Money in the Bank 2012 Review

[We Are Legion]

Last night WWE presented the much anticipated Money in the Bank 2012 pay per view live from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. After the overwhelming success of last year's event of the same name, it's safe to assume that many WWE fans had high hopes for what the event might deliver this year. While personally I wouldn't even rate this pay per view in the same league as Money in the Bank 2011, there were some good things to take from this event. Don't worry, I will get into everything in great detail considering I was taking notes throughout the entire event to ensure I didn't leave anything out.

Reader be warned, there are going to be many people who disagree with my critique of some of the matches on this card, particularly the WWE Championship match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. I do not now, nor have I ever written my reviews with any sort of bias towards any wrestler despite how much of a fan I may be of said wrestlers. I always aim to give a completely objective review based on the quality of the matches and the story WWE tells through those matches, nothing more. Please keep this in mind when you post your comments because the intentions of my reviews are not to flame other members of this board or downgrade the wrestlers they love, but to critique WWE and only WWE and it's employees from an objective perspective. This is necessary to mention up front because the following review is not very flattering towards many.



Money in the Bank (World Heavyweight Championship):
Dolph Ziggler v. Damien Sandow v. Tyson Kidd v. Christian v. Santino Marella v. Tensai v. Cody Rhodes v. Sin Cara

Back in 1999-2001, the Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and the Dudley Boyz took ladder matches to the next level. They were the pioneers of working a ladder match with more than 2 people involved in the match and proved "the more the merrier". Most today view still view those spectacular TLC matches as classics within the WWE video vault and with good reason. The reason those matches were so good and the chemistry/communication was so superb is because those wrestlers regularly wrestled one another for several weeks prior to their ladder matches. So if you ever wonder why MITB ladder matches today often seem goofy and wonder why so many of the competitors spend most of the time crawling around on the floor outside the ring after receiving very minor damage in the match, this is why. If WWE continues to just throw random person v. random person v. random person into these matches with hardly any prior experience working with one another, you get sloppy matches such as this.

Don't get me wrong, the match wasn't bad. If you enjoy these Money in the Bank ladder matches the way they've been done in previous years, this was another run-of-the-mill performance. There was definitely a significant fewer number of "OMG moments" than I personally am accustomed to seeing in these matches, and with no Kofi Kingston involved, very little creative uses of ladders as well. Even towards the beginning of the match where Sin Cara starts mounting his first significant offense, he lands a couple of moves of the top of the turnbuckle, high-flying moves that normally "fly" in regular matches. Even commentator Jerry Lawler mentions "... and that move was only off the top rope, imagine what it would be like if he did it off the ladder!" Pretty sure this man was giving you a hint, Sin Cara.

Halfway into the match, I find myself searching hard through the scattered bodies laying around the ring to locate my favorite to win this match, Dolph Ziggler, who is nowhere to be found. I immediately make the assumption that since he's not involved in the match hardly at all, he just might be the guy that eventually wins it. 18 minutes go by before Dolph gets involved in anything. I also notice around this time that Damien Sandow is dressed a lot like Rick Martel.

And Christian, poor Christian. WWE will just never let you forget, will they? Even during a moment where Christian ascends the ladder alone to reach for the briefcase, Michael Cole, almost as if he did it on purpose, seizes the opportunity to remind us all how inferior Christian is to his former tag team partner Edge, who won the 1st ever Money in the Bank match back in 2005. And sure enough, Christian never makes it to the briefcase and is knocked down from the ladder shortly afterwards.

After Michael Cole once again reminds us what the purpose of this match is and Santino Marella reminds us all what pussies Italians are by flagrantly demonstrating his fear of heights atop the ladder, the match quickly breaks down into a Tensai rampage outside the ring where Tyson Kidd is power bombed on a ladder and Dolph Ziggler is thrown across the announce table like a rag doll. Shortly after, a sloppy finish involving half the participants in the match atop a ladder results in Dolph Ziggler taking down the briefcase and becoming our first Mr. Money In The Bank of 2012. It was a very anti-climatic finish considering the action drastically slowed down after Tensai leveled everyone, which was the last time that match really had the live audience hooked. Maybe if the final sequence atop the ladder was tied into Tensai's part somehow, the finish could have been stronger. It's always best to end these matches when the crowd is in the palm of your hand, not after. Overall, this was a decent MITB match, but nothing really stands out that people will still be talking about years from now.


