| Money in the Bank | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringSeth "Freakin" Rollins andBecky Lynch | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown | ||
| Date | July 2, 2022 | ||
| City | Paradise, Nevada | ||
| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena | ||
| Attendance | 12,076[1] | ||
| WWE event chronology | |||
| |||
| Money in the Bank chronology | |||
| |||
The 2022Money in the Bank was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) andlivestreamingevent produced byWWE. It was the 13th annualMoney in the Bank and took place on Saturday, July 2, 2022, at theMGM Grand Garden Arena in theLas Vegas suburb ofParadise, Nevada; it was originally scheduled to be held at the city'sAllegiant Stadium. The event was held for wrestlers from the promotion'sRaw andSmackDownbrand divisions. This was the first Money in the Bank to be held on a Saturday, and it also elevated Money in the Bank to be regarded as one of WWE's five biggest events of the year, alongside the traditional "big four" of theRoyal Rumble,WrestleMania,SummerSlam, andSurvivor Series. This was also the final WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event to take place before WWE ownerVince McMahon, who had served as chairman and chief executive officer of the company since 1982, announced his retirement on July 22.
Seven matches were contested at the event. In the main event, unannounced entrantTheory, who lost theUnited States Championship toBobby Lashley earlier in the night, won the men'sMoney in the Bank ladder match whileLiv Morgan won the women's ladder match in the opening bout. In other prominent matches,Ronda Rousey defeatedNatalya to retain theSmackDown Women's Championship, after which, Morgan cashed in her Money in the Bank contract and defeated Rousey to win the championship, andThe Usos (Jey Uso andJimmy Uso) defeatedThe Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins andMontez Ford) to retain theUndisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.
Money in the Bank is an annualprofessional wrestlingevent produced byWWE since 2010, generally held between May and July. Theconcept of the event comes from WWE's establishedMoney in the Bank ladder match, in which multiple wrestlers useladders to retrieve a briefcase hanging above the ring. The briefcase contains a contract that guarantees the winner a match for a any championship of their choosing at any time within the next year.[2] The 2022 event featured wrestlers from theRaw andSmackDownbrand divisions; male wrestlers competed for a contract to grant them a match for achampionship of their choosing, while female wrestlers competed for aRaw Women's Championship orSmackDown Women's Championship match contract.[2] The 2022 event also reduced the number of participants in the women's match to seven with an uneven division of wrestlers between the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions—it featured four wrestlers from Raw and three from SmackDown; the men's match was originally announced with just seven, but during the event, it was expanded to eight participants, evenly divided between the two brands.[3][4]
The 2022 event was announced duringSummerSlam on August 21, 2021, which was held at theAllegiant Stadium in theLas Vegas suburb ofParadise, Nevada. Money in the Bank was announced to be held at the same venue on Saturday, July 2, 2022, which would have marked the first time that a Money in the Bank event would have been held in aNational Football League stadium.[5][6] On May 26, 2022, however, it was announced that the event had been moved to the nearbyMGM Grand Garden Arena, with no change to the date, subsequently making it the first Money in the Bank to take place on a Saturday. Tickets originally purchased for Allegiant Stadium were refunded with those fans getting first access to purchase tickets for MGM Grand on June 1 before tickets went on sale to the general public on June 3.[7][8] In addition to airing on traditionalpay-per-view (PPV), it was available tolivestream onPeacock in the United States and theWWE Network in international markets.[5]
Money in the Bank had been established as one of WWE's monthly pay-per-views held between their "Big Four" shows (Royal Rumble,WrestleMania,SummerSlam, andSurvivor Series). In August 2021, WWE President andChief Revenue Officer Nick Khan referred to Money in the Bank as one of the company's "five annual tentpoles", thus elevating its status as one of WWE's five biggest events of the year, colloquially referred to as the "Big Five".[9] On February 24, 2022, WWE announced a partnership with On Location, a company known for providing premium hospitality experiences for marquee events. Through the partnership, spectators have access to hospitality packages for WWE's biggest events. The 2022 Money in the Bank was WWE's first event to offer these premium hospitality packages. These ticket and travel packages included premier seating, premium hospitality offerings, and meet-and-greets with current WWE wrestlers and legends.[10] Additionally, from June 30 through July 2, WWE had a dedicated Money in the Bank merchandise store at the MGM Grand.[11]
