Random Network Reviews: Money in the Bank 2013

Money in the Bank 2013
July 14th, 2013 | Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Attendance: 15,000

Money in the Bank can usually be counted on for a good show. Having two ladder matches makes for excitement, especially when they involve so many Superstars. This show features the return of Rob Van Dam in a city that treats him like a hometown boy. I also had a great match on the Pre-Show pitting the Usos against the Shield. If only that was available on the WWE Network.

The opening video package hypes the two Money in the Bank matches, focusing mainly on the Money in the Bank All-Stars match before showcasing the Mark Henry/John Cena program. That Henry promo was fantastic. Also, this show has to have the worst theme song. They use it every year and it’s just “Money” repeated a ton. It sucked for Donald Trump and it sucks here. Commentary is Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL. Dean Ambrose and Fandango are already in the ring for the opener.

Money in the Bank (World Heavyweight Championship)
Antonio Cesaro w/ Zeb Colter vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Fandango w/ Summer Rae vs. Jack Swagger w/ Zeb Colter vs. Wade Barrett
An interesting lineup here as we have a few tag team guys and all heels. A pier six brawl starts it before the two teams, the Real Americans and Team Rhodes Scholars, standoff with ladders. Cesaro gutwrench suplexes Cody onto a ladder before Swagger hip tosses Sandow into one. WE THE PEOPLE! Cody uses the Disaster Kick to turn things around. Ambrose is the crowd favorite but he stands under an open ladder as Barrett delivers some knees to the skull. Fandango gets ready to climb but Sandow stops him. Ambrose lays out Cody with a ladder. Sandow suplexes Fandango onto a ladder. In an interesting spot Barrett breaks a rung off a ladder and wails on Sandow with it. I like the creativity. He gets close to the briefcase but Ambrose greets him up top. Swagger pulls Wade down right into an UPPERCUT from Cesaro. Good lord. He tries the same with Ambrose but it gets countered into a DDT on Swagger. Cody pulls Cesaro down from the ladder with a MUSCLE BUSTER onto another ladder! Swagger and Barrett now do battle atop the briefcase, but Barrett knocks him out with the Bull Hammer. HE’S ALL ALONE! Fandango cuts him off and SUNSET FLIP BOMBS him off the ladder. Summer Rae is beside herself. Dean plants Fandango with Dirty Deeds, the real one, not the double arm DDT he does now. Cesaro closes the ladder on him as he climbs, but Ambrose goes all Terry Funk by putting the ladder on his head and spinning around like a maniac. The Real Americans pick up the ladder and Dean flips over onto it but gets dumped out. Cesaro gets on Swagger’s shoulders and they try to get the briefcase like that. I feel like it would work better if Cesaro was doing the heavy lifting. Cody springboard dropkicks in to stop them, earning “Cody” chants. He hits Cross Rhodes on Fandango, then counters Barrett and hits him with one. The crowd is totally behind him now. Cody and Dean slug it out atop the ladder, which Cody wins by pulling Dean face first into the ladder. The rest of the Shield arrive to stop him and Reigns spears Fandango. Out comes the team they beat on the Pre-Show, the Usos to even the odds. Ambrose climbs but Cody shoves the ladder and sends Dean out onto everyone. Cody is busted open and the fans want it. He ascends but his partner, Sandow comes in and shoves him off, before retrieving the briefcase for himself.

Winner: Damien Sandow in 16:23
One of my favorite Money in the Bank matches ever. The action is non-stop and the performance by Cody Rhodes was tremendous. Having all heels made for an interesting dynamic, but in Philadelphia, the fans were hot for a few guys. Cody getting the crowd completely behind him was the show stealer and this should have led to a great Sandow/Rhodes feud and Cody as a major face. Not only were there great spots here but the teams working as a unit until the end and the interference were all very well done. ****¼

Brad Maddox is introduced, six days after being named the Raw General Manager. He talks about being the new GM and points out the person he took over for, Vickie Guerrero, who is on the Pre-Show panel. He tries getting a “Thank You Vickie” chant going but it’s just awkward. He plays a tribute video to her that’s just filled of embarrassing moments. What this is doing on a Pay-Per-View is beyond me.

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Curtis Axel (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. The Miz
Curtis Axel’s theme is awesome. He’s very confident early but Miz takes advantage when they spill outside. He argues with Heyman and fakes like Heyman hit him, leading the official to kick him out. It’s Philly, so there are “We Want Heyman” chants. Axel goes into a heat segment, working over the Miz for a bit. He does execute his dad’s neck snap very well. Miz rallies but nobody really cares because he’s a piss poor face. Axel hits the Perfectplex for two, which grinds my gears since it was a favorite finisher of mine for a long time. Miz goes to the leg and applies the figure four. Axel turns it over before reaching the ropes. Like a wise heel, Axel goes for a breather but goads Miz into chasing him. He gets in a shot before hitting his finisher, which he would name the Axehole, and retaining.

