wrestling / TV Reports
Tremendous Tirades 7.14.13: WWE Money in the Bank
Introduction
As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. Don’t throw that “just have fun and be a fan” junk up in here. That’s for you to do. Maybe some of you will find out what a review is supposed to be, and actually read what is presented instead of blindly trashing because we have different opinions. As always, I encourage discussion and even your disagreement, just do so in a respectful manner. Thanks for reading.
WWE MONEY IN THE BANK
World Title MITB Ladder Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Jack Swagger vs. Fandango vs. Wade Barrett vs. Damien Sandow vs. Antonio Cesaro: While not the “all star match,” I had high hopes for this one. Over the last few years the lesser of MITB and Chamber matches have ended up delivering well. Also, I like a lot of the guys involved and want to see them do well. And as many thought and I mentioned, these guys put on a tremendous opener. They used a ton of classic spots that many expected, and a lot of them came off smoother than usual, so much credit to everyone involved. The booking of this had me believing that this was THE NIGHT for Cody Rhodes. He had a hot segment where he laid out fools with his finish, he got busted open; he then fought off the Shield (with help from the Usos), and then sent Ambrose off the ladder, seemingly onto everyone on the floor. He climbed and right as he was about to win, Sandow appeared from nowhere and tossed him to the mat and snagged the briefcase, ending their friendship and earning the MITB Title shot. Interesting choice for sure, this could be huge for Sandow and for Rhodes it was a big moment performance wise as the crowd loved it. With the win for Sandow and upcoming face turn for Cody, I am certainly willing to see where it goes. This was a very good match with a hot crowd, and overall was a very good way to kick off this PPV.
Match Rating: ****
IC Title Match: Curtis Axel © vs. The Miz: Early on Miz was sent to the floor, went face to face with Heyman and pulled an Eddie Guerrero and flopped to the floor, pretending his was hit. This got Heyman booted, much to the dismay of the crowd. I completely understand why they did that, but I also feel that they got rid of the one person in the match people actually care about. Axel defeated Miz to remain IC Champion in a match that was simply there. I dislike that they have killed the perfect-plex and use Axel’s lame neck breaker deal for a finish. I also dislike that Miz does almost no work to the knee and uses the figure four. It’s good for Axel to win without Heyman, especially after the unnecessary losing streak he had going into the PPV.
Match Rating: **
Divas Title Match: AJ © w/Big E. Langston vs. Kaitlyn w/Layla: Kaitlyn had her left arm wrapped, and commentary sold the elbow injury prior to the match beginning. This led to AJ slamming the arm to the post and working it over, including using a cross face chicken wing. After AJ dominating, Kaitlyn hit a spear, but was too hurt to do anything following it. AJ got the black widow (octopus hold) for the win. No problem with AJ winning, but the hold does nothing to hurt the left arm, which was the injured arm and the main focus of just about the entire match. It actually would not have been as bad had Cole kept his mouth shut. He discussed the hold, “being applied and the injured arm being locked in tight.” No sir it wasn’t, not at all. The match was a match and certainly not as good as their last PPV outing.
Match Rating: *¾
Chris Jericho vs. Ryabck: Ryback’s last PPV win was at Money in the Bank 2012, where he beat Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks. He’s lost something like eight PPV matches in a row since then. With that being the case and Jericho about to leave for a Fozzy tour, I would expect a Ryback victory here. I am a big fan of Jericho’s work, but this was a match I was not interested in at all going into the PPV. I won’t say that the match was great and changed my mind, because it didn’t. They had a lot to overcome with the crowd ether not caring, or chanting “Goldberg” a lo of the time. They did some stuff, some worked and looked good, and some didn’t; it felt like a battle to make things work a lot of times. Ryback won with a sloppy and anticlimactic roll up. I hope that they have something else planned for Raw, because this wasn’t exactly the best rehab win for Ryback nor was it a great write out for Jericho. I mean, the Ryback character is so damaged at this point that this did NOTHING. Honestly, they should have taken him off TV after the loss to Cena at Payback. One to get him out of the minds of fans and two so that they could have come up with a better angle/story/feud to bring him back. As for Jericho, they were involving him with Del Rio and Ziggler. I would have placed him in the world title match to take the fall, allowing Ziggler vs. Del Rio to continue as a singles feud.
Match Rating: **
World Title Match: Alberto Del Rio © vs. Dolph Ziggler : No AJ or Big E for Ziggler tonight. Del Rio and Ziggler were having a really good mach when AJ came out to skip around the ring. Ziggler got pissed and told her to leave, but she of course stayed. She would then run in, hit Del Rio with the Divas Title, causing a DQ finish and Ziggler losing his chance to win the title. Ziggler was devastated that he lost, and the crowd chanted that AJ screwed Ziggler. I get the story, I get what they want to do, but this was a case of the booking getting in the way of the wrestling instead of enhancing it. I also generally hate DQ finishes on PPV. They have their place occasionally, but I was really digging this match and felt the finish was basically taking a shit on the hard work they put out. Again, I get what they are doing, but it could have been done on TV and not sacrificed what could have been an excellent PPV match.
