5 Surprising Moments from WWE Money in the Bank 2021

At WWE Money in the Bank, it was time for the fans to return. And what a show they were rewarded with. Money in the Bank was arguably one of the best WWE pay-per-views in years.

WWE Money in the Bank was a wonderful night of professional wrestling from the beginning to the end of the three-hour show. We had two surprising title changes, an excellent Raw Women’s Title match, one of the best Money in the Bank matches in recent years and a shocking return to end a wonderful night in Fort Worth.

A special shoutout to the Fort Worth fans, who added a lot to a special night.

As we try to figure out why Seth Rollins felt the need to attack Edge during the main event itself, we should try to distract ourselves and present the list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE Money in the Bank 2021:

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#5 Nikki A.S.H wins the Women’s Money in the Bank at WWE Money in the Bank 2021

Nikki A.S.H takes the Money in the Bank for her distracted opponents.

It was interesting to see the Women’s Money in the Bank match open up the show. It was also really hard to pick a clear winner in this match before Sunday night.

Would they go with the always dangerous Alexa Bliss? Would Asuka become a back-to-back winner? Would they go with true underdog Liv Morgan? It was surprising to see the WWE go with the most unexpected winner of all in such a quick and shocking fashion.

Natalya and Tamina helped control the majority of the ladder match as they prevented multiple women from successfully climbing the ladder. Alexa Bliss was back with some mind games as she “prevented” Zelina Vega from climbing the ladder at one point. Bliss was later literally buried in ladders.

The finish was a true shock. Natalya, Tamina, Asuka, Naomi, Zelina and Liv fought at the top of three ladders near the briefcase. As the six of them were distracted, Nikki literally climbed over the other six women to grab the briefcase. It came so abruptly.

Nikki has done some great work in recent years. Let's hope this victory leads her to newer heights in the months to come. She certainly deserves the chance.

#4 Bobby Lashley destroys Kofi Kingston in WWE Championship match at Money in the Bank 2021

Lashley destroys Kingston on Sunday night.

WWE Money in the Bank provided a very rare event in WWE history. As WWE fans, we are used to long, epic world title matches that make both competitors look good regardless of the final outcome. At WWE Money in the Bank on Sunday night, that didn’t happen. In a brutal seven-minute squash match, where Bobby Lashley destroyed Kofi Kingston.

It was surprising to see a WWE superstar so completely dominated in a world title match. But that is what happened to Kofi at WWE Money in the Bank. He was hit with a Spinebuster, followed by a flatliner twice.

After giving up on the Hurt Lock submission, Lashley hit three brutal Dominators on Kingston. Lashley seemed to lock in the final Hurt Lock submission out of mercy for a quick victory. Kofi barely got in any offense on Sunday night.

While it is tough to see Kingston destroyed at Money in the Bank, the domination sells the storyline well. Lashley looked like a serious champion again. He is being built back up as an unstoppable monster. Who can stop him at Summerslam? Let's hope it isn’t some 54-year-old WCW veteran.

#3 Big E wins the briefcase at WWE Money in the Bank 2021

Big E celebrates a huge and well deserved moment.

Before WWE Money in the Bank, it seemed like the Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match was one of the most stacked fields in the history of the dangerous match. Could they possibly live up to the hype? After Sunday night, the answer seemed to be a resounding yes.

The Money in the Bank match had some standout moments. The team-up of Seth Rollins and John Morrison was fun while it lasted. Riddle’s exchange of kicks with Nakamura was great. Drew McIntyre even dominated the match before Jinder Mahal and his henchmen literally took McIntyre out of the Money in the Bank ladder match.

This was not the end of the really surprising standout moments in the Money in the Bank match. Ricochet continued to show his unreal athleticism with a springboard somersault onto the other competitors after being pushed off the ladder by Riddle. Kevin Owens took a brutal bump as Rollins powerbombed him through a ladder bridge outside the ring. But it was Big E who pulled off a surprising finish.

As Rollins attempted to grab the Money in the Bank briefcase, Big E climbed the ladder as well and hit the painful looking Big Ending from the top of the ladder. At that moment, Big E was able to get up and climb the ladder to victory.

The crowd was clearly behind Big E winning Money in the Bank. It seemed long overdue. Here is hoping the talented and popular star uses the briefcase to enter the main event picture in the WWE.

#2 Seth Rollins costs Edge the Universal Championship at WWE Money in the Bank 2021

Seth Rollins cost Edge the Universal Championship match

At WWE Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins didn’t take his loss in the ladder match well. He vowed to challenge the winner of Sunday night’s WWE Universal Championship match to a future title match. But it seemed that Seth Rollins isn’t really a patient guy based on his actions at the end of the Money in the Bank main event.

Edge and Roman Reigns put on a piece of classic storytelling on Sunday night. The match started slowly with clear games of one-upmanship. It wasn’t until after twenty minutes that the surprising ending sequence began to unfold. Once referee Charles Robinson was hit by accident, it allowed a lot of possible outside interference.

The Usos attempted to interfere at first but were stopped by the Mysterios. This allowed Edge to use a steel bar from a chair. It was at this point that Seth Rollins arrived to superkick Edge. As Roman Reigns tried to follow up, Edge hit a spear for a near-fall victory. Seth Rollins returned yet again to distract Edge which finally cost him the match against Roman Reigns

Both Rollins and Edge proceeded to brawl as Money in the Bank ended. Rollins seemed to go against his proclamation of waiting until after the title match. He was entirely responsible for Edge losing the chance for the WWE Universal Championship. But it does seem to have set up a future Summerslam match. And who doesn’t want to see that dream match?

#1 John Cena Returns at WWE Money in the Bank 2021

John Cena can't see Roman on Sunday night.

As WWE Money in the Bank was ending, Roman Reigns got on the mic. It was time for the traditional heel bragging about his victory moment. We see it a lot in pro-wrestling, and we all know this idea hasn’t worked out very well throughout history.

It was at that moment at WWE Money in the Bank that John Cena’s theme music played. It was certainly one of the loudest pops we have heard in the WWE for a long, long time. Cena seemed to enjoy it and then ran to the ring. He simply got into Roman’s face and did his “you can’t see me” gesture. And that was the end of the show. It left us wanting more without having a promo or physical altercation.

It seems pretty clear we are leading up to a John Cena versus Roman Reigns Universal Title match at Summerslam. We will also have some great promos in the lead up to Summerslam on Raw and Smackdown in the coming weeks.

Here's to hoping that WWE can build on its great crowds this weekend and produce some fun shows during the summer. After the Pandemic, we could all use some great entertainment for sure.