After several Qualifying Matches for WWE’s Money in the Bank on SmackDown, it was finally time to start Monday Night Raw’s Qualifying Matches, starting with Penta, American Made’s Chad Gable, and LWO’s Dragon Lee. The second qualifying match took place later in the night between Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Sami Zayn. By the end of the night, not only were there two more popular superstars in the match, but those superstars being in the match instantly makes the Men’s Money in the Bank match a must-see affair and far more intriguing than when Raw started.
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Penta vs. Chad Gable vs. Dragon Lee
Both Lee and Penta attacked Gable right off the bat, but then they got in each other’s faces briefly before throwing Gable out of the ring. Penta brought that alliance to a close, and then they started to battle one-on-one.
Lee pulled off some impressive offense and knocked Penta to the ground and set him up for a huge kick to the head, but Gable got involved soon after, cutting off Lee’s momentum and then going for Penta. That didn’t work out so well for Gable, who got planted to the mat by Penta and then clocked with a superkick. Penta kept Lee at bay and then drove Gable face-first to the mat and knocked Lee to the outside.
Back from break, Lee came flying through the ropes to the outside, taking out Penta and sailing over the announce table. Gable got Penta back in the ring, and they exchanged chops, and then superkicks were given out to everyone, leading to a pin attempt from Lee.
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Gable would then hit a huge suplex on both Penta and Lee, and then Gable went up top and hit a moonsault into a cover, but Penta kicked out. Then Gable threw a charging Lee into the turnbuckle. That’s when El Hijo del Vikingo got involved and kicked Gable, knocking him from the top rope and racing back to the crowd. Penta took advantage and hit Gable with the finisher and got the win, and Penta will now join Solo Sikoa and LA Knight in the men’s match.
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn
Zayn was the aggressor early, and Balor would also go on a quick roll before Rollins got back into the ring and started to get something going. Balor and Rollins went one-on-one for a while, and Balor was even able to take out both Rollins and Zayn with a DDT, but he couldn’t get either pin to stick.
After the break, Zayn was back on track, slamming Balor down and then delivering an array of strikes to Rollins. Zayn then knocked Balor and Rollins to the floor shortly after, and after keeping them at bay again, he knocked them down with a springboard moonsault. Rollins looked to regain control with a Falcon Arrow to Zayn, but it wasn’t going to be enough, so Rollins got Zayn up on the top rope only to get hit with a Sunset Flip PowerBomb and a cover, but Balor broke it up.
All three were back in the ring and trading moves, and Zayn cut off Balor’s attempt at a Coup De Grâce. Zayn then hit a superplex and got squashed with a frog splash from Rollins, taking everyone out of commission. After the break, Rollins convinced Balor to team up with him and take out Zayn, but Zayn managed to fight them both off. Balor then countered Zayn and almost got the win, but any alliance between Rollins and Balor was done when Rollins broke up the pin at the last second.
Balor and Rollins went at it again, but Zayn broke up a pin on Balor, and then Zayn kicked out of a pin from Rollins. Zayn dodged a curb stomp and then hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Rollins, but it still wasn’t enough for the win. Zayn slammed Rollins down and seemed to have the win set, but Balor cut him off with a Sling Blade and then dropkicked Zayn into Rollins. Balor went up top but missed the Coup De Grâce, only for Zayn to hit the Helluva Kick on Rollins and almost win. Bron Breakker saved the match though by pulling Rollins out of the ring, and then Jey Uso got involved as Bronson Reed joined in the fight as well.
Rollins got punched by Uso, and then Reed took out Zayn. Dominik Mysterio ran out and slid a chair to Balor, but the referee saw it, and then Rollins curb-stomped Balor onto that same chair. That was enough for the pin, and Rollins is now in the Money in the Bank match alongside Penta, Sikoa, and Knight.
Rollins then commanded Reed and Breakker to take out everyone around the ring, and CM Punk’s music hit, so they went to find him by the entrance. Punk was in the ring though and hit Rollins with a GTS before bolting out of the ring and celebrating in the crowd.
Do you think Rollins is going to win the Men’s Money in the Bank? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
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