Winner and Still WWE Intercontinental Champion: Curtis Axel in 9:19
A pretty heatless match unfortunately. It seemed like the fans wanted to see Paul Heyman more than either guy. I’ve always liked Curtis Axel’s work and the match was technically fine. However, Axel’s not the most charismatic wrestler and Miz is terribly miscast as a face, so nobody wanted him to win either. **

WWE Divas Championship
AJ Lee (c) w/ Big E Langston vs. Kaitlyn w/ Layla
Kaitlyn and AJ Lee had a storied history and were in the midst of one of the better Diva feuds in recent memory. Kaitlyn was pissed and used her power to toss AJ around in the early goings. They go outside, leading AJ to send Kaitlyn into the post. Inside, AJ targets Kaitlyn’s bad elbow with some nice mat work that involves a split. AJ’s character work is on point here, caressing Kaitlyn while saying “sorry” during a submission. Kaitlyn builds momentum, hitting a big shoulder block that AJ folds on. She gets a near fall on a reverse DDT. Someone had been watching Sting. AJ goes back to the arm and climbs the top, but Kaitlyn knocks her off. Big E is the safety net who catches her and gently puts her back. Kaitlyn connects on the spear but is too hurt to cover. That allows AJ to recover, charge and apply the Black Widow. Kaitlyn fights but has to tap out.

Winner and Still WWE Divas Champion: AJ Lee in 7:01
While not on par with their Payback match, this was still really good. The chemistry that lacked between AJ Lee and Paige the year after was not a problem here as these two clicked. AJ worked her character into this in a good way and I appreciated the focus on the arm, leading into the Black Widow finish. Fine work from both girls. **¼

Chris Jericho vs. Ryback
Man, the WWE dropped the ball with Ryback. He went from one of the most over acts to a heel that nobody cared about. Ryback stalls so Chris Jericho wipes him out with a baseball slide. Once Ryback starts getting in offense, the fans chant “Goldberg”. I never liked that chant for him. He hits a second rope splash that looks awkward as a heel move. Jericho is knocked off the apron and in between the announce tables. The crowd is quieter here than they were for the IC Title match. Jericho can’t get the Walls on because of Ryback’s size, but like an idiot he tries to shoulder block him. In a nice spot, Jericho comes off the top but gets caught in a belly to belly. FEED ME MORE! Meat hook clothesline hits. FINISH! IT! Jericho blocks the Shell Shock, then Ryback counters the Codebreaker with a vicious powerbomb like maneuver. With Ryback on the apron, Jericho hits a modified Codebreaker that knocks him to the outside. Before a cross body, Jericho tries to rally the crowd but it’s a futile effort. Jericho misses the Lionsault and lands on his feet, so Ryback rolls him up to steal it.

Winner: Ryback in 11:19
They did a decent job of building towards a good match. It started slow but picked up as time went on, though I think it lasted a minute or two too long. The out of nowhere finish was surprising. My biggest gripe with the match was that the fans didn’t care. When you can’t get a Philadelphia crowd invested, something isn’t going well. **

A video airs to show the opening of the Performance Center.

World Heavyweight Championship
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
These two had a scorcher at Payback the month before, completing a great double turn. The crowd is hot for Dolph Ziggler. They try to one up each other early, though the lack of intensity considering their feud is disappointing so far. Dolph hits the ten heart attack elbows before sending Del Rio outside. When Dolph puts him back inside, Del Rio hits an enziguri to the back of the head, bringing back memories of Payback. The focus is on the skull with knee drops and stomps. Dolph misses a stinger splash and over bumps to make it look like he hits his head on the metal. He continues to take punishment, with Del Rio stopping every hint of momentum he gets. He climbs up, for Dolph to greet him with a super x-factor. A-YO YOU DEALING WITH THE X-FACTOR! He tries a Fameasser but Del Rio dodges and gets two on a German suplex. Del Rio misses a kick, allowing Dolph to hit the Fameasser for two. I’m surprised the fans bit on that so hard. I can’t remember him ever winning with it. Del Rio gets frustrated after failing to win with a backbreaker. He comes off the top right into a dropkick. AJ Lee’s theme hits as she skips to the ring. She and Dolph were having issues. See, you can’t be a face with a heel girlfriend. Dolph tries to kick her out but she doesn’t leave. He gets two on a big DDT before climbing up. Del Rio crotches him and hits an inverted superplex for two. That’s something you don’t see every day. Del Rio uses the superkick that he won with last month but Ziggler kicks out. Del Rio exposes his knee but Dolph catches his attempt. He turns him around but AJ is in and hits him with the Divas Title to cause the DQ.

