WWE Money in the Bank 2020 Results: Winners and Grades
Credit: WWE.com
WWE Money in the Bank was the second major event WWE has held without fans due to the coronavirus pandemic, so the company got a little creative with the titular matches.
Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt (Universal Championship)
Bayley vs. Tamina (SmackDown Women's Championship)
Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins (WWE Championship)
The New Day vs. Forgotten Sons vs. The Miz and John Morrison vs. Lucha House Party (SmackDown Tag Team Championships)
Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax vs. Dana Brooke vs. Carmella vs. Lacey Evans
Aleister Black vs. AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio vs. King Corbin vs. Otis vs. Daniel Bryan
MVP vs. R-Truth
Cesaro vs. Jeff Hardy
Let's take a look at everything that went down at Money in the Bank 2020.
Cesaro vs. Jeff Hardy
1 OF 7
Credit: WWE.com
After the usual pre-show banter from Scott Stanford and Pete Rosenberg, the first match on the Kickoff show took place with Jeff Hardy taking on Cesaro.
The Swiss Superman took control right away but The Charismatic Enigma was not going to be taken down without a fight. He reversed a headlock and a hip toss to turn the tables.
Cesaro dumped him over the barricade to regain the upper hand. He kept Hardy grounded for several minutes as he worked a slow, methodical pace.
Every time the risk-taker tried to make a comeback, the powerhouse took him down. Hardy finally started to make a comeback after catching Cesaro with a jawbreaker.
After a few more minutes of both men hitting every signature move they had, Hardy scored the win with a Swanton Bomb.
This was Hardy's first PPV match since returning from a knee injury. He looked healthy and kept up with Cesaro during their early technical exchanges.
As usual, Cesaro was on point with everything he did. He can work any style against any opponent and have a great match.
These two veterans showed a lot of chemistry in this bout and it would not be surprising if WWE booked them in a few more matches in the coming weeks.
This bout went on a lot longer than expected in a good way. You would have thought there was a title on the line based on how hard they were working. A live crowd would have been chanting "This is awesome."
Grade: A+
The New Day vs. Forgotten Sons vs. Lucha House Party vs. The Miz and Morrison
2 OF 7
Credit: WWE.com
The first official match of the PPV saw Kofi Kingston and Big E defend the SmackDown tag team titles against The Miz and Morrison, The Forgotten Sons and Lucha House Party.
Kingston and Gran Metalik started the match with a standard lockup and exchange of holds and counters. Both men are quick high-flyers, so they had a fun encounter.
Metalik and Morrison hit a beautiful Spanish Fly from the top rope all the way to the floor to take down everyone else in the match at the same time.
This was a car wreck in the best possible way. Bodies were flying left and right, and every single person had at least one moment to shine.
Thanks to some help from his partner, Big E managed to pin Metalik to retain the titles for his team.
This was a high-energy match from the moment the ref called for the bell. We saw several multi-person spots and some outside interference from the third member of The Forgotten Sons, Jaxson Ryker.
Metalik, Morrison, Kingston and Lince Dorado did most of the work when it came to leaping off of the top turnbuckle while everyone else was responsible for catching them.
This was fun from start to finish. All four teams looked great, and the champions retained their titles to continue their reign at the top of the tag team division.
Grade: A+
Bobby Lashley vs. R-Truth
3 OF 7
Credit: WWE.com
MVP and Truth had a funny exchange before the ref could call for the bell, but they were interrupted by Bobby Lashley. He told MVP to take the night off and this turned into a different match altogether.
Truth slapped him in the face, and The All Mighty made him pay with a series of shoulder thrusts in the corner.
After about a minute, Lashley cut him in half with a Spear to get the win.
Truth and MVP's exchange before Lashley came out was the best part of this. The All Mighty being portrayed as a monster is a good thing, but the match was nothing special.
Lashley and MVP seemed to have a friendship. It's possible they could join forces if the rumored MVP stable ever takes shape.
Grade: C+
Bayley vs. Tamina
4 OF 7
Credit: WWE.com
Before Bayley made her entrance, Kayla Braxton tried to ask her and Sasha Banks a few questions. The champ brushed her off but The Legit Boss had a strange look on her face as she walked away.
Bayley slapped Tamina a few times and talked some trash. This mistake led to the challenger laying her out with a clothesline right away.
The Role Model took control by going after her opponent's left leg. She slammed it into the ring post a few times and focused almost all of her offense on making the injury worse.
Bayley throwing water in the challenger's face led to Tamina getting angry and regaining the advantage. She threw her opponent over the announce table with authority.
