The opening segment saw the Authority bringing out Cena to announce him as the new A+ player. They sucked up to him like he was the new Face of the WWE but Cena thought something was up. He showed up a picture that actually wasn’t of someone’s face superimposed on someone’s body. Instead it was of the Authority looking devastated after Cena won the title.

This set up what appeared to be another rehash of Austin vs. McMahon, as HHH said Cena could do this the easy way or the hard way. Cena said he’d do it the hard way, so HHH put him in a fourway at Battleground where he defense against Reigns, Kane and Orton. Why Reigns is in the match isn’t clear as HHH freaked out on Vickie over the battle royal issue. As Cena was leaving, HHH said there would be a Plan B. Rollins came out, but word on the street says this is foreshadowing Brock Lesnar.

Other items of this segment saw Cena saying Bryan could have a World Title shot whenever he’s back, Cena being revealed as being on the cover of the WWE 2K15 video game, and Stephanie dancing to Cena’s music. As someone who is a fan of how Stephanie looks, I highly approve of this new dancing gimmick of hers.

Seth Rollins beat Rob Van Dam in a decent match. Again, Van Dam puts over anyone they put him in the ring with and the match worked well enough. The good part though was Rollins bragging about winning the briefcase but Ambrose came on screen and said that he’ll be there every single time Rollins tries to cash in. The briefcase looks like it’s made of gold but it’s full of TNT because it’s going to blow up in his face. This is an awesome idea and the whole thing gets better and better every week.

Rusev and Lana came out to do their thing but Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger came out to answer their challenge. Colter ripped into Lana for taking advantage of the USA’s freedom of speech and Swagger took Rusev down. This is the face turn that Swagger has needed for several years now and the people actually cheered for him. This is one of those ideas that is filed under “WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG.”

The Wyatts beat the Usos and Sheamus. Nothing special here but the Family likely gets another shot at the Usos. I have no issue with this at all.

Bo Dallas came out and took a knee for a moment of silence for Bad News Barrett and Daniel Bryan. This actually went on for sixty seconds and was so ridiculous that it made me laugh.

The Funkadactyls beat Nikki Bella in a match set up by Stephanie. This seems to be setting up Brie vs. Stephanie at some point which should be a good payoff.

Barrett is injured and has to vacate the Intercontinental Title. The belt will be held up until a battle royal at Battleground.

Cesaro lost to Kofi Kingston in a match that ended in a break. They’re pushing the App a bit harder but I’m not sure how much interest this match is going to draw them. It was a nice surprise though. Cesaro destroyed Kofi post match.

Santino has a party which turns into an ad for a beer company. Emma was mentioned as not being there because she was in a Connecticut hoosegow.

Damien Sandow was dressed as Vince McMahon and did an awesome impression of the boss. This caused Stephanie to pop up on screen and send out Great Khali to knock Damien out cold.

The Miz returned as a Hollywood A-List guy who was bragging about being in Marine 4. After a lot of bragging with people not caring about what he said, Chris Jericho returned, talked some trash, and laid Miz out with a Codebreaker. He talked about how great that felt but was cut off by the Wyatts. The Family beat him down and Bray stood tall as he has his next feud. Jericho is a good choice to face Bray as the fans are going to have someone cool to cheer for against Bray. Also, Wyatt can get a big win on pay per view after all those losses. At the end of the day though, no one is going to outcool Jericho so Bray should come off as more of a heel. The promos should be awesome too.

Summer Rae cost Fandango a match by kissing Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler kissed her back and Fandango freaked out, allowing Dolph to grab a rollup for the pin. Hopefully this gives both guys someone to feud with.

Goldust and Stardust beat Ryback and Axel for I think the third time in a row.

Paige came out and bragged about retaining the title until AJ Lee came out. AJ wanted a title match but Paige wasn’t sure. Eventually AJ talked her into it and won the title in a minute. This came off as a double turn, which is pretty much exactly the last thing they should have done. Paige was fine doing what she was doing, but we have to cater to AJ, even though there was a built in story for their major rematch.

