WWE Money in the Bank 2012 Review

The 2012 WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view featured two contract ladder matches including a 5-man match that headlined the show while CM Punk defended the WWE Title against Daniel Bryan.

This review was written live when it took place.

Here’s the banner I used when I wrote the review live in 2012.

Here’s the DVD.

WWE Money in the Bank
US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona
July 15, 2012

Some highlights from the pre-show:

– There was also a backstage segment featuring Damien Sandow talking trash to Santino and Zack Ryder, who he beat to get into the MITB match for the World Title contract.

– In the pre-show match, R-Truth & Kofi Kingston defeated Hunico & Camacho in about eight minutes. Basic tag formula. Truth got the win for his team.

– Chris Jericho did a promo. He said after he wins his match tonight everybody will call him the greatest of all time.

– The other news is CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Title is now a No Disqualification Match.

– Daniel Bryan did a promo hyping up his WWE Title match. He did the routine where he asked questions and answered yes to them.

– There were video packages of the key storylines going into the PPV.

That was it for the 30-minute pre-show.

There was an awesome video package highlighting past Money in the Bank winners. It put over how big it was to win the Money in the Bank match. As always, the video package was outstanding.

Michael Cole welcomed us to the show. He is joined on commentary by Jerry Lawler and Booker T. Cole told us that World Title MITB match is up first.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match for the World Heavyweight Title Contract: Dolph Ziggler vs. Santino vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Sin Cara vs. Tensai vs. Christian

Tensai dominated the action early. He gave Kidd a slingshot so that Kidd’s face went crashing into a ladder. Kidd hit Tensai with a ladder and then Kidd teamed with Christian to knock Tensai out of the ring. Kidd, Christian and Santino all climbed up, but Sandow knocked them all down. Ziggler dropkicked Sandow off the ladder. Rhodes gave Ziggler a flapjack into a ladder as Cole mentioned that a lot of people view them as the favorites. I feel that way. Sin Cara hit a nice dropkick on Ziggler followed by headscissors on Rhodes to knock him out of the ring. Sin Cara missed his flipping moonsault on Ziggler off the top. I guess you could call that a botch for the Sin Cara haters on there. Kidd was placed on a ladder so he was laying on it and Christian missed a frog splash, which meant Christian went crashing into the ladder. Rhodes hit a Disaster Kick on Sandow. Kidd knocked Rhodes out of the ring with a dropkick, so Kidd was all alone in the ring. He grabbed a big ladder, but Tensai prevented him from climbing. Santino went to climb, but Tensai took him out with a powerbomb although he slipped so it didn’t look great. Kidd countered a powerbomb with a headscissors that sent him to the floor with Tensai. Sandow was alone in the ring. Christian climbed too. Sandow managed to pull him off. Christian gave Sandow a reverse DDT. The other six guys were still on the floor. Christian ended up giving Sandow a Spear into a ladder that was propped up in the corner.

