2024 MITB - Matches of Interest

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?

Feeling good. This is a bit of an odd Money in the Bank as it seems tinged with sorrow as we are aware of Kevin Owens’ Mother, hopefully recuperating in hospital and the passing of Roman Reigns’ Father. It’s a tough time in the WWE Universe but as in show business, the show must go on. And so, here’s what I’m looking at this time around.

First off, I feel I must mention that the only Ladies Match is the MITB Ladder Match. These days that’s a big ole 🙁 ‘cause they know they have to show fair representation. This is a bit old school if you ask me. Mia Yim and Nia Jax could have been on this card easy, even if it was just Kick Off. I can see a lot of the new ladies aren’t up to speed but there are plenty who are and there’s the time to do it so, 👎 on this planning. They know they’ve got plenty of Ladies who can hold their own. The counter argument may be who cares but I can say the same for a lot of male acts so whatever. The Ladies are just as good and generally better on the regular. WTF.

In any case, it won’t stop me from watching so what I’m looking at is Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn. Mainly because I’m curious as to how Zayn will handle it. We see how Breakker rolls. We anticipate him steamrolling Zayn and it being over fairly quickly. How does Zayn make it a match? Well, I think that’s what he has to show us. Zayn has to sell himself out there because of the Adult High School sensibility of the WWE Universe. 

This is why AEW has a fan base. You don’t have to be a cool kid to work there, quite the contrary. The more a Fanboy/girl you are the better. I have nothing against it. I understand it wholeheartedly, but I do like to aim for slickness and appeal. This is why I’ve chosen my side as I have. I rather polish than revel but that’s just me. 

Regardless, what is Zayn gonna do? This is why I’m interested. I hope he’s not squashed to advance Breakker but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what they do. It would be an old regime move, for sure. Who’s afraid of Zayn but who wants a piece of Breakker? Zayn, if he’s to hold his ground, has to show he can hold his own. I’m thinking he uses his smarts and does all that he can to get Breakker to take himself out. If Zayn can show he knows what he’s doing, we’ll at the very least give him respect. 

After that, I’m looking at Seth Rollins vs. Damian Priest. We could easily say that Priest was just holding the Heavyweight Championship for Rollins but was he, though? Priest was in a real tough position. From where I see it, he made the best out of a Lose-Lose situation and I commend him for that. He’s a heel that ruins your day. I knew he’d work if you play him like Street Fighter’s Sagat. I don’t know about you, but when I was coming up, Sagat was the hardest guy to get around. Had to learn to beat the system to do it. I like how Priest is leaning into that. I was just going by his appearance. He’s got the same body type so, “Tiger Uppercut!”. How do you get around him? Guess that’s the other guy’s problem. If it’s a good match, I don’t mind Priest retaining but if Rollins is to win it back, he’ll have to honestly do so. 

What’s interesting here is that Rollins isn’t in much better of a position. Not that we don’t like him or want him it’s just, do we want him to just pick up where he left off? The beauty of the WWE Universe is its honesty. We do move on so that one has to consider taking time off even if to recover from injury. Will we miss you? Was Rollins missed? Not to say I don’t want to see him. I’m not saying he should hang it up or leave. I feel Rollins is exactly where he belongs. But was he missed? 

This match is interesting because they have to prove whether Priest should retain or Rollins should pick up where he left off. Priest has met the impossible challenge quite respectably. Could Rollins have done the same? This one is hard to call because of these variables. Let’s see if WWE makes it as interesting as it could be.

That leaves the Women’s MITB Ladder Match by default because it is the only Ladies match. Now, on paper, I understand this. There are a lot of new faces. We’re not used to a lot of these ladies and they’re younger than many of us. It’s hard to take ‘em seriously just because of that. The new class is going to have to work very hard to get the respect. 

I’m looking at Tiffany Stratton, Iyo Sky and Zoey Stark as the main contenders though, Naomi may surprise given her veteran status. I don’t doubt they’ll put on a solid performance. Given they’re the only ladies in action, I’d think they kinda have to. No pressure 😉 As long as they show why they got the nod, I won’t be disappointed. I wouldn’t aim to be Match of the Night if I were them, though. I’d stay humble and do my best and if that turns out to be the outcome, so be it but there would be no disrespect if it’s not. The men have more to prove if you ask me. 

And so, that’s what I’m looking at. Everyone else should be able to earn their keep so I’m not worried about them. With the rest, it’s going to be more about whether it’s a good match or at least entertaining. It could very well be a great PPV/PLE. We’ll see what they came up with. 

I’ll be watching live as long as there are no internet outages. I’ll have the unofficial watch party going just the same. Feel free to join in if you’re willing and able.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)