Money in the Bank is the unofficial fifth "major" on the WWE calendar, and with two Money in the Bank ladder matches and three titles on the line, there's a great deal at stake -- and the entire landscape of SmackDown can change in an instant. Matt Wilansky is here to break down each and every contest, with ESPN Stats & Info's Sean Coyle providing match ratings throughout the night.
Each match will be updated in real time. (c) - indicates defending champion(s).
Baron Corbin def. AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Shinsuke Nakmura (29:45)
Baron Corbin added his name to the WWE history books Sunday night in a wild, physical and altogether unpredictable match. Read the full recap here.
Breezango def. The Ascension via pinfall (3:50)
You can't -- we repeat, you can't! -- have a SmackDown Live show, whether it's on a Tuesday night or a pay-per-view, and not have Breezango make an appearance. Fashion Files segment or a match, Breezango is every bit as popular today as McDonald's and fidget spinners.
But their match against The Ascension was nothing but filler content to give us a breather between a thrilling Randy Orton-Jinder Mahal match and the forthcoming Money in the Bank match.
Bottom line: It lasted only a few minutes before Viktor was rolled up in a small package to give Breezango the win. Here's hoping Breezango will thrust themselves back into the championship mix before too long. Fans cannot get enough, and their storyline as longtime glorified jobbers to a main-attraction team is something that also gives them an air of respect, never mind their laugh-out-loud humor.
WWE championship: Jinder Mahal (c) def. Randy Orton via pinfall (20:50)
What had us shaking our heads in the beginning -- a revamped, rebranded Jinder Mahal -- has acquitted himself nicely since winning the WWE title against Randy Orton at Backlash.
While his anti-American shtick has come under scrutiny, Mahal's contempt for Orton has picked up steam and, more importantly, the contentious vibe with the fans has been palpable.
The question coming into their rematch at Money in the Bank was simple: was Mahal's reign going to be a brief one a la Bray Wyatt, who won and then immediately lost his WWE championship against Orton, to the chagrin of many fans, or something more.
With Orton's father, Bob Orton, who was introduced as alongside other NWA and AWA legends who made names for themselves in St. Louis, in the seats, Mahal came down the ring to a chorus of loud boos. It was a diametrically opposite reaction to that of Randy Orton, who seems to be more in favor with the fans without the belt in tow, and especially so in his hometown of St. Louis.
Orton came out strong, firing lefts and rights and narrowly missing an RKO. Orton then hammered his foe with rights and lefts and stomped on Mahal. The 13-time champ looked like No. 14 wasn't far away.
Mahal finally showed some offensive initiative by tossing Orton over the ring, a move that seemed to injure the Viper's left knee. Mahal then took control outside of the ring, throwing Orton into the stairs.
But Orton got some brief revenge, tossing Mahal over the barricade and into Bob Orton, who looked like he wanted to whack Mahal with a forearm smash that (with the help of a cast, for much of his prime) led him to many wins in his career, but Cowboy Bob restrained himself. Mahal, though, somehow summoned the strength to turn defense into offense and threw Orton into the announcer's table.
Later, Mahal put Orton into a figure four, but Orton reversed it, hoping to earn a tapout win, but to no avail. Orton delivered a sweet superplex off the top rope, but the repercussions from the impact did not allow him to capitalize on the move. A series of clotheslines, power slam and DDT from the second rope further established Orton as the likely winner. He then converted an RKO, and the match seemed all but done, until one of the weasely Singh brothers put Mahal's leg on the rope. The ref then gave the brothers the boot from the arena.
When the Singh brothers grabbed Cowboy Bob by his shirt collar on their way out, Randy Orton lost his mind and went ballistic. He tossed one Singh after another into the barricade and then through the announcers table and gave one of them an RKO outside the ring. He then capitalized on an incredible RKO that put second half of the Singh brothers through a commentary table.
But all the histrionics distracted Orton, and when he finally re-entered the ring, a patient and calculating Mahal caught Orton with a Khallas for the three count. Mahal retained his title.
Finally, after an overall underwhelming pay-per-view with head-shaking tactics, this match was main-event worthy. Orton was spectacular in every facet, but the decision to keep the Mahal train going was the right one. Mahal still has more ring work to learn, as he's hardly the performer Orton is, but that will come with more time. This was a win for all parties.
Mike and Maria Kanellis debut, plus a special edition of the Fashion Files
After a special edition of the Fashion Files, in which Breezango seemingly set themselves to get an answer as to who destroyed their office later in the night, Mike and Maria Kanellis made their debut as part of the SmackDown Live brand. Formerly known as Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett, the pair brought their collective act through Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling and most recently IMPACT wrestling, before signing with the WWE. Kanellis previously spent time between 2004 and 2010 with the WWE, before becoming a tandem with and eventually marrying Bennett during her time away from the company.
Naomi (c) def. Lana (c) via submission (7:30)
Like The New Day, Lana did little to earn her opportunity for a title shot. As a matter of fact, this was just her second match ever -- first in singles -- on the WWE main roster.
Still, she is a familiar face with a fresh angle and some intrigue.
No one really knew what to expect from Lana, who has spent the majority of her time in the past few years as Rusev's manager/wife/sidekick. All in all, she didn't seem lost against Naomi. Early on, Lana dictated the rhythm of the match, first with a suplex that threw Naomi into the ropes and then a kick into the head.
