Multiple names from WWE Smackdown confirmed for MITB 2018

Bengaluru, May 9: Earlier this week on WWE Raw, we saw three superstars advance to the Money in the Bank 2018 match. From the men’s division, Braun Strowman and Finn Balor got through by winning their respective matches. While, in the women’s division, it was Ember Moon who became the first one to enter the contest. And last night, on Smackdown Live, more stars joined them.

Paige kicked off the show by reminding us, once again that there will be two MITB matches on June 17th, 2018. To determine the contestants from Smackdown, she announced there will be a series of matches that will happen on the show, with the winners set to join the Raw qualifers to compete in a ladder match.

The first qualifier was contested between The Miz and Jeff Hardy in an entertaining affair. Jeff went for some early offenses with an atomic drop followed by a drop-kick. Later, he also connected with a Twist of Fate. But, his opponent kicked out of that as well. Later, Hardy set the Miz up for a Swanton Bomb which was not delivered to the full extent.

Capitalizing on this, The Miz rolled Hardy up to steal the win. So, he will compete in the MITB match, once again in his career. This is that perfect match where his cunning tactics came into play, effectively. Furthermore, he is a veteran who has won this match and also went on to headline Wrestlemania. Hence, he starts the favourite to win the contest.

The second qualifier for MITB was contested on Smackdown between Daniel Bryan and Rusev. Despite the early momentum picked up by the YES movement leader, Rusev caught him with a kick to his injured ribs. This allowed him to deliver a huge Machka kick to earn the pinfall win.

This win came as a huge shocker for the fans. Rusev earning a clean win over Daniel Bryan is something unbelievable. Perhaps, the lady luck started to work for him after Lana joined him from last week onwards. With fan support, Rusev is also a favorite to win this year’s MITB match.

From the women’s division, Charlotte Flair defeated Peyton Royce via the Figure-eight lock. It was a sweet redemption for her after the IIconics cost her the championship, post-Wrestlemania. She now joins Ember Moon from Raw in the women’s MITB lineup. Charlotte is the most strongest on the female roster and quite predictably, the favorite to win, this year.