5 things WWE did wrong at Money in the Bank 2019

We just want to get it out of the way by saying that we firmly believe that WWE Money in the Bank was bar none the best PPV of 2019. Royal Rumble was second, but the length of the show puts it at a disadvantage.

Either way, all of our articles have generally been in praise of the PPV. Of course, it was more than deserving of the praise it got and had some incredible, top-notch matches with incredible, top-notch storytelling.

With that said, a great show didn't mean that it wasn't without its faults. So we'll be looking at the negatives that happened in a generally positive PPV.

Just to be clear, the referee botches that happened in all but two matches won't be counted as a part of this list. That was more of the referee's fault rather than WWE or the performers themselves. Either way, here is what went wrong at the PPV.

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#5. Length of the Rey Mysterio-Samoa Joe match

Rey Mysterio became United States Champion

Rey Mysterio may have become a Grand Slam Champion with his United States Championship win over Samoa Joe, but not much else went his way on the night. For one, the most notable part of the match was the botch where Mysterio sat on Joe's face and busted his nose.

The match itself lasted for less than two minutes. Their WrestleMania match itself was a minute or so. But that was understandable since Mysterio was injured. While one could argue that the story called for another short match, it was easily one of the few downsides of the night as a whole.

The match wasn't all too sloppy but it didn't work as well as a short match and should have gone on longer than it did.

#4. Bad finish to the steel cage match

An unnecessary finish

The Miz and Shane McMahon have actually had a good rivalry from a storyline perspective. It's the first feud that actually led to a successful face turn for The Miz and he's not had bad matches with Shane McMahon either.

Both delivered and so did the steel cage match - up until the finish. While it could be argued that they should have shown a bit more intensity during the match, we feel they did tell a good story. But The Miz ideally should have won the match, especially since Shane McMahon doesn't really benefit from the win in any way.

Storyline-wise, it only reaffirms that The Miz's cheating ways were more successful. The finish wasn't exactly unfair, but it wasn't necessary. Shane McMahon slipped underneath his shirt to escape the cage and beat The Miz for the second time.

#3. A bad showing for 205 Live

Tony Nese got a successful title defense against Ariya Daivari

The unfortunate reality is that the current direction of 205 Live isn't anywhere as exciting as last year when Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, and Buddy Murphy were tearing it up. Eventually, Mustafa Ali found himself on SmackDown at the end of the year while Cedric Alexander and Buddy Murphy "graduated" from 205 Live to RAW and SmackDown Live respectively.

Gutting the brand of its 3 biggest stars meant that Tony Nese had to take the mantle. As a fresh babyface champion, he simply hasn't pulled in the same level of interest and the quality of matches hasn't been all too high.

That was none more so evident than at Money in the Bank when the Cruiserweight Championship was put on the line in a rare main card match.

It turned out to be a bad showing for the 205 Live brand and really wasn't a good way to get casual fans interested in the Cruiserweight show.

#2. Not ending the show with Bayley

It was her night

Bayley had a career rejuvenation of sorts at Money in the Bank 2019 when she became the third Ms. Money in the Bank and became the fourth person in history to cash in the briefcase on the same night of winning it.

Taking a minute less than one and a half hours, Bayley was quick to save Becky Lynch (upon the crowd chanting her name) from the attack of Lacey Evans and Charlotte Flair. Evans helped Flair win her ninth title and after the match, the two ensued in a post-match beatdown.

Bayley made the save and took advantage of the situation, cashing in her Money in the Bank contract on Flair and securing her win with an elbow drop. Bayley was undoubtedly the highlight of the night and ending the show with her winning would have made it one of the most memorable PPVs ever.

#1. Brock Lesnar as Mr. Money in the Bank

Seriously. Why?

When we said that Bayley should have ended the night with a feel-good moment, that doesn't mean we don't understand the reason behind the decision. We fully understand that Brock Lesnar's appearance added shock value and got everyone talking.

However, apart from the swerve that it caused - what is it going to achieve in the long run? Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion certainly isn't anything new, and it's a stale storyline that nobody wants to see repeat itself.

Lesnar as WWE Champion on SmackDown does have an interesting ring to it, but Lesnar in a World title picture just doesn't feel right anymore.

It's time for him to either take a backseat or time to feud with superstars in non-title bouts. We're going to wait and see how the story plays out and hope that it ends in a failed cash in.