The Good, The Bad and The NXT: Finn Balor and Lana the weekly winners
Thursday 24 May 2018 08:47, UK
The European Tour came to a close this week and with Money in the Bank on the horizon, there are still a number of spaces available on the card.
The hotly-anticipated event takes place in just three weeks' time and will feature Ronda Rousey's WWE singles debut - with the Raw women's title on the line, no less.
Good Week
Finn Balor (Raw)
It's been a rollercoaster few weeks for Finn Balor as the Irish superstar has attempted to fit back into the Raw roster after failing on numerous occasions to lift the Intercontinental championship.
Balor most recently partnered with Braun Strowman in a losing effort to Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler, which left Stephanie McMahon with an interesting plan for the inaugural Universal champion this week.
WWE Late Night Raw
Even though Balor came up short in his match against The Monster Among Men in this week's main event, Balor Club was definitely in full voice as the star was able to take Strowman to the brink a number of times.
Incredibly the former NXT champion, who only weighs around 195lbs, was able to put up more of a fight than any of the stars who have faced the former Raw tag team champion in the past and Strowman even took to Twitter to praise Balor after the match. It appears that he definitely left a lasting impression.
Lana (SmackDown)
Lana returned to action on SmackDown Live for the first time since she was featured alongside her husband as part of the Mixed Match Challenge this week and was pitted against Billie Kay as the two women fought for one of the eight spots in the women's Money in the Bank ladder match.
Incredibly, Lana was able to use Aiden English to her advantage and defeated the Australian star in less than a minute to confirm her place in the match for the first time.
Lana will definitely be seen as a dark horse, but since she has Rusev and English at her disposal and the match has no disqualifications, the duo could easily come to Lana's aid to help her to become just the second Miss Money in the Bank in history.
Lars Sulivan (NXT)
Lars Sullivan has been promoted as a monster over the past few months on NXT and it's hard to argue with that statement considering he was able to defeat three men a few weeks ago, and the team of Ricochet and Velveteen Dream this week on NXT.
The giant had the added advantage of his two opponents not seeing eye to eye, so when Dream turned on his partner and left him to take the Freak Accident, Sullivan didn't need asking twice.
The duo put up a good fight despite weighing a fraction of The Beast combined and it could be argued that Dream and Ricochet could have won this match if it wasn't for their mutual dislike of one another. Instead, this proved to be their Kryptonite and it gave Sullivan one of his biggest wins in WWE to date.
Bad week
The Fashion Police (Raw)
Tyler Breeze and Fandango haven't been given a lot of opportunities since they were aligned together and it was thought that their move over to Monday Night Raw would be a new start for the duo, but it hasn't been that way.
This week on Raw, the Fashion Police lost their match to The B-Team for the second week in a row as the former members of The Miztourage have seemingly been on a winning streak since they decided to change their name.
The only bonus for Breeze and Fandango right now is the fact that they are still being given TV time, but they don't actually have a storyline moving forward and with Breeze recently returning to NXT for a one-off show, the team could be in danger of being relegated to the developmental brand permanently.
The Usos (SmackDown)
The Usos have been at the top of the tag division for so long that it would seem that the Samoan brothers have become complacent in their current role on SmackDown Live, which could be why WWE decided to bypass them when it comes to the SmackDown title match at Money in the Bank.
WWE Smackdown
The Bludgeon Brothers have already defeated The Usos on a number of occasions and proved that they are no match for them or even considered to be a threat to their title reign, which could be why Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are the fresh blood that has to draw the short straw at Money in the Bank.
It could be argued that The Usos dodged a bullet by losing this match, but getting past Gallows and Anderson could be a tough task for The Bludgeon Brothers since they have won championships all over the world and have beaten much worse opposition in their time.
Candice LeRae (NXT)
Candice LeRae has been stuck in the middle of the war between former friends Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa over the past few months, but this week on NXT she fully became part of the feud when Ciampa attacked Gargano and inadvertently sent the former tag team champion into his own wife.
Gargano was elbowed off the apron and knocked his wife into the metal ramp on the way down before medical staff was then called to help Candice.
The feud between these two former friends and partners has already reached boiling point but now that Candice has also become a victim of the rivalry, General Manager William Regal will need to step in at some point and decide what the future will hold for both men and what kind of match will be able to contain them.