Christian went to climb. Ziggler and Rhodes each grabbed a leg of Christian, so he got pulled off. Tensai went back in to knock Ziggler off. Tensai went after Rhodes’ left knee and then threw him out of the ring. Kidd did a springboard spot to prevent Tensai from getting the briefcase. Tensai knocked Kidd off, so Santino and Cara prevented Tensai from getting the briefcase. Christian joined in, but Santino threw him out of the ring. Ziggler went after Santino. Santino stopped him and he used the Cobra to knock him down. Santino climbed up with the Cobra sleeve on his hand, but he was too scared to climb up the ladder fast. Sandow climbed up, so Santino knocked him down with the Cobra. Rhodes hit a dropkick to knock Santino off the ladder. Rhodes yelled out: “That’s my briefcase!” Rhodes climbed the briefcase. Vickie Guerrero climbed up the other side. The distraction allowed Ziggler to climb up the other side and he hit the Zig Zag on Rhodes when Rhodes was halfway up the ladder. Ziggler was climbing up when Christian went after him. Kidd used a ladder and did springboard spot where he gave Ziggler a sunset flip powerbomb off the ladder. Ziggler took the bump on his stomach. Wow, that was awesome. Spot of the night so far. Tensai took the cover off the English announce table. He used the ladder to bridge the announce table to the ring. He gave Sin Cara a powerbomb onto a ladder! Ouch! And then he threw Ziggler over the announce table so he crashed into the wall. Rhodes and Kidd climbed up. Rhodes gave Kidd a front suplex off the ladder! Then Christian climbed another ladder and gave Rhodes a spear off the ladder! Christian climbed up the ladder with Santino. He rammed Santino face first into the ladder and that knocked Santino down. Christian was close. Ziggler knocked him down before he could grab it. Ziggler reached up and he grabbed the briefcase to win at 18:29.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Analysis: **** That was an outstanding ladder match. The last five minutes had so many great spots too. I’m glad that they did it the right way with so many different guys getting a chance to shine. Like most people, I picked Ziggler to win. There’s no denying that he deserved it. He’s earned the right to be a permanent main eventer and by winning this briefcase it could put him in that level. It was the biggest match in Tyson Kidd’s career and he really impressed me with his performance. Christian is a ladder match veteran and he showed it with his awesome work. There were some spots from Sin Cara where he slipped up a bit, so I’m sure his haters will be on him about that. I don’t have a problem with it too much because high risk moves are hard to pull off sometimes. I’d rather see somebody try to do those than a match full of Khali chops. Ziggler took some huge bumps, especially that one from Tensai on the announce table and he came back to look win. That was a fantastic match. Great start to the show.

Post match, Ziggler and Guerrero were celebrating the victory.

A commercial aired for No Holds Barred on DVD.

Backstage, Josh Mathews talked to Sheamus. Sheamus said he’s not there to talk about Ziggler. He talked about how he’s focused on Alberto Del Rio tonight.

Back to the ring, Justin Roberts welcomed The Miz. Miz was in a suit and he spoke by the entrance way. His hair was different than before. He said he was off filming a movie, which is true because he was filming The Marine 3 although he didn’t say the movie title. Miz said he’ll be in the WWE Title MITB match as well. He said he’s the Miz, he’s a movie star and he’s awesome.

Analysis: The promo was straight and to the point. It was well done. He had a bit of a different look. I think being away for two months will freshen up his act.

The Raw 1,000 moment was Mick Foley talking about when he won the WWE Title for the first time.

They aired the video package for the Sheamus/Del Rio match.

World Heavyweight Championship: Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio

The story of the match early was Del Rio working on the left arm of Sheamus, which it seems like he’s been selling since his feud with Daniel Bryan in April. Del Rio hit a double axe for a count of two followed by an armbar. Del Rio continued to work on the arm of Sheamus and then a hard kick to the head that got him a count of two. Del Rio put Sheamus into another armbar variation. Del Rio charged at Sheamus in the corner, but Sheamus came back with a boot to the face and then a neckbreaker. Sheamus hit a double axe, but Del Rio came back with knees to the head to put Sheamus down again. There’s a nice “Cole Sucks” sign in the crowd. I support that person for bringing that sign. At the ten minute mark, Sheamus came back by shoving Del Rio into the corner, a running knee and then a powerslam for a two count. Sheamus hit his clubbing blows while Del Rio was in the ropes and then he hit the Irish Curse Backbreaker for two. The announcers were shocked that wasn’t it. Has he ever won with that? Don’t think so. Del Rio went for a kneebreaker on Sheamus’ arm, but Sheamus moved and then Sheamus missed a Brogue Kick. Del Rio hit a Backstabber for two. Sheamus countered an attack with the White Noise. He didn’t cover. Instead, he set up in the corner yelling “Brogue.” Sheamus connected with the Brogue Kick. He covered for the pinfall at 14:25.

