Money In The Bank (2024)

The 2024 Money in the Bank was a professional wrestling event produced by the American company WWE. It was the 15th annual Money in the Bank event and took place on Saturday, July 6, 2024, at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The event aired via pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming and was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. This was the first Money in the Bank event to be held in Canada, and the second consecutive to take place outside of the United States, after the 2023 event. WWE Hall of Famer and Toronto native Trish Stratus was the host of the event.

The event is based around the Money in the Bank ladder match, a multi-person ladder match in which participants compete to obtain a contract that grants the respective men's and women's winners a match for a championship of their choice at any time within the next year. The 2024 matches had six participants each, evenly divided between wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands. The men's match, which was the opening bout, was won by Raw's Drew McIntyre, while the women's match was won by SmackDown's Tiffany Stratton.

Three other matches were contested at the event. In what was the main event of the card, which was SmackDown's main match, The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, and Tama Tonga) defeated Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and Randy Orton in a six-man tag team match. This was Jacob Fatu's WWE in-ring debut. In another prominent match, which was Raw's main match, Damian Priest defeated Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Drew McIntyre in a triple threat match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship; the match started as a regular singles match between Priest and Rollins, but midway through, McIntyre cashed in the Money in the Bank contract he had won earlier, converting the match to a triple threat. It was also originally stipulated that if Rollins lost, he could never challenge for the title again for as long as Priest was champion, but this was later lifted out of mutual respect between the two. The event also saw a surprise appearance by John Cena, who announced that 2025 would be his final year as an in-ring performer.

Production

Background

Money in the Bank is an annual professional wrestling event produced by the American promotion WWE since 2010, generally held between May and July. Along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, it is considered one of the promotion's five biggest events of the year, referred to as the "Big Five". The concept of the show comes from WWE's established Money in the Bank ladder match, in which multiple wrestlers use ladders to retrieve a briefcase hanging above the ring. The briefcase contains a contract that guarantees the respective men's and women's winners a match for a championship of their choosing at any time within the next year. The 2024 matches were announced to have six participants each, evenly divided between wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions.

On January 4, 2024, the 15th Money in the Bank event was announced to be held on Saturday, July 6, 2024, at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, marking the first Money in the Bank to be held in Canada and the second to be held outside of the United States, after the 2023 event, which was held in London, England. It aired on pay-per-view worldwide and the livestreaming services Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in most international markets. The show was promoted as being part of a three-night "Money in the Bank Weekend" event, as the preceding night's July 5 episode of ''Friday Night SmackDown'' and NXT's July 7 livestreaming show, Heatwave, also took place at the Scotiabank Arena. Tickets for all three events went on sale on March 15, 2024, with combo and hospitality packages available. On July 5, WWE Hall of Famer and Toronto native Trish Stratus was revealed to be the host of the 2024 Money in the Bank.

Storylines

The card 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 programs, ''Monday Night Raw'' and ''Friday Night SmackDown''.

Qualifying matches for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match began on the June 17 episode of ''Raw''. The qualifiers were held as a series of six triple threat matches, with three each on ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown''. Iyo Sky claimed Raw's first spot by defeating Kiana James and Zelina Vega. Chelsea Green became the first from SmackDown to qualify by defeating Bianca Belair and Michin on the June 21 episode of ''SmackDown''. On the June 24 episode of ''Raw'', Lyra Valkyria became the second to qualify from Raw by defeating Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler. SmackDown's final two spots were determined on the June 28 episode of ''SmackDown'' where Tiffany Stratton defeated Jade Cargill and Candice LeRae, with Naomi defeating Blair Davenport and Indi Hartwell. Raw's final spot was won by Zoey Stark, who defeated Dakota Kai and Ivy Nile on the July 1 episode of ''Raw''.

The men's Money in the Bank ladder match qualifiers also began on the June 17 episode of ''Raw'' and were also held as a series of six triple threat matches with three each on ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown''. Jey Uso won Raw's first spot by defeating Finn Bálor and Rey Mysterio. Two of SmackDown's participants were determined on the June 21 episode of ''SmackDown'' where Carmelo Hayes qualified by defeating Randy Orton and Tama Tonga, with Andrade qualifying by defeating Grayson Waller and Kevin Owens. The second spot from Raw was earned by Chad Gable, who defeated Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed on the June 24 episode of ''Raw''. SmackDown's final spot was won by LA Knight, who defeated Logan Paul and Santos Escobar on the June 28 episode of ''SmackDown'', followed by Drew McIntyre claiming Raw's final spot by defeating Sheamus and Ilja Dragunov on the July 1 episode of ''Raw''.

