CM Punk Money in the Bank Spot Saved an Otherwise Lousy SmackDown

The CM Punk Money in the Bank push is officially on. Punk pinned Gunther in a triple threat that also featured Finn Balor to close Friday’s SmackDown in Indianapolis, and he now heads to the men’s ladder match on October 10 in New Orleans. It was the best match WWE put on television all week.

Unfortunately, it was also about the only thing on the show worth defending.

The CM Punk Money in the Bank Qualifier Was the Only Thing Working

When I saw the lineup of Punk, Gunther and Balor, I said this can’t miss. It didn’t. Three guys who know exactly how to structure a match built one where everybody looked like a real threat to win.

Balor hit the Coup de Grace on Punk early and had him covered, until Gunther yanked him out of the ring. Late in the match, Gunther locked Punk in the sleeper. Balor went up top, and the Coup de Grace came down on Gunther instead. Balor bounced off, Punk rolled over, and Punk pinned Gunther.

That is smart booking. Balor looks strong because he nearly won twice and caused the damage that decided it. Punk wins cleanly enough that nobody questions it. Gunther pays the bill, and more on that below. The official WWE match page has the highlights.

Punk turns 48 next month. Johnny North figures he has at least three more good years in him, and I hope it is more than that. We already lost too many years of CM Punk in a wrestling ring. For how the Kevin Owens side of this got started, see our breakdown of the CM Punk promo problem.

Who Is in the Money in the Bank Ladder Matches Now

With the CM Punk Money in the Bank spot locked in, here is where both fields stand heading into the final week of qualifiers.

Cody Rhodes said in his promo that he is in the last qualifier, and I like Cody to take it. Johnny said it best: the men’s ladder match has star power and will draw the show. The women’s side is a different story. When the field leans on recent NXT call-ups the casual audience does not know yet, the match itself has to do the work of making them matter. We covered the rest of the field in why Je’Von Evans is in the wrong match.

Kevin Owens is the name to watch. Nick Aldis told him and Punk backstage to stay out of each other’s business. Punk agreed. Owens just looked at him and walked away, which I first read as a no. Then Owens stayed out of the main event, so I guess it was a yes.

It was a clunky way to explain an absence. Johnny thinks the point was to leave Owens’ loyalties up in the air, since he is still wearing the Randy Orton jacket. At least it keeps him fresh for his own qualifier next week.

The Same Triple Threat, Three Times a Show

Johnny North nailed the real problem with this week. Nearly every qualifier ran the same formula: two babyfaces and one heel. The faces double-team the heel, then turn on each other, and the heel sneaks back in when it is convenient.

Once is fine. Two or three times a show is lazy. By Friday, you could call every spot before it happened, and the matches weren’t good enough to save it.

The women’s qualifier was the worst offender. Lash Legend won with the Lash Extension on Giulia, and the match went far too long without ever finding another gear. You never count out Lash Legend. That match was still rough to watch.

Then there was the opener. Trick Williams retained the United States Championship over Baron Corbin in a steel cage, and it kept going long after it should have ended. Johnny thought the finish was right there when Trick hit the Trick Shot. Instead we got three ugly Rock Bottoms and more filler. I hope that is the end of Trick and Corbin, a feud that has not been right since Corbin’s SummerSlam title win.

Sami Zayn Is the Champion and Barely on the Show

This one bothers me. Sami Zayn is the WWE Champion. Cody Rhodes got a big in-ring segment to talk about a bunch of people and things. Sami got one backstage promo, where Finn Balor confronted him, and Johnny Gargano asked for a title shot.

Johnny made the obvious point that WWE keeps missing. The champion should be the focal point of the show, and that usually means opening it. After the messy finish that put the title on Sami, WWE needs to build him up, not park him in a hallway.

Randy Orton’s backstage sit-down with Michael Cole about Cody did not help the pacing either. Johnny called it Randy Orton drama class, and the Cole reaction shots did nothing to sell it. Damian Priest’s turn on R-Truth is also still hanging around, and Johnny’s read is simple: Priest put up with Truth while the titles were on the line and finally had enough.

Gunther Keeps Taking Falls, and Danhausen Is Waiting

I found it interesting that Gunther took the fall in the main event. Johnny pointed out that he has been losing a lot lately. WWE had the chance to make him a world champion again after the career-killer run, and it didn’t capitalize.

My favorite segment of the night outside the main event was Gunther and Danhausen. Danhausen kept calling him Gunner. Gunther did not like it, got in his face, and grabbed him. It is a great odd couple, and I would watch more promos with those two.

Johnny thinks this builds to a match, either at Money in the Bank or soon after, because they’ve been trading jabs every week. I want Gunther to beat the hell out of Danhausen for ten minutes, then Danhausen rolls him up and steals it. Given how Gunther’s month has gone, would anybody be shocked? Danhausen has been a headline act before, so the crowd will be ready.

That’s the thing, though. I still think Gunther will be champion again at some point. He is always in the mix. The longer the losing streak runs, the harder that sell gets.

The Trick Williams Shirt WWE Had to Pull

One more from the week. WWE Shop pulled a Trick Williams Lemon Pepper Steppers shirt, a boot surrounded by chicken wings, after fans called it racially insensitive. Somebody designed that. Somebody approved it. Nobody stopped it. Fightful has the details.

Come on. This is what happens when merchandise gets churned out without anybody asking basic questions. I stopped ordering from WWE Shop after Fanatics took it over, because so much of it looks like cheap AI artwork and the real discounts disappeared.

Reality Check: One Great Match Can’t Carry a Whole Show

The Reality: The CM Punk Money in the Bank win was excellent, but it had to cover for a copy-paste undercard, an overlong cage match and a world champion stuck backstage. When the best talent on the roster is doing the heavy lifting every week, the problem is not the talent. It is the booking.

CM Punk and Money in the Bank 2026: Frequently Asked Questions