section_path: Production/Storylines
section_name: Storylines
paragraph_text: Storylines
  
  The event included five matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.
  
  Qualifying matches for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match consisted of six triple threat matches held across episodes of Raw and SmackDown, with three spots for each brand. The first qualifier occurred on the May 16 episode of SmackDown where Solo Sikoa defeated Jimmy Uso and Rey Fénix. LA Knight qualifed on the following week's SmackDown by defeating Aleister Black and Shinsuke Nakamura. Two qualifiers occurred on the May 26 episode of Raw, where Penta defeated Chad Gable and Dragon Lee, and then Seth Rollins defeated Finn Bálor and Sami Zayn. On that week's SmackDown, Andrade earned SmackDown's final spot by defeating Carmelo Hayes and Jacob Fatu, with Raw's final spot determined on the June 2 episode of Raw where El Grande Americano defeated AJ Styles and CM Punk.
  
  Qualifying matches for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match also consisted of six triple threat matches that occurred over episodes of Raw and SmackDown, also with three spots for each brand. Like the men's, qualifiers also began on the May 16 episode of SmackDown where Alexa Bliss defeated Chelsea Green and Michin. The next two qualifiers occurred on the May 19 episode of Raw where Roxanne Perez defeated Becky Lynch and Natalya, and then Rhea Ripley defeated Kairi Sane and Zoey Stark. The fourth qualifier was determined on that week's SmackDown where Giulia defeated Charlotte Flair and Zelina Vega. SmackDown's final spot was then determined on the May 30 episode of SmackDown where Naomi defeated Jade Cargill and Nia Jax, while Raw's final spot was determined on the June 2 episode of Raw where Stephanie Vaquer defeated Ivy Nile and Liv Morgan.
  
  At Royal Rumble on February 1, Jey Uso won the men's Royal Rumble match by last eliminating John Cena. At Night 1 of WrestleMania 41, Uso won the World Heavyweight Championship while on Night 2, a now villainous Cena defeated Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Championship. After WrestleMania, Rhodes took a sabbatical from WWE while Uso began feuding with Logan Paul. At Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX on May 24, Cena confronted Uso backstage prior to the latter's title defense against Paul. Cena commented on the possibility of Uso losing his title to "a YouTuber" and how that would "ruin wrestling", something Cena promised to do after declaring his intentions to retire as champion at the end of 2025. Later that night, Cena interfered in the title match on Paul's behalf, only to be thwarted by a returning Rhodes. Uso subsequently pinned Paul to retain his title. After the match, Rhodes declared that he and Uso would face Cena and Paul in a tag team match at Money in the Bank, which was subsequently made official.
  
  On Night 2 of WrestleMania 41, Lyra Valkyria teamed with a returning Becky Lynch to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship only to immediately lose the title the next night in a rematch on Raw, which infuriated Lynch, causing her to turn on Valkyria. The two then faced each other at Backlash for Valkyria's WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship where Valkyria retained, but after the match, Lynch attacked Valkyria further. Valkyria then cost Lynch her Money in the Bank qualifying match on the May 19 episode of Raw. On May 26, a rematch for the Women's Intercontinental Championship was scheduled for Money in the Bank. On that night's Raw, Lynch proposed a Last Chance stipulation for the match, where if Valkyria won, she would never challenge for the title again for as long as Valkyria was champion, but if Lynch won, Valkyria would have to raise her hand and recognize Lynch as the better woman, the same way that Lynch did back at NXT: Halloween Havoc in 2023 when she lost the NXT Women's Championship to Valkyria, who subsequently agreed.
  
  During the Worlds Collide event just hours before Money in the Bank, after Octagón Jr. 's team from AAA had just won their match which involved Latino World Order (LWO) members, Dominik Mysterio, who was sitting at ringside alongside Liv Morgan, interrupted the celebration and mocked Octagón Jr. for being a fan of his dad, Rey Mysterio, the LWO's leader. A brawl broke out and Dominik subsequently challenged Octagón Jr. to a match at that night's Money in the Bank, putting his WWE Intercontinental Championship on the line. The match was subsequently made official.
  