Winner via disqualification: Alberto Del Rio in 14:28
I wish that this was more intense due to the nature of the feud, but it was a really solid match. The finish is actually my biggest problem though. I get that a disqualification finish kept the belt on Del Rio and drove the wedge between AJ and Dolph Ziggler further, but AJ just came off looking like an idiot. There were better ways to accomplish that. Still, a solid outing from these two, but not their best. ***¼

WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs. Mark Henry
The pop for Mark Henry is pretty legit. His fake retirement speech was probably the best promo of 2013. Because John Cena has to play the underdog, he gets thrown around early by Henry. He gets in zero offense for the first few minutes. Henry even does a poop version of the Cesaro Swing, one of which goes into the guardrail. They do the whole “CAN CENA LIFT THE BIG MAN?” but he is unable to spot. This would be fine if we hadn’t seen Cena lift Henry and bigger guys a bunch in the past. Cena hits a HIDEOUS tornado DDT of sorts to buy himself some time. Cena finally hits the AA but it only gets two. Henry catches him with the World’s Strongest Slam for two. I’ll give it to them, they have the crowd fully invested. Henry exposes the turnbuckle but it backfires when Cena sends him into it. He applies the STF but Henry makes it to the ropes. Cena then counters the World’s Strongest Slam into the STF to win.

Winner and Still WWE Champion: John Cena in 14:42
The idea behind the match was solid. It worked for Hulk Hogan and John Cena a bunch but by this point, we’d seen it before. John Cena supposedly couldn’t lift Mark Henry, though we’d seen him do it in the past so that was dumb. He overcomes the odds in ways that we’ve seen before. It was paint by numbers. **

A Bray Wyatt vignette airs.

All-Stars Money in the Bank Match (WWE Championship)
Christian vs. CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Sheamus
RVD is the sentimental favorite and because of this, everyone attacks him. Is it strange that everyone in this is a face, while everyone in the opener was a heel? With RVD out, the other four focus on Sheamus and take him out. It breaks down into two separate singles matches before turning into Punk vs. Bryan. Perfect for this crowd. They have a fun little exchange. RVD gets in his stuff to a major reaction from the crowd. The highlight is rolling thunder on Bryan on a ladder. He gets taken out leading to a back and forth between Christian and Sheamus. Sheamus takes an ugly spill off the ladder but recovers and drives RVD into it. Sheamus sets to powerbomb Bryan through a ladder like he did to Sin Cara two years earlier, but Bryan avoids it. They do the spot where all six men get near the briefcase though they only use two ladders. In a funny moment, an irritated Punk just swings it away from everyone. Signature move barrage as each guy gets in something cool. Sheamus hits RVD with the ladder in a hard way. He goes up but Bryan stops him only to eat the beats of Bodhran. Punk pulls him down, exposing his ass in the process. Creatively, he basically surfboards a ladder onto Sheamus before trading blows with Orton. Orton wins out but takes a Spear. It seems like this is just guy gets a spot, rests, next guy gets a spot and repeat. RVD ends up hitting a splash from the top of a ladder, though it couldn’t be considered five stars. Bryan goes into a slew of offense that has the crowd fired up. He sends up sending Sheamus through the ladder outside. He goes to climb but Curtis Axel interferes and ruins this. Thank god they didn’t go with an Axel/Bryan program. Punk lays him out with a GTS, causing Heyman to show up and berate him about getting involved with Punk. A “we want Lesnar” chant breaks out. As Punk climbs, Heyman nails with a ladder a few times. The final one catches Punk legit and causes him to need staples. RVD starts to climb but is pulled off into an RKO, allowing Orton to win.

Winner: Randy Orton in 28:31
Something about this match didn’t click the way it should have. I think part of it was the structure. It was just move from two guys doing a spot to the next two guys doing a spot and so on. Overall, I think the match maybe have gone a bit too long. Also, the crowd was kind of deflated when Orton won. Still though, a Money in the Bank match is usually never dull, which was the case here. ***½

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Considering how good the opener was, the main event being solid and the World Heavyweight Title match being another goodie, I have to give this a relatively strong score. It flows well and nothing overstays its welcome outside of Ryback/Jericho. It’s an enjoyable watch during a good period for 2013. While the Sandow win didn’t go anywhere that ladder match was one of my favorite matches all year and one of the better Money in the Bank ladder matches.