Miz Returns

The familiar Downstait music hits and Miz walks out on the stage and simply asks the audience, "Miss me?" which is answered by a severely underwhelming crowd response. Miz announces he is going to be in the second Money in the Bank match later tonight for the contract to the WWE Championship. During his entire promo, not sure if intentional to coincide with his new more-serious look or not, but the entire promo completely lacked sincerity and passion. Almost as if he didn't even care that he was there. Not sure what to think of this at the moment, because like I said, this could just be his new attitude. Wrestlers are commonly tweaked after a hiatus, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if this was the case. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if Michael Mizanin genuinely doesn't care anymore either after his complete and utter fall from grace following Wrestlemania 27.


World Heavyweight Championship: Sheamus (c) v. Alberto Del Rio

I'm immediately confused when Lillian Garcia announces Alberto Del Rio and not his personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez who is also in the ring holding a microphone. Not sure if this was intentional either or if Lillian jumped the gun. Rodriguez did look a little confused when Del Rio entered the ring, but he eventually announces Del Rio a second time before the bell sounds after Sheamus has entered the ring.

This match was worked very well by both wrestlers, but particularly Del Rio who constantly targeted the left arm of Sheamus throughout the match. Del Rio does a fantastic job being a technical wrestler without making it blatantly obvious he's a technical wrestler, which is something I like. One thing Sheamus did a few times that I feel he should never do is go to the top rope. Sheamus is a big guy and really does not need to do things like that, particularly if he's uncomfortable doing them. Every time he performs a top rope move, he looks like he's falling off the turnbuckle instead of diving. It's just an uncharacteristic and unnecessary place for him to go and he needs to leave that stuff to the smaller wrestlers who wrestle him.

By this time, Booker T's level of ghetto commentary is seriously becoming a distraction. People like Lawler, Cole, and Mathews... I can ignore them if I want. They have relatively "normal" voices that I can tune out to concentrate more on the match. Booker T is almost like Samuel L. Jackson on commentary, I couldn't ignore this guy if I wanted to. I'm from Texas too and I've heard people talk like him my entire life, and yet Booker T is so extreme that even I can't quit laughing at the fact he can never complete a sentence without using the words "rag", "dawg", or "beat-down". Booker T is truly "heart of the ghetto" meets "Texas tough sum' bitch" personified.

Michael Cole also mentions during the match that Sheamus was picked on in school because of his skin tone, to which Lawler replies, "All people in Ireland don't look like that?" Nothing like some good old fashioned family-friendly racism to top off a championship bout. And here I was thinking Michael Cole was the stupid one of the bunch.

Nearing the end of the match, Sheamus manages to get control of the match and quickly stops selling his left arm injury, which was a little annoying for me considering the match was very good to this point. Sheamus needs to keep in mind that selling that injury goes a little further than just hanging it limply just before executing your finishing move, but avoiding all upper body power moves that use that arm altogether. I felt Del Rio did a good job setting up a good template to work with for this match, but Sheamus kind of let him down near the end. Sheamus eventually lands the Brogue Kick and retains his championship. It was also a little weird for Sheamus to put Del Rio down with such relative ease after struggling the majority of the match just to land offense on Del Rio. This match certainly could have ended better, but it was still one of the better matches of the night.

After the match, Del Rio's ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez immediately attacks Sheamus and is soon thereafter joined by Del Rio who both proceed to double-up on the champion. During the post-match beat-down, Dolph Ziggler's music hits and he walks down to the ring with the intention of cashing-in his Money in the Bank briefcase on the fallen Sheamus. After Del Rio argues with Ziggler about this decision and gets dispelled from the ring shortly afterwards, even the referee seems confused as to what Ziggler wants to do, which was unbelievably stupid to me. Doesn't someone in the back tell these referees "ALL HANDS ON DECK" when there's a guy walking around with a contract for an impromptu match? Seriously, WHAT is this referee doing?

