Love them or hate them (and there’s plenty of reasons for the latter these days), no one can argue that WWE has been trying to think outside the box since the COVID-19 outbreak has put the kibosh on their traditional wrestling model. We’ve had Boneyard Matches and Firefly Funhouse Matches, plus plenty of empty-arena anti-comedy (remember 3:16 Day? You’re better off not).
Keeping in this tradition, WWE has already announced that this year’s Money In The Bank ladder matches will take place inside (and on top of) WWE’s corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. But during tonight’s episode of Smackdown, Michael Cole made an even bigger announcement: Both the men’s and women’s MITB ladder matches will take place at the exact same time.
Your 👂👂 don't deceive you.
For the first time ever, the Men's and Women's #MITB Ladder Matches will be happening SIMULTANEOUSLY! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/iF4abSludy
— WWE (@WWE) May 2, 2020
That’s right: When the bell rings (or hell, maybe there will be a starter pistol or something — why not?), 12 competitors will begin the mad dash through the lobby of WWE headquarters, headed toward the rooftop where two Money In The Bank briefcases will be suspended. Here are the currently announced participants of the matches:
- Asuka
- Shayna Baszler
- Nia Jax
- Carmella
- Dana Brooke
- Lacey Evans
- Otis
- Daniel Bryan
- Rey Mysterio
- Baron Corbin
- Aleister Black
One final male competitor will be added to the match this Monday on Raw. It will probably be Triple H, because why not? (He probably has access to a special elevator that takes him right to the rooftop or something.)
With both matches taking place simultaneously, there’s a legitimate chance we could see intergender combat, a rarity in WWE. I for one would love to watch Shayna Baszler choke out Baron Corbin, or Otis and Nia Jax furiously bumping as they try to push through a narrow doorway. How insane will this actually be? We’ll all find out on Sunday, May 10.