Cena/Reigns beat Orton/Kane via DQ when Kane hit Cena with the steps. This was your usual main event tag. Rollins tried to cash in but Ambrose chased him off. Reigns speared Kane down and stared down HHH to end the show. That’s quite the mountain for Reigns to conquer when he gets the chance.

Overall Raw was a very solid episode this week as they’re actually trying instead of just putting it into neutral for the next three weeks. This show reminded me of last year’s post Payback show where they turned on the jets and had an awesome show with some good plot twists and changes going forward. This was a solid show with enough good stuff to carry things forward to Battleground before the Summerslam build blows things up as usual. Really solid show this week that I underrated.

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The pre-show saw Daniel Bryan return for an interview to talk about his status. The update wasn’t too promising: his arms aren’t getting their strength back and there’s talk about a second operation. If that’s the case, word on the street has him out another six months to a year. That’s a horrible situation but I’d much rather have him out that long and able to walk when he’s forty than get another year of matches. Bo Dallas came out and told Bryan to Bo-lieve which led nowhere.

The opening PPV match was an awesome back and forth fight with the Usos retaining the titles against the Wyatts. Both teams looked awesome out there and it’s the kind of match where the Wyatts don’t lose face by not winning the belts. The near falls in this were very hot and the fans got way into things as a result. A hot tag match is usually the best option for an opener and this was no exception. Luke Harper continues to be as awesome as you can be while still being a Bruiser Brody inspired lackey to a Louisiana cult leader. Really solid stuff here and I’d be fine with a rematch.

Ambrose continued his awesome streak of promos by wondering if he should use a ladder to get the briefcase or crush Rollins’ face. Dean is just feeling it right now and is one step off, making him all the more interesting to watch. The showdown is going to be white hot when it happens.

Naomi and Paige tried to do something different in the Divas Title match with some nice athletic stuff, but at the end of the day this was more about Cameron and Naomi’s impending split. You know, because we’re supposed to care about Cameron because she’s a STAR. The match was fine but nothing I’m going to remember two days later. Actually that’s true as I had to read the description to remember what happened.

Damien Sandow was Paul Revere and got beaten up by Adam Rose. I guess they were seven minutes short or something.

Before the briefcase match, we got some old school style interviews from the participants talking about how they were going to win. I loved these as they take like fifteen seconds apiece and give you a quick look at each person. Why haven’t these been a regular thing in twenty years?

Seth Rollins won the Money in the Bank briefcase in a good and entertaining match. Well entertaining most of the time at least as some of the high spots had me terrified. Thankfully no one seemed to be too badly banged up as a result. The main story was of course Rollins vs. Ambrose as their showdown continues to look awesome. After leaving with a shoulder injury, Ambrose came back and almost won the case, but Kane ran interference to give Rollins the win.

It’s such a simple idea but more importantly than that, IT MAKES SENSE. Kane works for the organization Rollins is a part of, so why wouldn’t he come down to help? It also sets up a potential match for Dean against Kane, though hopefully it’s on a Smackdown or something so that it doesn’t take up a ton of time. The rest of the match was nothing special and no one really stood out, save for Swagger for some power stuff at times.

Goldust/Stardust beat Ryback/Curtis Axel in the same match they’ve had multiple times now. Another TV match.

Rusev beat Big E. Again. It was slightly better than their last effort but it didn’t make things any more interesting.

Layla beat Summer Rae with Fandango as guest referee. Fandango is a lucky man and that’s about it.

Cena won the title again in another ladder match. The ending was exactly what it should have been, but I would have liked the challengers to do a little big more on the way to the obvious ending. Cena had to win given how things are looking heading into Summerslam so I’m fine with that. Would it have hurt them to let Wyatt and Cesaro not look like such afterthoughts though?

Post match Cena was called the greatest WWE Champion of all time. This made me roll my eyes, though I get why they say it. For those of you that aren’t up on your history, the statement isn’t laughable but it’s certainly not correct.

Overall Money in the Bank’s big matches worked but it felt more like a formality than a show you needed to see. The ladder matches were both good and entertaining enough for the $10 (something I skipped: the announcers were HAMMERING in the idea of getting the Network. It seems clear that the PPV providers are about to be gone in full very fast. Not a surprise at all when you think about it though) but the other matches save for the tag match were horrible or totally meaningless. That’s not a great selling point for a big show.

