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Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Money in the Bank Analysis, Formatting Issues, Corbin’s Big Win, More!

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane and Rue from ‘Rue TV’. On today’s show, Russo will discuss Sunday night’s Money in the Bank PPV.

Speaking about the opening match on the card, Russo mentions that he was very concerned going into the match for the safety of all five women involved. This was the first ladder match for most of these women, and he was afraid that they would try to do too much. Luckily, he thought WWE did a good job of protecting the women, and he was happy to see that.

Russo says he didn’t have a problem with Ellsworth climbing the ladder and retrieving the briefcase for Carmella, but he did have a problem with how the entire segment closed. The three referees were arguing about the finish on the outside of the ring, when Ellsworth picked up the mic and announced Carmella as the winner and all of a sudden the finish was official. Russo couldn’t believe that they closed the segment like that.

He also didn’t like the fact that Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon were tweeting about this afterwards, because he believes at least one of them should have been present at the show. They could have done something as simple as a quick backstage interview with McMahon, where he mentioned how disgusted he was by the finish of the match.

Speaking about the Tag Team Championship match between The Usos and The New Day, he thought there were several sloppy parts in this match, and he particularly hated the finish. After the controversial finish to the Women’s Money in the Bank match, he thought this match deserved to have a legitimate finish. He says that the finish of this match was another prime example of why Titles shouldn’t change hands on a count-out.

The Taz Show Recap – Money in the Bank Analysis, Mahal Needs A New Finisher, Was the Women’s Ladder Match Historic? More!

Block 1:

Taz gets right into his analysis of last night’s Money in the Bank PPV.

He thought the opening package before the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match was terrific. It did a wonderful job of paying tribute to women who paved the way for today’s performers, while also highlighting each woman who was participating in last night’s ladder match.

He thought all five women worked hard in the match, but in the end, Taz questions whether this match lived up to it’s ‘historic’ nature. Carmella’s victory is tainted by the fact that James Ellsworth physically climbed the ladder and unhooked the briefcase for her. Taz thinks it’s a shame that in the first ever Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, a man was the one to retrieve the briefcase.

Taz thinks that WWE needs to address Carmella’s victory on this Tuesday’s episode of Smackdown Live and he truly believes that they will. He suggests that Shane McMahon should appear on RAW tonight to announce a Money in the Bank rematch for tomorrow night’s Smackdown Live. Having Shane appear on the opposing brand to make this announcement will make this feel like a very important moment, and Taz ultimately thinks that Carmella will lose this briefcase one way or another on Tuesday night.

In spite of all the controversy surrounding the finish, Taz thought that these five women earned a lot of people’s respect last night, and they raised the bar for all women entering a WWE ring moving forward.

WWE Plants the Seeds for Upcoming SummerSlam Match

As seen at Sunday’s WWE Money in the Bank during the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, WWE had a spot that saw AJ Styles and Nakamura square off in a little one-on-one action near the closing moments of the match. Bryan Alvarez discussed this angle on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Live and indicated that this spot was done to setup a match between the two at a future date — presumably at this year’s SummerSlam.

As of this writing, the following matches are being rumored for the show:

Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman
John Cena vs. Jinder Mahal
Triple H vs. Kurt Angle
AJ Styles vs. Nakamura

With WWE holding for back-to-back shows in the row at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, they are expecting to make this show as big as possible. Those events include NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III on August 19th, SummerSlam on the 20th, RAW on the 21st and SmackDown Live on the 22nd.

Money in the Bank 2017 – Predictions & Analysis

Hype Bros vs. The Colons

With Zack Ryder’s recent return to WWE programming after a lengthy layoff due to injury, The Hype Bros have re-emerged as a threat in the Smackdown Live tag team division. Mojo Rawley’s momentum has been stalled since winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania this year, and Ryder’s return could not have come at a better time for Rawley.

After debuting on Smackdown Live as The Smoking Guns 2.0 several weeks ago, The Colons have yet again found themselves floundering in the lower mid-card. Primo and Epico are vastly underrated in the ring, but their presentation on WWE programming has robbed them of any and all credibility they had as a legitimate threat in the tag team division. This does not bode well for their chances tonight.

Speculation has already started that The Hype Bros’ run as a tag team will be short lived, with Zack Ryder set to turn on Rawley in the near future. This certainly seems to be a safe bet, but I don’t see it happening tonight. This match will serve as a momentum builder for them before their eventual split, which will make Ryder’s heel turn (or maybe even Rawley’s heel turn?) all the more dramatic when it finally occurs.

Winners: The Hype Bros 

Carmella Reacts to Her Controversial Win at Money in the Bank

As seen at tonight’s Money in the Bank event, James Ellsworth injected himself into the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match and captured the briefcase only to give it to Carmella. There was tons of backlash on social media regarding the finish to the match.

Carmella took to Twitter and responded to her victory with the following remarks:

Nikki Bella Teases Sixth Entry In The Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

We noted earlier this week that WWE may have spoiled a six participant in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match for Sunday’s event when they mentioned on Twitter that six women would be in the match.

Coming off this news, Nikki Bella posted a new video to her YouTube channel teasing that she may be the six entrant into that match.

