411’s Instant Access 07.18.10: WWE Money in the Bank 2010

Hey kids, I’m Scott, and this is 411’s Instant Access: WWE Money in the Bank 2010. And yes, after ranting and raving about the worthlessness of WWE pay-per-views last month following Fatal 4-Way, I’m back in the saddle for Money in the Bank. That either makes me a hypocrite or an addict, but I’ll leave the decision to you, kind reader. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, 411’s Instant Access is the companion piece to 411 Live Pay-Per-View Coverage and features immediate reaction to wrestling pay-per-views. The focus in Instant Access is on first thoughts and initial reactions instead of play-by-play with the goal of providing you with instant access to one two three four FIVE writers’ thoughts on the show. Here’s the team for Money in the Bank:

• Scott Slimmer, author of Don’t Think Twice.
• Justin Weinblatt, our special guest from 411 Games, author of The Silicon Valley 10 & 1 and Loves It or HATES IT!.
• Jeremy Thomas, editor of Wrestling’s 4R’s and author of The Hush-Hush News Report.
• Mike Uphoff, author of 411’s WWE Smackdown Report.
• Jeff Small, author of The Tuesday Small-For-All News Report.

Okay kids, enough with the explanations. Let’s get to the wrestling.

The Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Christian vs. Matt Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Big Show vs. Kane vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Dashing Cody Rhodes
Match Result: Kane wins the Smackdown Money in the Bank Match.
Match Length: 26:15
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: I was only able to watch the final ten minutes of this match due to technical difficulties at the beginning of the show, so I’ll leave the analysis to my esteemed colleagues. And Small.
Weinblatt: I’ll confess, I love the MITB spotfests. That’s why I ordered this PPV. The Smackdown crew did a great job of combining storytelling with the match. Kofi and Drew continued their rivalry, Christian and Matt were the experienced ring generals, and the Big Show’s size was both a help and a hindrance. As is the case in most MITB matches there were some great spots. Kofi’s dive was the biggest “OMG” moment, but the best moment of the match to me was Matt Hardy (who looks to be getting into better shape) and Christian’s struggle towards the end. Hopefully this will plant the seeds for a rivalry. Kane winning was an ok choice, and we’ll get into that more later on. This was a fun match, and was surprisingly coherent.
Thomas: I felt that this match started off fairly weak; it degenerated into chaos a little too quickly and everyone seemed to be less than inspired for the first several minutes. Luckily, they gave this one plenty of time and they picked it up about midway through. I enjoyed some of the spots and you had the obvious highlight reel moments like Kofi’s Boom Drop through the announcer’s table on Drew. One of my favorite moments was Show pushing the ladder and Dolph dropping right into the grab for the choke slam; it was very smoothly executed and made for a nice moment. They really teased Drew winning it until Kane came out of nowhere and claimed the briefcase. I enjoyed this finish as I thought that Kane was a good and unexpected choice to win. On the other hand, while I liked MEGA-LADDER Show made a HUGE mistake by trying to pull it in the way he did. It sucked all the life out of the match at that moment. All in all it was an enjoyable-enough spotfest, though it wasn’t even close to being a great Money in the Bank match.
Uphoff: This was a great match. I was a little worried that Show and Kane would drag the match down, but they were booked well and delivered great performances. Kofi pulling a Shelton on the ladder was great, as was the Cross Rhodes on the ladder. Piling ladders on Show was great booking. Everyone brought their A-game, and we got a great match and one of the best MitB ladder matches to date.
Small: What did we have here? Gratuitous entrances, gratuitous favorites from Michael Cole, gratuitous selling, awesome boom drop through the Spanish announce table, gratuitous Big Show can’t get his ladder up, gratuitous Cody Rhodes waiting until Big Show gets the ladder in the ring, gratuitous high flying by Kofi and Cody, gratuitous Big Show fucking shit up, gratuitous ladders on the Big Show, gratuitous Kane killing bitches, Christian spends 20 minutes doing nothing, gratuitous former ECW Champions fighting on top of the ladder, Drew McIntrye giving the IWC a possible stroke, and a shocking ending.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: N/A
Weinblatt: ****
Thomas: ***
Uphoff: ****¼
Small: ***
Average Match Rating: ***½

