CM Punk’s Perfect Booking, More Hot Takes from WWE Money in the Bank 2024 Card
CM Punk’s Perfect Booking, More Hot Takes from WWE Money in the Bank 2024 Card0 of 4
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CM Punk was once again at the center of the World Heavyweight Championship Match Saturday at Money in the Bank, making his presence felt and ensuring Drew McIntyre did not leave Toronto with the gold.
It was a moment most expected but one that exceeded preconceptions while reintroducing a a pre-WrestleMania XL rivalry that was begging to be reignited.
The Chicago native is at the forefront of one hot take in the wake of the event but who else earned recognition for their efforts at the July 6 premium live event?
Find out with this recap of the extravaganza.
CM Punk Returns to Booking Perfection1 of 4
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CM Punk made his first appearance Saturday since being brutally beaten down by Drew McIntyre in Chicago on SmackDown a few weeks back and as he does every time he pops up recently, intensified his feud with The Scottish Warrior.
Most expected Punk to pop up and ruin McIntyre’s night in some form or fashion and, given everything that has preceded it to this point, it certainly made sense for him to cost his rival the World Heavyweight Championship.
Again.
What enhanced the moment and made it truly special from a creative standpoint is that it played on another rivalry of Punk’s that has flown under the radar.
In costing McIntyre the world title the way that he did, and inadvertently giving the assist to champion Damian Priest, he also screwed Seth Rollins over. As a result of not winning the championship, The Visionary cannot challenge for it while Priest is champion.
The creative reignited the disdain and hatred that exists between Punk and Rollins, which was at the forefront leading into Royal Rumble but cooled off after The Straight Edge Superstar suffered a torn triceps that took him out of WrestleMania XL.
Saturday, shortly after the reality of the situation set in, we saw Rollins angrily confront Punk, only for Corey Graves to be the one to separate them. That is a story thread that is absolutely being revisited as soon as possible, perhaps as early as Monday’s Raw.
In booking the way that he did, Triple H gave us the latest and more fiery chapter of the Punk-McIntyre rivalry while reminding audiences that the tattooed Chicagoan has unfinished business with this other guys fans love.
It sets up months of storytelling moving forward and ensures Punk will not wander aimlessly once his issues with the Scottish badass are settled and that is exactly how top stars in professional wrestling should be handled creatively.
Solo Sikoa is Finding Himself as The Tribal Chief and Main Event Competitor2 of 4
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There were some who fairly questioned whether Solo Sikoa was actually ready to step into the role of (interim) Tribal Chief amid Roman Reigns’ absence from WWE TV. He had not done a ton of talking previously, his in-ring work was still somewhat underdeveloped, and there were guys surrounding him in this new incarnation of The Bloodline that had more experience in both fields than him.
Still, WWE marched on, booked the excellent Paul Heyman beatdown and had him film the pre-taped promo daring Reigns to take back leadership of the family if he thought he could.
Saturday, it all came together.
Sikoa stood in the ring, confident of his new role, basking in the jeers and chants of “f**k you, Solo” from the Toronto faithful. It was a key moment for WWE Creative, which learned that the audience is willing and ready to accept Sikoa as the false prophet, fake leader of this bootleg Bloodline and they just proved it on one of the company’s biggest stages.
That he was the central figure of the night’s main event, building legitimacy and credibility as the next challenger to Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Championship before actually pinning the seemingly untouchable American Nightmare only helped to re-enforce that he is the guy on the heel side of things on Friday nights right now.
He never looked out of place or shaken by the enormity of what he was involved in and the result was one of the better performances of his career to this point.
Will things be perfect? No. Is he a polished performer yet? No, but he has that all-important connection with the audience; an audience that wants to see him get what coming to him courtesy of the Head of the Table.
Everything else will fall into place from there.
Chelsea Green Outshined the Rest of the MITB Field3 of 4
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Tiffany Stratton may have won the Money in the Bank briefcase but it was Chelsea Green who stole the hearts of the WWE Universe Saturday in Toronto.
The Canadian-born competitor already had the crowd on her side as a native of the country, but her performance within the match won over even the harshest of critics and skeptics.
From attempting to jump her way up to the briefcase, to her playing up her fear of heights, all the way to the jaw-dropping bump off the 15-foot ladder and through the tables below, she stole the show.
Largely a comedy act, Green has been allowed to let her personality shine and more so than all of the moves she is actually capable of doing, it is that over-the-top persona that has forged her bond with the fans.
The die-hard, online audience already knew she was capable of it, dating back to her time as Laurel Van Ness in TNA Wrestling, but the bigger stage and brighter lights have opened a larger audience’s eyes to her excellent character work and an in-ring ability that is probably underrated at this point.
It will be interesting to see how both she and WWE respond to her performance in Toronto. With a little bit of follow-through, Triple H and Co. could very well be looking at a legitimate breakout star for the remainder of 2024 and well beyond.
One that can shine both as a heel and a babyface, a role she may very well find herself in if the crowd sentiment continues to trend toward cheers.
Sami Zayn Beating Bron Breakker Was the Right Call4 of 4
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There will be plenty who look back on Money in the Bank as the night that Bron Breakker should have won the Intercontinental Championship from Sami Zayn.
Understandably so, too.
Breakker had been on a dominant warpath to the show, destroying everyone and thing in his way. He had momentum on his side and an audience buying into the unstoppable force element of his presentation.
In Toronto, though, he ran up against a resilient underdog who has encountered countless others like him and lived to tell about it. Zayn absorbed all that Breakker threw at him and delivered the Helluva Kick to secure the victory.
Despite any evidence to the contrary, it was the right call.
Too often in the past, WWE has brought in a new talent, gave them the rocket ship push to the top, and watched as fans rejected it amid claims of so-and-so being shoved down their throats. It has been a common complaint, the result of a desire by audiences to choose who is pushed as the next big thing in professional wrestling.
Breakker very well could have been on that path so instead of booking him to run through everyone, the decision was made to give him a little adversity to overcome.
It will not hurt him, nor does it derail everything that has been accomplished creatively to this point. It simply presents a scenario where Breakker will have to face the fact that being an uber-athlete who can kick ass and explode on his opponents is not enough to win him a championship against one of the best in the business.
He will collect that title eventually, if not as soon as Raw Monday or SummerSlam on August 3, so the setback will be short-lived. The long-term value of not having the audience turn on him and create resentment for the young star, though, is greater than any momentary backlash for the booking of a Money in the Bank premium live event undercard match.