Money in the Bank was held on the same night asUFC 276, which took place at the nearbyT-Mobile Arena during its 10th International Fight Week, just as was the case withManny Pacquiao vs. Yordenis Ugás that took place on the same night as the previous year's SummerSlam.[12]
The event included seven matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayedheroes,villains, orless distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[13][14] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows,Monday Night Raw andFriday Night SmackDown.[15]
Qualifying matches for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match began on the June 10 episode ofSmackDown. A qualifier betweenDrew McIntyre andSheamus ended in a double disqualification after both men attacked each other with steel chairs, thus neither qualified.[16] The following week, WWE officialAdam Pearce announced that both McIntyre and Sheamus would be in the match.[17] However, the following week,Roman Reigns' special counsel,Paul Heyman, convinced the WWE Board of Directors to remove McIntyre and Sheamus from the match, and Pearce said that they would qualify for the match if they defeatedUndisputed WWE Tag Team ChampionsThe Usos (Jey Uso andJimmy Uso) in a non-title match, which they subsequently did.[18]Seth "Freakin" Rollins became the first to qualify from Raw after he defeatedAJ Styles on the June 13 episode ofRaw.[19] The following week,Omos andSami Zayn became the fourth and fifth qualified entrant after defeatingRiddle[20] andShinsuke Nakamura, respectively.[18] The following week onRaw, Riddle won a Last Chance Battle Royal by last eliminatingThe Miz to be the sixth qualified entrant,[21] whileMadcap Moss won afatal four-way match also involvingEzekiel,Happy Corbin, and The Miz on the July 1 episode ofSmackDown to win the seventh and what was believed to be final spot in the match.[22]
On the June 3 episode ofSmackDown,Natalya won asix-pack challenge to become the number one contender forRonda Rousey's SmackDown Women's Championship,[23] while on the June 6 episode ofRaw,Rhea Ripley won a fatal four-way match to determine the next contender forBianca Belair's Raw Women's Championship. Both title matches were subsequently set for Money in the Bank.[24][25] On the June 20 episode ofRaw, it was revealed that Ripley was not medically cleared to compete at the event, and a new contender would be decided in afatal five-way match, which was won byCarmella.[20]
Qualifying matches for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match also began on the June 10 episode ofSmackDown.Lacey Evans became the first qualified entrant by defeatingXia Li.[16] The following week onRaw andSmackDown,Alexa Bliss andLiv Morgan defeatedDoudrop andNikki A.S.H. in a tag team qualifier to win two spots in the match,[19] andRaquel Rodriguez defeatedShayna Baszler to earn the fourth spot in the match.[17] The following week onRaw andSmackDown,Asuka andShotzi became the fifth and sixth qualified entrants after defeatingBecky Lynch[20] andTamina, respectively.[18] The following week onRaw, Lynch won a Last Chance Elimination match by defeating Doudrop, Nikki A.S.H, Baszler, Tamina, and Li to become the last qualified entrant.[21]
On the June 13 episode ofRaw,United States ChampionTheory andBobby Lashley had a pose-down. Lashley originally won, but afterwards, Theory blinded him with baby oil and stood tall as the show ended.[19] The following week, Theory had his pose-down, but it was interrupted by Lashley, who laid him out with aspear. Later that night, Lashley defeatedChad Gable,Otis, and Theory in agauntlet match to become the number one contender for the U.S. title at Money in the Bank.[20]
On the June 6 episode ofRaw,The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins andMontez Ford) defeated Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) via count-out in a Championship Contender's match to earn a title match at a future date.[24] On June 17, the match was made official for Money in the Bank.[26]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| English commentators | Michael Cole(SmackDown) |
| Pat McAfee(SmackDown) | |
| Jimmy Smith(Raw) | |
| Corey Graves(Raw) | |
| Byron Saxton(Raw) | |
| Portuguese commentators | Maroc Alfaro |
| Roberto Figueroa | |
| Spanish commentator | Marcelo Rodriguez |
| Ring announcers | Mike Rome(Raw) |
| Samantha Irvin(SmackDown) | |
| Referees | Danilo Anfibio |
| Jason Ayers | |
| Jessika Carr | |
| Dan Engler | |
| Daphanie LaShaunn | |
| Eddie Orengo | |