Divas Championship Match
Alicia Fox (Champion) vs. Eve Torres
Match Result: Alicia Fox defeats Eve Torres with the Scissors Kick.
Match Length: 5:49
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Alicia and Eve put on a passable match tonight, but unfortunately it was nothing more than passable. Like almost all matches in the Divas division, this match was simply too short and too unmemorable to be rated any higher than about *½. However, I do like the decision to have Alicia retain the championship. Alicia definitely seemed like a fluke champion (even by Divas Championship standards) when she won the title a month ago at Fatal 4-Way, and fluke champions often do little more than cheapen the title in question. Allowing Alicia to retain the title with a clean win over Eve helps to build credibility for both Alicia and the Divas Championship. Sure, you can argue that trying to build credibility in the Divas division is just an exercise in futility, but I give credit to WWE for trying to breath some small bit of life into the faltering Divas division.
Weinblatt: I like these girls. Both of them try hard, and both of them are improving. If you put either of them with an experienced wrestler, maybe they could manage a decent match. If you put them with each other, you get this. Both girls were into it, and both of them looked intense. Alicia looked particularly devious. They pulled off a few good spots, but they had some awful botches that made them look bush league. I give them an A for effort, but they’re just too green.
Thomas: You know, I appreciated that Alicia and Eve came out and tried to wrestle a real match; it was unexpected and they worked hard. Unfortunately, they were also sloppy. Eve has been improving in the ring and so has Alicia, but they aren’t there yet. Also, the crowd was dead after Money in the Bank and that didn’t help much–though I doubt they would have cared much in any case. I enjoyed some of the moves, and Alicia did a good job with the tilt-a-whirl but I just couldn’t give this a pass.
Uphoff: This was actually the most competently wrestled Divas match that I’ve seen for a long while. The two worked well together, and I actually saw psychology in a women’s wrestling match.
Small: Fox and Eve start the match with a technical display not seen since Great American Bash ’91. Fox takes advantage and works Eve’s back. A nice tilt a whirl backbreaker leads to another bow and arrow submission. It’s like watching the second coming of Benoit here. Eve stars her comeback and nearly takes the roof off of the building with a somersault off of the second rope. Sadly for her, Fox got her knees up. The Axe Kick finishes. What a tremendous display of athleticism from these ladies. Just a joy to watch this contest!
Match Rating:
Slimmer: *½
Weinblatt: *
Thomas: *¾
Uphoff: *¾
Small: ****½
Average Match Rating: **

Unified Tag Team Championship Match
The Hart Dynasty (Champions) w/ Natalya vs. The Usos w/ Tamina
Match Result: David Hart Smith defeats Jimmy Uso with the Sharp Shooter.
Match Length: 5:48
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This was a good match could easily have become a great match if it had been given more time. Watching two legitimate tag teams fight for the belts that we see far too infrequently in WWE these days, and it’s even more of a pleasure when both teams have as much talent as the Hart Dynasty and the Usos. These two teams fit a remarkable amount of action into less than six minutes, and so my only real complaint about this match is the fact that it was given less than six minutes. I can understand keeping a tag team championship match short if you’re dealing with two thrown-together teams that are simply keeping the belt warm, but that certainly wasn’t the case in this match. WWE could use the Hart Dynasty and the Usos to seriously begin to rebuild their tag team division, and yet instead WWE makes two of their most promising tag teams look insignificant by booking them in a quick throw-away match. I still have hope that the Hart Dynasty and the Usos could usher in a renaissance in the WWE tag team division, but WWE will have to commit to these teams before these teams will really have a chance to shine.
Weinblatt: This was a good, if formulaic tag match. All four young men looked good, and they had some good team spots in the match (the hit David took in the corner looked sick). I think the Harts As I said, everyone looked good here, and I hope that these guys get a chance in a longer match with a hotter feud.
Thomas: These guys put on a solid, enjoyable technical match-up and if the crowd gave a rat’s ass this could have easily been a three star match. Unfortunately they didn’t, and that’s because the overstacked card meant that they were just waiting for the other matches. Jimmy and Jey did good work here and the Harts were gold; it could have gotten a bit more but I was okay with it. I’m surprised by the clean finish as I have to wonder where it goes from here. Do the Harts battle a new team, or does the feud continue? We’ll have to see but this was perfectly fine. Just not great.
Uphoff: I would do naughty things to Natalya. The Harts retain, which was the right move. This was okay, but the Hart Dynasty and the Usos just don’t mix well together. Decent tag match, but they should be able to do better. I don’t really care about the Usos. I can’t see anything standout about them.
Small: Short but solid match. The crowd clearly did not give a fuck to start but both teams worked hard to get them somewhat into the match. I would have liked a longer finishing sequence though.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: **¾
Weinblatt: **½
Thomas: **¾
Uphoff: **
Small: **½
Average Match Rating: **½

