SK Exclusive: How Goldberg cost Raw the Money in the Bank PPV

Money in the Bank, an event which is commonly considered one of WWE's marquee pay-per-views - and in some cases more important than some other of the "big four" - will this year be brand exclusive to the SmackDown roster.
This was set to be a Raw PPV, however, things drastically changed the minute Bill Goldberg opted to extend his stay with the WWE.
As I had previously reported in a prior article, Vince McMahon had already laid out solid plans to insert the WWE Universal Title into the Goldberg vs. Lesnar match at WrestleMania, with the future plan being that someone from the main roster would dethrone Lesnar at SummerSlam.

However, he completely overlooked the fact that the “Money in the Bank” PPV was slated to be a Raw PPV at the time. Upon realising his error, McMahon asked his writing team to work with the WWE marketing department to come up with a solution.
Those solutions were outlined by myself and Nick from NYC, on The “Dirty Sheets” DS Breaking News Podcast, where we also broke the story originally (listen below. Duration: 10 mins 26 seconds).
Since the WWE Brand Extension, PPVs such as TLC, Hell in a Cell and Elimination Chamber have all been allocated to specific brands. Money in the Bank was slated to be a Raw-only PPV, meaning SmackDown would not have a Money in the Bank winner.
However, previously during times of the brand split, Money in the Bank would hold two of the namesake ladder matches, one each for both Raw and SmackDown. That will not be the case this year, with only the blue brand's competitors getting a chance to win the briefcase that will grant them a title shot at the time of their choosing.
Out of the solutions on offer, Vince McMahon has decided to go with the option to change Money in the Bank to a Smackdown only PPV, meaning that Raw will add an additional PPV to its schedule shortly. Raw will have to add a PPV in order to get the PPV pattern back to normal after SummerSlam.
It was announced this week that this year's Money in the Bank will take place on June 18th at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, with tickets going on sale yesterday.
This is great news for Smackdown fans, as Smackdown’s head writer Ryan Ward was very keen for McMahon to opt for the solution to change the show to a Smackdown brand show, once he heard about the mix-up.
This was because Ward and his writers have a number of ideas for the Money in the Bank, unlike the Raw writing team, who have known the long-term direction and plans for the WWE Universal Title since last November.
It was decided last November that IF Goldberg would commit to a 3-match contract extension with the company, the company would book the direction of the WWE Universal Title for the next 18 months. The plans for the WWE Universal Title that were laid out were:
- Goldberg would defeat Lesnar at Survivor Series in 86 seconds
- Goldberg would capture the WWE Universal Title en route to WrestleMania 33
- Brock Lesnar would defeat Goldberg for the Universal Title
- Brock Lesnar would drop the Universal Title at SummerSlam 2017
- Champion would reign until WrestleMania 34 (permitting non-significant drop in ratings and merchandise sales)
Over on Smackdown, things aren’t so clear-cut. Unlike Raw, WrestleMania season will spell the end of Smackdown’s long-term story arcs, such as Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt. Ryan Ward is looking to set up fresh stories heading into the summer and is open to having a Money in the Bank holder on his brand.
A source told me two days ago that:

“Smackdown have loads of ideas for Money in the Bank winners. Everyone assumes it will be Corbin, and it most likely will be, as Vince McMahon likes him.
However, there are also ideas for Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler and even Cesaro and Kevin Owens (who was set to win it last year, until it was changed to Ambrose, after the Roman Reigns’ wellness policy violation) if they move over.”

It appears that Kevin Owens, Cesaro and even Roman Reigns will be moving to Smackdown in the next draft, based on conversations that I have had with the same source.
In the WWF days, the company would book the WWF Championship out for 2-3 years.
They knew in February 1988 that Randy Savage would be winning the belt at WrestleMania IV, would lose it to Hogan at WrestleMania V and that Hogan would go on another long run with the belt, for at least 12 months, taking his run to at least April 1990.
However, booking a title 18 months ahead is risky in this day and age. Not only because of injuries but because if the smart audience becomes clearly aware of the direction, there may be some backlash towards the product.
There are already internal talks within the WWE about the possibility of Brock Lesnar dropping the belt on Raw the night after WrestleMania. However, I feel that in the end, they will stick to their long-term plan, with Finn Balor currently pencilled in to be the beneficiary at SummerSlam.
Meanwhile, Smackdown, which has been the better show since the brand extension so far, is in the exciting position of being an unpredictable blank canvas with a host of variables and options.
Who would have thought that having so much star-power at your disposal, as the Raw brand do, would end up being such a handicap? Blame Goldberg