WWE Money in the Bank 2021: Drew McIntyre qualifies for Ladder Match

Bengaluru, June 29: Randy Orton was surprisingly absent from this week’s WWE Monday Night Raw despite being advertised for the main event match of the show which took place at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida..

In the Viper's absence, his tag team partner Riddle tried to make way for him to the ladder match at Money In The Bank but those efforts went in vain as Drew McIntyre found an indirect way to get back into the WWE Championship picture.

Orton had been advertised for the 2021 Money In the Bank Second Chance Qualifier Triple Threat alongside Drew McIntyre and RAW Tag Team Champion AJ Styles in the main event on Raw. WWE infact advertised him for the match until RAW aired on the USA Network.

It was during the opening segment of last night's show that WWE Officials Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville announced that Orton was absent and won't be unable to compete in the the scheduled Triple Threat Match due to unavoidable circumstances.

What. A. Match.@DMcIntyreWWE is going to #MITB and just Claymored his way into the Money in the Bank Ladder Match on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/6tCXXbBe1l

— WWE (@WWE) June 29, 2021

Then the pair announced a Battle Royal to take Orton’s spot in the Money In the Bank Second Chance Qualifier. Riddle, who already qualified for the MITB Ladder Match talked his way into the match and wrestled as a proxy for his current tag team partner, Orton.

He eventually ended up winning the Battle Royal by eliminating a returning Damian Priest in the match. Riddle then pulled off double duties during the lengthy main event of Raw in the Triple Threat with AJ Styles and Drew McIntyre.

DO IT FOR RANDY!@SuperKingofBros cares THIS much about @RandyOrton. ❤️#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/WEHVsHQJDY

— WWE (@WWE) June 29, 2021

WWE played a storyline injury to keep Riddle out of action for the better part of the match when he accidentally kicked in the ring steps. However, he came back after first aid to the injured foot but McIntyre pinned him in the finishing sequence with a Claymore Kick.

A crushing CLAYMORE seals the deal for @DMcIntyreWWE and gets him the win!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/7KEKvTLeEH

— WWE (@WWE) June 29, 2021

As the winner of the Triple Threat, The Scottish Warrior joined Riddle, Ricochet and John Morrison as the four Raw Superstars who will compete in the 2021 Men’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match.

Also a couple of days ago, WWE announced Edge vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at the 2021 WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view which will emanate from the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on July 18.

The updated card for the PPV stands as follows:

Men’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match: Ricochet vs. Riddle vs. John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Big E vs. Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens vs. 2 SmackDown Superstars TBA

Women’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match: Asuka vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross vs. Carmella vs. Liv Morgan vs. 2 SmackDown Superstars TBA

WWE Universal Title Match: WWE Hall of Famer Edge vs. Roman Reigns (c)

WWE Title Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Bobby Lashley (c)

RAW Women’s Title Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley (c)

NEXT WEEK on #WWERaw@AustinCreedWins is out for payback in a huge rematch against the All Mighty #WWEChampion @fightbobby! pic.twitter.com/hVJAh6gi3Y

— WWE (@WWE) June 29, 2021

In more news from Raw, a rematch between WWE Champion Bobby Lashley and Xavier Woods has been announced for next week's Monday night show.

This match was announced by the commentary team after the face-off segment between MVP and Kofi Kingston. Both Lashley and Woods were kept off WWE TV this week following their brutal Hell In A Cell match last week.