On Night 2 of WrestleMania XL on April 7, Seth "Freakin" Rollins lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Drew McIntyre, who would in turn immediately lose the title to Damian Priest in the latter's Money in the Bank cash-in match. Rollins then took time off due to a knee injury. On the June 17 episode of ''Raw'', Rollins made his return from the injury, stating his intentions to reclaim the title. As Rollins was about to announce his participation in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match, he was interrupted by Priest, who said that out of respect, he had actually wanted to cash-in on Rollins at WrestleMania. Rollins noted their similarities in which both had won their first world championships via a Money in the Bank cash-in at WrestleMania, with Rollins's occurring at WrestleMania 31 in 2015. After being asked by Rollins what he wanted his legacy to be, Priest decided to challenge Rollins at Money in the Bank with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line and Rollins accepted. The match was subsequently made official. The following week, Priest declared that Rollins would never see "the mountaintop" as long as he was champion. Rollins came out and proposed that if he lost, he could never challenge for the title again for as long as Priest was champion, but if he won, Priest would be forced to leave The Judgment Day; Priest accepted.

On the June 17 episode of ''Raw'', as Sami Zayn was celebrating his successful Intercontinental Championship defense from Clash at the Castle: Scotland, he was interrupted by Bron Breakker, who stated that he wanted Zayn's championship. On the next episode, Zayn confronted Breakker backstage outside of Raw General Manager Adam Pearce's office and agreed to defend the title against Breakker in Zayn's home country of Canada at Money in the Bank, and Pearce made it official.

In April, Solo Sikoa became the de facto leader of The Bloodline after Roman Reigns lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes on Night 2 of WrestleMania XL, with Reigns subsequently taking a hiatus. On the following ''SmackDown'', Sikoa introduced Tama Tonga as the newest addition to the group. During this time, Kevin Owens and Randy Orton, who previously had their own respective issues with The Bloodline, began to team up against the stable and at Backlash France, The Bloodline's newest member Tonga Loa helped Tama and Sikoa defeat Owens and Orton in a Street Fight match. Orton and Owens then continued to be involved in numerous matches against members of The Bloodline. After Rhodes successfully defended the Undisputed WWE Championship at Clash at the Castle: Scotland, he was attacked by The Bloodline with Orton and Owens making the save. On the following episode of ''SmackDown'', Orton and Tama competed in a Money in the Bank qualifying match, but despite Loa's interference, the two lost. Later, Owens was attacked by Tama and Loa, which also cost him a qualifying match. Also that same night, a non-title match between Sikoa and Rhodes ended in a no contest after another interference from The Bloodline. Owens and Orton tried to save Rhodes, but they were all attacked by another new Bloodline member, the debuting Jacob Fatu. On June 24, a six-man tag team match pitting The Bloodline against Rhodes, Owens, and Orton was announced for Money in the Bank.

Event

Preliminary matches

The pay-per-view opened with the men's Money in the Bank ladder match, which involved Jey Uso, Chad Gable, and Drew McIntyre from Raw and Andrade, Carmelo Hayes, and LA Knight from SmackDown. Andrade performed a springboard Spanish Fly to Hayes off the top rope onto a ladder. Gable began dominating the ring, including german suplexing a ladder onto Andrade. Andrade performed a Sunset Flip on Hayes off one ladder onto another, taking both men out for the remainder of the match. Gable dumped Knight over the ropes onto a ladder outside the ring, and climbed another ladder to reached the briefcase, but Uso pulled out the ladder from underneath him. Gable, unable to hang on to the briefcase, fell to the mat. Uso ascended the ladder and was in the process of unhooking the briefcase when McIntyre threw a ladder like a javelin at him, knocking Uso off before ascending the ladder himself to unhook the briefcase and win the match.

The next match saw Sami Zayn defend Raw's Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker. Breakker began the match dominant, and caught Zayn off guard with his high powered offense. Breakker performed a Franken-stiener off the top rop for a near fall. Zayn countered a spear and hit Breakker with a Helluva Kick to pin Breakker and retain the title.

Next, Trish Stratus announced that a surprise guest would be appearing. John Cena returned for the first time since the ''Raw'' after WrestleMania XL in April, wearing a t-shirt saying "John Cena Farewell Tour 2025" and holding a towel saying "the last time is now". Making his way to the ring, Cena announced that he would be retiring from WWE at the end of 2025, and that WrestleMania 41 would be his last WrestleMania. He thanked the fans for their support throughout the years, and said that if any fans wanted to see him one last time, or if any WWE wrestler wanted one last chance to fight him, this farewell tour would be their last opportunity.

Next, Damian Priest defended Raw's World Heavyweight Championship against Seth "Freakin" Rollins with the added stipulation that if Priest retained, Rollins could never challenge for the title again for as long as Priest was champion, but if Rollins won, Priest would have to leave The Judgment Day. The two both began with heavy offense, trading kicks to each other and powerbombs. Rollins hit his curb stomp finisher on Priest for a nearfall, before Priest hit Rollins with a Razor's Edge, also a nearfall. After a superplex from the top rope, Rollins hit Priest with a Falcon Arrow, pinning Priest, but the referee stopped the count at 2. Shortly afterwards, Drew McIntyre's music hit and he ran down to the ring and cashed in his newly won Money in the Bank contract, converting the singles match into a triple threat match for the title. However, he was quickly attacked by CM Punk, who had been feuding with McIntyre for months. Punk beat him with a steel chair and choked him with a camera cable before striking McIntyre with the title. Priest then delivered a chokeslam and pinned McIntyre to retain the title. As a result, Rollins was barred from challenging for the title for as long as Priest was champion, and also made McIntyre the sixth wrestler to fail a Money in the Bank cash-in. Punk's interference subsequently cost Rollins the title, who berated Punk after the match, reigniting a feud between them that had started before Punk had gotten injured at the Royal Rumble in January. The failed pin on Priest was a legitimate botch, and after the match, Dave Meltzer of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' reported that either WWE production had mistimed the cue for McIntyre's music, which was supposed to interrupt the count, or that Priest was supposed to kick out but had been concussed by the move, forcing the referee to pretend that there had been a kick out.

