell into the arms of Otis below. He was declared the winner and anyone who had him at +600, took home a nice payday.
The women’s match was fun, but the one I thought would win it, did not. That woman was Shayna Baszler, who was the favorite. In the end, Baszler, Carmella, and Dana Brooke were not even on the roof as Lacy Evans, Nia Jax, and Asuka were battling for the briefcase. Asuka eventually won it, which was not a huge surprise to some. The biggest surprise came the next night on Raw.
The Raw episode right after a PPV is always fun and Monday night’s edition began with a bang and a huge announcement. Throughout Monday, Becky Lynch had stated on WWE.com that she had a big announcement to make on that night and she came out at the beginning of the show, holding Asuka’s briefcase that she won the night before. I thought she was gonna just make an immediate challenge to the Empress of Tomorrow but I was way off on that respect.
Asuka came out thinking that Becky had just stolen her briefcase but in essence, she opened it up to show Asuka that she had won the belt. The Match the previous night was not for a contract, it was for the Women’s Title Belt. Becky “The Man” Lynch told Asuka to go be a champion while she will go and be a mom. That’s right, Becky announced that she was pregnant and that changes the landscape of the women’s division on raw.
Lynch was the longest reigning women’s champion in modern history as she won the title back at Wrestlemania 35, which was nearly 400 days ago. In that match, she beat Rhonda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match. The 33-year-old left that event with both the Raw and Smackdown Women’s Title belts and she has held on to the Raw one ever since. This past Wrestlemania, Lynch successfully defended her title against Baszler. It was the last time she wrestled and it is unclear if she will eventually return to the squared circle after she has her baby. Who is the father, you ask? That would be her fiancee' Seth Rollins, who is now known as the Monday Night Messiah. Rollins may have snapped under the pressure or the news as he tried to gouge Rey Mysterio’s eye out on this past Monday Night Raw. The dude completely snapped. It will be interesting to see how Rollins moves forward. Becky and Seth got engaged in August of 2019.
So what is next for the new Women’s Champ, Asuka? In looking over the Raw women’s roster, there isn’t a whole lot for the WWE to choose from, but one name does clearly stand out and that is Shayna Baszler. It makes sense as the two held the belts the longest at NXT. Asuka held the title for a span of 522 straight days, before a collarbone injury and a move to the main roster ended that run. Baszler held the title for 549 days, but unlike Asuka, it was over two different title reigns.
The Queen of Spades is the obvious choice right now, but don’t be surprised if someone else emerges as the challenger. Ruby Riott, Kari Sane, Nia Jax, or even Bianca Belair, who has faced Baszler down in NXT and recently got the call-up to the main roster. The Women’s division will not be the same without Beck in it, especially since she has been such a fan favorite. My favorite on the Raw Women’s roster is Baszler and I sure hope that she will eventually become the champ. It will be interesting to see how WWE plays this going forward.