During the confusion, Sheamus gets to his feet and lands the Brogue Kick on Ziggler while the referee is holding the briefcase and still seems unsure of what to do with it. The referee never calls for the bell, which means Ziggler never officially cashed in the briefcase. So let me get this straight... the match never actually happens as long as the challenger with the contract doesn't have the upper-hand at the start of the match or if the referee is a complete moron? No wonder the Money in the Bank briefcases have such a high success rate. This was easily the most stupid thing that transpired all night.


Prime Time Players (w/ AW) v. Primo & Epico (w/ Rosa Mendes)

*cracks knuckles*

So where do I begin with this mess....

First of all, why is there a tag team match on the pay per view witch doesn't involve the Tag Team Championships? Is it really too much to ask that Kofi Kingston and R-Truth actually have to defend those belts every month? Kingston and Truth don't even make the main card. They are both regulated to the Youtube pre-show in a non-titled affair against Hunico and Camacho while the pay per view gets this match. I really think WWE needs to quit pushing their Youtube channel so much because this is the senseless garbage booking that results from it. Maybe instead of over-loading that first Money in the Bank match with everyone you could squeeze into it, maybe you have a Sin Cara match on the pre-show instead and actually have the Prime Time Players v. Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the titles on the actual pay per view? Primo and Epico? Why are these two guys even still getting television time? *looks at Rosa Mendes* Oh, that's why. Seriously, quit cheating your pay per view buyers for the sake of putting over your Youtube channel. It's becoming a problem.

At least this match is for the #1 Contenders... right?

The man once known as "King Booker", now known as "Booker T: King of Everything that is Ghetto" immediately points out how much he likes R-Truth suit and dew rag when the tag teams champions walk down to the ring for guest commentary. He mentions it again when R-Truth sits down. So know this, WWE Universe: Booker T likes suits and dew rags.

AW immediately accepts the challenge to Booker T's ghetto throne when he announces the Prime Time Players. The man even wears a headset at ringside so every snide remark he makes can be heard by everyone in attendance. Yes, that's kind of original (even though Jimmy Hart did it with a megaphone), but still very stupid.

Aside from the fact the tag team division is basically the "minorities division" with a clean name that doesn't sound completely racist, this match was actually not bad at all. At one point, Epico does a somersault over the top rope to the outside of the ring onto both his tag partner Primo and both Titus O'Neil and Darren Young. Every single time this move has ever been done by another wrestler in other wrestling matches, this move would have received a standing ovation. It doesn't tonight though because the crowd could not possibly care less about any of the participants. That is the cold hard truth and it proves that no matter how good a match is, no one will appreciate it if the WWE does nothing to make the fans care about the wrestlers. If Jeff Hardy had done that same move Epico performed, the roof would have blown off the arena.

By now I'm seeing why AW has that ridiculous headset on because every reaction the crowd made during this match was at something AW said, not the match itself. He even tells Rosa to shutup and even commands Titus to challenge her to a dance competition in the middle of the match. Yes, this really happened.

After a surprise upset win by Primo & Epico, AW is livid in the ring. He says, "It don't matter. It don't matter. You know why? Because we're still the #1 Contenders!" Wait.... WHAT?! So this match was meaningless? Really? This pay per view actually had a match on it that meant absolutely nothing? And the manager actually admitted it? But I thought we were all supposed to care about this match! I mean, WWE wouldn't have even bothered with it in the first place if they thought nobody on God's green earth would care about it, let alone pay for it... right?

All I can ask myself after this match is, "Why?"


WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) v. Daniel Bryan; Special Guest Referee: AJ

This is definitely a part of the review many are going to disagree with. For some, it's almost blasphemous to propose that CM Punk and Daniel Bryan (or basically anyone from ROH) are even capable of having bad matches. I'm sorry if you believe this, but this match was not very good.