Match Rating: ***
WWE Title Match: John Cena © vs. Mark Henry: Interesting that Cena vs. Henry was not the main event. I like it in the fact that this is the MITB PPV, and they have an all star MITB match with RVD returning, so in this instance, it deserves a main event. It also makes one think that Henry could win as many PPVs they prefer to go off the air with a happier ending if they can. MITB should provide that. Also, a possible MITB cash in won’t distract the crowd during the WWE Title match. Finally, it is safe to say that the MITB match will be pretty damn great, and that also ends the PPV on a better note. Anyway, as for the match, a lot of power stuff from Henry as expected to begin, as he dominated Cena to the delight of the Philly crowd. They were telling the story from Monday that Cena couldn’t hit the AA on Henry, which we all know he can. He did hit it, but Henry kicked out and sold shock. Henry got a great near fall after catching Cena off the top for the World’s Strongest slam. Henry tried all kinds of shit to win, ripping off turnbuckles, distracting the ref, bumping the ref, and a low blow, but Cena survived. After surviving on STF, Cena locked in another to submit Henry and retain the title. The crowd was great for this match, and I felt that the last few minutes were really good. Overall this was a well laid out, strongly performed title match. It didn’t get too cute, it wasn’t overly complicated; basic, simple and well executed. Likely better than most expected. No real complaints from me.
Match Rating: ***
WWE Title MITB Ladder Match: RVD vs. CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. Christian : Opening moments were fun, as the crowd was chanting for RVD as the competitors circled. The five then decided to beat down RVD and toss him to the floor in mid “RVD” pose. Much like the opener did with Cody Rhodes, they did a spot where Sheamus hit a bunch of his signature stuff and looked to climb. I always like when guys get those short but dominant runs during a match like this. Ina contrast to the opening ladder match, which seemed well laid out with really good execution, this came off as harder hitting, but also a bit sloppy and reckless at times. While not a tag match, we essentially got the “Daniel Bryan Hot Tag,” where he went fucking insane with kicks, the suicide dive, shotgun dropkicks and sending Sheamus off the top and through a ladder (which looked NASTY as he tried to post on his hand and could have an arm injury) that was bridged between the ring and announce table. Bryan looked to have things locked up, but then Curtis Axel hit the ring and took him out. CM Punk, who did not approve of this, gave him a GTS on the floor. Heyman appeared and admonished Axel for his actions, and then screwed Punk as he climbed by hitting him with a ladder several times. Punk got busted open from that. And that al led to Randy Orton winning the match and the MITB Title shot. I liked the way that they furthered the Punk vs. Heyman angle, and as for the match, I felt that it ended up being a very good match, much like the opener. It had story, a different vibe, everyone had a chance to look good and if it could have been tightened up, could have been even better.
Match Rating: ****
MITB 2013 is in the books, and I felt that it was another good PPV from WWE. The opener and main event highlighted the show as strong bookends, but there was a definite down portion in the middle. Ziggler and Del Rio was going very well, but I felt that the booking took away from the match. Ryback and Jericho, AJ and Kaitlyn and Axel vs. Miz were acceptable, but disappointing. The opener was a great match, as I felt that the “non-all-stars” stepped up and not only got a great crowd reaction, but also put on a hell of a show. Cody Rhodes looked good and came off like a star, and has a perfect launch point a a babyface due to Sandow’s victory and betrayal. Cena vs. Henry worked very well to me. Again, they didn’t try to reinvent anything; they did the big man vs. resilient champion story, and they did it very well. I understand that people are sick of the “super Cena” deal, but I also feel that he worked hard and he and Henry clicked as a co-main event feature. While some seemingly didn’t like the main event, I felt that it delivered very well in terms of an enjoyable main event. You had the stars, you had a good crowd, it felt different than the opener and I liked it. Orton winning MITB is… a choice I suppose, but not one I am overly thrilled with. I really hope that this doesn’t lead to another Orton vs. Cena feud, they did it, and I really don’t need to revisit it. They furthered the Punk-Heyman angle, and Bryan could move onto feud with Curtis Axel due to his involvement in the main event. I felt that it was a good show with two really good matches, but some questionable booking decisions. For sure check out the madder matches, as they were very enjoyable and the main highlights of the show. Show Rating: 7.4 As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale… 0 – 0.9: Torture As a reminder, this is not a basic “how good was the show” number like a TV show, as I have always felt that a PPV is very different from a regular show. I have always judged PPV on how they built to a match, the match quality, crowd reactions to matches and angles, the overall booking, how the PPV leads into the future, PPV price and so on and so forth. I have added this in here for an explanation since so many have asked, and I have previously discussed it on podcasts. I understand that this may seem different, but that is how I grade. Obviously your criteria may be different. |
Larry Csonka is a Pisces and enjoys rolling at jiu jitsu class with Hotty McBrownbelt, cooking, long walks on the beach, Slingo and the occasional trip to Jack in the Box. He is married to a soulless ginger and has two beautiful daughters who are thankfully not soulless gingers; and is legally allowed to marry people in 35 states. He has been a wrestling fan since 1982 and has been writing for 411 since May 24th, 2004; contributing over 3,000 columns, TV reports and video reviews to the site.
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