WWE to host first premium event in London in two decades

Mixed martial arts leader WWE is to host its first premium live event in London in over two decades next week.

WWE Universe will host its Money in the Bank event at the O2 Arena on Saturday July 1.

The event is centred around a ‘ladder match’ where WWE ‘Superstars’ compete to obtain a briefcase, displayed at the top of the ladder, which contains a contract. The contract allows for the winning Superstar to choose an opponent for a Championship Match, at a time and place of their choosing.

WWE’s Friday Night SmackDown will also air live from London’s O2 for the first time ever on Friday 30th June.

The 2022 winners of Money in the Bank were Austin Theory and Liv Morgan.

The first Money in the Bank winner was Edge, who won in 2005 when the Premium Live Event was introduced. He cashed in his contract against John Cena and successfully won the WWE Championship as a result. Other winners have included Rob Van Dam in 2006, The Miz in 2010 and Seth Rollins in 2014.

The current WWE match card features Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs Finn Bálor for the World Heavyweight Championship and Cody Rhodes vs Dominik Mysterio.

The Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match features Ricochet vs Shinsuke Nakamura vs LA Knight vs Santos Escobar vs Butch vs Damian Priest, while the Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match features Zelina Vega vs Becky Lynch vs Zoey Stark vs Bayley vs Iyo Sky vs TBD.

In April, LA-based talent group Endeavor agreed to buy WWE as part of a deal to create a $21bn “live sports and entertainment powerhouse”.

Endeavor and WWE said they had struck a ‘definitive agreement’ to create an as-yet unnamed new company that will house WWE and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the latter acquired by the talent firm in 2016.

Endeavor will hold a 51% controlling interest in the new company and existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% interest. The transaction values UFC at an enterprise value of $12.1bn and WWE at $9.3bn.