SmackDown Fallout ─ Money in the Bank 2026

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?

 

Happy Friday! It’s a windy one in my neck of the woods. Hope yours is going splendidly. So, there are some things we can talk about in the Wrestling World. Not that much, so I shouldn’t strain your eyes but I’ll try not to ramble too much. I know we all have other things we’d rather be doing.

 

As usual, we’ll start in the Realm of AEW. They’re gearing up for their WrestleDream PPV tomorrow so they combined Dynamite and Collision into one supershow as they tend to do to give everyone a chance to rest up. Naturally, I keep an eye on The Future but respectfully simply observe for the future for the time being. What I saw was quite promising.

 

As those familiar with the goings-on in the realm, Jon Moxley is set to face Big Mean Mark Davis. Though the story of his nickname “Dunkzilla” makes sense by the look of him, I’m going to refer to him as someone with no idea of the backstory ‘cause that’s essentially who I am.

 

I didn’t know about the guy before The Future became a possibility and only informed myself out of curiosity. I feel that what my take on pro-wrestling is, is just that. The viewpoint of someone curious more than invested. Now, I’ve been doing this over a decade so, you can make the case that I am invested but keeping a sort of distance allows me a certain objectivity. As you can see, many fans can take this stuff very seriously and I have to continue to admit that I did as well but keeping a certain distance allows a person the ability to see things from a wider view, something needed in the face of fanaticism. That’s why I often remind readers that not everyone cares about this stuff and most people walking about don’t know what or who we’re talking about.

 

Let’s take the concept of The Future for example. I won’t say what it is ‘cause if it’s to happen it has to happen “organically” and the big point of it is no one seeing it coming. Yet, if I were to try to explain The Future to my mom, she’d stare at me blankly. She only barely knows who I’m talking about.

 

In direct opposition is how most of the general populous can joke and make analogies about Star Wars lore. Like, when The Empire Strikes Back re-leased for the 20^th Anniversary close to 30 years ago, I went to the theaters to take it in with friends and the crowd was a lot of older teenagers and college kids like me and my lot and when it got to the part where Luke and Leia have that little kiss, someone in the crowd shouted out, “That’s your sister, dude…your sister!” Cracked us up. And I can tell that story to my mom and she’d laugh. She’s seen the movies. Remember that not everyone has seen these shows or cares. Try to gauge your responses in regard to that sort of POV, is my humble advice. I will try to look at most of this stuff like someone coming off the street and seeing it for the first time, more or less.

 

Anyway, I digressed. On the Dynamite side of the show, we saw Mox join up with his fellow Riders of Death in Daniel Garcia and Gabe Kidd as they took on mean ole Davis, Jake Doyle and the newly returned Wardlow in trios action. It was a fair enough fight. Mox kept it hard hitting while Kidd and Garcia did their best to put dents in these guys but they were outmatched by about 100lbs collectively. It was an uphill battle. In the end, Davis let being big and mean do the talking and laid Mox out to take the win for the Don Callis Family.

 

We didn’t really see the response to this until the Collision part of the show. Most commenters in my feed praised the segment, appreciating its emotionality. It was understandable. Renée Paquette, bless her, did her job in interviewing the leader of the Riders who also happens to be her husband. Most times, she keeps it professional. If you were just looking at this stuff, you’d never know they were a pair. But rather than have an interview, Mox had a meltdown which…isn’t unexpected but given the circumstances, this was more stirring than the usual Mox “freak out”. You’d have to assume she’d know the difference. In any case, it forced her to show some spousal sensitivity and caringly ask what’s wrong. To which he responded that he was in pain. Paquette pressed for clarification. What kind of pain? Mox could only say he didn’t really know anymore.

 

Oi, wouldn’t want to be his psychologist. Well, Marina Shafir stepped up here and gave him a dose of tough love. Told him to lock in ‘cause the only way around this thing is through. The considerate kick in the patoot seemed to resonate with Mox and he found some resolve but not before giving Paquette a sweet touch to the leg. With that Mox was off. Shafir went on to support Paquette and the remaining Riders in Garcia and Kidd were left to follow their fearless leader. Kinda makes you wonder where Claudio Castagnoli was in all this. Hopefully, he just had the day off.

 

I appreciate this sort of aside because it adds some depth to something that can more or less remain 2-dimensional and that’s not a bad thing. Most of us partake to escape from our own hardships so keeping it light is often welcome. However, the passing of PAC has left an indelible mark and it has reminded us that these players are human. As I’ve been saying, grieving is a process and I am not in the least bit surprised that Mox’s process is…difficult. I’m sure it is tough both in front of and behind the camera.

 

Yet, in terms of storytelling, it’s a nice touch. I appreciate it more for Paquette’s participation because I see her as a part of The Future. I would expect that in the event that Strike 1 & 2 are put into effect (those may change given the recent events, more than likely they’ll be switched or tweaked) she would maybe refuse to interview the perpetrators or rebuff them if in the same scene together, so this is great for that.

 

Shafir continues to support my inclinations that she could make a bid to lead in the future or branch off into a separate sect. We shall see but the lads have to start making decisions. Will they continue to ride death or will they seek less choppy waters? Who knows. Good job, guys. I appreciate the work being put into it. Keep it up.

 

In the WWE Universe, there are some interesting happenings as word of a lawsuit is making the rounds but it concerns The Street Profits, Montez Ford to be exact. What’s circulating is that a security guard at one of the last shows they were in is filing a Sexual Harassment Suit for the suggestive gyrating that Ford performed in front of him. I’m sure the security guard is coloring it as “at his expense”.

 

As is usually at the core of these disagreements is the concept of Consent. The guard states that he was unaware of this lap dance and did not agree to it and was forced to endure the subsequent perceived humiliation for the fear of being viewed as unprofessional.

 

Personally, this does feel like a money grab but I would blame the company that put him on assignment as opposed to WWE or Ford, if that’s how it works in this guard’s case. The WWE fare is rambunctious and lively and not exactly devoid of sexual suggestion. True, it’s mostly PG in recent years but with its history, whoever employs this man should have cleared with him that stuff can go on at these events and made sure he was okay with tomfoolery in all its forms and if he wasn’t, then put him on another assignment. Perhaps one outside of the arena or anywhere that wouldn’t be on television. I doubt this goes to trial but I’m sure WWE will be a little more thorough in communicating with the venues that it’s best for floor workers to be thick-skinned. It’s a rowdy bunch, performers included.

 

And so that brings us to tonight’s SmackDown. It will officially close out Money in the Bank and keep to the plan for the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia but that may change. It all depends on the state of affairs in November. The Saudi airport was hit a few times last I heard so, how to get there in general I’m sure is a logistical nightmare and the event may get kiboshed by government officials more than anything else. If there’s a Plan B, we won’t know until we have to know.

 

In the meantime, it’s business as usual with Ricky Saints seeing if he can take the AAA Cruiserweight Championship off of Rey Fenix. R-Truth is gonna aim for a little payback from Damian Priest. Nikki Bella and Paige are either going to keep their feud burning or squash it. And Cody Rhodes will pick up where he left off with Randy Orton.

 

I’m not cooking tonight but I’m prepping for tomorrow night. It’s gotta marinade. So, I should be pretty much ready to go by showtime. If not, shortly thereafter.

 

I suggest you enjoy your evening however you choose to spend it. I’m sure a good bit of you are probably going to check out Street Fighter in theaters. It’s got a decent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes so you shouldn’t want your money back. I’ll avoid the situation by waiting for it to stream but it does look like a lot of fun. Anyway, for those of you staying inside, you know where to find me.

 

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)