10 New Directions For WWE After Money In The Bank 2016
What will WWE fans see in the lead-up to Battleground?
Money in the Bank has evolved into one of WWE’s most popular pay-per-view events. While the company has certainly been guilty of using the MITB briefcase as a booking crutch over the years, there’s little doubt that the ladder match creates uncertainty within an often unexciting main event scene, even when the winner isn’t necessarily who the fans had been hoping for (hello, Sheamus).
This year’s incarnation won’t be remembered as one of the best Money in the Bank PPVs of all-time (and it certainly doesn’t come close to touching the 2011 peak), but WWE still delivered a night of talking points and solid in-ring action. Certain matches could’ve used stronger build-up going into the event, and MITB 2016 struggled for momentum early on, but it really kicked in as soon as AJ Styles and John Cena hit the ring, and closed with a long-awaited cathartic moment that will live long in the memory.
After over a year of near-misses and falling at the last hurdle, Dean Ambrose is WWE World Heavyweight Champion. It might have taken a sneak attack and his newly-won briefcase to get him there, but it was a career-defining moment, and one that proves that WWE’s “New Era” is alive and kicking.
While MITB provided little insight into what’s in-store for performers like Apollo Crews and Dolph Ziggler, it did shed light on many possible new directions for Battleground and beyond. Here are 10 of them.
10. Tag Team Turmoil
WWE’s tag division has gone from a mere afterthought to one of the company’s biggest assets over the past few months. The division is absolutely brimming with talent, and WWE should be commended for their newfound focus on tag team wrestling post-WrestleMania.
Fresh faces like Gallows & Anderson, The Vaudevillains, and the white-hot Enzo & Cass have injected new life into the once-ailing division, and current champions The New Day are among the company’s most bankable assets. Add veteran teams like The Dudley Boyz and The Usos to the equation, and for the first time in many, many years, WWE has a balanced, competitive tag division on its hands.
The Lucha Dragons’ Kickoff Show victory over The Dudleyz doesn’t quite propel them to being top contenders, but it re-establishes them as a going concern and sets them up nicely for matches with more obvious contenders. The four-way, while messy, allowed each individual team their moment to shine, putting forward the idea that all four are on close-to-equal footing, and that any could rise up and snag the belts.
With no obvious contenders established going into Raw tonight, look for the chaos to continue.