| Ryan Tran | |
| Rod Zapata | |
| Interviewer | Sarah Schreiber |
| Pre-show panel | Kayla Braxton |
| Kevin Patrick | |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield | |
| Peter Rosenberg | |
| Booker T |
The pay-per-view opened with the women's Money in the Bank ladder match, featuring Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Becky Lynch, and Liv Morgan from Raw and Lacey Evans, Raquel Rodriguez, and Shotzi from SmackDown. During the match, Rodriguez performed a double suplex on Lynch and Bliss atop a ladder. As Asuka ascended the ladder, she was thwarted by Evans, who also scaled the ladder. Lynch then tipped the ladder over, however, Asuka and Evans landed on their feet. Evans and Shotzi then scaled the ladder where Evans performed a women's right on Shotzi. Rodriguez and Morgan thwarted Evans' attempts. Morgan performed a sunset bomb on Evans off the ladder. Lynch, who was atop a ladder, climbed down and repositioned the ladder, giving Shotzi ample time to recover and pull Lynch down. Shotzi attempted a senton on Lynch, who was lying in the ring, but Lynch avoided it. Outside the ring, Rodriguez set up a ladder supported by the announce table and the ring. After tussling with Asuka at ringside, Lynch then kicked Rodriguez onto a ladder after which, Lynch climbed a ladder and performed aleg drop on Asuka, who was lying atop the ladder previously set up by Rodriguez. Back in the ring, Lynch tipped another ladder over, taking out most of the opponents. In the climax, both Lynch and Morgan scaled ladders where Lynch tipped Morgan's ladder toward the ring ropes, but Morgan placed her foot on the ring rope to balance the ladder and knocked Lynch out with a knee to the face. Morgan then unhooked the briefcase to win the match.[27]
Next, Theory defended the United States Championship against Bobby Lashley. In the end, as Theory attemptedA-Town Down on Lashley, Lashley escaped and forced Theory to submit to theHurt Lock to win the title.[27]
After that, Bianca Belair defended the Raw Women's Championship against Carmella. During the match, Carmella avoided a charging Belair, who crashed into the ring post. Carmella then performed asuperkick on Belair for anearfall. In the end, Belair performed theKiss of Death on Carmella to retain the title. Following the match, as Belair celebrated her victory on a turnbuckle, Carmella returned and attacked Belair.[27]
In the fourth match, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defended the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford). As The Usos attempted the1D on Ford, Ford countered into ahurricanrana and sent The Usos to ringside. Ford performed aFrog Splash on Jey, however, Jimmy broke up the pin attempt. In the end, The Usos performed adouble superkick and a 1D on Ford to retain the titles. Following the match, a replayed footage of the pinfall showed that Ford's shoulder was off the mat, thus the pinfall should not have been counted.[27]
In the penultimate match, Ronda Rousey defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Natalya. During the match, Rousey applied her ownsharpshooter on Natalya, who made it to the rope to escape. Natalya then sent Rousey outside the ring, which caused Rousey to injure her knee. Natalya then applied the sharpshooter on Rousey while on the ring apron, but Rousey escaped and sent Natalya into the ring post. In the climax, Rousey attempted anarmbar, but Natalya countered with a sharpshooter attempt, which Rousey countered with anankle lock. Natalya attempted the sharpshooter again, but Rousey countered into an armbar on Natalya, who submitted, to retain the title. Following the match, Liv Morgan ran to the ring and cashed in her Money in the Bank contract. Rousey applied the ankle lock on Morgan, however, Morgan countered by kicking Rousey's knee and rolling up Rousey to win the title. This was Morgan's first championship victory in her career.[27]
_(cropped).jpg)
The main event was the men's Money in the Bank ladder match, featuring Omos, Riddle, and Seth "Freakin" Rollins from Raw and Drew McIntyre, Madcap Moss, Sami Zayn, and Sheamus from SmackDown. Before the match officially began, WWE official Adam Pearce came out and announced that Theory, from Raw, would participate in the match, thus eight participants completed the match (four from each brand). During the match, Theory dove off the top rope at Omos, who caught Theory andchokeslammed him. Riddle and Sheamus beat Omos with ladders at ringside and knocked him down, after which, all the participants pilled numerous ladders on Omos to keep him down. Riddle performed aHangman's DDT on Sheamus, whose legs were on a ladder. Outside the ring, all men ganged up on Omos andpowerbombed him through the announce table. As McIntyre ascended the ladder,Butch ran out and attacked McIntyre. Sheamus placed the ladder over McIntyre and climbed the other side, but McIntyre pressed the ladder and knocked Sheamus down. McIntyre then performed aClaymore Kick on Butch. McIntyre and Sheamus were on top of the ladder when Zayn tipped it over, causing them to crash onto another ladder. Moss then prevented Zayn from retrieving the briefcase, only to be knocked out with The Stomp by Rollins. In the climax, as Rollins ascended the ladder, Riddle performed anRKO on Rollins off the ladder. Riddle then climbed the ladder until Theory made it up the other side. After the two traded punches, Theory shoved Riddle down and unhooked the briefcase to win the match.[27]
