MITB 2026: Penta Gets His Moment — Everything Else Was a Mixed Bag

MITB 2026: Penta Gets His Moment — Everything Else Was a Mixed Bag

WWE's first Money in the Bank on ESPN didn't feel like a tentpole. It felt like a really good ladder match with a whole card attached to it. One great match, two fun ones, two rough ones, and some booking decisions I'm still arguing with myself about this morning.

Here's how I saw it, match by match.

Roman Reigns def. LA Knight — World Heavyweight Championship. Grade: B

Knight came out swinging and New Orleans was with him. He hit Reigns with everything — powerbomb through the announce table, a Burning Hammer that had the building believing — and Knight hit the BFT and Reigns kicked out, becoming the first man to survive it. That's a hell of a rub to take and still lose. Knight's near-falls were real this time, not the token stuff. But nobody in that building believed the belt was changing hands, and it didn't. Two spears, two Superman punches, done. Fun opener, fully predictable outcome.

Tiffany Stratton wins the Women's MITB — Grade: C

Two things about this match were awesome, and both of them were Sol Ruca. Her frog splash through a ladder on Lash Legend was a highlight-reel spot, and she nearly stole the whole thing off the ladder. The problem: a bunch of rough-looking exchanges, a Stratton moonsault that barely rotated, and a couple of spots that just didn't come together. Then the finish — Tiffany Stratton, for the second time, wins the briefcase. Stratton's been ice cold this year and this felt like the least interesting option on the board. The women's division needed a new story. It got a repeat one.

Oba Femi def. Bronson Reed — Grade: B

Two meaty men doing meaty-man business, and I mean that as a compliment. Reed brought the power game, the Vision got involved, Logan Paul got ejected for chair antics, Austin Theory slipped Reed brass knuckles, Reed hit the Tsunami — and Femi STILL kicked out at two and finished him with the Fall from Grace. Oba's undefeated streak survives, he keeps looking like the future of the company, and the match was exactly as long as it needed to be. No complaints.

Liv Morgan def. Stephanie Vaquer and Becky Lynch — NEW Women's World Champion. Grade: C+

This one had the night's biggest moment and some of its ugliest wrestling. Vaquer spent half the match checking on her knee, Lynch yanked the referee out of the ring to break up a pin, and the closing sequence — Vaquer putting Lynch through a table, Morgan stealing in with the Oblivion on Vaquer — was genuinely great theater. Liv's got the belt back, and the crowd popped huge. But the road there was sloppy. Big moment, bumpy match.

MAIN EVENT: Penta wins the Men's MITB — Grade: A-

THERE it is. The reason this show exists.

Penta beat Bron Breakker, Je'Von Evans, Trick Williams, CM Punk, and Kevin Owens in 32 minutes of beautiful chaos, and this was the match of the night by a mile. Punk and Owens were too busy hating each other to win, which is exactly the kind of storytelling I live for. Breakker was a wrecking ball — spear after spear after spear — and looked like the scariest man in the company doing it. And Je'Von Evans... Evans took a ride through the roof of an ambulance. An ambulance! That spot's going to live on highlight packages forever, and he came BACK to drive the thing to ringside.

The finish was perfect: Mexican Destroyer to Breakker onto a ladder, and Penta climbing up uncontested to grab the briefcase. He's been one of WWE's best for almost two years now, and Mr. Money in the Bank 2026 is a popular winner if there ever was one. Cero miedo indeed.

Overall: C+. The main event was special and Femi/Reed plus the opener were solid. But the two women's matches had too many sloppy moments, and two of the night's three biggest decisions — Stratton winning again, Knight losing again — felt like the safe, cold choices. WWE's October MITB experiment had one great match and not much else worth rewinding.

One week until the next chapter. Roman vs. whoever's brave enough next.