WWE SmackDown Preview (7/1): Money In The Bank Participants Face Off
Tonight's WWE "SmackDown" is the last stop before Saturday night's Money in the Bank event. All of the participants announced for the titular ladder matches are being promoted for tonight's episode.
The final piece of the seven-women field for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match was put in place on this past Monday's "Raw" when Becky Lynch won a six-way "Last Chance Money in the Bank Qualifying Elimination Match". The other six women in Saturday's match are Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Lacey Evans, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, and Shotzi.
One of the spots in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match has yet to be determined. Whoever it is will join Drew McIntyre, Omos, Riddle, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, and Sheamus in the match. Riddle is the latest man to earn a spot in the match. He won a "Money in the Bank Last Chance Battle Royal" on Monday's "Raw".
WWE was promoting another Money in the Bank qualifying match between Kevin Owens and Ezekiel (or his brother Elias, or their other brother Elrod) prior to Monday's episode of "Raw". However, after the broadcast began, the "Raw" commentary team announced that the match had to be rescheduled. This was reportedly due to a minor issue that caused Owens to miss "Raw". Ezekiel later appeared in a backstage segment with John Cena.
We may also see another attempt to debut Max Dupri's Maximum Male Models stable on tonight's "SmackDown". The past few weeks have seen Dupri teasing the unveiling of his first client. However, multiple attempts have resulted in little more than a single spotlight shining over the ring and Dupri refusing to do the segment. Two weeks ago, he complained to Adam Pearce that the lighting was not up to his standards. Last week, Dupri complained that the bottled water and the temperature in his dressing room were not to his specifications.