First I'll start with saying that I fail to see the point of having a special guest referee when the match is "No Disqualifications". Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole point of a referee to uphold the rules? So... if there are NO RULES, then why did someone feel the need to appoint a special guest referee for it? I'm aware that the match was made "no-DQ" mere hours before the pay per view started, but the point still stands. That stipulation rendered AJ's involvement in this match completely unnecessary and limited any involvement she could possibly have in this match strictly to the finish. In a regular match, there is so much more she could have done to work over the crowd. She could have allowed use of weapons by one competitor and not the other, leaving the viewers wondering why she was doing that. She could have counted faster during ring-out's for the other wrestler, again leaving fans guessing. She could have refused to break submission holds when a wrestler grabbed the ropes... there is a humongous bottomless pit of possibilities this would have left open. I'm guessing the match was only made "No-DQ" at the last minute because someone backstage determined that AJ was not ready for this role. Fans completely overlook the importance of a good referee in a match. If you don't believe me, watch wrestling from the 80's, particularly WCW/JCW where referees are constantly getting bumped around the ring because they are out of position and have no clue what they are doing. If a referee is doing his job right, you never even notice they're there. AJ stood out like a sore thumb and not just because of who she is. She hardly moved around the ring, was constantly in the way, didn't exercise any psychology with the crowd until the very end (just as I expected), and didn't really affect the outcome of the match at all (which is the whole reason I thought she was there). I've enjoyed the story line between these 3 individuals over the past few weeks, but this match did not do it justice at all.

Booker T makes mention of the fact he would love to have two girls fight over him, but before he can even finish that sentence, he quickly remembers he's married and says, "Uhhh.... I mean a long time ago I would have."

The match starts off relatively slow with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan throwing heavy kicks at one another, which is not something I have a problem with. These guys both love to throw kicks and the fans love to see them throw kicks, so whatever. But... if they're going to start the match out with this indy-style of wrestling, they shouldn't revert to WWE's style so drastically as soon as AJ is bumped off the apron and is forced to leave the match for a short period of time. A new referee replaces AJ and the match continues. Unsurprisingly, the quality of the match picks up immensely in AJ's absence.

I don't normally point out the stuff commentator's say so much, but Booker T is just on a role at this point. Referring to AJ, he points out, "To an experienced referee, that never would have happened." Good lord, Booker, we know. We know.

During one impressive exchange, CM Punk leaps off the rope only to be fly-swatted with a kendo stick to which Booker T replies, "CAN YOU SAY PEROXIDE, DAWG?!" This pay per view's name should officially be changed to "Money in the Bank - Starring Booker T" at this point.

After CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have exchanged some of the best wrestling we've seen all night to this point, all of a sudden AJ runs out from backstage and explains to her replacement referee that's she's good to go now. I also want to mention that the fact it was CM Punk that bumped her off the apron is never alluded to again for the remainder of this match. If I really wanted to keep running AJ down, I might even insist it was a tactic on WWE's part just to keep her away from the ring, which would have completely made sense.

AJ finally gets involved in the match, removing a chair from underneath the ring and laying it in the middle of the mat between Punk and Bryan who are equal lengths from it. This was the only thing she did that I actually found interesting because it was admittedly pretty devilish. But after that, things began to get silly.

At one point CM Punk places the chair against the turnbuckle with the intention of throwing Bryan into it, but AJ steps in front of the chair to prevent it. Um.... AJ, this is a NO-DQ match! Did you forget already? The obvious implications of doing this were to suggest she may be helping Bryan, but it's a little too late for that considering you've already made your neutral stance blatantly clear. Not very good psychology.

Later in the match, she places her foot on a kendo stick that Bryan tries to pick up, implying, "Oh wait! Maybe she's on Punk's side!" But that certainly doesn't work now after blocking Punk's move with the chair just moments prior. She even counts CM Punk's attempted pin on Bryan completely normally, and even Punk looks at her in disbelief as if to say, "But... I thought you were on my side?" Whatever story this match was attempting to tell through psychology was a complete mess. AJ clearly wasn't picking sides, which leads me to wonder once again why she's involved with it in the first place.

The final sequence of the match involves both wrestlers atop a turnbuckle, fighting for position to send the other through a table in the middle of the ring. The entire sequence is completely slow and sloppy. Punk gets the upper-hand in the exchange and sends Bryan through the table. AJ counts the pin normally, seemingly without any favoritism and the match ends. Afterwards as Punk is celebrating with his title, he pays no attention to AJ, who seems a little upset about this. Of course I don't see why she should expect Punk to thank her or whatever considering she didn't help him at all, and even deliberately sabotaged him at one point.

