WWE Money In The Bank 2018: Star Ratings For All 10 Matches

5. Roman Reigns Vs. Jinder Mahal

Jinder Mahal STAR RATING 1
WWE.com

This was exactly the match everybody expected. It was received in the manner everybody expected, with the sobering exception of the man who green-lit the layout.

Jinder Mahal, the more significant of two evils, tortured Roman Reigns and the crowd alike with - for f*ck's f*cking sake - two interminable, protracted chinlock sequences applied more than a month after the Backlash crowd chose to beat the traffic rather than endure them. This is how Vince thinks Roman is getting over in 2018: fighting out of basic holds as if even the New Generation Era didn't happen. Actually, it more or less did on the night...

The fans elected to entertain themselves, raining down chant after detached, ironic chant, with no other source of entertainment with which to escape - with the exception of great work carried out by the underrated Sunil Singh. At first glance, it appeared as though Singh had cracked the back of his head on the wheelchair from which he rose to take Roman's Spear. The replay confirmed that the man is simply really good at selling.

Singh was, by some distance, the best part of a match criminally slow and basic until a well-executed and dynamic last salvo rendered totally pointless by the preceding boring bullsh*t. In effect, he played the role of Jim Cornette in a sequel to Diesel Vs. British Bulldog from Great White North nobody wanted to see - much less over two decades later.

Star Rating: *1/2

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!