Excuse the terrible pun but, Money In The Bank surely had to be exactly that for the WWE. The hype surrounding the PPV had reached fever pitch by the time last night rolled around and reports claim that backstage had a ‘Wrestlemania feel’ to it and its no surprise. CM Punk/John Cena and Vince McMahon have put on a masterful display in recent weeks. The raw, unscripted and naturally scathing promos by Punk have been genius, the retorts from Cena brilliant and the way McMahon has played the powerless evil boss has been fantastic. Honestly, the whole thing has made CM Punk the hottest name in wrestling right now, and deservedly so.
Smackdown MITB Ladder Match
Money In The Bank kicked off with the Smackdown MITB match. It was a very solid, very fast-paced, back-and-forth kind of match, with total non-stop action (ahem) from the get go. A few notable spots were spectacular looking including Sheamus powerbombing Sin Cara through a ladder with the masked amigo being stretchered to the back. WWE has announced today that they have suspended Sin Cara for a violation of the wellness policy. Lord knows what kind of drugs he’s taking, maybe HGH to get bigger? Although with his size, they can’t be working very well. Mistico was a star in Mexico and one of the best on the circuit, he just can’t seem to cut it in the WWE. Shame. Heading into the match I was sure that either Sheamus, Wade Barrett or Cody Rhodes were winning it. Sheamus is the safe option of course, whereas Barrett has shown he can hang in the main event with ease, when booked properly. Cody Rhodes has impressed me tremendous amounts since his character change and I thought he was on the way to being built up as a serious main eventer. I was happily mistaken. Daniel Bryan captured the contract for a World Title shot. Daniel Bryan has gone from the indies and working shows in front of a few dozen people, all the way to performing in front of thousands and getting a shot at the premier Wrestling companies world title. What a feeling. On top of that he’s one of the best, if not the best worker in the company right now. I’m looking forward to what WWE has in store for Bryan.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
*** ½
Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella
……………………………………
¼ star.
Winner and still Divas Champion: Kelly Kelly
Mark Henry vs The Big Show
If it wasn’t clear that the WWE are once again building Mark Henry up for a main event run, this match screamed it in your face and kicked you in your nuts. In what was a glorified squash match, Mark Henry was made to look an absolute monster. Big Show was taken out of his element and had to resort to moves from the ropes to attempt to take out Mizark, all in vain however has Henry dominated most of the action. After he finished him off, Henry wrapped Show's injured knee in a chair and jumped on it. Obviously, this wasn't the greatest match in the world, but Henry left looking like a total badass. WWE couldn't have booked this better.
Winner: Mark Henry
**
Raw MITB Ladder Match
I was a big fan of the Raw match being vastly different from the Smackdown one. Obviously they were both spotfests, however, the Raw match seemed to feature more creativity and urgency whereas the Smackdown one featured more atheleticism. It was a nice story that added to the quality of both matches. As for the eventually winner Alberto Del Rio, I’m not sold on it. For one, Del Rio already won a number one contenders match on Raw… so what the fuck was the point in that? Two, I STILL don’t think he’s ready. If Del Rio really is to face John Cena at Summerslam as reports have been all year, I don’t really see that as an enticing main event at all. Hopefully WWE will take the year they have to build him up and use it wisely.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
*** 1/2
Christian vs Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship
Another very solid match between the two. Whenever they get in the ring together everything seems to ‘click.’ I’m not convinced on how things played out, however. Orton came out of the match looking like the biggest tool on the planet. In the world of keyfabe Christian is trying to physically injure Randy Orton, yet it was SPIT that crossed the line with him? Sure, it was pretty nasty and went right in the mouth but when you’re defending your prized possession THAT is what’s going to send you over the edge? Really? Just how strong do WWE want to make him look anyway? The post-match beatdown made Christian look like an absolute pussy. I get that Orton has ‘anger management issues’ and is portrayed as a ‘psychopath’ but come on, making your newly crowned World Champion get beatdown to such an extent moments after winning the title? Solid booking there… Anyway, I’m glad Christian has the title again, lets hope he doesn’t drop it on Friday Night Smackdown.
Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Christian
*** ½
CM Punk vs John Cena for the WWE Championship
Lets face it, this is the match fans watched the PPV for. Forget that, this is the reason people watch wrestling. The crowd were on fire all night, but I wasn’t prepared for the huge face pop that CM Punk received upon entering the arena. What really slapped me in the face though was the reaction for Cena… holy shit. The boo’s drowned out his music at times. I have never heard a louder heel reaction in all my years of being a wrestling fan, for anyone, period. The build up, the hometown hero, the face of the company, the title and jobs at stake, the setting was perfect.
What followed was 35 minutes of pure, straight-up wrestling, and it was booked perfectly. The match of the year by far. I was honestly thrown by how back and forth it was. We’ve become used to the stale formula that Cena is booked by, tonight he really got to show what he’s made of for the first time since his feud with Shawn Michaels a few years ago. Cena hit two AA's on Punk towards the end, and Punk kicked out. Cena's facial reaction was gold as he told the referee, "I don't know what to do." Vince McMahon coming out to attempt a ‘Chicago Screwjob’ was excellent booking as well as the tease of Del Rio cashing in his MITB after Punk had won the title. Honestly, it was a perfect ending. Everyone was expecting a clean Cena win, a Chicago Screwjob or Punk winning and then Del Rio cashing in. All of those endings were teased, and it got the crowd in attendance, and everyone watching at home, compelled and excited for the finish. Serious props go to the WWE for giving this match a chance as well as Cena and Punk putting on a five star classic that is sure to be remembered for years.
Winner and NEW WWE Champion: CM Punk
*****
I’ve been very critical of the WWE this year, but ever since CM Punk’s promo on Raw we’ve had gold at least every episode of Raw and the payoff at Money In The Bank was executed superbly. My anticipation for tonight’s Raw is incredibly high. This is exactly what WWE needed, a sense of unknown that’s been missing for so long. Enjoy it while you can wrestling fans, because pessimistic me says it won’t last for too long.
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Lets. Talk. Wrestling.
Richard McMaster
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