WWE Money In The Bank 2025

By Steve Ward

WWE returned to Peacock tonight with Money In The Bank from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. This event is arguably as pivotal of an event to the annual landscape of WWE each year as the Royal Rumble in that the winners of the Men’s and Women’s Money In The Bank ladder matches earn the opportunity to cash in an opportunity against the champion of their choice at any time for the next year. This evening’s card featured five matches with two title bouts, two Money In The Bank Ladder Matches, and was headlined by a tag team grudge match between the teams of Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes and Logan Paul and John Cena.

Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi vs. Giulia vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Stephanie Vaquer vs. Roxanne Perez
Winner: Naomi

With an opportunity at a world title shot literally hanging in the balance, these six women threw caution to the wind. In the final moments, Alexa Bliss and Rhea Ripley found themselves alone at the top of the ladder jockeying for position. Naomi then emerged from outside the ring and tipped the ladder over leaving a scene of carnage. Naomi took this opportunity to scale the ladder to capture her first Money In The Bank briefcase.

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Dominik Mysterio (c) w/ Liv Morgan vs. Octagon Jr.
Winner: Dominik Mysterio via pinfall

Mysterio appeared at AAA Worlds Collide earlier in the day and confronted Octagon Jr. following his match. Following the brawl that subsequently ensued between the two, Mysterio challenged Octagon Jr. to a match this evening. With an assist by Liv Morgan, Mysterio was able to gain the upper hand and execute the 619 followed by the Frog Splash to retain his title.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship
Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch
Winner: Becky Lynch via pinfall

Despite retaining her title over Lynch last month at Backlash, The Man got the last laugh with a vicious attack following their match. Valkyria then exacted a measure of revenge on Lynch by costing her a spot in the Women’s Money In The Bank ladder match recently on RAW. That led us to tonight’s rematch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. This was a true back and forth affair throughout the contest and the conclusion would be no different. Lyra rolled up Lynch for the pinfall only to have Lynch reverse it for her own pinfall as she grasped her tights for leverage and the win.

Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Seth Rollins w/ Paul Heyman vs. El Grande Americano vs. LA Knight vs. Andrade vs. Penta vs. Solo Sikoa
Winner: Seth Rollins

In the closing moments, the ring and the area surrounding looked like a crime scene. There was no shortage of run-ins as Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed first came to the aid of Rollins and then Jacob Fatu and JC Mateo (Jeff Cobb) for Solo Sikoa. It appeared Sikoa was poised to claim victory as he climbed the ladder until Fatu turned on him by grabbing his ankle and preventing him from reaching the briefcase. Fatu then exclaimed “I hate you” and laid waste to Sikoa. Rollins next attempted to climb the ladder only to be temporarily interrupted by LA Knight before disposing of him and retrieving the briefcase.

Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso vs. Johnny Cena & Logan Paul
Winners: Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso via pinfall

Cody Rhodes made his in-ring return tonight following his loss at Wrestlemania to John Cena. Tonight he would be in tag team action as he partnered with World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso against Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena and Logan Paul. The closing moments saw Rhodes and Cena alone in the ring after Logan Paul put Uso through the announce table with an Asai Moonsault from the middle ring rope. With the referee distracted outside the ring, Cena struck Rhodes with his title belt. It appeared Cena was poised to put Rhodes away until a hooded assailant arose from the crowd and attacked Cena. After incapacitating Cena, the masked man revealed himself as R-Truth who had allegedly left the company this past week following the expiration of his contract. This allowed Rhodes to put Cena away with the Cross Rhodes to solidify the victory.

Don't Sleep on "My-Time"! Pride of Reading, PA faces biggest test

By Chris Mealey

Heavyweight boxing in America just may takeover and once again be spectated as the the most vital essence of the sport, as we lead up to the anticipated main event on December 1st between WBC World Champion Deontay Wilder and the undefeated Lineal Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury, live from Staples Center in Los Angeles. However, the opening bout for this venue appears to be "under the radar," but still a bout that's actually a stellar matchup in the same division of the towering giants.

We're talking about two men who have delivered entertainment through thrill, undoubtable grit, and excitement in their most recent bouts to say the least. Two warriors that will raise the blinds this weekend. The Cuban boxer Luis "King Kong" Ortiz and Travis "My Time" Kauffman from Reading, Pennsylvania bring a lot of energy to kick off the fights this weekend for various reasons. Ortiz, recently coming off a KO loss to current WBC Champion Wilder on March 3rd, had provided Wilder with all he could handle, virtually winning every round of the fight until dramatically failing to rise from a haymaker in round 10. The ferocious, yet tactical, Kauffman may be considered one of the most under looked opponents, as Ortiz eyes a rematch with Wilder in the event he defeats Tyson Fury.