But Naomi, who was holding her left knee, recovered and nailed Lana with a kick of her own and then a rearview. A spinebuster from Lana seemed to give her the edge again, but then Money in the Bank winner, Carmella, came down the ring. Was she going to cash in? Nope. Just observing, and keeping Lana and Naomi on their toes, apparently.
The chaos allowed Naomi to win by submission, but the trash-talking between Naomi and Carmella began immediately afterward.
If anything, the confusion seems to set the tone for this future beef between Carmella and Naomi, and just like that we have a new storyline to watch in the coming weeks, if not months.
These two are both athletic and charismatic. It's hard to say for sure right now, but amid all the anarchy with the women Sunday night, the end result is a promising one, even if Lana was mostly disregarded in the process.
The New Day def. The Usos (c) via countout (12:00)
In the land of opportunity that SmackDown has prided itself on being, The New Day gave done little in their brief stint on the show to earn a title shot.
But as one of the most popular tag teams in the WWE, if not the most popular, giving them a shot at the titles after they held the Raw counterparts, which they held for record time on Monday nights, makes sense.
The Usos, though, started strong and in unison for the first few minutes.
Some nefarious tactics ensued soon after, as Jey Uso grabbed Kofi Kingston by the hair outside the ring. The one-sided match became even more one-sided until, mercifully, Kofi Kingston tagged in Big E who gave Jimmy Uso a series of belly-to-belly suplexes and a one-arm slam. Later, Big E laid out Jey Uso with a suplex outside the ring.
But Kingston was not done. Once he was back in, he capitalized an SOS on Jey Uso, which almost earned The New Day the win. The Usos later hit Big E with a double knee to the head, before Big E tossed them both over the ring. Kingston then took out the champs with a spectacular flying elbow before delivering a midnight hour that almost won them the match again.
A pair of near-falls after a Big Ending and a Midnight Hour each got broken up at the very last moment, and the second led The Usos to flee. They elected not to go back into the ring, instead opting to walk away and lose by countout, retaining the titles in the process.
So ... two matches, and the ending of each was manipulated by underhanded tactics. This probably isn't the best start to a high-profile pay-per-view anyone could have hoped for.
The Usos won the tag-team championship against American Alpha in March, and while not a weekly staple on SmackDown, they are an exciting team that works well as a heel duo. Letting them retain the titles isn't a bad play, especially since The New Day might be better off working their way into the SmackDown matrix and perhaps winning the titles at SummerSlam.
Still, this ending won't put a good taste in anyone's mouth.
Money in the Bank: Carmella def. Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Natalya and Tamina Snuka (13:20)
This pay-per-view, largely considered the "fifth major" by discerning wrestling aficionados, wasted no time getting fans riled up, as just moments into the broadcast, Charlotte Flair's music hit, indicating the first-ever women's Money in the Bank match was about to begin.
The match started with each performer showcasing a few dominant moves. Tamina laid out Natalya with a superkick and then sprung her into a latter, which was wedged into the ropes.
Natalya recovered quickly and body-slammed Becky into a ladder. As Natalya climbed the ladder a few minutes later and got her hands on the briefcase, Charlotte quickly prevented her from snaring the hardware with some body blows that weakened her foe.
Tamina then got back in the act and pushed Charlotte and Carmella off the ladder and into the ropes. But the four-time former women's champ regrouped and laid a couple of her opponents out with some massive kicks before duking it out with Tamina, who showed ruthless aggression we haven't seen before.
Charlotte, though, took the offensive again with the move of the match, a corkscrew moonsault, that took out Tamina and Natalya.
Then a strange sequence of events brought the match to an abrupt end. Not only did James Ellsworth get in the ring and interfere, pushing Becky Lynch off the ladder, but he climbed the same ladder, grabbed the briefcase and tossed it to Carmella, who after a few moments of confusion by a trio of referees was declared the winner ... by Ellsworth.
Perhaps giving Carmella, who is still young and up-and-coming, the win is a way to instill fresh blood atop the division a la what the show did with Jinder Mahal, but having first-ever match like this decided by Carmella's male mouthpiece seems like a mistake in an era that is trying to ensure its women are on equal footing.
Since the Superstar Shakeup shortly after WrestleMania 33, the women's division has found itself in a strange situation on SmackDown Live. With only Flair, Lynch and Naomi amid the A-listers, the show decided to group the other three mid-carders in the hope that the sum is actually greater than the parts.
And while Natalya has had a few notable moments, Tamina Snuka really hasn't done anything in the ring to prove she can take act to the next level. And as for Carmella, has been arguably hurt by the pairing with Ellsworth, who's levity has devolved into roll-your-eyes enough is enough.
But in the end it was Ellsworth who made the difference Sunday night -- for better, or for worse.
Kickoff match: The Hype Bros def. The Colons via pinfall (8:30)
In the opening contest of the night, Zack Ryder made his return to the ring after a six-month layoff and picked up the pinfall victory. Despite selling the knee injury for most of the match, a late tag to Mojo Rawley and a blitz from the energetic big man led to a Hype Ryder and the win for the Hype Bros.