Damian Priest and the Real Winners and Losers from WWE Money in the Bank Match Card

Money in the Bank 2023 was heavily hyped going into Saturday night. The O2 Arena in London was sold out for a night that could change the course of WWE for good.

Many walked out as major winners, particularly some stars who had been on the verge of a major breakout.

Damian Priest and Iyo Sky captured the respective men's and women's Money in the Bank briefcases, Gunther continues to hold onto the Intercontinental Championship with dominance, and Cody Rhodes made a statement by shutting up Dominik Mysterio.

John Cena was there to hype up the London crowd and also gave Grayson Waller a surprise rub, and The Usos got some needed revenge against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa.

However, other stars were not so lucky, watching opportunity slip through their fingers.

LA Knight was the obvious crowd favorite in the men's MITB match, but he could not win. Shayna Baszler turned against Ronda Rousey, ending their WWE Women's Tag Team Championship reign after less than one month.

Finn Bálor failed to take the World Heavyweight Championship from Seth Rollins as he promised.

The following were the clearest winners and losers from a fantastic night of WWE action.

Loser: LA Knight

The stars seemed to have finally aligned for LA Knight. He was on top of the world heading into Money in the Bank 2023. He had the world at his back.

The crowd in the O2 Arena was on fire for The Megastar. They cheered him over everyone else, even the consistently popular Shinsuke Nakamura and the UK-born Butch.

WWE agents knew this would happen. He was the popular centerpiece of this match. At the finish, he was booked like the unstoppable star of the show, stomping through his competition before heading to the top of the ladder.

However, it was not to be for Knight. WWE likely considered giving him the briefcase but decided against it. Instead, Damian Priest took his shot.

WWE can build off Knight's momentum before eventually giving him the big win. A match with Logan Paul would be money. However, he failed in his first shot at a shortcut to gold.

Winner: Damian Priest

It was not LA Knight's night at Money in the Bank, it was Damian Priest's. Often the forgotten member of The Judgment Day, he needed a big break.

There is no reason that he should not succeed with his cash-in when the time is right. The dynamic of The Judgment Day is evolving, but this group has always been built to put over The Archer of Infamy.

He was Edge's first recruit. Finn Bálor may be seen as the leader of the crew, but Priest has looked more ready for a world title reign lately than The Prince.

The new creative era of WWE will be defined by decisions like this. Committing to Priest sets the stage for the first of multiple stars taking that next step toward top billing.

The 40-year-old will earn this with every chance he gets. It's great to see his efforts being rewarded.

Loser: Entire Women's Tag Team Division

Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler promised to revitalize the women's tag team division. They were publicized in a way previous women's tag champions had not been.

After just 33 days, though, The Baddest Woman on the Planet and The Queen of Spades not only lost the gold but have also clearly broken up.

Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan are two good female wrestlers who could be challenging for the Women's World Championship. They are better as individuals than as a tag team.

Morgan is the third partner for Rodriguez and has been established as completely interchangeable with Shotzi based on recent booking.

All of this is continuing the terrible tradition of breaking up women's tag teams as soon as they lose the gold, leaving the new titleholders with no strong challengers.

Winner: Gunther

Gunther is the most dominant champion in WWE. Even Roman Reigns has looked more vulnerable in his title defenses than the intercontinental champion.

He walked into his match against Matt Riddle with confidence, and he walked out with even more. It was a dominant showing against one of Raw's top stars.

While Drew McIntyre made his return at the expense of Gunther, it only set up a bigger star for The Ring General to overcome at SummerSlam.

At this point, it is impossible to imagine the IC champion losing any time soon. The Honky Tonk Man's 454-day reign record is certain to be broken, and it should take much longer for Gunther to fall.

Winner: Cody Rhodes

Before John Cena made a surprise appearance at the O2 Arena, Cody Rhodes showed why he is the most obvious heir apparent to The Champ.

