WWE Money in the Bank 2018 review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match

Carmella (c) vs. Asuka

What we learned: We learned here that WWE still thinks that we care about James Ellsworth. Quick tip, guys: we don’t. The worst part about the scenario that played out is that it overshadows the best performance from Carmella since she came to the main roster.

I wasn’t thinking that this would be a great match by any means, but I was hoping for something good and we did at least get that for a while. Yes, the incessant yelling was still there (the “REF!!!” thing was actually kinda funny), but I really thought Carmella looked fantastic. She added some new offense and didn’t back down from Asuka much at all. She was sharper than she’s been and in more control of her skill set while still taking some chances out there, and I was very impressed.

It’s not often that we see Asuka on the defensive side of things for so long, but she also looked pretty good. I thought she went to the hip moves a little too much but it was fine. The backhands that missed looked very vicious, and the one she finally did hit later on was solid as well. The entire pace here was decent, and this turned out to be much better than I thought it would be. Carmella got the win with a kick to the face following the Ellsworth distraction.

What’s next: Well, first we’ll get the explanation on why Ellsworth is back and that’s likely going to be awful. After moving on from Ellsworth the first time, Carmella has worked hard to do things on her own. Maybe she needed somebody with her when she didn’t have the title, but she’s come so far since then that this seems like a step backwards, especially when she’s getting better in the ring. I understand that she’s a heel and cheats to win and all of that but seriously … Ellsworth again? Come on. As for Asuka, she’s not going to take this loss lightly, and a rematch at Extreme Rules seems likely.