The ending of this match did not leave me wondering what AJ will do next, whose side she's on, or anything like that. The whole angle had been built to finally getting an answer to that question, and the outcome is basically AJ saying, "LOL J/K, I DON'T HAVE A SIDE LOL". I'm sure some things will be explained on Raw tonight, maybe even AJ turning heel now that Punk blew her off after the match, but in hindsight this match would have been a lot better if AJ had nothing to do with it. A run-in would have been enough.


Ryback v. Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks

Goldberg chants as usual.

Hawkins and Reks actually mounted a considerable amount of offense in this match against WWE's #1 destroyer, which was a little confusing to me. We actually saw these two jobbers knocking him down and stomping on him, which I don't understand. If you're WWE, don't you want to wait until Ryback is actually wrestling a formidable adversary before you beat him up like this? I realize that the squash matches are running their course and eventually you need someone to score a significant move against the guy... but Hawkins and Reks?

If WWE is still pushing this guy to be the guy the crowds keep chanting every time he walks to the ring, people like Hawkins and Reks shouldn't give him any trouble. This match should have lasted less than 60 seconds, but at least Ryback still won, albeit less-dominant than he normally is.


Layla & Kaitlyn & Tamina Snuka v. Natalya & Beth Phoenix & Eve

If there's one thing to take from this match, it's that Beth Phoenix tagged out after getting slapped in the face. RIP Galamazon. You are officially ruined.

For a divas match, this was actually a decent bout. Layla is getting to be very impressive in the ring, but I feel she still has a way's to go before WWE makes her the centerpiece of that division. It's getting hard for me to review these matches because it seems I'm always going to expect more from the divas than WWE is willing to give us, so I'm not sure where I should place my bar of expectation since it will clearly never be 2004 again.


Money in the Bank (WWE Championship)
John Cena v. Chris Jericho v. Kane v. Big Show v. Miz

This match actually went a lot better than I was expecting. I was glad Miz was added to this match considering he took a good majority of the heavy bumps throughout the match. Prior to him being added to this match, I was unsure of how this type of match would work with so many big bodies involved in it. Also because the fewer people involved in it meant more focus on all the competitors involved and less time crawling around the ring side area recovering from minor moves.

I very much liked Big Show's dominance early on in the match. WWE has actually done a very good job turning Show into a monster again. It's hard to believe only a few months ago he had tears of joy in his eyes after winning the Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania. I also really liked all the other wrestlers ganging up on him and burying him in ladders. They all did a fantastic job establishing Show as the supreme force of this match and managed to do it very quickly.

This match was worked much better than the WHC MITB match earlier in the night and I don't have any negative comments about the performances of any of the wrestlers involved.

The highlight of the match was undoubtedly Big Show's "personal" ladder. That thing truly looked like something God would climb if he competed in Money in the Bank. I want a ladder like that and I don't even know what I'd do with it.

The winner of this match is perhaps the only controversial part of this match, as is the case any time John Cena wins a match. Personally, I fail to see what John Cena could possibly want with another WWE Championship reign, particularly when he already headlines every single pay per view already, even above the championship matches for the belt he wants. I understand that theoretically EVERY wrestler in the WWE should want to be the champion, but it almost feels like they're knocking Cena down a peg to contend for it. WWE has made it clear every since Wrestlemania that the WWE Championship is not the most important thing in WWE. Cena is. It almost makes me wonder why the Money in the Bank briefcase doesn't contain a contract to wrestle Cena instead of the WWE Champion.

PHX made a good point in the MITB discussion thread that perhaps Cena could become the first person to cash in Money in the Bank and actually lose the match, which is definitely something I would like to see. It could also be a way for him to turn heel as it was for CM Punk when he cashed it in against Jeff Hardy (I seriously doubt it though). There's a lot of possibilities open when you give Cena that briefcase, so I will definitely be looking forward to seeing how WWE handles this new angle. Frankly, I think the MITB briefcase is something that suits a heel better given the dastardly nature of it's cash-in's, but we'll have to wait and see. I just hope WWE doesn't go the boring route and have him cash it in on Bryan or another heel right after they beat CM Punk. That would be very lazy.




