Money in the Bank 2011 Review
November 17, 2011
By Ricky Dozan
This pay-per-view's main event of CM Punk vs John Cena will be remembered in many years to come, but what about the rest of the event?
Kane vs Sin Cara vs Wade Barrett vs Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus vs Cody Rhodes vs Justin Gabriel vs Heath Slater - Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
A fantastic match to start things off with a bang. Sin Cara gets taken out early by Sheamus. He gets powerbombed off the apron though a ladder and is taken off in a stretcher. He looked liked he was seriously hurt, but I later found out he was taken out so brutally because he failed a drug test. Who would of thought? Anyways, the match was brilliant. Anyone could of won it (Excluding Gabriel & Slater of course!) and Daniel Bryan manages to get the briefcase by knocking Wade of the ladder with some stiff strikes.
8/10
Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella - Diva's Championship
Garbage. Whoever thought it was a good idea to book two of the worst women wrestlers in a match together is a moron. Kelly can have a decent match if she is carried by a talented wrestler, but this really isn't the case here. Kelly finally ends our pain by finishing the match with a K2.
1/10
Big Show vs Mark Henry
These two monsters have surprisingly good chemistry together. They put on a solid big man match, with Henry coming out on top. He then destroys Big Show's leg with a chair. The match did what it came to do, which was to make Henry look like an absolute beast.
5.5/10
Evan Bourne vs The Miz vs Alberto Del Rio vs Kofi Kingston vs R-Truth vs Alex Riley vs Jack Swagger vs Rey Mysterio - Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match
This was quite a mess. They try to put as many ladders in the ring as humanly possible and this caused many botches which killed any mood they had created up to that point. This really pales in comparison to the Smackdown ladder match. Saying that, it wasn't a bad match at all. It was still entertaining to watch and had some memorable spots such as Miz landing awkwardly on his leg and he thinks he broke it and Evan Bourne performing an Air Bourne off the top of the biggest ladder onto everyone. None of those guys were sucessful and it was Alberto Del Rio who walked away with the Briefcase.
6/10
Christian vs Randy Orton - World Heavyweight Championship
After sitting through their classic series of matches this year, I felt underwhelmed by this addition to the series. If Orton loses via DQ in this match, he loses the title and that's exactly how this match ends. There wasn't much off a back-and-forth finishing stretch like their other matches, instead when the match rolls into Orton's hand. Christian spits on Orton and this makes Orton hit a low blow out of rage, ending the match by DQ. A weak ending, but everything up to that point was enjoyable and I can't fault them on that.
6/10
CM Punk vs John Cena - WWE Championship
This match is special, and I feel blessed that I got to watch it live. The atmosphere is absolutely electric. The crowd loved Punk and showered Cena with boos throughout the matchl. I've read accounts of a few people not enjoying this due to the amount of rest holds and botches involved in this match. I for one, thought the chin locks added tension and created even more atmosphere. The botches, did not affect my enjoyment of the match either. None of the slip-ups took away from the match and didn't cause any awkwardness between the two wrestlers. At the 30 minute mark after Punk and Cena had put on a wrestling clinic, Vince McMahon and Johnny Ace comes down and tries to screw Punk out of the title. Cena doesn't want to win this way and stops them. The distraction allows Punk to hit a GTS and win the title, much to Vince's disapproval. What can I say? One of the best WWE matches I have ever seen. Possibly top 5, definitely top 10. If you haven't already, watch this match now.
10/10
A really great show with a perfect (Yeah, I said it) main event. So far it's my 2011 show of the year. Both thumps up.