Thoughts On The MITB Concept?

[Dale]

After reading not so long ago that MITB would be returning at Mania instead of it's own PPV I kinda got thinking on whether the concept is a good thing or a bad thing.

On the base of it, the briefcase should be the launching pad for that upper midcarder such as a Cody or Dolph who are ready to smash through the glass ceiling and cement their place in the main event. However, it often feels like the WWE puts it on the wrong guys and because of that the whole purpose ends up being a failure.

Thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the previous winners and see whether their experiment with the briefcase worked or not. You can skip the next quoted bit if you know your history, otherwise read on and refresh your memory.

Edge 05 Won at Mania in April 2005 and held it for 9 months. Before cashing in had a feud with Kane over Lita followed by the infamous Edge/Matt/Lita triangle. Tore his pectoralis muscle and debuted 'The Cutting Edge' where he trashed Flair before losing via DQ to him at NYR.

Beat Cena at NYR but lost the title 3 weeks later back to Cena. Feuded with Foley through Mania before teaming with him to face Funk/Dreamer. Regained the WWE title in July 06 and feuded with Cena all the way through to Septemeber where he lost it back to him.

Rob Van Dam 06: Won at Mania in April in 2006 and cashed in 2 months later at One Night Stand against Cena. Lost it a month later due to being busted for drugs.

Mr Kennedy 07: Won at Mania in April 07 but lost it a month later to Edge due to a falsely diagnosed injury.

CM Punk 08 :Won at Mania in March 08 and cashed in June 23rd to become champion. Defended it against JBL the same night before being stripped of the title in September at Unforgiven PPV due to injury. Lost his rematch 8 days later before falling the down card becoming tag team champion and Intercontinental champion.

CM Punk 09: Won at Mania in April 09 and then feuded with Umaga up until Extreme Rules where he won.Cashed in at the end of the PPV against Jeff Hardy and became WHC. Continued feuding with Hardy before losing the belt back to him at Night Of Champions in July. Feud again continued with Punk regaining the title at SummerSlam in August in a TLC match before being attacked by Taker after the match. Rid the WWE of Jeff Hardy on August 28th when he beat him in a loser leaves WWE match. Defeated Taker at Breaking Point in Septemeber via Montreal Screwjob 2.0 before losing to him at HIAC and Bragging Rights. Recruited Luke Gallows shortly after and formed the SES where his momentum then started to spiral down

Jack Swagger 10: Won at Mania in March 10 and cashed in 5 days later on SmackDown to become WHC.Character changed into a more serious version which also hurt him over the coming months. Defeated Orton at Extreme Rules then lost to Big Show via intentional DQ at Over The Limit. Lost the title at Fatal-4 Way in June and the subsequent rematch at MITB in July. Career spiralled down from then on.

Kane 10 (SD MITB) Won at MITB in July and cashed in later that night to become WHC and then retained a month later at SummerSlam against Rey. Kane/Taker/Bearer feud then begun.

The Miz 10 (RAW MITB) Won at MITB in July and held it for four months before cashing in on Randy Orton in Novemeber. You know the rest of this story

Alberto Del Rio 11 (RAW MITB) Only recently happened so you know what happens here

Daniel Bryan 11 (SD MITB)Only recently happened so you know what happens here

Looking back over all these winners, how many have been a success and how many have been failures?

Successes
I'd say 3.

Edge in 05 because he had good feuds while holding the case, solid feud after losing the belt the first time before having that really strong feud with Cena which catapulted him up into proper main event status.

Punk in 09 became a legit superstar in his feud with Jeff and even though he was jobbed out for seemingly ever when he formed the SES, he still seemed a legit superstar (Obviously not credibility wise) despite not being in the main event scene and

Miz in 10. At the time it seemed to solidify him as player because even prior to winning the MITB, he was getting a really good steady push with being a mentor on both seasons of NXT. Won the US title and seemed to just keep on growing from there.Kane I guess you could deem as a success as it got him the title everyone had been hoping for years and it also gave us the Taker feud, which was pretty decent story wise, but awful in ring wise

Disasters
RVD & Kennedy's were both disasters for two completely different reasons i'm sure we can all agree on there

Failures
Punk in 08, Swagger, Del Rio & Daniel Bryan i'd put down as events that happened too soon for all the guys really. I've explained the Punk one in the quote above so I won't repeat that again.Swagger winning at the time just seemed to come totally out of left field and wasn't ready for it. They gave him the belt, fucked up his character and he still hasn't recovered from that even up to this day.Del Rio, like Swagger just wasn't ready for it I don't think. It just seemed like a desperate attempt (along with the Rumble) to get him over and it still hasn't worked despite being a 2 time WWE Champion.

