It’s not a high bar to clear, but this was one of the better WWE shows of the year. Strong championship matches, but also strong Money in the Bank ladder matches that felt different from one another.
There wasn’t a bad match on the show. Some of the booking was surprising, but nothing was egregiously bad. Plus, the top stars delivered across the board in the top spots. That’s what you want on PLE’s.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. One brass ring = bad. Five brass rings = epic, all-time greatness, and perfection.
Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight - WWE World Heavyweight Championship
A fantastic opening championship match and about as good as could be expected. For the most part, the audience was on Knight’s side throughout this thing and that helped all of the drama and near falls stand out. The BFT counter on the Spear was unique, but risky. Knight had to hit that flawlessly and he did. Reigns getting the upper hand at the end by making Knight straddle the ring ropes got an eye roll from me until it took three Superman Punches and a Spear after it to get the victory. Reigns retaining was the obvious move. The timing wasn’t right for LA Knight. Both the Bloodline vs. 946 and eventual Reigns vs. Oba Femi story matter more with Reigns having a long title run.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO 1/4
Tiffany Stratton vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Lash Legend vs. Lola Vice vs. Jacy Jayne vs. Sol Ruca - Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
WILD action. Not all of it planned. A great combination of elements that made for an excellent ladder match. Stratton took a nasty bump off the top of the ladder and both Jacy Jayne and Lola Vice had a scary fall out of the ring during a ladder spot. It was almost as if ladders are unpredictable! Everyone was ok — thank goodness. Those unplanned spots very much pumped up the intensity of the match and the sense of danger the match had. Outside of those, each woman had time to shine, but especially Sol Ruca. Ruca flew around from the top rope, through tables, and hit her Sol Snatcher off the top of the ladder. Great stuff. She needed to stand out and she did. My chips were all in on Roxanne Perez and right near the end it seemed as if she was going to win. Instead, it was Tiffy Time. Perez winning would have launched her to a new level in WWE, Stratton getting the W is the status quo somewhat, but makes sense given her new proximity to WWE Women’s Champion, Chelsea Green.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO
Oba Femi vs. Bronson Reed
This one gets a high grade for knowing exactly what it was and then delivering. Femi vs. Reed was about two behemoths colliding and the match followed that story. An awesome match and credit goes to both guys. Bronson Reed sold his ass off for the Femi offense. He was a stellar dance partner. As for Oba himself, he continues to bring an aura of star power to his matches. Femi shined as the winner.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch - WWE Women’s World Heavyweight Championship
A good match with a strange finish. The action was better than fine. The women wove together unique triple threat-style spots and kept the audience’s attention. Totally smooth. Morgan winning the world title was a surprise. She’s always a viable champion, but the second Roxanne Perez lost Money in the Bank, it felt like Vaquer retaining was obvious. Curveballs are fun, but need to make sense. Time will tell on this one.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/4
Bron Breakker vs. Je’Von Evans vs. CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens vs. Penta vs. Trick Williams - Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Damn. A helluva match. A lot of it was excellent and pieces of it were ridiculous. Let’s start with the excellent. Bron Breakker. He had a performance for the ages. The match was built around him doing all of his insane power moves to everyone and it very much got over. For the first time in a while, he looked like the “future WrestleMania main-eventer” that he’s been billed as. Bravo Je’Von Evans. He was in the returning underdog position of the match and was over. Listen to the audience. They were loud for Evans all throughout the match, but especially when he returned. Now, what was ridiculous? Well, the ambulance return. Evans commandeered the ambulance and drove it back from the hospital? What are we doing? Same thing with the Lil Yachty run-in. In this match, where guys are falling through the tops of ambulances, you build in a goofy comedy spot? Ill-timed and it didn’t jive with was a strong match tone overall. Penta getting the win and the briefcase ended the show on a positive note and sets up another Penta vs. Reigns match. Penta is one of the hottest acts in the entire company, so feeding that momentum with a career-defining win makes perfect sense.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 3/4
What was the best match of WWE Money in the Bank 2026? Let us know in the comments!
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