WWE Money in the Bank 2023 takes place today (Sat., July 1) from The O2 Arena in London, England. It begins at 2 pm ET with the Kickoff show leading right on into the main course at 3 pm ET on Peacock in the U.S., WWE Network everywhere else, or your local cable pay-per-view provider.
LA Knight winning the Money in the Bank contract is a no-brainer decision
LA Knight, BUTCH, Santos Escobar, Damian Priest, Ricochet, Logan Paul, and Shinsuke Nakamura will all climb ladders today in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match in an attempt to secure a briefcase that holds a contract allowing one to challenge for a championship at any time. Knight and Paul are the megastars of the match and the favorites to win.
Knight is one of the most over wrestlers on the WWE roster and this could very well be the start of his push up the card. In fact, I’d go as far as to say a victory for Knight is a no-brainer decision that WWE would be extremely foolish to pass up on. The loud audience reactions have been there for just about all of 2023. It just doesn’t make any sense to wait any longer on pulling the trigger on LA Knight. The audience has been wanting this for a long time. Make it happen, WWE.
However, Logan Paul’s status as a giant YouTube star, combined with his impressive performances in a pro wrestling ring, mean he is a serious threat to win this match. At the very least, Paul is probably here for another must-see viral spot with Ricochet.
Damian Priest has been doing a lot of jobs lately, but that can all be erased if he wins the contract. Priest’s time with the Judgment Day might be winding down, especially if he cashes in during the Rollins vs. Balor match later in the night.
BUTCH is the hometown star who will be cheered like crazy and therefore can’t be completely dismissed as a potential winner of this match, even though the probability of that happening is low.
Escobar, Ricochet, and Nakamura don’t have much of a chance here, but I guess you never know.
The rest of the card
Here are the six remaining matches that are currently advertised for Money in the Bank:
The Usos vs. Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa
The Bloodline civil war is upon us now that Jey Uso finally made the decision to not just walk away from Roman Reigns, but to superkick the Tribal Chief in the face multiple times.
This civil war has been coming ever since Roman disrespected the Usos following their tag team championship loss at WrestleMania 39. Jimmy made the first big move, turning on Roman at Night of Champions, and Jey followed suit after Roman tried to manipulate him into attacking his own twin brother. Meanwhile, Solo Sikoa made his choice to stick by his Tribal Chief when he attacked Jimmy with the Samoan Spike.
The key to The Usos success might involve convincing their brother Solo to turn on Roman too. That’s why Jimmy and Jey planted the seeds for Solo Sikoa to become the next Tribal Chief. Roman immediately dismissed the idea with a laugh, but Solo’s face was harder to read.
Like with most Roman Reigns matches on PPV, this bout is expected to main event today’s card.
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn Balor for the World Heavyweight Championship
This match is seven years in the making. That’s how long ago it was when Balor defeated Rollins to become the first ever Universal champion, only to have Rollins laugh at him as he was immediately forced to vacate the title due to an injury he suffered in their match.
Balor has been haunted by Seth’s grating laughter ever since, but now he has the chance to finally do something about it. Finn has ramped up his aggression and brutality ever since he became the number one contender to Seth’s relatively new World heavyweight Championship. This is a dangerous version of Finn Balor that Seth hasn’t dealt with before, and Rollins will have to make an adjustment to his approach towards Finn if he plans on walking out of Money in the Bank with the belt still around his waist.
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match
Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus, Zoey Stark, IYO SKY, Bayley, and Zelina Vega are in the women’s ladder match this year. Four of these women have been enemies of Becky Lynch over the last year, so the deck is stacked against The Man. It’s partially her own fault, though, as her unnecessary interference in a qualifying match is what allowed Trish to make it here. The only babyface in this match besides Lynch is Vega, who is a clear underdog.
That being said, we might not have to wait that much longer before IYO turns babyface. Her relationship with fellow Damage CTRL member Bayley has been stressed of late, and it’s pretty obvious that Bayley is not comfortable with SKY’s recent breakout as a singles star. There will come a point in this match where Bayley and SKY have to make a decision about either allowing each other to climb the ladder unimpeded for group success, or if individual ambition is more important.
Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE women’s tag team championship
Rousey and Baszler unified the WWE and NXT women’s tag team titles with a win over Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre on the June 23 episode of SmackDown. Right after the match ended, Liv Morgan returned from injury ahead of her rumored timeline. Now she is back with Raquel Rodriguez to try to reclaim the belts they never lost.
Morgan’s early return raises some questions about why she and Raquel were forced to vacate the tag belts just seven days after a successful title defense. After all, Roman Reigns has not defended the WWE Universal championship on TV or PPV in roughly 90 days, with no indication that he will be stripped of the title any time soon. Meanwhile, Morgan was out of action for less than 50 days due to her injury.
Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio
Part-timer Brock Lesnar isn’t around this month, so Cody Rhodes has spent his time on the receiving end of cheapshots from that little shithead Dominik Mysterio. Dom is a nuclear heat magnet, but the only way he can win this match is with help from Rhea Ripley and maybe even The Beast Incarnate himself. Will Brock show up in London to attack Rhodes?
GUNTHER (c) vs. Matt Riddle for the Intercontinental championship
Matt Riddle stuck his nose in Imperium’s business last month to save Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn from a group beatdown, and the Original Bro has been targeted by GUNTHER ever since. As a result, Riddle enters this match with a vulnerable leg. It’s hard enough to beat GUNTHER when fully healthy, so Riddle has a very difficult road ahead in this title match.
Summary
This looks like a strong card on paper, with two exciting ladder matches, another captivating chapter in The Bloodline story, Dominik Mysterio being a nuclear heat magnet against a top babyface, and Finn Balor and Seth Rollins potentially tearing the house down.
What will you be looking for at Money in the Bank?
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