The Usos vs. The Street Profits received a 4.5-star rating fromDave Meltzer, the highest of the night. The lowest would be Bianca Belair vs. Carmella, which received 2 stars. The United States, SmackDown Women's title, and the women's money in the bank matches received 3.25 stars, and the men's money in the bank match received 4.25 stars.[28]
The 2022 Money in the Bank would be the final WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event in which WWE ownerVince McMahon served as the company's Chairman andChief Executive Officer (CEO), as he announced his retirement on July 22. His daughter,Stephanie McMahon, and WWE President Nick Khan took over as co-CEOs, and the former also took over as Chairwoman of WWE.[29] However, on January 10, 2023, Stephanie announced her resignation as co-CEO and Chairwoman, with Khan being named the sole CEO and Vince returning as Executive Chairman.[30] It would also be the last Money in the Bank to take place in the United States for over 3 years, until2025.[31]
On the following episode ofRaw, Mr. Money in the Bank Theory announced he was granted a rematch against Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship atSummerSlam. Theory claimed that in addition to winning back the United States Championship at the event, he would also cash-in his Money in the Bank contract that same night on theUndisputed WWE Universal Champion.[32] After a couple of failed attempts to cash-in on the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship,[33][34] as well as a tease of cashing in on theNXT Championship,[35] Theory finally cashed in the contract on the November 7 episode ofRaw, challenging Seth "Freakin" Rollins for the United States Championship, but failed to win the title due to an attack by Lashley. This made Theory the first wrestler to use the contract on a non-world championship.[36]
Bianca Belair and Carmella had a rematch for the Raw Women's Championship on the July 11 episode ofRaw. The match ended in a count-out win for Carmella after Belair was distracted by Becky Lynch outside the ring, but Belair retained.[37] Lynch opened the followingRaw to talk about her issues about not getting a rematch against Belair for the Raw Women's Championship, and that whoever was the Raw Women's Champion by the end of the night would defend against Lynch at SummerSlam. Afterward, Lynch and Carmella attacked Belair, with Lynch ending the attack with a Manhandle Slam on Belair. The Raw Women's Championship match occurred immediately afterward with a stipulation that Carmella could win the title by count out, however, Belair pinned Carmella to retain the title, keeping her as the defending champion heading into her match against Lynch at SummerSlam.[38]
With her win of the SmackDown Women's Championship, Liv Morgan was officially transferred to the SmackDown brand. On the following episode ofSmackDown, Morgan delivered a heartfelt message for her win but was interrupted by Natalya, who tried to take credit for Morgan's win since she had hurt Rousey's leg. Rousey came out and congratulated Morgan but said she wanted a rematch. After Rousey defeated Natalya in a rematch, it was announced that Morgan would defend the title in a rematch against Rousey at SummerSlam.[39]
Due to the controversial finish of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship match, a rematch between The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) and The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) was announced for SummerSlam.[40] On the July 15 episode ofSmackDown, after Dawkins defeated Jimmy despite Jimmy's shoulder being off the mat, WWE official Adam Pearce announced thatWWE Hall of Famer andNashville area nativeJeff Jarrett would be thespecial guest referee for the match.[41]
Also on the followingSmackDown, Drew McIntyre was scheduled to face Sheamus to determine the number one contender for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship atClash at the Castle. As Sheamus feigned illness, the match did not occur.[39] The match would later be scheduled to the July 29 episode as aGood Old Fashioned Donnybrook match,[42] which McIntyre won.[43]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)