In the balance
D Bryan I can't write off yet because he's finally found his groove these past few months. Seemed like him winning the case was a spur of the moment idea (same with Swagger) because for a few months then I just seem to remember him constantly losing matches before he finally won it against Big Show.

So yeah, this has been a pretty long ramble which I don't think many people will read but if you do, what do you think. Who's was a success/failure? Is the MITB concept a good idea that is/isn't being executed properly by the WWE, or is it just a bad idea overall?

 

[SAIYANS]

I'd say Ken's was in between because they quickly rebounded it on to Edge who carried SD and had the Ultimate Opportunist gimmick

 

[Kiffy Lube]

I was scrolling hoping for your feelings on KANE winning it since he was really the old washed up superstar that has won it. I guess you could make a case for RVD too if you want to nitpick. I would think he'd be an instant disaster but his feud with Taker was decent, I guess... KANE's first couple promos were damn good. That is about as far as I'll going defending that, though.

I think the one that helped the most was clearly Edge in the beginning but Miz's run led him into the main event of Wrestlemania when everyone else has kind of failed to reach that matter after winning MITB.

 

[PHX]

The concept is a very good idea considering the payoff can make a main eventer all the while giving you a fun match to watch. I will say most of them initially were the right choices just some didn't pan out. Kane imo should have never won it as it was pointless to me. They could have still did the whole Taker/Kane thing without having him get the MITB. Swagger is another one who shouldn't have got it as I don't think he was ready to begin with and is the type of guy you make have long reigns with the U.S title and things of that nature. Del Rio I'm split on because he won the rumble so in theory he shouldn't have needed that. Then again I don't feel he should have won the rumble and was better off being a mitb winner. Either way it didn't work out to this point as the crowd hasn't bought into him after all the success he can claim.

Punk's first one I thought was a good idea they just didn't do it right in the end. Punk didn't get to be Punk yet character wise or on the mic so he wasn't really given a chance to have success like he was given in his 2nd one that they did right. While Kennedy and Anderson's failed they were the right moves at the time. Anderson def needed to win that as he seemed like he was ready for that next step but injuries fucked that up. RVD was perfect due to the ECW comeback but he fucked that up basically.

The only one you can point to and say they did it 100% right was Edge's because he became a main eventer with it and never looked back. Got all the chances to succeed and stay there. Wanna say Punk's 2nd one was 100% done right but as you pointed out they screwed it up with how he was treated after the Jeff feud tho however it worked out for the best for Punk since him not reaching the level he felt he should created the Punk we saw in the summer and onward. Miz was fine but he was champion at the wrong time since he got underminded thanks to Rock/Cena. And now we got Bryan who I think thus far it has worked fine for but we will see how it ends up.

Overall it's a perfect idea to use it as a launching pad but only if they have long term plans for that person and to not try and use it as quick fix shot to being a main eventer. They need to go back and look at how they did it with Edge as that was the right way short term and long term.

 

[The Cork]

Its a solid alternative/replacement for King of the Ring, effectively doing the same job in a more exciting way.

As for the actual winners, Edge is the only true winner. Its a cliche that the original of something cant be bettered but that whole scenario was perfectly done.

RVD's was a great occassion and probably a minor success, obviously he dropped the ball himself in that situation. Kennedy's would of been great if he wasn't such a perennial fuckup. The storyline he had was interesting (he said he was going to cash in at Wrestlemania 24 and had a countdown clock) and I'd like to have seen it play out. He didn't really need the briefcase anyway considering they were dead set on giving him a huge push regardless.

Punk's first was a disaster....so many shitty feuds against JBL and Batista, plus Raw was second fiddle to Smackdown around that time. His matches were oft in the midcard of PPV's so not really the best way to get a guy over as a main act. Didn't see hardly any of his second run.

Miz' was a mixed bag, I liked him calling out Cena all the while, but his cash-in was anti-climatic and was treated like a jobber throughout his run, (needing major help from Cole and Riley to beat a 60+ yrs old commentator?) its a testament to the guys mic work that he was able to stay over as a heel during that period.

Swagger was trash, totally forgettable. Cant remember a single match during his reign as champ or who he cashed in on in the first place. Kane was awful as per his norm, horrible run as champ with some of the worst TV (not just wrestling) I've ever seen. Shameful.

 

[AF.]

Should have been used better. Can they not come up with more creative cash ins? Del Rio and Daniel Bryan's were exactly the same. RVD looked like a noble face when he cashed his in properly.

 

[Troy]

The concept is great. It is a great way to elevate another star and also to provide one hell of a match each year. I am actually glad that it is back on WrestleMania because it helps get eight guys on the PPV in a meaningful match plus it starts the show in awesome fashion.