“First ever girl’s match, which, I mean, maybe I’ll fly straight in and you know, be the sixth member, who knows? No, but I really, really, really wish that I could be in Money in the Bank, but, goodness, it makes me so proud of the women in WWE. Every week, every month every year, we just keep breaking more and more barriers and making history and just proving who the women really are at WWE.”

NXT Women’s Title Stipulation Match Announced

WWE announced that Asuka will defend her NXT Women’s Championship against Nikki Cross in a Last Woman Standing Match on the June 28th episode of NXT. Here is the announcement:

Asuka to defend NXT Women’s Title against Nikki Cross in Last Woman Standing Match

NXT Women’s Champion Asuka will put her coveted title on the line against the crazed Nikki Cross on the June 28 episode of NXT. The title showdown will be a Last Woman Standing Match, further adding to the uncertainty and chaos surrounding the huge championship contest.

The extreme stipulation was a logical next step in Asuka and Cross’s rivalry after the two brawled throughout Full Sail University on the June 14 episode of NXT. Along with Ruby Riot, they competed in a Triple Threat Elimination Match for the NXT Women’s Title. After Riot had been eliminated, Asuka and Cross fought outside the arena, only to return and eventually crash through a table, leaving them laid out in a heap of carnage.

Asuka’s record-breaking NXT Women’s Title reign has overcome many obstacles, but she has yet to face a challenger as crazy as Cross in a bout that caters to chaos like a Last Woman Standing Match. Will we see the end of The Empress of Tomorrow’s historic title reign?

Find out on Wednesday, June 28, at 8/7C on the award-winning WWE Network.

Favorites to Win at Sunday’s Money in the Bank Event

Here are the updated Betting Odds for Sunday’s Money in the Bank event, courtesy of Best Wrestling:
(Note: The lower the number, the higher the chances of winner are)

WWE Money in the Bank Match
* Baron Corbin -190
* Sami Zayn +650
* Kevin Owens +650
* AJ Styles +750
* Shinsuke Nakamura +450
* Dolph Ziggler +1500

WWE Women’s Money in the Bank Match
* Carmella -145
* Becky Lynch +350
* Natalya +365
* Charlotte Flair +950
* Tamina +2800

WWE Championship Match
* Jinder Mahal(c) -250 vs. Randy Orton +175

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship Match
* Naomi(c) -500 vs. Lana +300

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship
* The Usos(c) -120 vs. The New Day -120

Length of Men’s MitB Match
* Under 24 Minutes -137
* 24 Minutes or More -110

Length of Women’s MitB Match
* Under 20 Minutes -137
* 20 Minutes or More -110

Length of WWE Championship Match
* Under 18 Minutes -120
* 18 Minutes or More -120

MitB Men’s Special Bets
* Rusev to Appear Ringside During the Match +400
* Briefcase to be Cashed in the Night of MitB +500

MitB Women’s Special Bets
* James Ellsworth to be Ejected from Ringside +110
* Nikki Bella to Appear at Ringside +300
* Briefcase to be Cashed in at Event +500

What to Expect on the June 13th SmackDown Live Episode

WWE heads to Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA for tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live. The following is confirmed for tonight’s show:

Charlotte Flair will take on Natalya
Tamina vs. Naomi
The Usos, Primo & Epico will face Tyler Breeze, Fandango & The New Day in an eight-man tag team match
Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn & AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler & Baron Corbin
Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton face off before their match at Money in the Bank

Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage. You can also join us for our SmackDown Live fan discussion on RingsideTalk.net.

Title Match Announced for Monday’s RAW

WWE announced that Sheamus and Cesaro will defend their RAW tag team championships against The Hardy Boyz on Monday’s episode of RAW. WWE wrote the following regarding the match:

Just one week after losing the Raw Tag Team Championship in a brutal Steel Cage Match at WWE Extreme Rules, The Hardy Boyz invoke their rematch clause against new titleholders Cesaro & Sheamus this Monday night, live on Raw.

Last Monday, The Celtic Warrior boasted that Matt & Jeff were “sitting at home, licking their wounds — Jeff gluing in his false tooth — just dreaming about their rematch.” This Monday night, the dream becomes a reality much sooner than the champions likely anticipated.

Can The Hardy Boyz reclaim the titles they won during their triumphant return at WrestleMania, or will Cesaro & Sheamus continue to raise the figurative bar in Team Red’s tandem division?

Brock Lesnar has also been announced to return to the show to address Samoa Joe’s attack on Paul Heyman.

Edge Says Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe Should Have Been Saved for WrestleMania

During the recent installment of the E&C Podcast of Awesomeness, Edge talked about the upcoming match between Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe and mentioned that WWE should have saved the match for WrestleMania next year.

“You want my take? Here’s my take, ok, I’m assuming that they wanna go Reigns and Brock at WrestleMania. I personally would have gone Brock and Joe at WrestleMania because it’s different, it is fresh, it is believable. You have this 300 pound Samoan you know, beast and then The Beast Incarnate. So I don’t know, I think that to me it would have been a fun match to get at WrestleMania and I think people would have been excited to see that too.”

You can listen to the complete podcast here.