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Things have changed after last night’s Money in the Bank show but it was pretty much what people expected. John Cena won the World Title while Seth Rollins became Mr. Money in the Bank. I can’t help but think Cena’s reign is just until we get to Summerslam where Brock can destroy him and take the title. Battleground is in three weeks so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the ladder matches last night.

Here’s the Authority to get things going. Stephanie says she was born in Hartford before going into a discussion of Daniel Bryan’s announcement last night. However, the Authority is about the future going forward, much like Seth Rollins who became Mr. Money in the Bank. HHH talks about John Cena winning the ladder match and proving that he’s an A+ player.

Cena comes out to the usual reaction with the titles wrapped around his neck like an untied scarf. Stephanie gets cut off so John can say the Authority won’t give Bryan a title shot but Cena would love to. That starts up a huge YES chant but Stephanie has a different question. She asks how many people here are gamers. The reason she asks is because Cena is going to be on the cover of the WWE 2K15 video game. The banner unfolds and Stephanie dances to Cena’s music in a cute bit.

Cena says that’s very nice but hang on a minute. The Authority are being way too nice to him because he saw them right after he won those titles. He shows us a shot of them looking crushed after the match ended but Stephanie says it was because of Randy Orton’s injuries. Cena says that’s because they have Orton in their pocket, just like Seth Rollins.

HHH tries to talk like a Dr. of Thuganomics (seriously) before saying all this can go away really fast if Cena doesn’t do it with respect. Cena would rather do it the hard way if it means doing it by himself. HHH says he’d have it no other way, which is why Cena is defending the title in a fourway at Battleground.

After Stephanie explains the rules, HHH announces Kane, Orton and Roman Reigns. Just for fun, tonight let’s have Cena/Reigns vs. Kane/Orton. Cena says he’ll earn the titles again at Battleground and brings up Stephanie being thrown in the pool of whatever that was last week. Cena goes to leave but HHH says that if Cena survives the fourway, there’s always a plan B. Rollins comes out next to Cena, briefcase in hand.

Seth Rollins vs. Rob Van Dam

Van Dam quickly sends Seth outside before a big kick to the head staggers Rollins again. Rob fires off some shoulders to the back before putting on an old school abdominal stretch. He switches it up to a freaky looking double leg lock but Rollins makes the ropes and heads outside as we go to a break. Back with Van Dam hammering away but getting tripped into a half crab.

Rob injured his leg last night so there’s actually additional some psychology to this. Ropes are quickly grabbed and Van Dam comes back with clotheslines and a kick to the face, setting up Rolling Thunder for two. The split legged moonsault to Rollins’ back gets two but he grabs a legdrag to take over again. Rollins loads up the buckle bomb but Rob counters into a hurricanrana into the corner. The Five Star is ready but Rollins rolls to the floor, only to get taken down by a big dive from the top. As they come back in, Rollins twists the knee again to set up the curb stomp for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: B-. This worked really well and was one of Van Dam’s best matches in a very long time. He was actually doing stuff other than just the regular moveset so the match worked much better than usual. Rollins getting a win over a former World Champion is always a good thing and the match was a solid effort.

Post match Rollins says the briefcase proves him right over Ambrose because this is his golden ticket. Ambrose pops up on screen and says from one scumbag to another that this isn’t over. Plan A failed miserable last night when Rollins’ daddy had to send Uncle Kane out to save him. It might be more fun this way because Ambrose is going to be right there every time Rollins tries to cash in. That briefcase doesn’t have a contract inside because it’s full of TNT. Every time Rollins tries to case in, it’s going to blow up in his face.

Here are Rusev and Lana with something to say. Lana wants the USA chants to stop and talks about how there is only one superpower. She asks who will be the next American to try to stop him and Rusev speaks some Russian. The answer is the one that should have been here months ago: Jack Swagger.

