NEW ORLEANS — Roman Reigns retained his World Heavyweight Championship against LA Knight, while Liv Morgan captured the Women’s World Championship on Saturday night at WWE Money in the Bank at the Smoothie King Center.
The annual event, which offers winners of its signature ladder matches guaranteed world title shots, featured title defenses alongside ladder action in front of a packed crowd in Louisiana.
Reigns Turns Back Knight in Opener
Reigns opened the evening defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Knight, Sports Illustrated reported. The hard-hitting bout quickly moved outside the ring, where both men traded blows and narrowly beat a 10-count by the referee. Knight withstood significant offense, escaping a pinfall after a Superman Punch before delivering a BFT on the champion. Reigns kicked out just before the three-count, marking what announcer Michael Cole noted was possibly the first time a competitor had kicked out of the maneuver, according to Bleacher Report.
Knight also survived a Spear and later countered Reigns, driving the champion through the ringside barricade and hitting a powerbomb across the announce table. After Knight followed with a top-rope elbow drop for a near-fall, Reigns regained the upper hand. He connected with consecutive Superman Punches before executing a final Spear to secure the pinfall victory.
Chaos erupted after the bell as the group 946 surfaced in the arena crowd, Sports Illustrated and App.com reported. The Usos and Solo Sikoa emerged from behind to cut them off, sparking a sprawling six-man brawl that spilled through the concourses, past merchandise stands and into the street before 946 fled the scene in a vehicle.
Stratton Grabs the Briefcase, Morgan Claims Championship
In the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, Tiffany Stratton prevailed over Roxanne Perez, Sol Ruca, Lash Legend, Lola Vice and Jacy Jayne to claim the briefcase for the second time in her career, Sports Illustrated reported. The bout featured high-risk stunts throughout, including an early dive from Stratton onto her competitors and a splash from Ruca that split a ringside ladder in half. The conclusion came atop the central ladder, where Stratton struck Legend with the suspended case before unclipping it to seal the victory.
Later in the evening, Morgan walked away with the Women’s World Championship in a triple-threat match against Becky Lynch and defending champion Stephanie Vaquer. Vaquer and Lynch spent stretches of the matchup trading near-falls and attempting joint offense, but Morgan took advantage in the closing moments. After Vaquer kicked Lynch onto an unbroken ringside table, Morgan caught the champion with ObLIVion to score the decisive pinfall, according to App.com.
Femi Overcomes Interference
In men’s singles competition, Oba Femi defeated Bronson Reed in the first one-on-one meeting between the two competitors, ESPN and Sports Illustrated reported. Reed attempted multiple Tsunami splashes and received illegal assistance when members of The Vision intervened. Referee action saw Logan Paul ejected, though Austin Theory managed to slide brass knuckles into the ring. Despite Reed striking Femi twice with the weapon and hitting a Tsunami, Femi kicked out at two and finished the match with a Fall From Grace to earn the win.
The event concluded with the Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match, featuring CM Punk, Trick Williams, Kevin Owens, Bron Breakker, Penta and Je’Von Evans.