Travis Kauffman is known for his undeniable heart and alluring adjustments, most recently against Scott Alexander and more notable boxers consist in - Chris Arreola and a fight of the year candidate with Amir Mansour. It is worth noting that the victory over Scott came after a 15 month layoff, followed by the close thriller with Mansour. On top of the ring rust, Kauffman proceeded to emerge victorious over Alexander, who he had little time to prepare for as his original opponent Antonio Tarver failed a drug test.

A lot of boxing fans tend to underestimate certain matchups, and professional fighters are no different. Luis Ortiz has made it very clear that he is eyeing up a second go against Wilder, but that may be his biggest mistake, as he has the big man from Reading, Pennsylvania in his way. fans of late and to this current era have experienced dramatic shifts in the art of pugilism, and we may well be witnessing another ruffle in the dynamic, most iconic, and legendary division - the heavyweights.

Ortiz is the favorite, Kauffman the dark horse. The most certain aspect revolving around Travis Kauffman and Luis Ortiz is that they will entertain and provide the spectators with lightning, thunder, and dynamic action to open the first adequate heavyweight boxing card in many years.

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Fury vs. Wilder: Is it Worth $74.99?

By Steve Ward

This Saturday the Staples Center in Los Angeles will play host to what many boxing pundits have tabbed the fight of the year…of course I’m referring to Tyson Fury (27-0, 19 KOs) vs. Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) with the Bronze Bomber’s WBC title on the line. The pay-per-view broadcast presented by Showtime (so at least we’ll have an elite broadcast team) will be composed of four fights. Aside from the main event, the card will also feature Jarrett Hurd vs. Jason Wellborn in a super welterweight clash, as well as, two heavyweight bouts that will feature Luis “King Kong” Ortiz vs. Travis Kauffman and Joe Joyce vs. Joe Hanks.

The main event certainly has several captivating narratives to explore. First we’ll take a look at Wilder. There’s no denying his imposing stature and explosive power which have carried him to 39 KOs in his 40 bouts but when you dig a little deeper I will dare to play devil’s advocate and ask the question, “Is his record really that impressive?” Wilder’s resume is not exactly a "who’s who" of heavyweight talent and the current landscape is by no means what one would label a "golden age of heavyweights" as the division is devoid of fighters that have the charisma and talent of such greats like Tyson, Holyfield, Lewis, and Foreman, just to name a few.

Wilder didn’t face any real adversity until he faced Bermane Stiverne to earn the WBC title in underwhelming fashion by unanimous decision, and unfortunately when Stiverne was finally granted a rematch, he was out of shape and quite frankly appeared disinterested in fighting as he was knocked out in round one. After the fight, Wilder celebrated over Stiverne in a poor display of sportsmanship like he had just won the gold medal…oh wait, he never did that.

Wilder followed this performance with a fight against Luis Ortiz that I found, quite frankly, to be frustrating to watch. Ortiz was clearly the more refined boxer and one could make the argument that when he had Wilder asleep on his feet late in the fight, the ref probably would have stopped the fight had he been in the ring with anyone else. Essentially with Wilder, you have a fighter who’s not going to box, is constantly going to drop his guard and stick his chin out, but will also lull his opponent into a false sense of security, and then use his power to put you away with one well placed shot.

On the other hand we have the eccentric “Gypsy King” Tyson Fury who is entering his third fight of 2018 following a two and a half year layoff-a layoff filled with the type of activities that would make my esteemed colleague Justin Dohnson proud. (The same Justin Dohnson who once shared a Tecate-fueled night of debauchery at a fight in Cabazon with Matt Ward and me, where he delighted our fellow fight fans as he serenaded his favorite Corona ring girl with a vivid narrative of what their life together could/would be-ranging from their house with a white picket fence to their impressive 401k plans.)

When we examine Fury’s resume it is mostly reminiscent of Wilder’s except for one glaring difference. Fury can boast one thing Wilder cannot and that is he stood toe-to-toe with Wladimir Klitschko, a man who along with his brother Vitaly, absolutely dominated the heavyweight division for well over a decade and took his titles. While this was three years ago, it is still a testament to what Fury is capable of when he is focused. Tyson Fury appears to be in phenomenal shape for this fight, matches Wilder in stature (he actually has two inches in height on him), is deceivingly quick, and he can box. While many are picking Wilder as the clear favorite, I personally think if this is the Tyson Fury who defeated Klitschko and Dereck Chisora, then he has a legitimate chance to leave L.A. as the new heavyweight champ.