Winner: Sheamus

Analysis: **1/2 It was a basic match. Del Rio worked over Sheamus’ arm and Sheamus came back showing a lot of heart. There was nothing wrong with the match. It’s just that it didn’t feel like a special match or a match where you really thought the challenger could win. Del Rio was an opponent for Sheamus to beat. And that’s what happened.

Post match, Ricardo Rodriguez jumped on the back of Sheamus. Del Rio saved his personal ring announcer. Del Rio attacked Sheamus with a series of kicks and Sheamus was left in the corner. He was down in a heap.

The music of Dolph Ziggler started up. He had the blue briefcase in his hand. He went to the ref to cash in. Del Rio yelled at him. Ziggler decked him with the briefcase. By the time Dolph turned around Sheamus was recovered and he gave Ziggler a Brogue Kick. Ziggler’s cash in didn’t happen because the bell never rang.

There was a commercial for three hour Raw starting on July 23 with the announcer mentioning DX, The Rock and Brock Lesnar on the show. There will be more, but those are the ones advertised so far.

They replayed the interview that Daniel Bryan did on the pre-show. He did the thing where he asked himself questions and answered them with “yes” as we’ve seen many times before.

The tag team champions R-Truth and Kofi Kingston walked out to ringside carrying their tag titles while wearing their street clothes. AW introduced Titus O’Neil & Darren Young, who were in their ring gear. Their opponents were Epico & Primo. Before the match they replayed what happened at No Way Out when O’Neil & Young won the right to get a tag title shot against Kingston & Truth. One month later they still haven’t cashed in the title shot.

The tag team champions R-Truth and Kofi Kingston walked out to ringside carrying their tag titles while wearing their street clothes. AW introduced Titus O’Neil & Darren Young, who were in their ring gear. Their opponents were Epico & Primo. Before the match they replayed what happened at No Way Out when O’Neil & Young won the right to get a tag title shot against Kingston & Truth. One month later they still haven’t cashed in the title shot.

The Prime Time Players – Titus O’Neil & Darren Young (w/AW) vs. Epico & Primo (w/Rosa)

Kingston & Truth were on commentary. Kingston was saying O’Neil looked like a horse. That’s an interesting observation. Epico hit a nice dive over the top onto his opponents on the floor. The crowd isn’t reacting much to this match probably because these teams rarely get TV time especially on Raw. O’Neil decked Epico with a clubbing blow to the back and then he knocked him out of the ring. O’Neil drove Epico back first into the steel post. Did I mention the steel posts were green? It looks cool. Back in the ring, the heels continued to work over Epico. O’Neil hit a fallaway slam on Epico. AW has a microphone on and he called Primo “Taco Bell” at one point. The only crowd reaction for the first five minutes was when Rosa did a sexy dance. Epico got the hot tag to Primo, who entered to no reaction at all. Primo hit a nice back elbow and then a chop off the top rope. Primo hit a nice springboard splash for two. Primo hit a splash on Young while he was draped over the middle rope. Primo went to the top, but Young countered by getting his knees up so that they hit Primo in the ribs. Young went over to Primo, but Primo countered with a rollup for three. The match went 7:31.

Winners: Primo & Epico

Analysis: *1/2 The match had no heat because these teams have barely got TV time in the last month. The result saw the number one contenders lose the match. The announcers wondered what that meant. I’m not sure. It’s like a weird way to build up opponents, I guess. The whole thing can be classified as ten minutes of filler.

After the match, Young & O’Neil went over to the tag champs. They were jawing at eachother. Truth threw water into the face of AW to get him to shut up. O’Neil and Young held AW back. I don’t know when we’ll see that match. It’s getting a lot of build, at least.

They aired the video package for the CM Punk/Daniel Bryan match.

Backstage, Matt Striker interviewed the referee of the WWE Title match, AJ. She still seemed enamored with CM Punk and angry with Daniel Bryan for using her. She said when she is around Bryan and Punk she can’t decide if she wants to kiss them or hit them. She said the match is next so she had to go. She walked off smiling.