Overall, I wasn't impressed with this ppv the slightest, definitely not one of the better pay per views of the year so far and mostly forgettable. Sheamus/Del Rio was my favorite match of the night and even that wasn't very special. At least we have the new MITB winners and their inevitable cash-in's to look forward to, so at least there's something positive to take from this event. Perhaps Summer Slam will make up for it, which is rarely a disappointing event.

In case you missed it, check out my article on the Money in the Bank matches from this past March.

Thanks for reading, and until next month!

 

[~Fallen Angel~]

First, we Italians are not pussies, paisano. :OMG:

Secondly, I agree with your review. The pay per view was AWFUL. If I knew that we could watch Breaking Bad on AMC's website, I would have done that rather than watch such dreadful matches. I have accepted that the women's division is dead. The only person that could bring credibility back to the division is AJ Lee but I am disappointed with her performance at MITB. The woman that played both men week after week did not affect the outcome at all. Why in the world was she involved in the match anyway then? AND, why wasn't Bryan vs Punk the main event? I am so tired of this crap. The world heavy weight title and WWE title seem worthless now. You wouldn't think that Punk or Sheamus are champions since Cena is the one main eventing the pay per views all the time.

Oh and Dolph Ziggler telling the referee to start the match while the ref looked at him dumbfounded made absolutely no sense. I guess we should be grateful that the ref didn't ring the bell or else Ziggler would have lost in a heartbeat.

The tag team match was a complete joke. If it wasn't for the number one contender, what the hell was the point of the match? The tag team division is now a joke to the WWE and has resorted to being displayed on you tube. Simply embarrassing!

 

[Defiant]

I've read your reviews before I watched the PPV's for the last couple of months and I really enjoy the way you summarize and examine each segment, I feel like I'm getting everything I need to know from these reviews plus a "facepalm" kind of humour.

As soon as I heard Cena won (not a huge surprise or anything) my first thought was that he probably will be the first guy to lose. I'm not sure if its predictability or if I just really want Cena's personal crisis angle to resume, but it seems kind of odd for them to have John freakin' Cena carry the briefcase and not do something different with it.

 

[Dale]

Pretty good review and I agree with you for the majority of it. It was such a weird PPV because even though the announced matches delivered to the sense that were at least good, the PPV as a whole came off pretty bad. Looking back it now, I reckon most of us were expecting too much from the PPV whether that be because of last years, how AJ will turn out as the referee or who from the SD MITB is going to put in a show stealing performance.

SD MITB
Heading into the PPV I was really looking forward to this match as it all sorts of variables which I thought would add up to be a good match. It had the experience, high flyers, strong guy, underdogs, a relatively unknown entity and two guys on the cusp of the main event. I thought it started out kind of slow but it really started picking up towards the end. Tyson had a good showing but probably not as much as he could have and I also thought Tensai looked good too. I really didn't think 8 guys was going to be an issue heading into the match but it was definitley a hinderance as the match went on. I'd have to rewatch the match again to be totally sure, but Santino outside the ladder climbing spot was a waste of space, I don't remember Sandow really doing anything and Sin Cara also seemed to be quiet.Ideally it should have been a 6 man match with those 3 guys removed and Kofi added because it desperately missed him.

WHC
I'll be honest I really didn't pay attention to this match because as much as I like Sheamus, I really do find ADR to be incredibly boring. What I did though is that ADR seemed to control far too much of the match which I didn't really like and was one of the factors of me kinda losing interest. No surprise with Sheamus winning and no problems. The attempted cash in afterwards was lame, it was SO predictable the cash is was never going to happen as we've seen it plenty of times before. They really need to think of some new ways to make use of it.

PTP vs The Colons V2
Turned out to be a decent enough match actually, but the logic was so ass backwards it was unreal. Why would they not have this match as the pre-show then the PTP could be the special guest announcers for R-Boom vs HuniCamacho.

