WWE Money In The Bank 2020 Results, Grades, And Analysis

On Sunday night at the WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Asuka and Otis walked away as Ms. and Mr. Money in the Bank after a chaotic and awkward double main event match.

No titles changed hands, and for the most part, this version of Money in the Bank was one of the most forgettable iterations of the concept PPV. There was some positives, including sensible and daring booking in the main event, but there were also some issues.

Here is a look at every result along with grades and analysis.

Results, Grades and Analysis

Jeff Hardy def. Cesaro by pinfall

As PPV Kick-Off matches go, this one wasn’t half bad.

With two talented, veteran in-ring workers, the beginning of the show was in good hands. Hardy has struggled to remain active while he battles some personal issues.

He recently returned, though he is still dealing with addiction and legal problems. Hardy has publicly addressed those issues on WWE programming.

Based on that bit of realness, it seemed pretty obvious Hardy would go over in the match against Cesaro. WWE wouldn’t go to these lengths to allow Hardy to speak about personal drama if it wasn’t going to allow him to win in a pre-show match.

It was clear early, Hardy can still work with the best of them.

While it makes sense for Hardy to win, it’s a bit bewildering to see Cesaro consistently placed in position to put guys over.

Grade: B-

(c) The New Day def. Miz & Morrison, Lucha House Party and The Forgotten Sons via pinfall to retain SmackDown Tag-Team Championship

Still without Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston surprisingly hung on to their titles on Sunday. I’d originally thought The Miz and John Morrison would go over in this spot, but The New Day retained with Big E as the star of the match.

The team’s powerhouse and best all-around performer shined in the ring and before the match on the microphone. He buzzed during the Kickoff Show with a dig at Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas, “this match has more people in it than Earl Thomas’ Air BnB.”

During the match, Big E’s strength and athleticism were the most memorable parts of the action.

A serious singles push should be coming for him soon.

Grade: B+

Bobby Lashley def. R-Truth via pinfall

R-Truth is funny, MVP is a legend, and this latest version of Bobby Lashley is solid. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was designed to be the African-American section of the WWE broadcast.

Even the referee chosen for the match was Darrick Moore, one of two African-American refs for WWE’s Raw or Smackdown shows. The match was a squash, with Truth taking the loss, but the mic work beforehand was strong.

Truth and MVP’s humor saved the segment overall.

Grade: C+

(c) Bayley def. Tamina to retain SmackDown Women’s Championship

Tamina’s recent promo gave the illusion she might be in store for some bigger plans, but her attempt to win the SmackDown Women’s title was thwarted by Bayley–with some assistance from Sasha Banks.

A distraction from Banks led to Bayley reversing a Samoan Drop into a crucifix pin. After the match, Bayley and Sasha double-teamed Tamina, and the former landed a knee that appeared to partially injure The Boss.

Sasha walked out without a limp, but immediately after impact, she appeared to stumble a bit. The match was a bit sloppy and very slow paced, which wasn’t a surprise considering the pairing.

Hopefully, Bayley is ready to move on to something a little more compelling, and set to engage with a foe who can help her produce better matches.

Grade: C+

(c) Braun Strowman def. Bray Wyatt via pinfall to retain Universal Championship

The moment this match was booked against Bray and not The Fiend, we knew there was little chance Strowman would lose his title. Bray tried to get Strowman to don the black sheep mask, and come back to the family.

Strowman would tease the concept, putting the mask on, before turning on Bray and getting the pinfall win on the heels of his powerslam.

Wyatt did a great job telling a story with his in-ring chatter. In a fan-less arena, this skill is even more important.

That element raised the level in this match, and because it way too early to dethrone Strowman, this was the right booking decision.

Grade: B+

(c) Drew McIntyre def. Seth Rollins via pinfall to retain WWE Championship

Easily, McIntyre vs. Rollins was the match of the night. The two epic in-ring performers put on a great show that finished with a bang.

Rollins showed off his dexterity and strength in a variety of sequences. He nailed the superplex-Falcon-Arrow combination on McIntyre, which is no small feat against a man as large as the WWE Champion.

Couple that maneuver with a series of high-flying attacks, and Rollins was on his A-Game.

Not to be outdone, McIntyre did his part as well, even delivering a Future Shock DDT to Rollins at one point. There was also this throw from the Tree of Woe position.

Rollins may have leaped out of it a bit too soon, but the point was delivered.

The ending sequence saw McIntyre land a Glasgow Kiss, only to have Rollins respond with a superkick, and McIntyre rebound with a Claymore to get the pin. After the match, McIntyre insisted Rollins shake his hand and he thanked him for the challenge.

Rollins acknowledged him, but seemed incensed by the time McIntyre had walked to the top of the ring. It was a pleasantly ambiguous ending.

Grade: A-

Asuka def. Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, and Carmella to win the Women’s Money in the Bank and Otis def. Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio, Aleister Black, King Corbin, and AJ Styles to win the Men’s Money in the Bank

Baszler was the favorite, but something told me she wouldn’t go over in this match. Asuka was a dark horse, and not a bad choice to win the MITB briefcase.

Otis was perhaps even more of a surprise, but a good one nonetheless.

The theme of having the performers battle from the bottom floor of Titan Towers to the rooftop sounded good in theory, but the execution of the match wasn’t as strong as what we saw at WrestleMania 36 with the Boneyard Match and the Firefly Funhouse Match.

Instead, the MITB matches came off as an elongated 24/7 segment, and a bit of a letdown for the main event.

It’s a tough time to book because of the COVID-19 restrictions, so I won’t hammer WWE too hard for MITB. They hit home runs at WrestleMania, but fell short on Sunday night.

Grade: C-

Overall Show

There wasn’t a lot of memorable moments on Sunday. Most of the matches were less than compelling on paper, and the overall execution left something to be desired.

Grade: C