Money in the Bank 2012 Review

If you DO NOT wish to know the results of the Pay Per View or to read any spoilers PLEASE DO NOT continue reading this post.

Money in the Bank 2012 Results

PRE-SHOW Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeated Hunico and Camacho

Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) defeated Damien Sandow, Tyson Kidd, Christian, Santino Marella, Tensai (with Sakamoto), Cody Rhodes and Sin Cara to win the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match Match 

Sheamus (c) defeated Alberto Del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

UNADVERTISED Primo and Epico (with Rosa Mendes) defeated Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil and Darren Young) (with A.W.)

CM Punk (c) defeated Daniel Bryan in a No Disqualification Match to retain the WWE Championship (AJ was special guest referee)

UNADVERTISED Ryback defeated Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks

UNADVERTISED Layla, Kaitlyn and Tamina Snuka defeated Beth Phoenix, Natalya and Eve

John Cena defeated Kane, Chris Jericho, Big Show and The Miz WWE Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match 

I didn't see the pre-show, mainly due to no broadband connection but also because I wasn't really interested in the match. I hear that it was an average match. My main concern here, especially since there was already a plan to have a tag team match on the main card, is why? Why this match? Why not have the champions actually defend their titles to the number 1 contenders on the main card, instead of them having separate matches? Primo and Epico could have taken on Hunico and Camacho in the pre show to determine the next in line. Also, Primo and Epico lost their automatic rematch clause because 30 days had elapsed, does this ruling apply to number 1 contender-ship? Since the 30 days ruling barely applies to defending championships I suppose not.

Moving on to the main show. I was initially surprised when the World Heavyweight Championship MITB match was first but the more I thought about it (and as events transpired) it made perfect sense. To me there was absolutely no doubt who would be winning the blue briefcase. What did shock me was how absolutely well worked ( well most of it) this match was. Tyson Kidd and Damien Sandow showed they were not there just to make up the numbers, Santino was genuinely funny ( scared of heights in ladder match, wonderful idea!), Cody Rhodes is starting to look like a main event participant and Christian was on hand to be a bump machine and help the young guys take the next step. The only disappointment (for me anyway) was Sin Cara and Tensai. Both men showed how dangerous wrestling can be. When Sin Cara flipped Dolph off the top turnbuckle it looked painfully awful and then ( approx. 48 hours from being involved a car crash) Dolph gets slung into the announce teams chairs by Tensai. While I enjoy the danger spots I have never feared for a competitors safety as I did during those two spots specifically.  I adore how the crowd have taken Dolph in. I'll raise my hand here and say at the Rumble in his WWE Championship match I wasn't convinced that he was ready but the last few months working with Sheamus has really put him up in my estimation and shown that he really can raise his game.

Speaking of Sheamus the next match was the one which should have happened last month but for Del Rio's concussion. After seeing how well Ziggler and Sheamus work it is hard for me not to feel annoyed by Del Rio's continued push into the main event picture. He's not an awful wrestler, there are far far worse on the payroll, I just don't enjoy his style and find his promo skills uncomfortable to watch. I am not aware if it's a language issue (Is English his first language? Or is he translating in his brain as he goes along because if that's the case then major props to him for that.) With Del Rio having attacked Sheamus at every opportunity I felt sure that the match would have to go Sheamus's way. What I didn't see coming was the attack again by Del Rio and Dolph's eagerness to cash in his briefcase. Lucky for Dolph the bell never rang as his delay in getting Del Rio and Ricardo out of the ring gave Sheamus enough time to pull himself together and deliver a brogue kick to the unsuspecting Money in the Bank winner.

In the first of 3 unadvertised matches ( Seriously WWE, I thought we'd got past this) the number one contenders for the Tag Team Titles Darren Young and Titus O'Neil took on Epico and Primo. This pair of young tag teams put on yet another solid display while Kofi, Truth and Little Jimmy sat at ringside. With a shift in momentum and a quick pin the Primetime Players were caught out by Primo and Epico who picked up the win. AW and his clients were unimpressed with the behavior of the champions at ringside and decided to get up in Kofi and Truth's face, resulting in a thorough soaking for AW, who was then dragged off after losing his shoes. Again I would have preferred to have seen the titles on the line instead but this was a good match.

We see Matt Striker interview AJ just before the WWE title Match. I have enjoyed her work over the last few weeks even if the proposal thing did go a bit too far.We also learn that this is now a no DQ match. My predictions saw the match having a No Contest style finish, and when the table ended up in the ring I thought "O this is it!" Would have loved for AJ to throw herself on the table to try and stop the boys who were fighting (with their backs to her) on the turnbuckle, they would have then come crashing down on top of her and the table causing the match to end since the referee was injured. Sadly this didn't happen although we did see AJ take a bump and leave the match for a short time. I just felt the relatively clean ending and, bar for introducing  the chair, AJ's limited impact on the match leaves the situation in a kind of limbo, going nowhere fast. I believe this is the longest match Punk and Bryan have had, and I'll be honest it was my least favorite. I feel like the momentum CM Punk began at this point last year has come to an end. ( I will probably get trolled like hell for that comment but it's just the way I feel). 

With 3 of the four advertised main card matches over now was time for the obligatory Ryback squash match. I am slightly relieved that he is now working with recognizable ( well I know who Reks and Hawkins are) talent. It was also refreshing to see Ryback take some bumps too. The Goldberg chants continue however.

After the Ryback squash we are given a 6 diva tag match. As a woman I HATE Myself for what I am about to say. 

I couldn't have cared less. 

Let me explain, I started watching WWE when women wrestlers actually had regular matches or appearances on television. I wanted to be Stephanie McMahon, or Lita, or Trish Stratus. I like Beth and Natalya. I think Layla is underrated. I think that it's time the diva division was completely overhauled. My main annoyance in this was I would have much rather seen a title defence ( this is a bit of a theme...) Also,  Beth and Natalya used to make Eve cry...and now they're a team?? Ugh. The face team pick up the win. The only one looking good here (in my opinion) is Kaitlyn because she's never been in a PPV match before. Let's hope this year these ladies get treated to a bit more airtime.

And finally, the very special WWE Championship MITB match. I say special because you have to have held the WWE Championship to be eligible to enter this match. With just four participants this was looking a little thin...but we were treated to an announcement earlier in the evening by the returning Miz stating his intention to enter the match. We all know I'm a Cena fan but I also LOVE (and yes, that warrants shouting) Chris Jericho (he's the reason I'm a fan). I was thrilled to see the pair work together and I was more impressed than I thought with the overall match. Poor Miz cam back just to take insane bumps. Jericho taking Big Show's knockout punch off the top of the ladder was a highlight. The commentary team really need to learn their history. Cole and King have been there when Show used his MASSIVE ladder but yet they were both shocked and surprised at it. Silly boys. The obvious man won, again, but I was happy. It was a fun, if not intentional finish with Cena breaking the briefcase handle. 

For UK viewers this PPV was free on Sky Sports One. I stayed up ALL NIGHT to watch. I would say that, especially since this has been my favourite PPV in previous years, I felt the matches weren't as strong as they perhaps could have been.  It is interesting going forward to see what will happen with the Money in the Bank winners, particularly Cena who has vowed to cash in by asking for a match, not by taking advantage of a weakened opponent. Also, where does our bizarre love triangle go? 

The road to Summerslam begins tonight at the final ever ( at least for the foreseeable future) 2 hour Raw. What will the fallout of Money in the Bank bring? I wait, somewhat eagerly, to see. 

What did you think of Money in the Bank? Can you be the person to change my mind about Alberto Del Rio? As always, leave a comment below!