Money in the Bank 2020

Money in the Bank 2020 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on May 10, 2020, at WWE Global Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. It was the eleventh event under the Money in the Bank chronology.
The event was originally scheduled to take place at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, but the venue canceled all shows due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. WWE announced that the event will take place on the roof of the WWE's corporate headquarters, Titan Towers.
== Production ==
=== Background ===
WWE's Money in the Bank pay-per-view event centers around a match of the same name, in which multiple wrestlers use ladders to retrieve a briefcase hanging above the ring. The briefcase contains a contract that guarantees the winner a match for a world championship at any time within the next year.
====Impact of the coronavirus pandemic====
As with WWE's other programming since mid-March, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated changes to the PPV; Money in the Bank was originally announced with Baltimore's Royal Farms Arena as host. On March 30, however, Maryland issued a stay at home order. An advertisement promoting Money in the Bank aired during WrestleMania 36 Part 2 on April 5, but with no reference to a venue. Subsequently, Royal Farms Arena cancelled all events due to the pandemic and began issuing refunds.
WWE initially did not announce whether the event would still go on from a different location (such as the WWE Performance Center in Orlando where most WWE shows have been held since mid-March), but on the April 17 episode of SmackDown, it was announced that the two Money in the Bank ladder matches would take place at WWE's global headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. A new "Corporate Ladder" gimmick was also added to the matches, in which the participants must travel from the ground floor of the building to the roof in order to locate the briefcase, which itself will be suspended above a ring on the roof. On the May 1 episode of SmackDown, it was also announced that the men's and women's matches would take place at the same time.
With the changes in format, the number of participants was also reduced to six; since the 2018 event, both the men's and women's ladder matches featured eight wrestlers, evenly divided between the Raw and SmackDown brands.
=== Storylines ===
The show included matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.
At Super ShowDown, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt lost the Universal Championship to Goldberg, who in turn lost the title to Braun Strowman during WrestleMania 36 Part 1. On the following episode of SmackDown, Wyatt interrupted Strowman after his match and reminded Strowman that it was he who brought him to the WWE with his old Wyatt Family stable. Wyatt then stated he wanted his title back and Strowman accepted the challenge, which was scheduled for Money in the Bank, though against Wyatt's normal self instead of The Fiend.
Qualifying matches for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match began on the April 13 episode of Raw. Asuka, Shayna Baszler, and the returning Nia Jax qualified for the match by defeating Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, and Kairi Sane, respectively. On the April 17 episode of SmackDown, Dana Brooke defeated Naomi to qualify for the match. On the April 24 episode of SmackDown, Lacey Evans defeated Sasha Banks to qualify for the match.<
Qualifying matches for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match began on the April 17 episode of SmackDown. Daniel Bryan defeated Cesaro to qualify for the match. On the April 20 episode of Raw, Aleister Black, Apollo Crews, and Rey Mysterio qualified for the match by defeating Austin Theory, MVP, and Murphy, respectively. On the April 24 episode of SmackDown, King Corbin defeated Drew Gulak to qualify for the match.
During WrestleMania 36 Part 2, Tamina was eliminated first in the fatal five-way elimination match for the SmackDown Women's Championship due to all of the other competitors piling on top of her for the pin; Bayley subsequently retained the title. On the following SmackDown, Tamina pointed out the fact that Bayley nor any other competitor in that match actually beat her and challenged Bayley to a singles match for the championship. Bayley agreed if Tamina could defeat her friend Sasha Banks, which she did the following week to earn the title match at Money in the Bank.
During WrestleMania 36 Part 1, Seth Rollins lost to Kevin Owens, while in the main event of Part 2, Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship. On the April 13 episode of Raw, Rollins stated that by losing to Owens, he had been crucified and now had truly risen (buying into his "Monday Night Messiah" gimmick). He later attacked McIntyre following the latter's match by performing The Stomp on him. The following week, McIntyre challenged Rollins to a match at Money in the Bank with his title on the line, stating that as champion, he needed to face the best. Rollins responded, noting their similarities, such as both being former NXT Champions, as well as both defeating Lesnar to win a world championship at WrestleMania (which Rollins did twice, first at WrestleMania 31 in 2015 for the WWE Championship, at that time called the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and again at WrestleMania 35 for the Universal Championship). Rollins then accepted McIntyre's challenge.
