10 WWE Money In The Bank 2018 Impulse Reactions
Five-Hour Energy
The idea of an impulse reaction at its core is to feel with unvarnished instantaneous instinct. Love and hate distilled in their purest forms, undiluted by reflection or resolution. WWE are gradually eroding such a method with their lengthy supershows.
Despite the company fostering a gang of "B+ Players" and no booking to justify it, Money In The Bank's undersold promotion to 'A-show' this year came with an extended run-time on the WWE Network. Whilst the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania boasted stacked cards that could (and did) go either way, the June supercard looked bloated to the point of gross gluttony. 10 WWE matches on one night, regardless of stature, felt like nine too many.
Like the monster events that came before it, elements of Money In The Bank were irrefutably excellent whilst others generated only disappointment and disdain. This is the new normal - there will be no WrestleMania X-Seven nor NJPW Dominion from a company incapable of properly servicing everybody with the requisite creative direction.
It's vitally important not to let the length dull impulses though. They remain raw, revelatory and the real test of how emotionally involved the product makes you feel. Despite WWE becoming a rights-first punters-later business, they are still the reactions that draw money, banked or otherwise.
10. Chicago Fire
A quick word on the always-excellent Chicago crowd before tucking into the movable feast that was Money In The Bank.
There'll perhaps never be noises inside the Allstate Arena like those generated by Bret Hart and Steve Austin in 1997 and CM Punk 14 years later, but there was no better building for the pitiful present day product to get an airing and much-needed injection of enthusiasm.
SmackDown Live! and particularly Monday Night Raw has been catastrophic (and at times coma-inducing) viewing of late, with the company experiencing its worst post-WrestleMania creative slump in years. The roster is bursting with loathsome losers; a group of talent so buried, bruised or broken by booking that few look equipped to compete for titles that are themselves virtually valueless.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson received the type of response they'd normally only get saving AJ Styles on a house show despite the blatantly obvious defeat they were about to suffer at the hands of the Bludgeon Brothers, and the pattern continued throughout the night. Geeks were back amongst the popular sect for one night only, especially considering the success of Vince McMahon's maniacal masterstroke midway through the card (more on that later). A return to the norm as Raw goes back on the road will be frustratingly dispiriting.