Tamina had the win in hand but a distraction from Banks allowed Bayley to roll her up with a crucifix to get the win.
Between the awesome video before the show and this bout, Tamina has never looked better. She is showing more personality and has finally been given a chance to show what she can do as a solo act.
Bayley was a great antagonist and Banks helped accentuate everything she did with snarky comments. They did a good job neutralizing Tamina's power advantage to make this a realistically competitive fight.
This was much better than most people probably expected it to be. Both women worked hard to make sure they were not lost in the shuffle during the PPV.
Grade: B-
Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt
5 OF 7
Credit: WWE.com
Instead of coming out as The Fiend, Bray Wyatt arrived in his red sweater and slacks. He had a huge smile on his face as he complimented the announcers on his way to the ring.
Braun Strowman pushed his rival to the corner and took him down with a shoulder block to get the action going. Wyatt laughed as he got to his feet.
They took the fight out of the ring, and Strowman continued to dominate his former mentor. But Wyatt turned things around by sending him into the announce table.
He was shocked that Strowman kicked out of Sister Abigail, but The Monster Among Men put his black sheep mask on for the first time in years and Wyatt rejoiced.
It looked like he was about to accept Wyatt as his savior again, but Strowman was just playing with the former Wyatt Family leader.
He removed the mask and stepped on it before pinning Wyatt with a powerslam.
Not having Wyatt perform as The Fiend was a smart move here. That character is best saved for bigger events like SummerSlam.
They did a good job pacing themselves for what turned out to be a longer match than most people would have anticipated. Neither of these men are known for being marathon performers. They strike quickly and end it as fast as possible.
This was good from a storytelling perspective. WWE took advantage of not having any fans at the show by having so much dialogue during the bout.
Grade: B+
Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins
6 OF 7
The WWE title was on the line next as Drew McIntyre defended his belt against Seth Rollins, with Samoa Joe joining the commentary team for the bout.
The Scottish Superstar backed Rollins to the corner right away to show off his power. The challenger remained undeterred and put him in a headlock. It ended with The Monday Night Messiah getting knocked out of the ring.
McIntyre dominated for several minutes, but one kick to the leg took him down. Rollins began focusing on his knee with two single-leg crab and STF submissions.
The champ eventually began to recover and even kicked out of some of Rollins' best moves. The Monday Night Messiah grabbed a steel chair but changed his mind as he got into the ring.
After both men kicked out of each other's best shots, McIntyre hit the Claymore to retain his title. He offered Rollins his hand as a show of respect, and the challenger accepted it despite looking upset.
Rollins received new entrance music to match his Messiah persona. It fits his gimmick well and will be good for generating heat when live crowds return.
This was a good match, but it was by no means the best these two are capable of. In fact, it fell a little short of expectations at times.
There was a little too much trash talking going on during the first half when they should have been focusing on the physical aspects of their performance instead.
The second half saw them pick up the pace and show the kind of chemistry they have together. The right man won, but the loser still came out of this looking like a strong competitor.
Grade: B+
MITB Matches
7 OF 7
Credit: WWE.com
The Money in the Bank ladder matches took place at the same time, so WWE cut between the women starting in the lobby and the men starting in the weight room.
Asuka started off strong by leaping onto the rest of the competitors from above the bank of elevators before she got inside one of them to skip a few floors.
Brother Love made an unexpected cameo in the bathroom as Rey Mysterio ran by. As the men fought in one elevator, the women tried to get in the one next to it. A knockoff Doink the Clown also made an appearance.
Dana Brooke thought she won the match, but Stephanie McMahon informed her that the briefcase she found was not the right one.
AJ Styles found a coffin inside one room and Aleister Black locked him inside with it. Paul Heyman was enjoying a nice spread when everyone came running by. Otis threw a tray of food into his face to kick-start a food fight, and John Laurinaitis was hit in the face with a pie.
Vince McMahon even made an appearance to force Styles and Daniel Bryan out of his office.
The women made it to the ring on the roof ahead of the men, and Asuka took down the briefcase to claim victory.
As Styles tried to take down the men's briefcase, it got knocked out of his hands and Otis caught it to claim the win.
Once again, WWE outdid itself with a pre-taped gimmick match. The soundtrack and the cameos added to the fun along the way.
You would think 12 people would be too many to follow in one match, but every single competitor had a few moments to themselves.
The mixture of violence and comedy suits pro wrestling well, especially in a situation like this. Whoever directed this bout should be proud of what they put together.
It will be interesting to see how far WWE now takes this singles push with Otis.