WWE Title
Thought this was a good match, but not great. I was surprised at how early the ref bump come though, because no matter how good the action was after that you knew it wasn't going to end because it was inevitable that AJ would be back for the final sequence. I'm sure alot of people were generally excited at the prospect of Punk/Bryan wrestling, but if they're being honest then they'll say they were just as interested to see the actual finish and what AJ did. Well, wasn't that a major letdown..

RAW MITB
Best compliment I can give this match was that it was solid. Wasn't bad, but the fact that your highlight was Big Show's Ladder just speaks volumes that it wasn't spectacular or memorable either.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

Dale, did you just suggest I was as interested in what AJ did in a match I didn't want her involved in as I was with match itself between Bryan/Punk?

 

[We Are Legion]

Pretty good review and I agree with you for the majority of it. It was such a weird PPV because even though the announced matches delivered to the sense that were at least good, the PPV as a whole came off pretty bad. Looking back it now, I reckon most of us were expecting too much from the PPV whether that be because of last years, how AJ will turn out as the referee or who from the SD MITB is going to put in a show stealing performance.

SD MITB
Heading into the PPV I was really looking forward to this match as it all sorts of variables which I thought would add up to be a good match. It had the experience, high flyers, strong guy, underdogs, a relatively unknown entity and two guys on the cusp of the main event. I thought it started out kind of slow but it really started picking up towards the end. Tyson had a good showing but probably not as much as he could have and I also thought Tensai looked good too. I really didn't think 8 guys was going to be an issue heading into the match but it was definitley a hinderance as the match went on. I'd have to rewatch the match again to be totally sure, but Santino outside the ladder climbing spot was a waste of space, I don't remember Sandow really doing anything and Sin Cara also seemed to be quiet.Ideally it should have been a 6 man match with those 3 guys removed and Kofi added because it desperately missed him.

WHC
I'll be honest I really didn't pay attention to this match because as much as I like Sheamus, I really do find ADR to be incredibly boring. What I did though is that ADR seemed to control far too much of the match which I didn't really like and was one of the factors of me kinda losing interest. No surprise with Sheamus winning and no problems. The attempted cash in afterwards was lame, it was SO predictable the cash is was never going to happen as we've seen it plenty of times before. They really need to think of some new ways to make use of it.

PTP vs The Colons V2
Turned out to be a decent enough match actually, but the logic was so ass backwards it was unreal. Why would they not have this match as the pre-show then the PTP could be the special guest announcers for R-Boom vs HuniCamacho.

WWE Title
Thought this was a good match, but not great. I was surprised at how early the ref bump come though, because no matter how good the action was after that you knew it wasn't going to end because it was inevitable that AJ would be back for the final sequence. I'm sure alot of people were generally excited at the prospect of Punk/Bryan wrestling, but if they're being honest then they'll say they were just as interested to see the actual finish and what AJ did. Well, wasn't that a major letdown..

RAW MITB
Best compliment I can give this match was that it was solid. Wasn't bad, but the fact that your highlight was Big Show's Ladder just speaks volumes that it wasn't spectacular or memorable either.

I think you hit the nail right on the head when you said "I reckon most of us were expecting too much from the PPV whether that be because of last years".

But that's the thing with Punk and Bryan, I see nothing wrong with holding those two up to a higher level of expectation that most other wrestlers. Once a wrestlers demonstrates he's capable of being that damn good, I don't just expect it every month, I demand it. That's why when they both have a sub-par match and they're in a friggin match TOGETHER, I'm going to be hard on them.

Completely agreed on your points about the tag match and the WWEC MITB match. Can't believe Del Rio bored you though, that's surprising.

 

[Dale]

Dale, did you just suggest I was as interested in what AJ did in a match I didn't want her involved in as I was with match itself between Bryan/Punk?

In a sense yes. I think anyone whether they wanted her in the match or not to begin with will have genuinely been intrigued as to what she would do.

I think you hit the nail right on the head when you said "I reckon most of us were expecting too much from the PPV whether that be because of last years".

But that's the thing with Punk and Bryan, I see nothing wrong with holding those two up to a higher level of expectation that most other wrestlers. Once a wrestlers demonstrates he's capable of being that damn good, I don't just expect it every month, I demand it. That's why when they both have a sub-par match and they're in a friggin match TOGETHER, I'm going to be hard on them.