AJ was the first one to enter the ring. She was wearing a referee shirt and some nice shorts. Bryan entered second. His hair was shorter, the beard remained and he had a brown jacket. Cole mentioned Punk has held the WWE Title for 238 days. It’s another PPV where he’s not in the last match, though. My opinion is the WWE Title match should go on last. It’s more important than the WWE Title MITB match. Match placement should matter and elevate a title.

WWE Championship – No Disqualification Match: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan (w/AJ Lee as Referee)

AJ raised the WWE Title above her head. Bryan had different colored tights that were black, brown and red. Punk got the first nearfall with a cradle and AJ counted at a regular pace. Punk whipped Bryan into the corner. The two exchanged a series of kicks with the crowd yelling “yes” for all of it. They did a nice exchange where Punk hit a dropkick, which led to Bryan rolling out to the floor and then Punk hit a nice dive between the ropes. Bryan ran away up the aisle. They fought in the aisle. When they went back into the ring, Bryan shoved Punk and he hit AJ, who was on the apron. She bumped to the floor. Booker said if it was an experienced referee that never would have happened. Sure thing because refs never get bumped! That’s sarcasm my friends. A doctor helped AJ to the back. Ref Chad Patton replaced her.

Bryan hit a running knee off the apron that connected on Punk on the floor. Bryan gave Punk a suplex onto the ring steps. They went to the other side of the ring near the announcers and Punk was able to get control. He crotched Bryan on the barricade and then gave Bryan a clothesline while he jumped off another part of the barricade. I really liked the sequence of moves by each guy in that sequence outside the ring. There was a loud “we want tables” chant from the crowd, so Punk pulled out a table from under the ring. Bryan came back to give Punk a body slam on the floor. Bryan grabbed a Kendo stick. Bryan went after him with it, Punk fought it off and then Bryan was able to counter a springboard attack with a Kendo stick shot to the ribs of Punk. That was an awesome spot as the announcers put over the idea of Punk’s rib injury. There was a dueling “Daniel Bryan/CM Punk” chant. Bryan destroyed Punk with the Kendo stick. He yelled “yes” while he repeatedly assaulted Punk in the back with the stick. He covered for a count of two. Bryan continued the attack, but when he went for a headbutt off the top Punk was able to move out of the way at the 15 minute mark.

Punk made his big comeback following a series of kicks and punches to Bryan. Punk got a jumping side kick to knock Bryan down and then a quick powerslam for two. Punk wanted to go for the GTS, but Bryan countered it into a hurricanrana for two. That was very impressive. That was not an easy move to do, but they pulled it off seamlessly. Bryan put Punk into the surfboard submission. Punk fought out and he attacked Bryan with the Kendo stick after a number of shots to the back. Nice revenge there. Punk got a pinfall for two. Punk went up for the elbow, but Bryan cut him off and he gave Punk a Superplex. Both guys were out. That led to AJ walking back out. She told the referee to leave. Both guys were knocked out, so she decided to skip around the ring. AJ went under the ring. She grabbed a steel chair while both guys were still down. She put the chair in the middle of the ring. Both guys scrambled to get it. Bryan won that, so he destroyed Punk with chairshots to the back. He hit him with four chairshots to the back. He covered for a count of two. AJ counted at a normal speed, but Bryan complained to her about it. Punk got a quick rollup for two. Bryan came back with hard kicks to the chest of Punk while yelling “yes” as he did all of them. The match has passed the twenty minute mark now.