As we continue our in depth cost benefit analysis of this pay-per-view’s price, we’ll take a brief look at the undercard. Jarrett Hurd is another fighter I find frustrating to watch. Hurd, much like Wilder, does not believe in utilizing much defense but there is no arguing that he has a cast iron chin-one that was prominently displayed when he was outboxed by Austin Trout who eventually wore himself out as he threw everything at Hurd for ten rounds with Hurd seemingly unfazed. Hurd will take his frosted tips into a contest with the lesser known Jason Welborn from the UK.

King Kong Ortiz will also appear on the pay-per-view telecast in his third fight of the year against the gritty Travis Kauffman with the winner potentially vaulting himself into the title shot conversation. The last fight on the pay-per-view will pit the 2016 British Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce against Joe Hanks-who you know is going to be tough because he’s from the mean streets of Newark, New Jersey.

Now for a few gripes I hold with the event. The returns of Chris Arreola and Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero have been advertised for the card, however, neither will be featured on the pay-per-view telecast. Additionally, Showtime will be airing a pre-pay-per-view warm-up of sorts with what was originally advertised as a split site event. One of the bouts featuring Adonis Stevenson fighting in Canada and the other originally scheduled as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo. Unfortunately, Chavez backed out of the fight earlier this week on the advice of his legendary father leaving Angulo to fight the equivalent of a WWE enhancement talent in Eduardo Flores (26-30-4, 15 KOs)-and no shocker here, this fight will not be featured on Showtime now.

Now we revisit the question, “Is this fight worth $74.99?” Well that depends…if you are a boxing head chomping at the bit to watch a heavyweight clash with a big fight feel reminiscent of those supplied by Mike Tyson in his heyday, then perhaps you could spend $1.75 instead and rent Iron Mike’s new feature film The China Salesman co-starring Steven Seagal (yes, this is a real thing…see Matt Ward’s feature on it).

Or maybe you would find $74.99 better spent on a front row seat for Justin Dohnson squaring off in an old school 16 round grudge match with his estranged twin brother Brian Scalabrine? If that doesn’t suit you, then perhaps you could be enticed by Matt Ward making his House of Hardcore debut as the son of Akeem with his manager Luis Cortes at his side. All joking aside, who am I to say if $74.99 is worth it? After all, Magna Media didn’t find your favorite West Coast correspondent for The Weigh-In worthy of a media credential. Nonetheless, this card should play a significant role in molding the heavyweight division moving forward and perhaps determine the next opponent for Anthony Joshua. The pay-per-view start time will be 9 p.m. ET, 6 p.m PT, and 7 p.m. AZ and in case you missed it, the price is $74.99.

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WWE Survivor Series 2018 Recap

Survivor Series emanated this evening for it’s 32^nd installment from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The loaded card featured seven bouts, with only the Cruiserweight Championship on the line, as the Red and Blue brands went head to head for brand supremacy.

Women’s Traditional Survivor Series 5-on-5 Match

Team Smackdown-Carmella, Naomi, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, & Asuka vs. Team RAW-Mickie James, Tamina, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, & Bayley

Winners: Team RAW-Nia Jax sole survivor

Leading up to this match, Mandy Rose replaced Charlotte for Team Smackdown after she was inserted as a replacement against Ronda Rousey due to Becky Lynch sustaining a concussion and having her face broken at the hands of Nia Jax this past week on RAW. On RAW’s side, Natalya and Ruby Riott were replaced with Bayley and Sasha Banks by team captain Alexa Bliss after a fight broke out between them during the Survivor Series kickoff show. As we approached the end of the match, Bayley and Sonya Deville found themselves outside the ring and could not make their way back in before the referee reached the count of 10 hence leaving them eliminated. This left Asuka to fend for herself against Sasha Banks and Nia Jax. Next as Banks gained the upper hand, she scaled to the top turnbuckle but was shoved off by her own teammate Nia Jax. This allowed Asuka to secure the Asuka Lock for the submission. Jax then entered the ring and annihilated Asuka with three leg drops followed by the Samoan Drop for the pinfall victory.