  The event included five matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.
  
  Qualifying matches for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match consisted of six triple threat matches held across episodes of Raw and SmackDown, with three spots for each brand. The first qualifier occurred on the May 16 episode of SmackDown where Solo Sikoa defeated Jimmy Uso and Rey Fénix. LA Knight qualifed on the following week's SmackDown by defeating Aleister Black and Shinsuke Nakamura. Two qualifiers occurred on the May 26 episode of Raw, where Penta defeated Chad Gable and Dragon Lee, and then Seth Rollins defeated Finn Bálor and Sami Zayn. On that week's SmackDown, Andrade earned SmackDown's final spot by defeating Carmelo Hayes and Jacob Fatu, with Raw's final spot determined on the June 2 episode of Raw where El Grande Americano defeated AJ Styles and CM Punk.
  
  Qualifying matches for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match also consisted of six triple threat matches that occurred over episodes of Raw and SmackDown, also with three spots for each brand. Like the men's, qualifiers also began on the May 16 episode of SmackDown where Alexa Bliss defeated Chelsea Green and Michin. The next two qualifiers occurred on the May 19 episode of Raw where Roxanne Perez defeated Becky Lynch and Natalya, and then Rhea Ripley defeated Kairi Sane and Zoey Stark. The fourth qualifier was determined on that week's SmackDown where Giulia defeated Charlotte Flair and Zelina Vega. SmackDown's final spot was then determined on the May 30 episode of SmackDown where Naomi defeated Jade Cargill and Nia Jax, while Raw's final spot was determined on the June 2 episode of Raw where Stephanie Vaquer defeated Ivy Nile and Liv Morgan.
  
  At Royal Rumble on February 1, Jey Uso won the men's Royal Rumble match by last eliminating John Cena. At Night 1 of WrestleMania 41, Uso won the World Heavyweight Championship while on Night 2, a now villainous Cena defeated Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Championship. After WrestleMania, Rhodes took a sabbatical from WWE while Uso began feuding with Logan Paul. At Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX on May 24, Cena confronted Uso backstage prior to the latter's title defense against Paul. Cena commented on the possibility of Uso losing his title to "a YouTuber" and how that would "ruin wrestling", something Cena promised to do after declaring his intentions to retire as champion at the end of 2025. Later that night, Cena interfered in the title match on Paul's behalf, only to be thwarted by a returning Rhodes. Uso subsequently pinned Paul to retain his title. After the match, Rhodes declared that he and Uso would face Cena and Paul in a tag team match at Money in the Bank, which was subsequently made official.
  
  On Night 2 of WrestleMania 41, Lyra Valkyria teamed with a returning Becky Lynch to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship only to immediately lose the title the next night in a rematch on Raw, which infuriated Lynch, causing her to turn on Valkyria. The two then faced each other at Backlash for Valkyria's WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship where Valkyria retained, but after the match, Lynch attacked Valkyria further. Valkyria then cost Lynch her Money in the Bank qualifying match on the May 19 episode of Raw. On May 26, a rematch for the Women's Intercontinental Championship was scheduled for Money in the Bank. On that night's Raw, Lynch proposed a Last Chance stipulation for the match, where if Valkyria won, she would never challenge for the title again for as long as Valkyria was champion, but if Lynch won, Valkyria would have to raise her hand and recognize Lynch as the better woman, the same way that Lynch did back at NXT: Halloween Havoc in 2023 when she lost the NXT Women's Championship to Valkyria, who subsequently agreed.
  
  During the Worlds Collide event just hours before Money in the Bank, after Octagón Jr. 's team from AAA had just won their match which involved Latino World Order (LWO) members, Dominik Mysterio, who was sitting at ringside alongside Liv Morgan, interrupted the celebration and mocked Octagón Jr. for being a fan of his dad, Rey Mysterio, the LWO's leader. A brawl broke out and Dominik subsequently challenged Octagón Jr. to a match at that night's Money in the Bank, putting his WWE Intercontinental Championship on the line. The match was subsequently made official.