Santos Escobar, BUTCH qualify for men’s Money in the Bank ladder match

Coming into this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, three wrestlers had already qualified for the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match scheduled for the Money in the Bank Premium Live Event at the O2 Arena in London, England, on July 1, 2023: Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, and LA Knight.

You can add two more names to the list after SmackDown:

• First, Santos Escobar defeated Mustafa Ali in a match that featured quite a few fun spots. Knight was out on commentary, more or less confirming his position as a favorite in the match. Either way, Escobar looked impressive here and Ali deserves a lot of credit for that.
• Later, BUTCH managed to surprise Baron Corbin with a modified pinfall that commentary made sure to blame on the fact that Corbin was busy jawing with NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and his sidekick Trick Williams, who were sitting ringside for the match.

That leaves just one open spot, which will be filled by the winner of the Matt Riddle vs. Damian Priest match scheduled for next week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.

Get complete SmackDown results and coverage of this week’s entire show right here.