On the April 17 episode of SmackDown, The New Day's Big E defeated Jey Uso (representing The Usos) and defending co-champion The Miz (representing himself and John Morrison) in a triple threat match to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship for The New Day. The following week, Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik) came out to challenge New Day but were interrupted by Miz and John Morrison, who also challenged The New Day. The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler, Jaxson Ryker, and Wesley Blake) then made their SmackDown debut, stating they would be taking over the SmackDown tag team division before attacking New Day. The following week, The Forgotten Sons (Cutler and Blake) defeated The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) where Miz and Morrison were on commentary. The New Day were then scheduled to defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Forgotten Sons, Miz and Morrison, and Lucha House Party in a fatal four-way tag team match at Money in the Bank.
== Event ==
=== Pre-show ===
During the Money in the Bank pre-show, Jeff Hardy faced Cesaro. In the end, Hardy performed a Swanton Bomb on Cesaro to win the match.
=== Preliminary matches ===
The actual pay-per-view opened with The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) defending the [[WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship|SmackDown Tag Team Championship] against The Miz and John Morrison, Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik) and The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake) (accompanied by Jaxson Ryker). In the climax, Big E performed the Big Ending on Metalik to retain the title.
Next, R-Truth faced MVP. Truth began to insult MVP who was offended. Bobby Lashley then interrupted and wanted to face Truth instead. In the end, Lashley perfomed a Spear on Truth to win the match.
After that, Bayley (accompanied by Sasha Banks) defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Tamina. During the first half of the match, Bayley began to target Tamina's leg. After Bayley taunted Tamina by splashing water on her, Tamina then performed a clothesline on Bayley and threw her onto the announce table. In the end, after Tamina performed a Samoan Drop on Bayley, Banks distracted Tamina. This allowed Bayley to recover and attack Tamina. As Tamina attempeted a Samoan Drop, Bayley countered into a roll-up to retain the title. Following the match, as Tamina attempted a Samoan Drop for a third time on Bayley, Banks attacked Tamina and saved Bayley once again.
In the fourth match, Braun Strowman defended the WWE Universal Championship against Bray Wyatt. During the match, Strowman dominated Wyatt. As Strowman attempted a Running Powerslam outside the ring, Wyatt avoided Strowman who collided with the announce table. Wyatt then dominated Strowman. Wyatt performed a Sister Abigail on Strowman for a near-fall. As Wyatt attempted another Sister Abigail, Strowman countered into a Chokeslam. Strowman then performed a Running Powerslam on Wyatt outside the ring. Wyatt then threw Strowman outside the ring. In the climax, Strowman wore the "Black Sheep" mask (which was an integral part of Strowman's gimmick during his time in The Wyatt Family) and started to play mind games on Wyatt. Wyatt, who was laughing hysterically, was elated that Strowman presumably "sacrificed" himself to Wyatt and eventually both hugged each other, however, Strowman removed his mask and then performed a Running Powerslam on Wyatt to retain the title. This was notably Wyatt's first pinfall loss as his Firefly Funhouse character.
Next, Drew McIntyre defended the WWE Championship against Seth Rollins. Rollins performed a Stomp on McIntyre for a nearfall. In the end, as Rollins attempted another Stomp, McIntyre countered with a Glasgow Kiss. As rebounded off the ropes, Rollins performed a superkick, but as McIntyre rebounded off the ropes, McIntyre performed a Claymore Kick on Rollins to retain the title. Following the match, McIntyre offered a handshake to Rollins, who contemplated but eventually obliged with the handshake.