His match with Dominik Mysterio was an entertaining old-school clash of top face vs. top heel. The Ex-Con had no chance to defeat The American Nightmare, but he made sure it was a fun ride.

Both men came out of this better. Rhodes looked like he was already world champion, while Dom showed he could compete at a top level with a top guy.

Together, they had the hottest match of the night without having to do too much. The crowd loved it all.

Despite his heartbreaking loss at WrestleMania 39, Rhodes has as much momentum as he ever had.

Winner: UK Crowd

WWE went all out to deliver surprises for the London crowd, and nothing was bigger than the unannounced appearance of John Cena.

He came out to tease a future WrestleMania being staged in the United Kingdom. While nothing has been officially announced, this type of thing does not happen if it's not possible.

All Elite Wrestling showed that wrestling can fill out a major UK arena, breaking the 60,000 mark in terms of tickets sold for All In next month at Wembley Stadium. That is without a single match even being announced.

WWE could well sell out Wembley for WrestleMania, though it may come down to politics and money in order to make it a reality.

The company is learning the value of committing to UK crowds for big shows, and London PPVs should remain a regular feature for years to come.

Winner: Grayson Waller

Few in WWE history are bigger stars than John Cena. While he was once known to receive mixed reactions, he now receives universal cheers.

That makes every angle the 16-time world champion is in special. Putting Grayson Waller in the ring with him on Saturday was special. He is a rising 33-year-old talent who instantly got a rub from working with The Champ.

A hot UK crowd railed on the young talent, and he never flinched. He bit right back at every chant in his direction while never allowing Cena to verbally beat him.

This was a much better interaction than any that Cena and Austin Theory had, and Waller could well benefit more from working further with the veteran.

If Waller gets that match, he will be established as a future top heel in the business. Hopefully, Cena will be in better shape for that than he was at WrestleMania 39.

Winner: Iyo Sky

The women's Money in the Bank ladder match could have gone in a number of directions, but WWE stuck with the favorite. Iyo Sky won by crawling over Bayley to take the briefcase.

It was an important moment of commitment from WWE. The Genius of the Sky has been growing more popular by the month on the main roster.

Her match with Bianca Belair at Backlash was the big turning point when many hoped she would capture the Raw Women's Championship.

Sky will likely win a title soon enough now that she has the Money in the Bank briefcase. Fans have long waited for Asuka vs. Sky, and it is almost certain to happen after this win.

Once again, the Money in the Bank briefcase was won by a rising star, who was waiting on a big break. Sky could become a top name before long as a women's champion on SmackDown.

Loser: Finn Bálor

Finn Bálor got a major character rehabilitation while building toward a rematch with Seth Rollins. While it was unlikely that he would defeat The Visionary, many expected the contest to look close.

Instead, it was a 12-minute battle that could not hit the top gear and spent the last couple minutes focusing on Damian Priest at ringside. And a simple distraction was enough to cost the Irishman the World Heavyweight Championship.

While it's possible Bálor may work his way into a rematch, this was supposed to his big moment. This was the opportunity where he could solidify himself as a main event star.

That did not happen. At this point, it looks likely Priest will move beyond The Prince since the briefcase should allow him to dethrone Rollins when the time is right.

Winner: Jey Uso

On September 27, 2020, Roman Reigns and Jey Uso first came to blows. In his first defense of the Universal Championship, The Tribal Chief beat down and knocked out his cousin.

After that, Jey reluctantly fell in with The Bloodline. He eventually committed to Reigns' vision, but it was only after abuse from The Tribal Chief.

Sami Zayn helped shake Jey out of his haze, and Jimmy Uso turning against Reigns was the final straw. This set the stage for Jey to once more go to war with his cousin.

In The Bloodline Civil War, Jey took a beating from Reigns and Solo Sikoa. He was punished throughout for choosing his brother over The Tribal Chief.

When it mattered most, though, Jey got what he needed. He picked up a victory over Reigns, becoming the first man to pin him in over 1,200 days.