THIS Sunday the superstars of SmackDown will battle it out at one of the most exciting events in the WWE calendar – Money in the Bank.
The headline match sees AJ Styles v Shinsuke Nakamura v Kevin Owens v Dolph Ziggler vs Baron Corbin v Sami Zayn in the MITB ladder match – with the winner getting a guaranteed shot at the WWE Champion.
And for the first time ever, WWE stages a women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Ahead of the big event, the superstars were back in action for last night’s edition of SmackDown. Here are seven things we learnt.
The New Day and Breezango make a great team
The opening match saw The New Day and Breezango battle tag champs The Usos and The Colons.
The comedy credentials of both New Day and Breezango make them a natural fit on screen – though there was noticeable lack of personality on the opposing team.
It was fun match regardless, which ended when New Day hit the UpUpDownDown foot stomp on Primo.
But can they get the win when they face the Usos for the titles this Sunday?
The Lovely Lana has been learning some moves
SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi finally got a win on television when she pinned Tamina with a split-legged moonsault.
But her celebration was short lived.
Lana – Naomi’s challenger this Sunday – attacked her and hit a decent looking move (for someone’s who’s essentially a non-wrestler, at least): a modified sit-down power bomb.
It looks like Lana has been working on her in-ring skills while she’s been off TV.
Whether she wrestle a championship-worthy match at Money in the Bank is another matter.
Jinder vs Orton is finally entertaining
The WWE Champion hit the ring for another stilted promo, in which he talked trash about Randy Orton’s family and accused “The Viper” of not being man enough to face him.
The segment ended when Orton hit the ring to strike Jinder with classic RKO outta nowhere (straight on Jinder’s rug).
It was the best segment of this feud so far by a long way – and Orton looked like he could actually be bothered for the first time in weeks.
The Fashion Police’s mystery attackers have been identified
In the latest Fashion Files skit, Fandango found his partner Tyler Breeze laid out backstage – presumably attacked by the same team who trashed their office weeks ago.
Fandango sketched a picture of the attackers from Breeze’s description (which to everyone else looked like a couple of stickmen) meaning the Fashion Police are on the case.
Who could the attackers be? Could American Alpha be on their way back and poised for a heel turn?
Charlotte beating Natalya is second nature
Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya for the umpteenth time ahead of the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match this Sunday.
Charlotte looked dominant, but it feels like misdirection.
With WWE’s recent tendency to push superstars into the title picture with no warning (see your WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal), our money’s on an unexpected win for Carmella.
Sami Zayn is 3-0 over Baron Corbin
AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Sami Zayn teamed up for a winning effort against Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, and Baron Corbin.
Despite being demolished by Corbin in backstage segments each week, Zayn scored a third consecutive pinfall over The Lone Wolf with a thunderous Helluva Kick.
Is it just an excuse for Corbin to beat up Zayn even more? Or is WWE getting ready to give Sami the headline push he deserves?
Nakamura heads into Money in the Bank in (strong) style A post-match scuffle turned into an all-out every-man- for-himself brawl, with the six competitors nailing each other with ladders to sell their big match this Sunday.
Nakamura eventually climbed the ladder to grab the briefcase that was hanging there for show – a symbolic victory that could foreshadow him becoming Mr Money in the Bank for real.
It feels too obvious though – and perhaps too soon for The King of Strong Style to be contending for the WWE Championship. We predict something a little more… 'phenomenal'.
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