When a male superstar helped Carmella win the inaugural Women's Money in the Bank ladder match
Carmella won WWE's inaugural Women's Money in the Bank ladder match in 2017, but her victory was surrounded by controversy.
The Princess of Staten Island recently went on another hiatus from WWE, but for a very good reason. Carmella and RAW announcer Corey Graves are expecting a baby, and the former SmackDown Women's Champion will be taking some time off. The 35-year-old usually plays a heel in WWE, but things reached a whole new level following her winning the Money in the Bank ladder match.
At the time, she was aligned with former superstar James Ellsworth. Becky Lynch appeared to have the match won, but Ellsworth tipped the ladder over. He then climbed up the ladder and retrieved the briefcase himself. James tossed the briefcase down to Carmella, and she was awarded the victory.
The finish received such backlash that WWE rebooked the ladder match on the next episode of SmackDown. Ellsworth attempted to do the same thing, but this time Becky Lynch shoved the ladder over, and he had an uncomfortable landing on the ropes below. However, Carmella wound up winning the match again and cashed in her MITB contract on Charlotte Flair on the first episode of SmackDown after WrestleMania 34.
NOT THIS TIME, @realellsworth! #SDLive #MITB @BeckyLynchWWE https://t.co/E63PkEE665
Carmella on the WWE Universe's reaction to her winning Money in the Bank
Shortly after winning the Money in the Bank briefcase, Carmella admitted that she loved the finish of the match because it got people talking.
Speaking with Inside the Ropes, she noted that the reaction was what she expected when James Ellsworth interfered in the match. The 35-year-old added that the finish did what it was supposed to do and created controversy amongst fans.
"Aside from that, when I knew that was going to happen (*laughs*) the fans reacted exactly how I expected them to. They were upset, and honestly, I thought it was great. People were talking about it. You had this first Money in the Bank Ladder Match for the women and it could be a regular (match), someone climbs to the top, grabs the contract, and that's how it goes, but I thought this way was so much more exciting and so much more controversial," she said.
#OnThisDayInWWE 5 years ago on #SmackDown:
Carmella cashes in her Money in the Bank briefcase to win the SmackDown’s Women’s Title
“She’s always F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. Now you can call a C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N” - @wwegraves
@CarmellaWWE https://t.co/t0WzaDI2EF
Money in the Bank 2023 is the next premium live event on the calendar, and the show is scheduled to take place on July 1st in London, England. Only time will tell which superstars will retrieve the briefcase this year and earn a guaranteed future title shot.
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