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Rey Mysterio (Champion) vs. Jack Swagger
Match Result: Rey Mysterio defeats Jack Swagger with a hurricanrana into a roll-up pin.
Match Length: 10:50
Kane cashes in his Money in the Bank contract after the match.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Rey Mysterio (Champion) vs. Kane
Match Result: Kane defeats Rey Mysterio with the Tombstone Piledriver.
Match Length: 0:52
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: I found this match to be both entertaining and enthralling, and the most impressive part of the match was that it actually felt fresh. We’ve seen far too many stale main event title matches in WWE over the last few years, but this pairing actually felt new and different. Mysterio and Swagger are among the better workers in the company, and their styles complemented each other quite well in this match. The story of the feud was integrated into the psychology of the match flawlessly, and I LOVED how the booking referenced the Eddie Guerrero / Kurt Angle match from WrestleMania XX. In most cases it would have seemed lazy to re-use the finish of the Guerrero / Angle match, but it made perfect sense in a match between a wrestler that was good friends with Guerrero and a wrestler with a style so similar to Angle.
Weinblatt: First off, let me just say that Jack Swagger’s promo/phone call was absolutely awesome. Telling your mom that your dad deserved a beatdown? Vintage heel move. As for the match itself, it was alright. They told the usual Rey Mysterio David vs. Goliath story which worked well enough. Both men looked good, and they had some fun spots, such as the top rope DDT, and Swagger’s counter of the West Coast Pop. The problem is that Swagger and Mysterio didn’t come out to steal the show, and they didn’t. The post match cash-in was kind of expected after Kane’s victory. At least, they did a good job throwing me off for a brief moment. Kane could have easily been Rey’s next challenger without the briefcase. It seems like they wanted to take one case out of the picture as soon as possible, to give the other winner the chance to shine.
Thomas: The Rey Rey/Swagger match was fine. I think it was probably disappointing for some but with them running the injury angle that they were it was going to disappoint; Rey can’t be a high wire act with a bum ankle. They did decent work, and while I understand why Rey won I question Swagger losing clean. I believe that it hurts his credibility that he couldn’t beat a nearly-crippled Rey Rey. But with those issues aside it still worked as a match. Where this really goes over the three star territory for me was the Money in the Bank cash-in. They swerved it well by having Kane come out to save Rey from Swagger, and then he cashes in. It’s a solid move because I’m a Kane mark so I’ve wanted to see him get another World title run for ages, and because having him pin the crippled underdog face gives him shades of heeldom en route to Taker’s eventual return. I can’t argue with any of that and it works just fine with me. Loved the finish.
Uphoff: I think we all knew that Rey was going to retain and lose to the MitB winner. My first though was hey look! It’s Jack Swangle! This was a really well-paced and well-booked match. Swagger made me think he could pull it off, and he almost did. Swagger and Rey put on a great match, and the super tornado DDT was AWESOME. Fantastic match between the two. Can’t rate Kane cashing on Rey. Good to see him get his second world title.
Small: Really good match where the storyline actually enhanced the match. Both men played their characters to a tee (Rey has mastered the injured midget) and by going all out from the start, both were able to keep the crowd and intensity up throughout the match. While I would have liked Swagger to win, I did enjoy the play on the WrestleMania 20 ending (which Slimmer called before the match). Throw in an excellent cash-in from Kane and this one’s a winner in my book.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***½
Weinblatt: ***¼
Thomas: ***½
Uphoff: ***½
Small: ***½
Average Match Rating: ***½

