 through the ladder was equally as jaw-dropping, with his head smacking the weapon on the way down. Here's hoping he is OK.
That brings us to Big E, who has been main event-ready for a year now. His energy, charisma and explosiveness won over audiences a long time ago, and his win Sunday was a confirmation of WWE's trust in him. He has thoroughly earned this opportunity.
Hopefully, the company pays it off in grand fashion with a victory that solidifies him as one of its building blocks of the future.
Roman Reigns defended the Universal Championship against Edge in the night's marquee bout, with the crowd alive and energized from the opening bell.
The Rated-R Superstar seemed hellbent on avenging his humiliating experience at WrestleMania 37, when Reigns definitively pinned him and Daniel Bryan.
Edge countered a Superman Punch midway through with a backslide for two before a double-down spot left both down. The veteran capitalized on a prone champion, stomping away at him in the corner. From there, he applied the STF in a nice nod to rumors regarding John Cena's impending return.
The challenger took off across the ring for a Spear, but The Tribal Chief grabbed hold of the guillotine choke. On the floor, Edge dodged a Spear from Reigns, who crashed through the timekeeper's position. Edge then hit him through another barricade.
Back inside, a Superman Punch leveled Edge, who bumped the referee. The Rated-R Superstar used the piece of steel chair to apply the crossface and just when it appeared as though The Usos would get involved, the Mysterios cut them off.
Seth Rollins then appeared from out of nowhere and rocked Edge with a superkick.
The Hall of Famer delivered the Spear but could not put the champ away. Rollins again interfered, this time drawing Edge's attention long enough for Reigns to deliver his own version of the move for the win.
Edge and Rollins brawled out of the arena and John Cena returned to an earth-shaking pop. He stared Reigns down and stood tall to close out the show.
What started as a slow-paced encounter evolved into a hellish main event right out of the Attitude Era.
There were big bumps through barricades, run-ins and a referee injury all to set up Rollins' interference and an inevitable showdown with Edge. If that wasn't enough, there was the not-so-shocking return of Cena to hype up his most-definitely-happening SummerSlam main event with Reigns.
Everything hit, even if it took some time to get there.
Reigns is such a superb heel at this point. When he found success as a villain in the ThunderDome, some questioned whether he could translate it to big arenas in front of a live audience. Not only has he succeeded, but he may also be better with an actual crowd to feed off of.
The trash-talking was on point. The disdain for the WWE Universe painting his face as he entered the arena was indicative of a heel hitting the little things.
This is peak Reigns and we should all be thankful we live in an era to see it because his name will be mentioned alongside the likes of Hogan, Austin, Rock, Flair and Cena as pillars of pro wrestling history one day. And that's not hyperbole.
As for Edge, this was another strong outing for a guy who should not be having matches of this quality this late in his career. He thrives on the energy and takes a little while to heat up, but when he does, it's simply outstanding. His match with Rollins on August 21 could steal the show.
And given the other matches that could be on the card, that is a bold statement.
WWE Money in the Bank 2021: Results, John Cena return...
If you want to watch MITB, you'll need to subscribe to Peacock--or WWE Network if you're outside of the US. While Peacock has a free tier, you'll need to subscribe to Peacock Premium ( a month) or Peacock Premium Plus ( a month). The difference between the two is that Premium Plus is not ad-supported. However, both tiers of Peacock play the same stream of the PPV.
WWE Money In The Bank 2021 Results: Big E And The Winners...
Big E won the men's Money in the Bank match.
WWE put its best foot forward with the best show of 2021 in Money in the Bank, putting forth a major-league product that presented WWE as the industry leader it is with no equal. Money in the Bank was a crowd-pleasing show with a fully engaged audience filled with casual fans who played nice with a product that was easy to enjoy.
Top babyfaces, like Roman Reigns, John Cena, Kofi Kingston and Edge, were treated like superstars while heels like Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley received massive heel heat.
WWE’s cynical audience may continue its countdown to when this honeymoon period ends, but so far WWE has been more than stellar in its return to live fans.
Many Superstars took career-making steps forward while others appeared to regress as WWE looks to shoot big angles for major matches headed into SummerSlam season.
Big E became the first black Money in the Bank winner.
Big E scored the biggest win of his career tonight as he won the Money in the Bank briefcase in an entertaining ladder match that was one of the better Money in the Bank matches in recent history.
Big E figures to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase sooner rather than later, especially with Bobby Lashley currently feuding with The New Day on Raw and the WWE Draft around the corner.
Roman Reigns and Edge wrestled a phenomenal main event where Reigns added yet another notch to his belt by beating Edge. Seth Rollins’ interference was very much expected as WWE had been planting these seeds for weeks, right up to Rollins’ fiery post-match promo. Reigns now turns his attention to a returning John Cena in what should be a great singles match.
In a moment that laid egg on the face of hardcore wrestling fans who have crucified the Alexa Bliss character, Alexa Bliss was easily the biggest star of the women’s Money in the Bank match. Bliss received the biggest reaction for her entrance, she was cheered loudly anytime she even looked up at the briefcase, and the women’s Money in the Bank field was booed loudly when they buried her under a series of ladders.
A crowd filled with women, children and the far more valuable casual fans showered Alexa Bliss with cheers every chance they got. The Alexa Bliss magic storyline is working, period. Those looking for fans to turn on Alexa Bliss simply need to deal with this reality.
Charlotte Flair won her 14th overall women’s championship—and her 11th world title on the main roster—at Money in the Bank 2021 in an instant classic against Rhea Ripley. Flair rose to the occasion like the big-match wrestler she is, transcending a Heel vs. Heel storyline that confused live fans who opted to chant for Becky Lynch overall.
As the match progressed, fans forgot what a Becky Lynch even was and chanted “this is awesome” for a great women’s match between Ripley and Flair.
Flair winning will rub a lot of people the wrong way with the overpowered top star inching closer to her father’s iconic 16 world championships, but a feud with Becky Lynch seems all but inevitable.
Bobby Lashley was booked exactly the way he should have been in the first singles match for the WWE Championship between two black men. Lashley absolutely squashed Kofi Kingston, who was very over to this live crowd. After shockingly losing to Xavier Woods this past Monday on Raw, and becoming furious by the end of the broadcast, all signs pointed to a dominant Lashley win.
Moving forward, Lashley may do the same to Xavier Woods, who is theoretically owed a WWE Championship match after pinning the champion in a non-title match, opening the door for a Money in the Bank winner Big E to feud with Lashley as the WWE Championship picture continues to drip with beautiful melanin.
Drew McIntyre received a loudly mixed reaction during a backstage promo, and fans seemed very much against him possibly winning Money in the Bank. As they are wont to do, WWE killed this babyface dead by having him lose a last-chance match, and McIntyre is done as a top babyface, period.
McIntyre is now feuding with Jinder Mahal with the likes of John Cena, a returning Goldberg, Roman Reigns, Bobby Lashley, Big E and even Xavier Woods all ahead of him in the depth chart. Until further notice—or a heel turn—he’s Midcard McIntyre.
Rhea Ripley lost yet another big match to Charlotte Flair as her shaky Raw Women’s Championship run came to an end. After losing the NXT Championship to Flair at WrestleMania 36 and failing to regain it at WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2020, Ripley is in danger of being defined as a loser to WWE crowds before being able to establish herself as a credible champion. WWE has a lot of work to do if it wants to rehabilitate