D.C. Wood Attends WWE Money In The Bank 2023!
- Tomás Cunha
- Apr 13
- 11 min read
Updated: Apr 14
First things first…I MUST forever thank my cousin Jack for being able to get us tickets for BOTH SmackDown AND Money in the Bank 2023. I couldn’t get tickets as soon as they went on sale because I was at work. Luckily, Jack was able to, and I also thank him over and over again for driving us all the way to London.
I’d always wanted to go to a live WWE event, and the fact that I got to see a hit-weekly TV Show AND one of WWE’s most prominent events of the year across the weekend was incredible. Of course, my cousin and I have enjoyed our trips to London (seeing live music concerts in Westminster and Hammersmith), and there was a time when we thought we wouldn’t be able to visit London again during the COVID-19 Pandemic. But with society thankfully able to see family & friends, travel and attend events again, we were so glad to return to London for an adventure. Our first WWE extravaganza, no less!
Whenever you watch wrestling on television, it’s always a sight to behold. Seeing fireworks, the lights, the cameras, the broadcast team, the crew, the wrestlers…ALL the magic unfold on screen. Especially seeing thousands of people fill arenas, cheering their heroes, booing their villains, and having such an amazing time. But now having finally experienced it all live, you can’t grasp the magnitude of a wrestling event live unless you’re actually there. It was absolutely breathtaking.
Visiting the O2 Arena was something we can proudly tick off our bucket list. My Mum & Dad had been years ago when it was the Millennium Dome, and I had no idea of the wonders that awaited us inside when we entered the building. So many restaurants, a cinema, bowling alley, shops on the upper levels…we didn’t get much time to have a look around on Friday night. Only to get a bite to eat before queuing to take our seats in the arena for SmackDown.
I loved our seats. We had such a breathtaking birds-eye view of the action. We could see the ring, the giant screen above, the entranceway, the announce-desk…we could survey the rest of the humanity in the arena…even before SmackDown started and fans were filling the arena to take their seats, there was chanting for LA Knight (YEAH!), Charlotte Flair (WOOO!!!)…London crowds have always been amazing on television. Such an electric atmosphere they provide for WWE Events, and it’s even more electric when you’re there in person! Words can’t do it justice!
So…let’s start with Friday SmackDown from 30.06.2023. My thoughts on the show?
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Unfortunately, a graphic was displayed to announce that Darren “Droz” Drozdov had passed away. Having grown up with the Attitude Era, I remembered Droz fondly for his match with Marc Mero at Breakdown 1998, becoming a member of the Legion of Doom with Hawk & Animal, and his tag-team run with (Prince) Albert in 1999. And of course, his career ended prematurely in a match with D’Lo Brown due to an accident that left Darren a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. Even after Darren’s in-ring career ended, I heard that he maintained nothing but a positive attitude, still working for WWE as a writer & columnist. When the WWE Universe heard that Darren had passed away at 54, all of us paid our respects by applauding the memory of Droz. My deepest condolences to his family. He will be dearly missed. May he join that massive Royal Rumble in the sky.
The crowd REALLY became unglued when KO & Sami Zayn arrived for their tag-title defence against Pretty Deadly. GREAT MATCH to kick things off! And there were moments when I genuinely thought Pretty Deadly were gonna actually upset Kevin and Sami for the belts. Thankfully, they retained. Although I think Kevin may have injured his knee on the cannonball. He may have been selling, but the way he was limping looked like he’d actually injured himself. I really hoped Kevin was okay.
It was great to be updated on previous weeks’ events via the screen. As well as WWE Network shows! And of course it gave the crew time to set up for the next matches.
Austin Theory Vs Ridge Holland was a good match. Ridge did grand, Theory again showed what a great US champ and heel he is. Sheamus came out afterward to a MASSIVE ovation (and to chase Theory off)! A feud with Theory over the US Title sounds promising!
This CROWD was AMAZING! I can’t stress that enough! WHAT an experience to be part of!
Bayley/Shotzi was enjoyable. Crowd loved Bayley. We all did! Singing for Bayley, and the match was designed to give both Bayley and Io more momentum into the PPV. Backstage segment afterwards with Shotzi confronting Damage CTRL and getting beaten down was cool. Good heat for Bayley and Io…who knows where it will lead for Shotzi?
God, the heat for Logan Paul was NUCLEAR! We all had so much fun chanting “F*** you, Logan!” And “Logan Paul’s a w****r!” La Knight came out afterwards…the clear favourite to win Money in the Bank! Awesome segment with Grayson Waller, Logan Paul, LA Knight…Santos Escobar and Butch (AKA Pete Donne) also got involved!