Bryan went for a corner attack, but Punk came back with a clothesline to knock down Bryan. Punk grabbed the steel chair. He hit Bryan in the back a few times. Punk propped the chair up in the corner between the top and middle rope. AJ stood in front of it, so Punk didn’t throw Bryan into it. She walked away when Punk questioned her. Bryan hit a dropkick that knocked Punk into the chair. The idea is she just favored Bryan. Daniel made his way over to the Kendo stick, but AJ stepped on it to prevent him from using it. Bryan turned around and Punk decked him with a roundhouse kick to the head. Punk picked up the steel chair and slammed Bryan on it. Punk went the top and he went for the Flying Elbow. Bryan moved, so Punk hit the chair with his elbow. Bryan capitalized by putting Punk in the Yes Lock. Bryan grabbed the Kendo stick and put it on Punk’s face while he had him in the hold. Punk was able to fight out of it and he gave Bryan a slingshot into the steel post. Punk gave Bryan the Go To Sleep. He couldn’t cover right away, so he slowly crawled over. He covered. AJ counted the pin at normal speed. Bryan got his shoulder up at two. That was a terrific nearfall. Remember that table? Punk put it into the ring. He opened the table and then he put Bryan on it. Bryan rolled off the table and he attacked Punk while he was on the top rope. Punk was able to get the advantage and he crotched Bryan on the top rope. Punk destroyed Bryan with a series of elbows. Punk gave Bryan a back suplex off the top rope and they went crashing through the table. Punk covered. AJ counted the pinfall one…two…and three. The match went 27:48.

Winner: CM Punk

Analysis: ****1/2 Guess what? Another awesome match from CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. What else is new? That’s what these guys always seem to do together. They did an awesome job of not just showing off how good they are in the technical sense, but they also turned it up in terms of physicality because of all the weapons they used to inflict damage on the other. The use of the steel chair, Kendo stick and table all added to the drama. There were some really good nearfalls that added to the action and made the finish come off as spectacular as well. Punk couldn’t beat Bryan with his regular finisher, so he busted out a top rope back suplex through a table, which is not a move you will see very often. As for AJ’s involvement, it didn’t hurt the match at all. She didn’t favor one guy more than the other, but having her there made you wonder if she would do that. That added to the drama, so I didn’t have any problem with her being out there. Great job by all three of them.

There was a commercial for Tout with WWE superstars telling us about it. They said it’s your ticket to be on Raw because on Raw they’re going to show clips throughout the show. That’s going to be very annoying I think. Go to WWE.com/Tout for more info.

Ryback vs. Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks

Hawkins and Reks have to tag in and out unlike the skinny jobbers that Ryback usually beats. Hawkins and Reks got some offense in, so Ryback had to actually sell moves for about 30 seconds, but then Ryback came back. He dropped Reks with a suplex and then a spinebuster on Hawkins followed by a powerbomb to him. He threw Hawkins out of the ring. Clothesline to Reks that Cole called “The Meat Hook.” Ryback hit his finisher Shell Shocked on Reks. Cole actually called it that, so that’s nice. The match went 4:22.

Winner: Ryback

Analysis: * It was your typical Ryback match although he did take a beating for about one minute. At least he’s an upgrade from beating jobbers to beating guys that are actually employed by WWE.

Post match, Ryback yelled “feed me more” and the crowd chanted along. That’s about all the noise the crowd made during the match except when they said “ohhhh” a few times. There were some “Goldberg” chants. Will there ever be “Ryback” chants? Not sure. I’m sure WWE hopes there are, though.

The next Raw 1,000 moment was Chris Jericho’s Raw debut on August 9, 1999. That was one of the better moments for sure.

Layla, Tamina & Kaitlyn vs. Beth Phoenix, Natalya & Eve

The reactions for the women aren’t very good, which is a testament to how little screen time they’ve been getting lately. Kaitlyn slapped everybody and then she hit a crossbody on Eve. It’s sad that that I thought the match would end there, but Eve was able to kick out. Eve dropped Kaitlyn with a kick to the face and then she tagged in Phoenix. Layla got a hot tag and hit a springboard crossbody on Beth for two. Beth used her power, but Layla was able to get a rollup for two due to Natalya interfering. All six girls were brawling. Tamina hit a side kick on Beth and then Layla finished off Beth with her Layout neckbreaker. The match went 3:23.