Women’s Championship Match
Layla (Champion) w/ Michelle McCool vs. Kelly Kelly w/ Tiffany
Match Result: Layla defeats Kelly Kelly by countering a sunset flip into a roll-up pin.
Match Length: 4:00
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Most of the comments and sentiments from my analysis of the Divas Championship match apply equally well to this Women’s Championship match, and as a result my rating for this match is equal to my rating of that match. This match was shorter than the Divas Championship match and didn’t feature as much in-ring action, but it did have a more compelling story that was successfully integrated into the psychology of the match. I understand that some fans may find LayCool to be silly and pointless, but I still find them highly entertaining. The Co-Women’s Champions angle plays perfectly into their shallow besties gimmick, and I’m happy to see the reign of the Co-Women’s Champions continue.
Weinblatt: Smelly Kelly! THAT’S GOLD JERRY, GOLD! Note to the WWE, we’re not going to take this division seriously if you don’t. This was a typical Diva’s match. There were some fun but over choreographed spots, and some botches. It was short, largely inoffensive, and Kelly looked hot. Not much else to say.
Thomas: The story for this one was more solid than the Butterfly Title match, but the wrestling was worse and the match was shorter. Layla has become very decent in terms of Diva wrestling and Triple K is improving, but neither of them can carry a PPV match. This was sloppy wrestling and I honestly think there would have been a better story in Kelly winning and starting the dissention in the ranks of Lay-Cool. This just didn’t do it for me in any way, shape or form. And Striker was WAY over the top here.
Uphoff: Layla retains, as she should have. I really didn’t care for the match, but I’ve definitely seen worse.
Small: I’d rather review WCW Thunder.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: *½
Weinblatt: ¾*
Thomas: *¼
Uphoff: ¾*
Small: DUD
Average Match Rating: ¾

The Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Randy Orton vs. Evan Bourne vs. John Morrison vs. Mark Henry vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho vs. The Miz vs. Ted DiBiase
Match Result: The Miz wins the Raw Money in the Bank Match.
Match Length: 20:25
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: These eight guys busted their asses in new and innovative ways tonight, and the result was one hell of an entertaining Money in the Bank Ladder Match. John Morrison was just as impressive as we expected him to be, and Evan Bourne once again demonstrated that he is a completely unique talent in comparison to the rest of the WWE roster. Edge played the role of the ruthless veteran to perfection, and even Mark Henry found a way to effectively work his power-based offense into a ladder match. However, what really stands out for me was how incredibly MOLTEN the crowd was for Randy Orton throughout the match. Whether it was a ladder-assisted DDT to Evan Bourne or one of several RKOs, the crowd was in love with Orton tonight. They exploded when it looked as though Orton was about to retrieve the briefcase, and for that reason alone I question the decision to give the win to Miz. Admittedly, the Miz’s promos are among the best in the business, and his ring work isn’t far behind. He is a world champion in the making, and his time will certainly come. But Randy Orton has a singular type of anti-hero support behind him at the moment, and I have to believe that this unique groundswell of fan support should be harnessed with a championship reign so that it doesn’t burn out or fade away. However, if Miz holds on to the case for an extended period of time, then Orton might be able to get a run with the title while Miz continues to build heat with the MitB briefcase. Either way, this match served to demonstrate how strong the Raw main event scene is at the moment, and it gives me quite a bit of hope for the next few months.
Weinblatt: In events like these, WWE has done a good job of making matches with the same gimmick feel different. Smackdown’s MITB had a lot of storylines being advanced, and was a bit slower paced. In contrast Raw’s was more of a clusterfuck (in a good way) with more innovative spots, and lots of guys going for the briefcase at once. Plus, Maryse going for the briefcase was awesome. If this wasn’t the PG era, you know she’d have taken a finisher. This was a good fast paced match, that perhaps could have used a bit more time. Miz… Holy shit. Is this the generic lump who was flubbing his lines when he hosted the Divas search? The guy who was hung out in Morrison’s shadow on ECW? Miz has become amazing on the mic, and has improved greatly in the ring. Out of the current WWE midcard, the Miz has the best chance of making it at the top of the card by a long shot. The right guy went over, and his simple but effective post-match promo proved it.
Thomas: This one blew the SmackDown Money in the Bank out of the water. It started out very solid and picked up even from there. We had some great moments and some wonderful stories from the elimination of Mark Henry to Bourne’s near-wins and the use of several feuds such as Edge/Orton, Bourne/Orton, Bourne/Jericho and Miz/Morrison. We even had a great humor moment as Maryse nearly grabbed the briefcase. If Maryse had won Money in the Bank I would have marked out hard. (I’m mostly kidding. Mostly.) The win was not a huge surprise since the main eventers didn’t need it, Henry had no chance, Bourne isn’t over enough and DiBiase needs to be built up more. Miz deserves the shot and he even got time to interview after, which was a great promo. Morrison was great in there and had the Shelton Benjamin moments that we come to expect, and this generally just worked all-around. I loved it.
Uphoff: Miz and Jericho: Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Henry: Oh yeah! And hits them with a ladder. The ladder hangman’s DDT was NICE, as was Morrison’s ladder walking. Henry was booked very well in this match, and he did an excellent job. This was another good match made great by its booking. It didn’t have quite the spots that the Smackdown one did, but every man worked hard. I thought during this match that at least three different people were going to win, and that is what this match is supposed to do. Well-booked, well-executed, and tons of heart-stopping action.
Small: This was easily better than the Smackdown MITB thanks to better spots, better pacing (it was way shorter), and a better surprise ending. Considering Raw is the Golden Child, this would only make sense. Great match. Great promo and win for the Miz. Hoo-rah!
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****
Weinblatt: ****
Thomas: ****
Uphoff: ***½
Small: ****
Average Match Rating: ****

Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship
Sheamus (Champion) vs. John Cena
Match Result: Sheamus wins the match by escaping the cage.
Match Length: 23:14
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: I’ve heard rumblings that some fans may have found this match to be a bit slow or boring or tedious, but I actually enjoyed it more than I expected. The cage match environment plays to the strengths of John Cena and Sheamus better than a traditional one-on-one match, and I thought that Sheamus did a fine job of portraying the kind of monster heel that dominated cage matches in the seventies and eighties. This certainly wasn’t a technical marvel or an instant classic, but I do think that it was the best John Cena / Sheamus match that we’ve seen to date. The Nexus run-in seemed inevitable, but I enjoyed watching the referees thwart Nexus’ efforts to get into the cage. The fact that Nexus “screwed” Cena out of regaining the championship means that he could easily transition into a full-blown feud with them or make a case for yet another rematch with Sheamus. However, given the massive amount of love for Randy Orton in the Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match, my preference would be for Cena to focus solely on Nexus while Orton moves up to challenge Sheamus for the title.
Weinblatt: I don’t think this feud was booked properly for a cage match. A cage match should be the end to a heated rivalry, and the rivalry between Sheamus and Cena was secondary to the Nexus storyline. Of course, we all knew that Nexus would get involved, and we all knew that their involvement would benefit Sheamus. The Nexus screwed over Cena, and Sheamus took advantage. Hmmmmm… that seems familiar. Until that happened, Sheamus and Cena seemed like they were going through the motions. Things picked up towards the end, but by that point I was kind of checked out. WWE booked themselves into a corner here. You couldn’t have Nexus not interfere, but what could they do that would be exciting? I don’t want to see any more Nexus group beatings. It’s time to figure out where to go next with this. Combining the booking with the questionable stipulation and the slow start, you have a pretty bland main event.
Thomas: I hate to say it, but this match seriously lacked and while I’m not a PG hater, I can’t help but think that the PG-ness of the match was involved in the problem. A cage match is supposed to be brutal, and PG blunts the effectiveness of the gimmick. All it did was put Cena and Shamus in a situation where they couldn’t go outside the ring. Now, that aside the two could have busted their asses and put on something great. They didn’t, and instead it felt like they were going through the motions. That resulted in a dull match that was essentially just biding time until the Nexus-heavy finish. And that was the least surprising thing that happened on this show. I don’t think the ending carried off well and while I think they have a definite plan that will lead to fruition, this was not a great stop along that road. It was just boring and bland, and cage matches shouldn’t be.
Uphoff: The ending was to be expected, and seeing Cena go nuts at the end was great. This was a pretty decent cage match, but seriously, when will Sheamus win cleanly and convincingly?
Small: Before the match started, I asked the rest of the Instant Access crew the following question: “How good does this match have to be for this PPV to be the best WWE PPV showing of the year?” The majority of responses were “It needs to be pretty good.” Sadly, my question was a moot point as Sheamus + Cena + Cage = cure for insomnia. Now while there was nothing wrong with the match, there was also nothing positive to come from it. Sheamus is a solid wrestler; however, he needs the right opponent to keep his matches exciting. So far, only Triple H has gotten a very good performance out of him (at Mania). Cena tried but the early stages of the match were boring. Things picked up when the Nexus came out and I actually enjoyed the race to exit the cage. But that minute could not make up for the 22 minutes beforehand.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***
Weinblatt: **¾
Thomas: **½
Uphoff: **½
Small: **
Average Match Rating: **½

Final Thoughts

Match of the Night:
Slimmer: The Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match (****)
This match had the insane spots necessary to make a Money in the Bank Ladder Match feel satisfying, but it also had great storytelling that really made use of the feuds that were used to build this match. This was the match that defined this pay-per-view, and it really should have been the main event.
Weinblatt: The Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match (****)
Obviously, one of the two MITB matches would win here. I thought the Raw MITB match had a bit of a more natural flow to it, and had the better result.
Thomas: The Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match (****)
Not even close. The energy, the excitement and the high spots (RKO on Morrison/Air Bourne on Orton) worked really nicely. And the win was a great moment that did exactly what Money in the Bank should do: elevate new talent.
Uphoff: The Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match (****¼)
Amazing spots, great psychology and booking. Great match.
Small: The Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match (****)
Compared to the Smackdown MITB, this match had the best spots, the best pacing, and the best winner.

