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Bianca Belair beat Carmella at WWE Money in the Bank on Saturday night to retain the Raw Women’s Championship.
After receiving a tougher-than-expected challenge, Belair put the match away with the KOD to get the clean pin.
Carmella attacked Belair afterward, leaving open the possibility for a rematch in the near-future.
WWE @WWE
A bitter <a href=”https://twitter.com/CarmellaWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CarmellaWWE</a> just laid out <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWERaw?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WWERaw</a> Women’s Champion <a href=”https://twitter.com/BiancaBelairWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@BiancaBelairWWE</a>!<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/MITB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#MITB</a> <a href=”https://t.co/KPe5Wo0zSa”>pic.twitter.com/KPe5Wo0zSa</a>
Belair entered Money in the Bank on perhaps the most dominant run of her career, dating back to beating Becky Lynch for the Raw women’s title at WrestleMania 38.
After finally getting revenge on Lynch, The EST entered into a temporary rivalry with Sonya Deville, defeating her on Raw to retain the Raw Women’s Championship despite Deville going to great lengths to stack the deck against her.
Following that mini-feud, Bianca’s level of competition was raised even more with both Lynch and Asuka attempting to earn a title shot.
Asuka defeated Big Time Becks to become No. 1 contender, but WWE official Adam Pearce granted Becky another opportunity because of the controversial circumstances surrounding the finish, and she took advantage by beating Asuka to earn a title shot as well.
With that, Belair had to defend against both Asuka and Lynch in a Triple Threat at Hell in a Cell. Belair came dangerously close to losing on numerous occasions, but she ultimately prevailed against two of the greatest female Superstars in WWE history.
The EST didn’t get much time to celebrate, as a Fatal 4-Way was booked shortly thereafter on Raw to determine her next challenger.
Rhea Ripley was victorious in a bout that also included Alexa Bliss, Doudrop and Liv Morgan. It marked the biggest individual win for Ripley since she joined The Judgment Day.
In a promo segment a few weeks before MITB, Belair made it clear that while she respected Ripley, she did not fear stepping in the ring with her.
Ripley stated her goal of becoming a two-time Raw women’s champ and suggested she had the advantage with Finn Balor and Damian Priest by her side.
A wrench was thrown into Ripley’s plans, however, as it was announced a couple of weeks before Money in the Bank that she would not be medically cleared to compete, leading to a Fatal 5-Way to determine Belair’s new Money in the Bank opponent.
Competing in her first match since WrestleMania, Carmella defeated Lynch, Asuka, Morgan and Bliss to earn the title match.
Given the late switch, Belair was a heavy favorite entering Money in the Bank, and she maintained her dominance over the Raw women’s division by retaining.
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