That of course set up a spirited triple threat between Knight, Santos and Butch! With Logan again riling up the crowd perfectly from ringside. This was a fun match, and I was really surprised that Butch got the win! Quite a few Bruiserweight chants for Pete Dunne! And having watch him wrestle once before in the independent scene, I’m so glad he’s made it to the level he’s at today in WWE. Him climbing the ladder to reach the MITB case was a real-feel-good possibility for us Brits!
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Crowd was really hyped for Asuka/Charlotte! Shame it was cut short, and was used to set up a triple-threat between Charlotte/Asuka/Bianca down the road, but it was still a good bout. Loved Bianca delivering KOD to both Charlotte & Asuka on the table. Just seeing all these stars on SmackDown was just thrilling.
God…Roman’s entrance was GODLIKE to experience live! You see it on telly…just imagine how more epic it is seeing it in person. All of London, England ACKNOWLEDGED HIM! Believe me. The segment with the Usos…Jimmy and Jey have not just hit their stride as one of the greatest tag teams of all time, but as singles stars. The tease of Solo’s future was well-played…the brawl afterwards was amazing…WHAT a segment! What an ending to SmackDown that made us all the more hyped for Money in the Bank the next night!
Dark matches after the show ended were genuine surprises to send fans home happy! To see AJ Styles wrestle live for the first time in my life…that was genuine wish-fulfilment! The match itself against Karrion Kross was very basic, but it was cool to see Mia Yim sort out Scarlett and AJ win with the Phenomenal Forearm.
REY MYSTERIO was there! FANTASTIC SURPRISE! AND a great non-title match against Austin Theory! Theory again proves his worth on the mic and in the ring, and Rey Mysterio wrestles the match smartly and brilliantly. Even at 48-years-old, the Hall of Famer can still go. Great match, with Rey getting the win, and then Rey rallied the audience to call Austin Theory a w*****! Hilarious stuff and then Rey Mysterio thanked us for coming.
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On the Saturday, we took advantage to do plenty of sightseeing around London before going back to the O2 again that evening. Walking across the Tower Bridge and finally going to see The Tower of London just made our weekend even more special.
After lunch, we’d made our way back to the O2 that afternoon. It was a wise move returning fairly early, having learned from attending SmackDown that fans would be queuing miles out of the arena to get in. And we had plenty of chance to go shopping for merchandise this time around, and visit the Money in the Bank Store! (Quite possibly one of the Top 5 shops I’ve ever been to!).
And after we’d had a fairly early tea, we able to queue up right near the front of the doors. Granted, we were waiting about two-and-a-half hours before the doors to the arena opened, but we didn’t mind. It was fun listening to fans chant “L-A-Knight! Yeah!” And “WOOOO!” And joining in killed the boredom!
Jack and I were able to take our seats much earlier this time for the PPV. And once we were settled, we just sat back and relaxed. Again, the atmosphere of the London crowd was just utterly magic. As the arena gradually started to fill up again for the night that lay ahead…all the fans entertained themselves. We sang Seth Rollins’ theme, gave a chorus of “WOOOOO!”s, chanted “YEAH!” and did a Mexican Wave about FIVE times around the arena! And then Michael Rome announced the show would be starting soon, the atmosphere kicked into overdrive. Especially when Michael Cole and Wade Barrett came out to call the show (like they’d done the previous night for SmackDown).
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WWE have always done a masterful job with their video packages for their Pay-Per-Views and matches. And what I really loved for Money in the Bank this year is that they’d themed it around James Bond/007 due to the London setting. It was a real creative twist, fuelled by the Money in the Bank tradition, the Cody Rhodes/Dominic Mysterio showdown and the Bloodline Civil War that had been THREE YEARS in the making. The opening video was just utterly sublime.
The show itself?
The Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match was the perfect choice for opener. All the participants received great reactions – with Logan Paul once again being universally despised – and we all laughed and cheered as everyone immediately attacked Paul as soon as the bell rang. The first ladder match I’ve seen live, and it really is something else, in comparison to watching a ladder match on television. So many great spots and gripping tension. The London crowd really added so much to the bout, particularly with the contempt for Logan Paul. As much as I (and many others can’t stand the man), Logan Paul again proved he belongs in a WWE ring.
However, there was a nasty botch towards the end where LA Knight knocked Ricochet and Paul off the ladder, but they ended up getting tangled in the ropes. Then Ricochet attempted a Spanish Fly on Logan through two tables at ringside, and the landing looked very nasty! Logan Paul did post photos of the gash on his shoulder, and even though I’m not a fan of the man, I DO respect his willingness to compete in WWE.
Like the majority, I had hoped for LA Knight to win the briefcase. So when Damien Priest won…it kind of deflated things somewhat. Damien deserves it, but LA Knight was by far the most over in the match. So I really didn’t know why they chose to pull the trigger on Priest instead of Knight. However, we would get the idea later that evening.