Trash of the Night:
Slimmer: The Hart Dynasty vs. The Usos (**¾)
It pains me to call this match the Trash of the Night, because all four men (and two ladies) did everything in their power to make this a good match. Unfortunately, this was the one match on the card that seemed to fall far short of its potential, and the blame lies solely with the way that the match was booked by WWE. Given another ten minutes, this match easily could have gained another snowflake and showed that tag team wrestling is not dead in WWE. Instead, WWE rushed this match so that the would have time for not one but two pointless Divas matches. I give all the credit in the world to the Hart Dynasty and the Usos, and I’m sorry that their talent is being wasted by WWE.
Weinblatt: Sheamus vs. John Cena (**¾)
Was this the worst match of the night? No. But I can look past the poor women’s matches. It’s much harder to look past the main event of the evening. WWE booked themselves into a corner. The Nexus interfering was the only logical conclusion to the match. After seeing a similar finish last month, I wasn’t thrilled to see it again. It would have been more tolerable if Sheamus and Cena tore down the house in the actual match, but they didn’t. I like Cena, and I like Sheamus, but this match simply didn’t deliver.
Thomas: Sheamus vs. John Cena (**½)
It could have been so much, but it was just bland and amounted to wheels spinning. No thank you.
Uphoff: Layla vs. Kelly Kelly (¾*)
Disappointing match that should’ve been better.
Small: Layla vs. Kelly Kelly (DUD)
Not a surprise here but really, this match should never have been signed for PPV.

Final Analysis:
Slimmer: I hated last month’s WWE pay-per-view, Fatal 4-Way. I hated it. Because it sucked. Hard. It sucked hard. And I seriously considered not buying Money in the Bank. But in the end I bought the show, and I’m definitely glad that I did. This actually felt like a satisfying pay-per-view, and that’s a feeling that I haven’t gotten from a WWE pay-per-view since WrestleMania. Both Money in the Bank matches delivered, and both world title matches were memorable (albeit for different reasons). This show didn’t break new ground or revolutionize the industry, but it was fun and fast-paced. I enjoyed my Sunday evening this week, so this show gets up a thumbs up from me.
Weinblatt: When you buy a show called Money In The Bank, you buy it for the MITB matches. I think that both matches delivered well, and even managed to differentiate themselves. However, this does not give the other matches an excuse to be mediocre. The tag match, and Rey/Swagger were above average, but not great. Sheamus and Cena simply didn’t deliver. WWE needs to figure out what the next step for the Nexus is, and they need to do it quickly. I’m happy that Kane finally has another title under his belt, but he didn’t really need the briefcase to do it. I’m thrilled that the Miz went over. The man has improved tremendously, and has a great chance of actually making it at the top. Long story short, Money In The Bank matches delivered. Everything else was meh.
Thomas: This was one great match, two great (for me) moments and then a bunch of mediocre to bad. I’ve been accused of overrating WWE Pay-Per-Views but this one is not getting a pass from me. It’s completely skippable because the eventual Money in the Bank DVD that we all know is coming will include the matches that mattered here. The rest didn’t register as more than a blip on the radar. The WWE treaded water and they knew it, and while I’m interested to see where things go for SummerSlam I’m not enthralled with this one at all.
Uphoff: For a while now WWE has been putting on disappointing PPVs, one after the other. Tonight, they finally broke out of that trend and put on a good PPV. I hope this is a sign of things to come. I’d recommend the MitB matches, the World title match, and the Divas title match.
Small: Even with the disappointing main event, Money in the Bank is easily the second best WWE PPV this year. While I would like to see the MITB match only at Mania, I cannot see that happening anymore. This PPV actually had buzz before it (unlike the last few shows) thanks to the concept and a strong card so I can definitely see a strong buy rate here. And with the show coming off well this evening, I definitely think we have seen the last of MITB at WrestleMania. Which might not be a bad thing considering on its own PPV, both ladder matches got the time to shine.

Verdict:
Slimmer: ***¼
Weinblatt: **¾
Thomas: **½
Uphoff: ***¼
Small: ***½
Average Verdict: ***