Completely agreed on your points about the tag match and the WWEC MITB match. Can't believe Del Rio bored you though, that's surprising.

I just generally find Del Rio as a whole pretty boring. Like he's not really bad in any areas, but I don't think he's a standout in any areas either.

 

[~Fallen Angel~]

WWE Title
Thought this was a good match, but not great. I was surprised at how early the ref bump come though, because no matter how good the action was after that you knew it wasn't going to end because it was inevitable that AJ would be back for the final sequence. I'm sure alot of people were generally excited at the prospect of Punk/Bryan wrestling, but if they're being honest then they'll say they were just as interested to see the actual finish and what AJ did. Well, wasn't that a major letdown..

I agree. It's too bad that some people think we feel that way just to get under others' skins.

 

[Keith]

Great review WAL first time I have read one of your ppv reviews and I think I will make a habit of doing it every month now. Liked the depth you bought on covering each match as well as your humour.

I mostly agree on your views and think you nailed it with the tag titles.

Don't agree on Punk/Bryan, yeah I thought the booking was dodgy and it was senseless making it no DQ not least so close to the ppv. But on the plus side it showed how deverse these two are by working a more stiffer hard hitting match which was still packed with good near falls and drama. A good feud needs vairity and that is what this match added to the Punk/Bryan series. Also don't get the hate for AJ as ref, on the one hand your saying she didn't do enough in the match, but on the other you claim that she ruined it. I think what worked about the AJ involvement is that they teased that she could cost either the match but that she did not spoil the flow of the match. Her level of involvement was just right for me, it was just a let down that there was no big revoulation to the saga with her and champion and challenger. Also just to pick you up on something a offical would still have the right to stand in the way of a wrestler attempting to use a weapon in a non-DQ match if the ref believes that things are getting out of hand or that a wrestler is in danager of being injuried, that is the ref's call. There still needs to be a reason for them to be out there even in that sort of match.

Think I liked the ppv more than you, but it was forgettable and would be near the bottom of the list for the year so far. I disagree with many than fans would have had high expections coming in, I don't don't see that there was enough in the line up to really get people excited. Wouldn't be suprised if it gets a poor buy rate.

 

[We Are Legion]

Honestly dude, if I was booking that CM Punk/Daniel Bryan match, it would have been like this:

- First of all, AJ would have never been appointed as special guest referee prior to the match. The story line leading into the match would have obviously been a little different considering you wouldn't have Bryan mentioning to AJ, "You're just a referee to him", but nonetheless you could have still kept the core story line intact and AJ's allegiance could still be in doubt. You also announce the match is No-DQ a couple weeks in advance to give the hint that AJ could still get involved to affect the outcome.

- The match would have started with a normal referee. After 15-20 minutes, the referee gets bumped unconscious and the match continues without a ref for a few minutes. Punk and Bryan exchange a few submissions/pinfalls and there's no referee present to stop the match.

- THEN... AJ runs out from backstage wearing a referee shirt. Imagine the effect this would have. All hell has broken loose in the ring, and now this crazy chick is the referee? This would have been totally out of control. Now you really wonder who's side she's on and you're absolutely certain she will affect the outcome of the match.

- Leave some of the things she did during the match in, but change the order. First, have her stand in front of the chair that CM Punk wanted to throw Bryan into. You haven't established she's neutral yet, so this would make the fans think she's on Bryan's side without a doubt. Then she steps on the kendo stick preventing Bryan from picking it up, now the audience is confused. THEN... place the chair in the middle of the ring between the two, confirming that she's neutral and just playing games with them. This is the correct sequence these events should have occurred in the first place because it actually makes sense and plays with the audience's mind perfectly.

After that, the match could have ended however they wanted. If the events happened like this, it could have been the match of the year imo.

 

[Keith]

I think you make some valid points, but I still don't have a problem with her being the ref from the start I just don't think WWE did enough with it by the same torken however her involvement didn't ruin the flow of the match. Basically as a wrestling specteual it was great but as a blow off to a major storyline it was pretty lame.