WWE: Money in the Bank Review

After nearly a month of anticipation, we rolled into Philadelphia for the Money in the Bank PPV. Money in the Bank has to be one of the most anticipated Pay Per Views this year, as WWE hit the nail on the head by bringing in Rob Van Dam, the most over performer in the original Extreme Championship Wrestling, which was based out of Philadelphia.

Anyway, going into the show, Kane was taken off the Money in the Bank ladder match for the WWE title, and no replacement was named. The card opened with the pre-show bout between the WWE tag team champions Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns taking on The Usos with the tag team belts on the line.

Pre–show:

The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) defeated The Usos for the WWE tag team championships

This has to be one of the best pre–show matches I’ve ever seen. The crowd loved every minute of it (No surprise there) as Seth Rollins is one of the best workers in the industry. The match also received about 16 minutes, which enabled the story to play out without rushing into things. The crowd broke into a “This is awesome” chant, and it was just the pre–show! It was a good back and forth match, and the end saw Reigns spearing one of the Usos to pick up the victory.

Rating: *** ¼

Main card:

The Money in the Bank ladder match for the World Heavyweight championship:

Damien Sandow defeated Cody Rhodes, Antonio Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Jack Swagger, Fandango and Wade Barrett

Going into the show, I predicted that this could be the match of the night, and it came close to being just that. I had originally predicted Ambrose to win, and he showed signs of why he’s one of the best things in the WWE.

The surprise package was none other than Cody Rhodes though, who was undoubtedly the star of the match. Cody has been under-utilized, and he showed just how awesome he is in this match, and nearly retrieved the briefcase only to be double crossed by Sandow! I absolutely loved it, as I’m a huge fan of Team Rhodes Scholars. At least now they’ll be a part of something other than being dominated by Sheamus. An excellent way to kick things off, and the Philly crowd loved the bout.

Rating: ****

The new General Manager Brad Maddox then came out for a pointless segment. WWE would have wanted to kill some time, and they used him for it. The segment also included a video of how WWE bullied Vickie Guerrero.

Curtis Axel (With Paul Heyman) defeated The Miz for the WWE Intercontinental championship

The match received about 10 minutes, and it was an okay bout. I am not a huge fan of The Miz, but he did well to keep the momentum going. Heyman was sent to the back after Miz played coy with the referee. Axel then came back with the Perfectplex and Miz kicked out. Miz then went for a figure four which was countered by Axel. The finish saw Axel planting The Miz face first into the mat with a modified neckbreaker.

Rating: **

AJ Lee (With Big E) defeated Kaitlyn (With Layla)

This match received about 7 minutes, which is a good amount of time for a Divas match. Kaitlyn was in control for the majority of the match, while AJ got the upper hand in between. There were some neat spots, with AJ going for a bridging armbar and Big E catching AJ as she was pushed from the top turnbuckle. The end saw AJ locking in her Black Widow submission maneuver, and Kaitlyn had no choice but to tap out.

Rating: * ¾