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Now, it was at this point where fans needed a toilet break. I was one of them. So I missed most of the Women’s Tag Title Match between Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez & Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler. But when I came back it looked like a good match that the crowd was into…but really, it was the final moments that caught everyone off-guard! Wasn’t expecting Shayna to turn on Ronda like that! The crowd chanted “Thank you, Shayna!” And then Liv & Raquel finished Ronda off to regain the titles for a standing ovation!
I was really pleased about finally getting to watch Gunther wrestle live! For my money, he’s on his way to becoming the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time, and his title defence against Matt Riddle wasn’t what we’ve come to expect. Lots of vicious slaps, quality mat-wrestling, and hard-hitting action with sublime psychology. Riddle put up a valiant fight, but Gunther was in no danger of losing his title, and after dissecting Riddle’s ankle, he forced the champion to submit.
WASN’T expecting Drew McIntyre to return! This was an amazing surprise! Gunther vs. Drew for the Intercontinental Title? YEAH. That’s a feud I’ll gladly pay to see!
We ALL had so much fun singing Cody Rhodes’ Kingdom Theme Song! WOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! The match with Dominik Mysterio was the spectacle you’d expect. Dominik remains one of the best heels in the business today (right up there with Roman Reigns and MJF), and he lived up to his rep with multiple cheap-shots, running away and Cody finally kicking his arse when all was said and done. Did what it needed to. It was fun.
OH MY GOD…JOHN CENA SHOWED UP! He wasn’t even advertised for Money in the Bank! WHAT AN EPIC SURPRISE! This made my weekend! I’ve always been a massive Cena fan, and it pleases me that at this stage in his career, the London crowd (and WWE Universe in general) are finally unanimous in giving Cena the respect and appreciation he deserves. Cena cut a great promo here putting over the UK audience, and was talking about persuading the WWE Higher-powers to bring WrestleMania to Britain! THAT WAS AN EPIC ANNOUNCEMENT!
After chants of “Thank You, Cena!” and “One More Match!”, Grayson Waller came out again. He’d already been on SmackDown the previous evening hosting the Grayson Waller Effect with Logan Paul as his guest. Waller’s a truly obnoxious heel who knows how to get heat. He’s done a great job in his time on NXT, and played off the London crowd brilliantly, as we all bombarded him with chants of “Shut the f*** up!”, “F*** him up, Cena! F*** him up!” and “W*****!”. Waller put down London, Cena and suggested Australia would be a better venue for WrestleMania. This was a great segment with Cena ultimately giving Waller the Attitude Adjustment!
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The Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match next, and I think this was the better of the two. All the ladies worked really hard here! Kudos to Trish Stratus, who at 47 years, can still go and took some hellacious bumps in her first-ever-ladder match. There were some really great spots here, like Zelina Vega’s sunset flip on Zoey Stark from the top of the ladder onto a bridged ladder below. The finish was really clever as well, with Iyo Sky using handcuffs to trap both Becky Lynch and Bayley together to grab the briefcase. Iyo Sky truly deserved to be Miss Money in the Bank after all her work with Damage CTRL and Bianca Belair, and I’m excited to see what happens next for her.
The World-Title was contested for finally in a bout I was really looking forward to; Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor. I thought their match at SummerSlam 2016 was a great match that ended unfortunately when Finn had to vacate the Universal Championship the next night due to injury (even though he’d beaten Seth to become the first champion). This and how their respective careers ended up resulted in great build-up. The match itself struggled to match SummerSlam 2016, but the ever-enthusiastic crowd helped elevate things, and then a really interesting twist developed when Damien Priest came out with his MITB briefcase!
Was he gonna cash-in to make it a triple-threat? Would he cash-in on Finn Balor if he won? Things really picked up in the last few moments and it looked like Finn might actually win the title! We were all hooked at that point! But Damien’s interference ultimately distracted Balor and allowed Seth to retain! The Judgement Day saga looks to be taking a very interesting direction now!
AS FOR THE MAIN-EVENT…!
…
Unfortunately, I can’t comment. We had to leave just after the Bloodline Civil War started! Due to train cancellations/delays, Jack and I were concerned about missing our ride back to where we staying. And things got even worse when we found out that the train from London Bridge had ultimately been cancelled and we had to make a mad dash to King’s Cross station to get a train back home (which is another story in itself!).
But despite missing the main-event and the tumultuous journey back, we had an absolutely amazing adventure! First WWE event (technically TWO!) we ever attended, first-time we’d ever been to the O2 Arena, and it was an utterly fantastic experience we’ll never forget! And of course, sight-seeing in London was the icing on the cake! SmackDown was great, and Money in the Bank 2023 was even better! Would we go to another WWE event in the future? If the opportunity arose and the timing was ideal, definitely! WHAT A WEEKEND!!!
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