Winners: Layla, Kaitlyn & Tamina

Analysis: * The work was fine, but the crowd didn’t care because like I said these girls barely get TV time these days. This would have been a good opportunity to have one of the heels win the match to become the top contender for Layla’s Divas Title. Instead, Layla won and it didn’t mean a whole lot. Why not put Natalya in the role of top challenger? It would be fresh.

A commercial aired for Summerslam on August 19th.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match for the WWE Championship Contract: Kane vs. Chris Jericho vs. The Miz vs. Big Show vs. John Cena

Like with the first MITB match, there were ladders all around the ringside area. Show whipped Cena into the steel steps. Kane and Jericho fought up the aisle, so Show joined them by throwing Jericho into some ladders. Miz climbed up, Cena pulled him down and then Show knocked them down with a shoulderblock. Show knocked Jericho off the apron. He threw a ladder onto Jericho outside the ring. Show cleared the ring, so Kane stood up to him face to face and they had a slugfest. Kane went for a DDT, but Show countered it into a bodyslam. Show hit a big chop on Miz. He knocked down Jericho while he tried to attack him with a ladder. Jericho avoided an attack on Show and he hit Show with a Codebreaker. Miz hit Show with a DDT and Kane knocked him out of the ring with a big boot. Cena cleared off the Spanish Announce Table and Cena gave Show the Attitude Adjustment through the table. That was a fantastic spot. The crowd popped big for it. After Show got knocked down, Cena threw several other ladders onto Show. Jericho climbed, Miz prevented it and Jericho gave Miz the Walls of Jericho to weaken him. Jericho continued to dominate Miz as he climbed again, but then Cena was able to knock Jericho off after ramming him head first into a ladder. Miz knocked Cena down and gave him a DDT that sent Cena to the floor. Miz climbed, but Kane threw a ladder into him to knock Miz back down. Jericho and Miz teamed up to give Kane a double suplex onto a ladder that was on another part of the ring. Cena knocked own Miz with a shoulderblock and then slammed him onto a ladder. He did the same to Jericho. Cena did a double “you can’t see me” to Jericho and Miz at the same time. Kane went for a Chokeslam, but Cena countered it and gave Kane the Attitude Adjustment onto Miz, who was on a ladder that was on the ring. Jericho knocked Cena out of the ring so Jericho was all alone in the ring as we reached the ten minute mark.

Jericho was all alone in the ring. All of a sudden, Big Show woke up from under the ladders and he destroyed the ladder that Jericho was climbing. Show ripped the ladder in half in an impressive manner and then he smacked Jericho in the back with it. He knocked Kane out of the ring with another ladder. He threw the ladder onto Kane. Show destroyed Miz with a hard chop to the chest and then threw a ladder on top of him outside the ring. That left just Show and Cena in the ring. Show stacked a ladder against Cena’s face and gave him a shoulderblock to put him out of the ring. Show threw all of the ladders outside the ring. All of his opponents were out of the ring. Show went under the ring and pulled out a ladder that was much thicker than the other ones. It’s obviously a special ladder that can handle the weight of Big Show. Show set up the ladder. It was the slowest setting up of a ladder you’ve ever seen. The ladder was thicker than any other ladder and it allowed him to get close to the briefcase. Kane climbed up the other side ladder. They choked eachother, but then Show won that battle with a punch to the head. Cena climbed up the ladder on the opposite side of Show, who knocked Cena down. Jericho hit Show in the back with a steel chair. He hit him with the chair a few times and that sent Big Show crashing to the mat. Jericho climbed one side of the ladder while Cena climbed up the other side. Cena put Jericho on his shoulders, but Jericho countered and put Cena in the sleeper. That’s a unique hold to use in a ladder match. Cena was able to climb back to the top of the ladder with Jericho grabbing the sleeper. Cena was knocked off the ladder. Jericho reached for the briefcase. Miz climbed up on the other side and each man was holding part of it. Jericho was hanging onto the cable holding the briefcase. He let go of the briefcase due to Miz. That allowed Show to climb back up. He knocked Jericho off with a KO punch. Then he shoved Miz off. Show was on one side of the ladder. Cena was on the other side of the ladder. Cena grabbed the briefcase and he hit Show in the head with it. It ended up coming off the cable, so Cena held the briefcase up and he won the match at 20:03.