The penultimate match was the women's Money in the Bank match, involving Iyo Sky, Lyra Valkyria, and Zoey Stark from Raw and Chelsea Green, Naomi, and Tiffany Stratton from SmackDown. Stark utilized a ladder to attack Valkyria. Stratton jumped off the turnbuckle onto the group, taking them out. Stark attempted to climb the ladder, but Sky performed a piledriver off the top of the ladder onto another ladder. Green climbed the ladder, and as she was about to grab the briefcase, Stratton tipped the ladder over, causing Green to crash through a stack of tables ringside. Stratton then climbed the ladder and unhooked the briefcase to win the match.

Main event

The main event saw a six-man tag team match pitting the team of Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens against The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu, accompanied by Tonga Loa). Rhodes started the match against Tama, but quickly tagged in Owens, who unleashed his fury on Tama. Tama managed to tag in Fatu, who was dominant against Owens. Owens tagged in Orton, who hit Fatu with a draped DDT but Fatu was unharmed by the move and immediately stood back up, taking down Orton. Orton tagged Owens back in, but the Bloodline worked together to beat him down and prevent him from reaching his corner. Owens eventually tagged in Rhodes, who began attacking Sikoa. He also performed consecutive suicide dives on the other Bloodline members outside the ring, also shoving Loa into the announce table. Sikoa accidentally knocked the referee out of the ring, and without the official, chaos unfolded. Owens hit a stunner on Tama outside the ring, and all three members of their team hit finishers on Sikoa. Owens put Fatu through the announce table but Loa low-blowed him. Rhodes hit two successive Cross Rhodes on Sikoa, but before he could go for a third, Fatu hit Rhodes with an Implant DDT, before holding him up for Sikoa to hit a Samoan Spike and pin Rhodes to win the match.

Reception

The event set the record for the highest arena gate for WWE in Canada.

Dave Meltzer rated the Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match 4.25 stars, the highest rated match of the night and the highest rated Women's Money In The Bank Ladder match up to this point. He rated the main event, World Heavyweight Championship match, and the Intercontinental Championship match all 3.75 stars, the lowest rated matches of the night. Finally, he rated the Men's Money In The Bank Ladder Match 4 stars.

Aftermath

Raw

As a result of their actions, both Drew McIntyre and CM Punk were fined, while McIntyre was suspended due to attacking Raw General Manager Adam Pearce during the post-show press conference. Punk opened the following episode of ''Raw'' and stated that he was trying to teach McIntyre that there were consequences for his actions. He also stated that he fulfilled his promise that McIntyre would not be world champion for as long as Punk was around and that he wanted to face McIntyre, but could not due to McIntyre's suspension. Seth "Freakin" Rollins then interrupted Punk who half-heartedly apologized to Rollins for costing him the title as he was taking care of his own business with McIntyre. Rollins then warned Punk that actions have consequences.

During a backstage segment on the following ''Raw'', Seth "Freakin" Rollins conversed with World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest. They both showed mutual respect for one another for keeping their respective word regarding the championship match at Money in the Bank. Priest then decided to lift the ruling that Rollins cannot challenge him for the title and stated that after he defeated Gunther at SummerSlam, Rollins could challenge for the title whenever he wanted.

Also on the following ''Raw'', Bron Breakker interrupted Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn. Breakker noted that Zayn was the only person in the Raw locker room to defeat him and that he had no reason to deserve a rematch but then viciously attacked Zayn.

SmackDown

On the following episode of ''SmackDown'', The Bloodline talked about their win at Money in the Bank and Solo Sikoa turned his attention to Cody Rhodes and the Undisputed WWE Championship. Rhodes brawled with The Bloodline, who gained the upper hand and even fended off an attack by Randy Orton before powerbombing him through the announce table.

On the same episode of ''SmackDown'', Tiffany Stratton came into the ring to gloat about her victory, where she was confronted by Bayley. After Nia Jax joined her in the ring, Bayley implied that if Jax beat her at SummerSlam - Jax having won the Queen of the Ring tournament, thus giving her a title shot - Stratton may cash in on her, instead. After a match between Jax and Michin, Bayley was knocked down and Stratton seemed close to cashing her contract on her, then and there, before Jax glared at her, and the two left the ring.

Results

See also

* WWE in Canada
*Professional wrestling in Canada

References

External links

*

{{WWEPPV, Money in the Bank

2024
2024 WWE Network events
2024 WWE pay-per-view events
2024 in Toronto
July 2024 events in Canada
Professional wrestling shows in Toronto
WWE in Canada