Mr. Money in the Bank John Cena confronts WWE Champion CM Punk. Solid opening segment featuring WWE Champion CM Punk and Big Show. It was great to see Punk reminisce on his epic "pipebomb" from last June, which also occurred in Las Vegas. As much as I don't like Show, he played his part very well here, and got the point across that Punk has been overshadowed as of late. It was certainly effective in setting up their main event match for later in the evening while also teasing Cena could quite possibly cash in his newly won Money in the Bank briefcase. Good match with Kofi Kingston and R-Truth successfully defending their WWE Tag Team Championships against the Prime Time Players. Both teams had nice chemistry and I enjoyed the fun finish. However, this match should have been hyped in advance, or at least could have been included on the Money in the Bank card. Since Titus O'Neil and Darren Young have been losing so many matches lately, it makes me question why they were ever the number one contenders in the first place. Effective match with Alberto Del Rio defeating Zack Ryder. Sure, I'd much rather see Ryder be used more meaningful, but at least he appeared on the show. It gave Del Rio a nice win and momentum to rebound his loss from Money in the Bank. Rey Mysterio's shocking return was brilliantly done and made complete sense since it was Del Rio who sidelined Mysterio last summer (in story-line, of course). I'm glad WWE hadn't forgotten about that angle, and I'm somewhat excited for the pending feud between the two if WWE opts to go that route, despite the fact we've seen it many times before. Fun segment featuring Rikishi's return and his squash victory over Heath Slater. I honestly can't recall the last time Rikishi has appeared on WWE television (other than the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame), so it was a great nostalgic moment. The dance number with his sons the Usos following the contest was a golden family moment that I've been dying to see for ages. I'm looking forward to see what the blow-off is to Slater's Legend angle next week on the 1000th edition of Raw. Strange segment with AJ and Daniel Bryan defeating Eve and The Miz. Throughout the entire night, Bryan seemed to be acting completely sincere towards AJ, which came out of nowhere since he has no motive and actually made him look like a face. Pairing Eve up with Miz was a smart move and I'd love to see more from those two together in the future. It feels like they're rushing into the Bryan-AJ wedding just to add yet another hook for next week's monumental show, but I'm certainly intrigued to see where it goes from here.
4 Comments
Daniel Bryan applies the Yes Lock on WWE Champion CM Punk. Fun match with WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeating Hunico and Camacho. The styles of the two teams meshed nicely and the crowd certainly enjoyed the high spots. Sure, the victory didn't do much in terms of giving either team needed momentum, but it was a successful way in setting a tone for the actual pay-per-view. Exciting World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match to kick off the show. Although there were some sloppy spots early on, it really heated up in the latter half of the bout with a handful of awe-inspiring spots from the likes Dolph Ziggler, Tyson Kidd, Christian, and others. Although it wasn't one of the better Money in the Bank Ladder Matches I've seen, everyone played their roles well regardless. Despite the fact he doesn't need the briefcase as much as Cody Rhodes, Ziggler was still and excellent choice as Mr. Money in the Bank. Good match with Sheamus successfully defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio. It was exactly what we expected it to be, so nothing really out of the ordinary. If anything, it was something you'd see apart of a SmackDown main event. I'm glad they didn't have Dolph Ziggler cash-in here, so it was a nice tease of what's hopefully to come. Most Money in the Bank winners unsuccessfully attempt to cash-in their briefcase before becoming champion later down the line. Decent tag team match with Primo and Epico defeating the Prime Time Players. Obviously, it was used to kill time, but it was a nice buffer and put more emphasis on the tag team division. The action was fine for what it was, but the real surprise came when Primo and Epico pulled out the victory. While I don't like how heat was taken off the number one contenders, I do appreciate the effort in putting some focus on an actual tag team feud, which should hopefully be building towards a three-way WWE Tag Team title match at SummerSlam. Strong No Disqualification match with CM Punk successfully defending his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan with AJ as the special guest referee. It was a bit odd that the No DQ stipulation was announced at the last minute, especially since I felt like it didn't do all that much to enhance the