With Money in the Bank on the horizon, WWE is jumping full speed ahead in building the lineup of superstars who will be competing for those career-changing briefcases. Coming into tonight’s SmackDown, Iyo Sky and Jey Uso had already locked in their spots, and tonight three more superstars joined the Men’s and Women’s Ladder Match lineup, and more than one of those matches yielded welcome surprise winners. The first winner of the night was Chelsea Green, while the second winner of the night was Carmelo Hayes. The third and final winner of the night was Andrade, and you can get all the details on each Triple Threat match below.
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Bianca Belair vs Michin vs Chelsea Green
Michin and Belair ended up teaming up on Green, knocking her a little loopy with strikes and eventually knocking her to the floor. Belair and Michin then started battling but Green jumped back in only to get knocked out again. Belair then got thrown to the floor by Green, who then dodged Michin’s dropkick and Belair’s big punch. Belair and Michin then turned on each other, but Green knocked them both down to the floor after a dive.
Michin would knock Belair back to the floor once everyone made it back into the ring, and then Green looked to take over, but Michin was able to come back with a Styles Clash and almost pin her. Belair would manage to break that up at the last minute though, and Belair would then hit a KOD on Michin. Green would throw Belair out of the ring before she could pin Michin though, and that allowed her to get the pin and the win, moving Green to the Women’s Money in the Bank match.
Green now joins Iyo Sky in the match, with four more spots to be revealed in the coming weeks. Bayley wasn’t too exited that Green made it into the match, and then she was confronted by Blair Davenport, who has a qualifying match next week. Blair told Bayley she was looking forward to cashing it in on her too.
Randy Orton vs Carmelo Hayes vs Tama Tonga
Hayes and Tonga teamed up a bit on Orton, but Tonga then showed Hayes aside and almost pinned Tonga, turning them against each other rather quickly. Orton was back on his feet and went after Tonga, slamming him into the announcer’s desk. Orton was again attacked by both, but Orton was able to slam Tonga onto the announce desk and then did the same to Hayes, giving him some room to breathe.
Back from break, Tonga was in control, knocking Hayes over with an uppercut and following with a pin attempt, but Hayes kicked out. Tonga stayed on Hayes, locking in a hold, but Orton came back in and looked to shake things up. Orton delivered a power slam to Tonga and then caught Hayes on the top rope, and Orton took advantage by hitting a superplex.
Orton went for a pin but Tonga was able to break it up, and then Tonga went for a sleeper hold on Orton. Orton threw him over and then poked him in the eyes, but Hayes met him when he turned around with a First 48 and Tonga followed with a slam, though as before, Hayes and Tonga turned on each other and got distracted. Orton threw Tonga to the floor and then set up Hayes for a DDT, but Orotn caught Tonga and put them both on the ropes, hitting a DDT on both.
Orton was then ambushed by Tonga Loa, but Orton caught him, and Owens helped his friend out and attacked Loa on the outside. Orton then threw Tonga out of the ring, but in the skirmish, Hayes ran in and rolled up Orton for the winning pin, and he will be moving to the qualifying match. Hayes now joins Jey Uso, with four other spots to be determined for the match.
Kevin Owens vs Andrade vs Grayson Waller
The Bloodline delivered on their promise to attack Randy Orton and Owens in an effort to keep them from helping Cody Rhodes later in the night before the match even started. They did some serious damage to Owens before Orton made the save, but that didn’t keep Owens from jumping into the ring to compete in the qualifier.
Once the match started, Owens was clearly hampered, but that didn’t keep him from dishing out some damage to Waller and Andrade, and Andrade was especially left reeling early on in the match. Andrade thankfully got back into the match after the break, knocking Waller out of the ring and then getting into a slugfest with Owens.
Waller shot back into the ring and knocked both superstars down before going for a pin, but Andrade kicked out. Waller then focused on Owens, kicking the back of Owens’ knee and then dodging Andrade’s charge into the turnbuckle. Andrade stopped Waller’s momentum and connected with strikes up top, but Owens was back up and brought both down with a power slam. Owens went up top and hit the Swanton on Andrade into a cover, but Andrade kicked out.
Andrade and Owens exchanged offense but Owens hit a Stunner on Andrade. Owens went for the pin but Waller pulled him out of the ring, and that set up a big out-of-nowhere slam from Andrade to take the pin and the win. Andrade now moves on to the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match. Andrade joins Carmelo Hayes and Jey Uso in the match, with three spots remaining.
What do you think of the lineup for Money in the Bank so far? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
