WWE TITLE MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ****1/2
Putting CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam in the same match was a stroke of genious by WWE. Sheamus still draws a hell of a reaction too, and I personally like him, so I suppose he counts. I made a "short bus" joke about Christian via Twitter that was pretty well received. Statistically, there was above an 83% chance that I would have enjoyed the outcome of this Money in the Bank match.
I didn't notice until the match began and they were all starring each other down, but WWE also booked seven faces (originally) in a match. That's how few top heels remain right now. Dolph Ziggler turned. Big Show isn't active, and has been rocking the babyface beard and doing media rounds. Mark Henry was in the WWE title match, and Ryback has one literally one PPV match in the past year. Seven faces in the main event of Money in the Bank. All I have to say is, Damien Sandow better pay off…
There were so many great moments in this ladder match. Whereas the world championship briefcase match was all about impressive ladder spots and high flying moves to get over the younger stars, this one focused more on the veterans and their established signatures and finishes. Smart distinction that set them apart.
Daniel Bryan and CM Punk squaring off made me want to see that feud happen at WrestleMania. The fans would eat it up, too. Rob Van Dam was ridiculously over in Philly. Again, the only person who felt out of place was Christian.
Curtis Axel should have been the stand-out star of the night, but WWE fans don't care about him…yet. Paul Heyman getting involved, and finally executing the turn on Punk sets up the match against Lesnar for SummerSlam. The verbal abuse to an unconscious Axel was my favorite moment of the night. Speaking of the Straight Edge Superstar, Punk did not blade in Philly last night. It would have been fitting, considering the current bill on the table to fine all pro wrestlers who cut themselves, but he did not blade. That ladder shot from Heyman was legitimate, and cut a gash big enough for thirteen staples. Ouch.
So that leaves Randy Orton, our winner. I'm sure there are a lot of people upset with that outcome, but I am not one of them. Congrats to Josh Isenberg and Chris Cash for calling it. Brian will still be WWE Champion at some point this year. He doesn't need the briefcase to achieve greatness. Orton, however, has been to the mountain top nine times. He lost his relevancy in the past few years, in a sea of unimportant midcard matches. For what it's worth, he helped get a lot of people over in that time, including The Shield, Daniel Bryan, Christian, etc.
It's worth noting that Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton have been building up to something big. They've had three awesome matches in the past month. There's definitely bad blood. I'm going to guess Daniel Bryan faces John Cena at SummerSlam, wins the WWE Championship, and Randy Orton cashes in to further the rivalry. Maybe not immediately, but WWE has perfectly set the stage for that rivalry to culminate at a Hell in the Cell or Survivor Series pay-per-view.