Champion vs. Champion Match

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Winner: Seth Rollins

This match pitted the Intercontinental Champion from RAW, Seth Rollins, against the United States Champion from Smackdown, Shinsuke Nakamura, in another brand versus brand contest. These men quite frankly beat the snot out of each other in this bout. Prior to the conclusion, Nakamura withstood a top rope superplex that Rollins held onto and rolled into another suplex whereas Rollins absorbed a bevy of strikes and even the dreaded Kinshasa. In the end, it appeard Rollins would suffer the fate of another Kinshasa until he ducked out of the way and countered with a pair of super kicks that set up the Curb Stomp for the pinfall victory.

Champions vs. Champions Tag Team Match

Cesaro & Sheamus w/ The Big Show vs. The Authors of Pain w/ Drake Maverick

Winners: AOP

WWE tag team bragging rights were on the line as the Smackdown tag team champions Cesaro and Sheamus battled the RAW tag team champions AOP. This match reached it’s conclusion as Drake Maverick found himself cornered by the Smackdown trio and Maverick, in terror of the Big Show who had his hand wrapped around is throat, peed his pants…I can’t believe I just wrote that but it happened. This distraction allowed AOP to trap Sheamus and lay waste to him to solidify the victory for RAW and put them up 3-0.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Mustafa Ali

inner: Buddy Murphy

Buddy Murphy made the first defense of the title he won in his native Australia at Super Showdown from Cedric Alexander. This was an entertaining match that the WWE Universe was surprisingly intrigued by. Ali unfortunately did not land his 054 (a gravity defying 540 splash) but did execute an awe-inspiring Spanish Fly on Murphy from the top of the German announce table. Unfortunately Ali fell short as Murphy hit the Murphy’s Law in the end for the victory.

RAW vs. Smackdown Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Match

Team RAW-Bobby Lashley w/ Lio Rush, Finn Balor, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, & Braun Strowman vs. Team Smackdown-The Miz, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio, & Shane McMahon

Winners: Team RAW-Survivors: Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, and Drew McIntyre

This match got off to a ferocious start as Samoa Joe was the first eliminated when he was the  recipient of a Claymore Kick delivered by McIntyre. Shortly after, an inevitable meltdown between Strowman and McIntyre occurred and chaos ensued. This culminated with Smackdown taking advantage and laying Strowman across one of the announce table for Shane McMahon to give the fans an “Oh shit!” moment. Shane-O-Mac proceeded to leap from the top turnbuckle and landed on Strowman driving his elbow through his chest and shattering the table in the process. The next elimination came after Mysterio hit the 619 and “Dropped the Dime” on Finn Balor for the pinfall. A beaten Shane McMahon reemerged to hit the Coast to Coast on Dolph Ziggler to eliminate him. Hardy was then eliminated by Strowman after he broke him in half with a power slam and subsequently did the same to Mysterio to quickly diminish the blue brand’s numbers. After chasing down the Miz, Strowman then eliminated him as well with another power slam. Shane McMahon, the last man standing for RAW, stood up to Strowman only to be drop kicked into the corner and then driven into the mat with a running power slam to finish of Team Smackdown. After the conclusion of the match, RAW captain and interim general manager Baron Corbin jumped Strowman from behind which most likely won’t go well for him on Monday night.

Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair

Winner: Ronda Rousey via DQ

This match was supposed to be champion versus champion until Becky Lynch was concussed and bloodied up on Monday night. On Tuesday night, Charlotte was selected by Becky to take her place against the “baddest woman on the planet.” This match was phenomenal and arguably stole the show. These ladies put on a clinic, particularly in submission wrestling, until the very bitter end. Ronda, seemingly in control, hit the Piper’s Pit and attempted to lock in the armbar submission when Charlotte escaped and rolled out of the ring. Ronda decided to pursue Charlotte out of the ring only to be met with a kendo stick shot to the gut. Charlotte snapped and proceeded to assault Rousey with multiple kendo sticks, breaking one in the process. Then when multiple referees attempted to quell the situation, Charlotte laid waste to all of them and continued her massacre of Rousey as she added a steel chair to the equation. This was an assault unlike one the WWE Universe has seen in quite a while and they responded with a “Thank you Charlotte” chant as she exited the arena with a maniacal expression on her face.

