ST. LOUIS — Although Carmella has been crowned the first-ever Ms. Money in the Bank, James Ellsworth’s involvement in The Princess of Staten Island’s victory left the historic bout shrouded in controversy.
Up until the fateful interference that already has SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryancalling foul, the bout was every bit the glass-ceiling shattering (and bone) shattering affair it had been touted as. The polished, scientific in-ring prowess of Superstars like Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Natalya went out the window in favor of demolition-derby aggression, as everyone in the match worked to subdue the dominant Tamina, who obliterated all four of her opponents with ladders and superkicks within moments of the opening bell and snuffed out the first tug-of-war over the briefcase – between Charlotte and Carmella – by shoving them both off the ladder.
Charlotte Flair tries to tame her Money in the Bank Ladder Match foes with a high-risk maneuver from the top rope. Courtesy of WWE Network.
In fact, Tamina played the role of spoiler for almost the entire battle, resurfacing each time she appeared taken care of, and constantly throwing a wrench into her opponents’ paths to the contract. Charlotte seemed to do the most damage against her after administering a pair of spears to Tamina before wiping her and Natalya out with a twisting round-off to the outside, but The Queen's attack took herself out in the process.
Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Carmella and Tamina throw caution to the wind in the inaugural Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
That left Carmella and Becky Lynch — the very vocal crowd favorite — to tussle over the briefcase, and that’s when Ellsworth made his move. After The Irish Lass Kicker powerbombed Carmella off the ladder, Ellsworth tipped the piece of hardware over and sent the inaugural SmackDown Women’s Champion tumbling out of the ring. Ellsworth furiously tried to rally Carmella up the ladder, but The Princess of Staten Island was non-responsive.
You could practically see the lightbulb go off over Ellsworth’s head and, as the St. Louis crowd roared its disapproval, he ascended the ladder himself, seized the contract and nonchalantly tossed it down to Carmella. Once she caught it, the bell rang, and she officially — but controversially — became the first-ever Ms. Money in the Bank. A far from F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S way to win, to be sure, but a win it was, nonetheless.
ST. LOUIS — Although Carmella has been crowned the first-ever Ms. Money in the Bank, James Ellsworth’s involvement in The Princess of Staten Island’s victory left the historic bout shrouded in controversy.
Up until the fateful interference that already has SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryancalling foul, the bout was every bit the glass-ceiling shattering (and bone) shattering affair it had been touted as. The polished, scientific in-ring prowess of Superstars like Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Natalya went out the window in favor of demolition-derby aggression, as everyone in the match worked to subdue the dominant Tamina, who obliterated all four of her opponents with ladders and superkicks within moments of the opening bell and snuffed out the first tug-of-war over the briefcase – between Charlotte and Carmella – by shoving them both off the ladder.
Charlotte Flair tries to tame her Money in the Bank Ladder Match foes with a high-risk maneuver from the top rope. Courtesy of WWE Network.
In fact, Tamina played the role of spoiler for almost the entire battle, resurfacing each time she appeared taken care of, and constantly throwing a wrench into her opponents’ paths to the contract. Charlotte seemed to do the most damage against her after administering a pair of spears to Tamina before wiping her and Natalya out with a twisting round-off to the outside, but The Queen's attack took herself out in the process.
Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Carmella and Tamina throw caution to the wind in the inaugural Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
That left Carmella and Becky Lynch — the very vocal crowd favorite — to tussle over the briefcase, and that’s when Ellsworth made his move. After The Irish Lass Kicker powerbombed Carmella off the ladder, Ellsworth tipped the piece of hardware over and sent the inaugural SmackDown Women’s Champion tumbling out of the ring. Ellsworth furiously tried to rally Carmella up the ladder, but The Princess of Staten Island was non-responsive.
You could practically see the lightbulb go off over Ellsworth’s head and, as the St. Louis crowd roared its disapproval, he ascended the ladder himself, seized the contract and nonchalantly tossed it down to Carmella. Once she caught it, the bell rang, and she officially — but controversially — became the first-ever Ms. Money in the Bank. A far from F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S way to win, to be sure, but a win it was, nonetheless.
