Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Madcap Moss, Riddle and Omos all earned their way into Saturday night's main event—the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a guaranteed world title opportunity.
It was someone who did not that escaped with the briefcase and the disdain of the Las Vegas fans.
After losing his United States Championship to Bobby Lashley earlier in the show, Theory emerged from the locker room and was added to the match by WWE official Adam Pearce as the eighth participant in the contest.
That bit of sneakiness, as the commentary team reminded us an infinite number of times, and his ability to seize an opportunity allowed him to climb the ladder after Riddle had taken out Rollins and thwart one last offensive by The Original Bro to achieve the greatest win of his young career.
There will be infinite overanalyzing of the outcome in the coming days. Theory is a brash, cocky heel who has mostly performed up to the spot WWE management has elevated him to. He has all of the tools to be the next big star for the company, but he is also receiving the type of heat that reflects less of an effective heel and more the type of characters fans just want to go away.
Don't believe that? Check out the below clip from the end of the match, when he unclasps the briefcase and the reality of the situation sets in on the fans in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. You can almost hear the air get sucked out of the arena.
WWE @WWE.<a href="https://twitter.com/_Theory1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_Theory1</a> is Mr. Money in the Bank! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MITB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MITB</a> <a href="https://t.co/wBXNyNgpmE">pic.twitter.com/wBXNyNgpmE</a>
Not because a bad guy one, but because that guy won.
This was not a reaction of excitement for a fresh new face getting an opportunity, as we saw with Morgan just one segment earlier. This was one big, audioless groan from fans in reaction to a finish they saw coming the moment Theory stepped through the curtain and was added to the match.
He is not over enough to warrant the push yet. Yes, WWE pushed John Cena, Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton hard and fast in the early days of the Ruthless Aggression Era, but there is not a single one of them that Theory measures up to at this point.
This massive push, beginning earlier this year and seemingly coming from out of nowhere, has the makings of major fan rejection if management does not switch things up and focus on building Theory's character rather than his credibility.
This was a great moment for him, and again he is certainly putting in the work. Unfortunately, all of the labor and dedication to his craft will not be enough to overcome a defiant audience the moment it decides he is not the guy.
As for the match, it was tremendous, with some clever storytelling throughout and a heavy focus on McIntyre and Sheamus just beating the ever-loving hell out of each other. Kudos to Riddle, too, who is as much the workhorse of WWE as anyone else.
WWE @WWEUse <a href="https://twitter.com/WWESheamus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWESheamus</a>' signature move while he watches? That's a paddlin'.<a href="https://twitter.com/DMcIntyreWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DMcIntyreWWE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MITB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MITB</a> <a href="https://t.co/tQKARYX9bc">pic.twitter.com/tQKARYX9bc</a>
Speaking of workhorses, the only other negative here was the decided lack of attention on Rollins. The Drip King has been the best character and wrestler in the company all year, and for him to be relatively quiet in such a high-profile main event was an interesting choice.
Theory won Money in the Bank, defeating Rollins, Riddle, Omos, Sheamus, McIntyre, Zayn and Moss.
Top Moments
- Pearce's reveal of Theory as the eighth and final entrant in the match was met with...tepidness by a Vegas crowd still riding the high of Morgan's cash-in and not at all looking forward to their good time ending with that guy going over in the main event.
- "Riddle would love to win this for his mentor, now recovering from injury, Randy Orton," Michael Cole said. Pat McAfee followed up: "Theory would love to win this match for...himself."
- "Madcap Moss used to shovel driveways in Minnesota and now he's feet away from grabbing that briefcase," McAfee said in what may have sounded like a throwaway line but was really a nice bit of backstory for a still largely undefined character.
- The opposing competitors buried Omos underneath ladders in hopes of eliminating him from the match.
- Moss powerbombed Zayn on to a ladder in a scary spot.
- Rollins directed and then joined five other competitors in powerbombing the massive Omos through the announce table in a great spot and throwback to his days in The Shield.
Believe THAT!!!!!!!!!!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MITB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MITB</a> <a href="https://t.co/dCX6Wq7K9L">pic.twitter.com/dCX6Wq7K9L</a>
- Butch hit the ring in an attempt to help Brawling Brutes teammate Sheamus by preventing McIntyre from retrieving the briefcase.
- Moss took a nasty bump off the ladder, catching his leg in the ropes.
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