WWE Announces Two Money In The Bank Qualifying Matches For SmackDown

Here's who's facing who in WWE's first round of Money In The Bank qualifiers.

Drew McIntyre Sheamus WWE SmackDown
WWE.com

WWE has scheduled two bumper Money In The Bank qualifying matches for this week's episode of SmackDown.

The biggest is a collision between former World Champs and real-life pals - Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus is sure to be a rugged, physical match full of eye-watering strikes. They've had several winners over the years, and there's no reason to expect anything less than smash mouth when the Scot and Irishman step into the ring against one another.

That'll be one to watch for sure, but the smart money would go on McIntyre coming away with the win and rolling on to MITB.

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Lacey Evans vs. Xia Li is the other bout lined up with pay-per-view consequences. It'll be Lacey's first match since returning to TV (her first overall since February 2021), and brings an end to her confusing brand/alignment switch merry-go-round.

Meanwhile, Xia is hoping to string some SmackDown appearances together after some significant time off-camera. She worked last week's 'Six-Pack Challenge' for a future crack at Ronda Rousey's title, but Natalya won that match.

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Will WWE toss Li a bone by putting her in MITB? Who knows.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.