As for who won it I think that almost all were great choices at the time but booking post win has hurt them. Del Rio and Swagger were hurt the most by poor booking after the MITB win. They looked like stars early but didn't get enough strong wins after the even to make them look like champion material. Del Rio was buried before he cashed it in and he looked weak from the start of his title reign. Jack Swagger looked alright for a bit but it is telling that even a year after the win he was just another midcarder again.

With RVD and Kennedy it was events out of WWEs control that screwed up their MITB wins. RVD had the perfect run as MITB holder and his title win was epic. It was his stupidity that screwed up his title reign, ruined his mainevent run and hurt the ECW brand big time in the process. Kennedy was really unfortunate because the injury he had was first diagnosed as much worse than it actually was. He could have held onto the briefcase and could have been a maineventer. Really, really unfortunate that it happened to him and he never gained back the momentum after that.

There are a lot of success stories with the other MITB wins and I would even consider the Kane one a success (I know surprise surprise). Kane's MITB win wasn't used to create a new star but to create a new champion and mark a new mainevent run for Kane. It worked a treat because that was an excellent title reign that centred around a great feud between Kane and Taker. Edge's win was the start of an amazing six year run for him and made him a bonafide maineventer. Punk has become one of the top stars in WWE after his two MITB wins and Miz had an excellent year after winning it. Daniel Bryan had a few quiet months after his win but it picked up and ever since he won the title it has been an impressive title reign that has really improved since he started turning heel.

It is a match that I look forward to every year and in my opinion it helps make the extra cost of WM worth it because you can always guarantee that this will be an entertaining match to watch.

 

[chefboyardee]

the concept needs tweaking.i think it would help a midcarder like ziggler if he cashed it in like rvd in a legitamate match and won with a clean finish.as it stands now,it almost feels like when its cashed in its stealing the title and i think it hurts the new champs reign.

 

[ATKOOL]

Let me first say, I hate the idea of naming ppvs after matches. It is ridiculous if you ask me. Hell in a Cell has now lost its meaning. MITB was always something to look forward to at Mania. The reason some of those were failures was obviously because of injury prone Kennedy and RVD and his activities. Some of the time, they allow guys to win that the crowd doesn't want. Like Christian a couple of those years or MVP. It never happened. Why let a jobber win the MITB after being a jobber for so long? It makes absolutely no sense. Maybe Ziggler wins it this year if he is in the match.

 

[We Are Legion]

The concept's been done to death and frankly I'm sick of it. It's become an absolute dull and lazy way for WWE to establish new stars and make them credible. And every now and then when the MITB push misfires with people like Kennedy, RVD, and Swagger, it wastes SO much time for the weeks afterwards as WWE makes futile attempts to convince us these people deserve to be champions, when it should be the other way around. They should convince of that BEFORE they put world title belts on them. It also discredits every other world champion when they are placed in the same league as wrestlers who don't deserve it.

I enjoy ladder matches, but please. There's no sense in turning it into an annual spot fest for people that will eventually become a world champion. I don't like the fact that a lot of fans today generally associate the concept of a ladder match with MITB by default. Better to have a TITLE BELT hanging from the ceiling and have real champion-caliber stars competing for it... not a bunch of B-listers fighting over a friggin briefcase.

It would be nice if WWE would get back to building young wrestlers the old fashioned way instead of this cheap and cheesy MITB method they have resorted to the past few years. The matches are entertaining for the most part, but the storylines that come with it are so repetitive... I really don't even care who wins it anymore. I just know every year that's just going to be the guy who has the exact same story line the guy who won the year before had the year before.

*yawn*

 

[The Wrestling Addict]

I love watching the MITB matches. I feel like they belong at Wrestlemania, even though I did enjoy both PPV's. It seems like Wrestlemania is its home though. I agree with Dale on the three that were successful winners. MITB is a great concept if done correctly.

 

[chefboyardee]

i think a great idea would be to have a tag team money in the bank at wrestlemania.,think about,who really cares about the tag division,this would be a great way to get notority for your tag stars,and would be an opportune time to debut the kings of wrestlin.

 

[The Wrestling Addict]

i think a great idea would be to have a tag team money in the bank at wrestlemania.,think about,who really cares about the tag division,this would be a great way to get notority for your tag stars,and would be an opportune time to debut the kings of wrestlin.

How would that work?

 

[chefboyardee]

5 tag teams,10 guys.same concept.

 

[The Wrestling Addict]

5 tag teams,10 guys.same concept.

That's a lot of guys for a ladder match. If you wanted to do that, I'd wait until Summerslam and have a triple threat tag team ladder match for the belts or something. They would have to have time to build up the division first.