Tuesday night’s episode of Smackdown Live was supposed to feature a Fatal 5-Way match to determine a No. 1 contender for Naomi’s Smackdown Women’s Championship. But all five women brawled around ringside to such an extent that the match was never even able to start. So Shane McMahon came to ringside to announce that all five will compete in their own Money in the Bank match at the upcoming MITB pay-per-view.
This will not only be the first time that women will compete in their own Money in the Bank match, but it will be the first WWE women’s ladder match, period.
The current non-champions in the division consist of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and the Welcoming Committee of Natalya, Carmella, and Tamina Snuka. Naomi, the current Smackdown Women’s Champion, would be the current odd woman out. The others will vie for the coveted briefcase, which will guarantee them a match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship any time, any place, for up to one year.
The possibility of a cash-in for a title match at any time is always a welcome looming specter, and one that was sorely missing over the last year, when Dean Ambrose won the 2016 MITB match and cashed in to win the WWE Championship on the same night.
The Smackdown men will still have their own MITB match, but this historic women’s ladder match will be sure to get people talking … and get them looking forward to the PPV even more than they already were.
