Orton, Bliss Added to WWE Money in the Bank Qualifiers

WWE loaded up the September 18 episode of SmackDown with a pair of Money in the Bank qualifying matches, slotting Randy Orton and Alexa Bliss into separate Triple Threat contests with ladder-match spots on the line. Orton’s bout saw him matched up against United States Champion Trick Williams, with a third competitor rounding out the field, while Bliss headlined her own three-way qualifier elsewhere on the card. The winners of each Triple Threat punched their tickets to this year’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view, where the ladder matches remain one of WWE’s most unpredictable annual traditions.

The inclusion of Trick Williams in a qualifier is notable on its own, since a loss wouldn’t cost him his United States Championship but would deny him a shot at climbing the ladder for a guaranteed title opportunity down the line. Orton, meanwhile, continues to look every bit the veteran threat WWE loves to plug into these multi-man scrambles — a former Money in the Bank cash-in creates one of the more dangerous ‘what if’ scenarios on the roster given his history of opportunistic strikes and Money in the Bank pedigree.

Bliss’s addition to the qualifier picture adds another layer of intrigue to the women’s side of the briefcase chase. She’s no stranger to Money in the Bank drama herself, and with the field for the summer’s marquee ladder match still taking shape, every qualifying win narrows down who WWE views as legitimate threats to snatch a championship opportunity out of thin air later in the year.

Money in the Bank remains one of WWE’s most format-flexible showcases, and stacking qualifiers across weekly television lets the company build stories for both winners and losers heading into the event. Expect more qualifying matches to be sprinkled across SmackDown and Raw in the coming weeks as WWE fills out both eight-person ladder matches. For now, Orton and Bliss have both proven they belong in the qualifying picture — the real test comes when the ladders go up.