Winner: John Cena

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a well-constructed match with some cool moments like when Cena took out Big Show and when Big Show brought out his own ladder because none of the other ladders would have been able to support him. I don’t think anybody believed Miz or Kane had a shot, but they were fine in their role. Big Show had a lot of time as the dominant force in the match. It worked. I think Jericho was the ring general of this match. He was involved in so much of it and had a lot of great moments with everybody. Cena had his moments, but it’s not like he really outshined anybody. I liked the finish a lot. I thought it went a bit long at 20 minutes. If they shaved off another five minutes then it would have been better. The match was also hurt by its predictability because there just wasn’t a lot of drama when the non-Cena guys came close to winning. This match was all about Cena winning the briefcase and we all knew it. Based on star ratings, this was the worst Money in the Bank ladder match so far. It’s still not a bad match. There just wasn’t as much excitement as previous MITB matches.

The post match replay showed that the handle on the briefcase broke off when Cena hit Show in the head with it.

The show ended with Cena celebrating with the briefcase. He said into the camera that Raw is going to be fun and that you never know when he’s going to use the briefcase.

This event had a runtime of 2:42:55 on WWE Network.

Five Stars of the Show

1. CM Punk

2. Daniel Bryan

3. Dolph Ziggler

4. Chris Jericho

5. Tyson Kidd – I’m glad he got a chance to shine on PPV. He belongs here with the four names mentioned above. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for Tyson.

Final Thoughts

I give this show a very good rating of 7 out of 10. I enjoyed Money in the Bank 2012.

Make no mistake about it, this was a predictable event. I predicted all five advertised matches correctly (I’m counting the pre-show) as I’m sure a lot of people did. That doesn’t make the show bad, though. Unpredictability doesn’t make a good show. Smart booking does. All of the finishes to the match were well done. The two ladder matches plus the WWE Title were all given plenty of time to tell a story and that’s what they did. I’d rather see a predictable show with good booking over stupid finishes just for the sake of going against what people think.

The highlight of the show was once again the CM Punk/Daniel Bryan match. While their Over The Limit match in May was a technical classic, this was more of a brawl with AJ as the referee as the wrinkle thrown into it. It was an outstanding match that is among the top five matches of the year. I’m looking forward to watching it again soon.

Cena’s win will probably upset some people because he obviously wins a lot of the time, but I have no problem with it. He’s been out of the title picture for almost a year. I’m surprised it lasted that long. The title means more when he’s around, so it’s the best thing for the company to do this summer to generate interest in the show.

Congrats to Dolph Ziggler for what is arguably the biggest win of his career. Yes, he is technically a World Champion already after his hour long title reign in early 2011, but this one was much bigger. Now that he’s got the briefcase in his hand, it’s only a matter of time until he cashes it in and realizes his dream of really being a World Champion. His win cemented his spot as a permanent main eventer in WWE.

What I would like to see improved in the future is that they have midcard matches on the show that actually have build because the Ryback match, the tag match and the divas match all generated little in the way of reactions due to the lack of attention they’ve been given in the weeks building to those matches. It’s important to use TV shows to make people want to watch these matches on PPV.

My last point is to say that I don’t understand why a match where you earn a contract to get a WWE Title match is on after the WWE Title match. If they’re fighting for the right to challenge for the WWE Title then they should go on before the WWE Title. It’s not like a heel won the WWE Title match. The babyface champion won. Let CM Punk go on last. Let him celebrate to end the show. Plus, they could have done something where Punk was celebrating after his win and then Cena could look on from the aisle while holding the Money in the Bank briefcase while fans at home are left to wonder what’s next.

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That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Thanks for reading.My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com