match. However, it was a great brawl with a lot of fantastic story-telling. It felt slow and dragged at times, but I'm of course glad they received nearly thirty minutes of in-ring time. Having Punk retain here was a smart move and it AJ's choice of not making choice of either Superstar was well done. I hope they add a new chapter to this feud going forward, or move Punk into a whole new program to keep things fresh. Alberto Del Rio confronts SmackDown Interim GM Zack Ryder. Fun opening segment featuring Zack Ryder and Alberto Del Rio. The audience was hot for Ryder and it's good to see him start off the show. Del Rio's interruption was logical and set up his subsequent match with Sin Cara nicely. Good match between Alberto Del Rio and Sin Cara. They received great time and had exceptional chemistry given their similar styles. The clean finish certainly does a lot to establish Del Rio as a threat going into his World title match at Money in the Bank, while Sin Cara didn't execute any blatantly obvious botches here. I'd enjoy a feud between these two sometime down the line for sure. Fine match with Primo defeating Darren Young. I'm glad they're finally establishing both teams here, as they need the exposure if WWE expects its viewers to care about the division and its respective feuds. Not many cared for this match-up, but it's a step in the right direction and the action was fine for what it was worth. Why take heat off of the Prime Time Players as they near their eventual WWE Tag Team title match? Decent tag team match with Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes defeating United States Champion Santino Marella and Intercontinental Champion Christian. It was nice preview of what we'll be seeing Sunday in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match and was able to showcase all four participants. Smart move with Ziggler picking up the victory for his team, as he is certainly the favorite to become Mr. Money in the Bank on Sunday. Painless match with Big Show decimating Great Khali within thirty seconds. Obviously, neither of these giants are the best workers in the company, so I'm glad they kept it short and sweet. Since Big Show received very little momentum on Monday's Raw heading into Sunday's event, I'm glad they put over as a beast on tonight's show by taking out Khali in quick fashion. AJ proposes to WWE Champion CM Punk. Odd opening segment to kick off the show. As much as I enjoy this on-going saga featuring AJ, WWE Champion CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, the whole "marriage" thing felt a bit unrealistic. Of course, this is wrestling after all, but it was simply strange to say the least. Sure, everyone played their roles well here, but this segment didn't do much for this viewer. Meaningless match with World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus defeating Jack Swagger. Sheamus has already been established as a dominant force, so there was no purpose to this match, adding to the fact we've seen it numerous times before. The fact it lasted nearly two minutes didn't help either. Alberto Del Rio's promo on the Titantron that followed was fine, so at least it hyped their World title match for this Sunday. Throwaway tag team match with Tensai and Dolph Ziggler defeating Intercontinental Champion Christian and Tyson Kidd. My issues with this match was that none of the Superstars received entrances, it was joined in progress, and it ended within a minute. What does that say about the competitors involved in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match? Obviously, it makes feel like it's unimportant, although Tensai's domination did help rebuild some of the heat he's lost in recent months. Nonetheless, the destruction of Kidd has my fingers crossed that he won't be removed from the MITB match following the attack. Typical squash match between Brodus Clay and Drew McIntyre. It's a shame to see Clay go from headlining shows in his mini-feud with Big Show back to squashing irrelevant Superstars. They've taken one step forward and two steps back with his character, so I'm hoping they find him something to do in the very near future. Solid tag team match with John Cena and Kane defeating Big Show and Chris Jericho via disqualification. Although the action was good, the logic behind it wasn't. Why would Cena tag with the same man who decimated him for three months earlier this year? The bout received great time, but the two commercial breaks took away from it and hindered the action. Since when can you get disqualified for pulling your partner out of the ring? I'm glad Jericho mentioned his past history with Show in Jeri-Show from 2009, it wasn't made as a big of a deal as it should've been. I question the move having Cena be the last man standing at the end of the segment, since it's pretty predictable that he'll be winning on Sunday anyways. |
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