===Main event===
In the main event, both men's and women's Money in the Bank ladder match were contested simultaneously at WWE Global Headquarters. Competing in the women's match were: Asuka, Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lacey Evans, Carmella and Dana Brooke while competing in the men's match were: AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio, Aleister Black, King Corbin, Daniel Bryan and Otis. The women began in the lobby on the ground floor while the men began inside the gym. The wrestlers brawled in the various offices and corridors in the building as they ascended to the roof. The men and women were largely separated, but at one point ten of the participants (all except Styles and Asuka) encountered a large spread of food, and an inter-gender food fight ensued. Baszler put Mysterio in the Kirifuda Clutch, which was broken when Nia Jax and Otis charged into Mysterio. Jax and Otis had a staredown, teasing a fight before they went their separate ways. Asuka was the first to reach the roof, followed by Jax and Evans. The three fought in and around the rooftop ring and Asuka gained the upper hand by dropping a ladder on Jax. Asuka then briefly fought with Evans on the ladder before throwing her on top of Jax. After successfully repelling a last-second attack from Corbin atop the ladder, Asuka grabbed the briefcase to win the women's match. Otis was the next to reach the roof, followed by Black, Mysterio, Styles, and Bryan. Corbin dispatched Mysterio and Black by throwing them off the platform. Styles performed the Phenomenal Forearm on Otis, and Styles and Corbin climbed the ladder. They struggled for the briefcase, removing it from the cable while they both had a hand on it. Elias then entered the ring and attacked Corbin with a guitar. This caused both Styles and Corbin to fumble the briefcase into the hands of Otis, giving Otis the victory in the men's match. 
The match included cameo appearances by Brother Love, Doink the Clown, Stephanie McMahon, Paul Heyman, John Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon.
==Match Preview==
Jeff Hardy vs. Cesaro 	Preview
Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match 	Preview
R-Truth vs. MVP 	Preview
Bayley vs. Tamina 	Preview
Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt 	Preview
Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins 	Preview
Men's Money in the Bank ladder match 	Preview
Women's Money in the Bank ladder match	Preview
==Results==
;
;
*Pre-Show: Jeff Hardy defeated Cesaro (13:30)
*The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (c) defeated John Morrison and The Miz, The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake) (w/ Jaxson Ryker) & Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado) in a Fatal 4-Way Tag team match to retain the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (12:00)
*Bobby Lashley defeated R-Truth (1:40)
*Bayley (c) (w/ Sasha Banks) defeated Tamina to retain the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship (10:30)
*Braun Strowman (c) defeated Bray Wyatt to retain the WWE Universal Championship (10:55)
:*Info: This match was pre taped
*Drew McIntyre (c) defeated Seth Rollins to retain the WWE Championship (19:20)
*Asuka defeated Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans & Carmella in a Money in the Bank ladder match to win a women's championship match contract (22:00)
:*Info: This match was taped on 04.15.2020.
*Otis defeated Daniel Bryan, Aleister Black, Rey Mysterio, King Corbin & A.J. Styles in a Money in the Bank ladder match to win a Championship match contract (27:15)
:*Info: This match was taped on 04.15.2020.
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Michael Cole 
*Corey Graves 
*Tom Phillips 
*Samoa Joe 
*Byron Saxton 
*Carlos Cabrera 
*Marcelo Rodríguez 
;Ring announcer
*Mike Rome 
*Greg Hamilton 
;Interviewers
*Kayla Braxton
*Alyse Ashton
*Charly Caruso	
;Pre-show Panel
*Scott Stanford
*Peter Rosenberg
*Renee Young
*Booker T
*John Bradshaw Layfield
;Referees
*Chad Patton
*Shawn Bennett
*Darrick Moore
*Jessika Carr
*Danilo Anfibio
*Rod Zapata
*John Cone
*Dan Engler
==See also==
*List of WWE pay-per-view events
*World Wrestling Entertainment/Event history
*Money in the Bank
*Event gallery
==DVD release==
* Money in the Bank 2020 on DVD
==External links==
* Money in the Bank 2020 Official Website
* Money in the Bank 2020 Kickoff Show on WWE Network
* Money in the Bank 2020 on WWE Network
* Money in the Bank 2020 Kickoff Show at CAGEMATCH.net
* Money in the Bank 2020 at CAGEMATCH.net
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
Category:2020 pay-per-view events
Category:Money in the Bank (PPV)