Champion vs. Champion

Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman vs. Daniel Bryan

Winner: Brock Lesnar

The WWE Universe fully anticipated this match to be A.J. Styles squaring off with Brock Lesnar in a rematch of their confrontation at last year’s Survivor Series when both were champions of their respective brands. A wrench was thrown into those plans this past Tuesday on Smackdown when Daniel Bryan shocked the world and won the WWE Championship. This match started as a mauling…Brock hit at least ten suplexes and an F5 on Bryan before he unmercifully lifted him up from the canvas instead of allowing the referee to count to three. Bryan was then hoisted up for another F5 but Brock spun him around so his feet hit the ref in the head leaving him  incapacitated briefly. Bryan took the opportunity to kick a perfect field goal between Lesnar’s legs and turned the tides of the bout. Bryan seemed a tap away from the upset of the evening, if not the year, as he had the Yes Lock engaged. Lesnar was able to power out but Bryan quickly readjusted and locked in a triangle choke. Lesnar finally picked up Bryan and threw him over his shoulders to finish him off with another F5.

-Steve Ward

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"Riot" at the Amir Khan vs. Carlos Molina Fight (2012)

Matt Ward, Dustin Johnson, and Steve Ward of The Weigh-In made the trek to Los Angeles from the greater Phoenix area back in 2012 to witness Amir Khan knock out Carlos Molina at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

The weekend was full of mayhem and antics that regular readers of this website would expect from the likes of anyone associated with this "fine" online publication. Matt Ward got a speeding ticket for driving 20 mph over the speed limit on a lonely stretch of California highway, and proceeded to argue with the cop; Steve Ward almost blacked out on the streets of LA after drinking sake bombs for the first time; and Dustin displayed his functioning alcoholism by waiting for the Yard House near the Staples Center to open on Saturday morning. All things considered, it is amazing that your pals at TWI made it to the show on December 15, 2012!

The real mayhem began after Khan defeated the crowd's "champion." Molina supporters, full of beer and prescription pain killers, were quick to turn their frustration on the 50 or so Amir Khan fans in attendance. This video does just enough to set the tone of the carnage that spilled over from the cheap seats onto the concourse. The video leaves out the footage of police helicopters hovering over the arena, cops decked out in riot gear, and the deployment of pepper spray. It also fails to capture the one and only red head in a sea of angry boxing fans, Dustin Johnson. Some sources covering the fight claim that he actually urinated on himself in a desperate attempt to avoid assailants and escape the arena... You be the judge of that!

Enjoy this "vintage" piece of boxing fan's finest, and remember TWI dudes love all of you... The next time any of us find ourselves in this type of mayhem, we will be sure to have our camera phones pointed towards the action, providing all of you with live play-by-play on Facebook!

Love, 

TWI Team

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Raymond "Tito" Serrano Interview

Raymond "Tito" Serrano (24-4, 10 KOs) is coming off of a November 18, 2017 victory over Enver Halili (10-1, 3 KOs) at the Claridge Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. With this victory, Serrano captured the vacant WBC FECARBOX Welterweight Title. Luis Cortes, recently caught up with Serrano in Philadelphia for a Bonus Round interview. The two men had the opportunity to discuss Serrano's recent victory and his experience training with Miguel Cotto (41-6, 33 KOs) at the legendary Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles.

Check out their Bonus Round interview on both SoundCloud and iTunes:

Bonus Round - Raymond "Tito" Serrano Interview with Luis Cortes on SoundCloud

Bonus Round - Raymond "Tito" Serrano Interview with Luis Cortes on iTunes

(Photo - BoxRec.com)

-Luis A. Cortes III

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Dustin's Corner: Leo Santa Cruz Victory over Chris Avalos

Finally! The People’s Red Head has come back to The Weigh-In!

Santa Cruz (34-1-1, 19 KOs) is celebrating what Johnny Drama refers to as “Victory,” after his domination of Avalos (27-6, 20 KOs) Saturday night in Los Angeles. Santa Cruz is now poised for a re-match with Abner Mares (31-2-1, 15 KOs).

As Matt, Luis, and myself sipped hot cocoa in our onesies, we could not help but admire Santa Cruz’s body of work. Santa Cruz established his jab early and compubox showed him landing over 50% of his power shots. In addition, Santa Cruz committed to bodywork, which paid dividends as the fight progressed.

Santa Cruz landed a big left hook in round four that made Avalos contemplate a career change. However, Avalos showed tremendous heart in the ring. He was outmatched, but earned the respect of all. Santa Cruz earned a stoppage in round eight, setting him up for another battle with Mares.

While Avalos put forth a valiant effort, he was outclassed. Santa Cruz believes he is a different fighter now that he is working with Robert Garcia, and his performances have me agreeing with him. It will be interesting to see where Avalos goes from here. In the meantime, I cannot wait for Santa Cruz and Mares to go at it again. I believe it is the fight everyone wants to see.

Special Thanks to:
Compubox
Matt Ward
The homeless guy at the end of my street

- Dustin Johnson, The People's Red Head

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