Colter goes on a great rant about how Boris and Natasha can say this in America because they’re taking advantage of the Freedom of Speech. Lana said that nothing can stop the Rusev Crush but Colter thinks a Real American could do it. WE THE PEOPLE gets the loudest reaction of Swagger’s career and the boys are ready to go but Lana stops him. A LET’S GO SWAGGER chant starts and Rusev tries to get in a cheap shot. Swagger comes back with some armdrags of all things and the Russians bail.

Sheamus/Usos vs. Wyatt Family

Jey and Rowan get things going and a clothesline sends Jey to the floor and use to a very quick break. Back with Rowan cranking on Jimmy’s neck before Bray hits his running splash in the corner. Jimmy finally comes back with a Whisper in the Wind to Harper, allowing for the hot tag to Sheamus. Rowan gets sent to the apron for the ten forearms to the chest until Harper makes a save. Sheamus dives off the top to take the Family down before powerslamming Erick in the ring.

Wyatt offers a distraction though and Rowan sends Sheamus to the floor. Harper kicks Sheamus’ head off and the Wyatts take over. Rowan gets two off a splash and puts on the double fist head squeeze. It’s back to Bray who runs into a boot but knocks Sheamus out to the floor. A JBL chant starts up because the fans are bored I guess. Back in and Harper superkicks Sheamus down for two as the announcers ignore the crowd for a change.

Sheamus finally grabs the Irish Curse on Harper and makes the tag off to Jey as house is cleaned. A big dive takes Harper out and a pair of kicks to the face get two. Sheamus Brogue Kicks Rowan down and Jey hits a dive to take him out. Bray plants Sheamus with a release Rock Bottom and avoids a superkick from Jimmy, allowing Harper to hit the discus lariat for the pin at 13:07.

Rating: C+. Good but not great match here as the Wyatts will get another shot at the titles in theory. Harper continues to blow my mind every time he’s out there, but Bray makes me sad. The guy’s incredible push in the spring has been totally wasted and he hasn’t won anything of note in months. He isn’t being depushed but he just needs to do SOMETHING.

Stephanie interrupts Nikki Bella in the back and puts the Bellas in a tag match against the Funkadactyls. Since Brie is gone though, it just has to be a handicap match.

Here’s Bo Dallas who asks for sixty seconds of silence for Bad News Barrett and Daniel Bryan who can’t compete at the moment. He actually kneels for about sixty seconds before showing us a clip of him interacting with Bryan on last night’s pre-show. We go into the next match with Bo still on the stage.

Nikki Bella vs. Funkadactyls

Cameron gets things going as the announcers try to get bomb.com over as a catchphrase. Nikki fights off Cameron to start because even Nikki is better than she is. Naomi comes in with a huge high cross body and the reverse DDT for the pin at 1:35.

The Funkadactyls are about to fight post match.

We look at Barrett’s shoulder being injured, which will put him out for several months. The Intercontinental Title is now vacant and will be decided in a battle royal at Battleground. This brings out Paul Heyman for his usual talking points and to introduce Cesaro as the first entrant in the battle royal.

Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston

Cesaro now has a black robe. Kofi is in the battle royal as well and comes out with a bad limp. Cesaro slams Kingston down with ease but gets sent to the floor for a BIG flip dive. Back in and a springboard gets caught in a Cesaro backbreaker. We hit the chinlock on Kofi before Cesaro hammers away, only to get rolled up for two as we take a break. Back….and the match ended during the break? Apparently that’s the case so we’ll say it ended at about 7:30.

Rating: D+. I don’t remember this happening in about the last ten years or so but it opens up a few more possibilities. I guess they’re pushing the App and to be fair this was a meaningless match so I don’t mind that I didn’t see how the fall took place. Kofi winning is a surprise, even though I have no idea how he won.

Cesaro DESTROYS Kofi with a hard throw into the crowd, Swiss Death, a throw over the table that wipes Cole out, and about 15 postings in a row. A replay shows that Kofi won with a rollup out of an electric chair.

Santino is having a party but no one showed up. Adam Rose and his Party shows up with a case of Twisted Tea, which I guess is a sponsor.

Damien Sandow comes out as Vince McMahon and does one heck of an impression. He hits all of the catchphrases and has the voice down perfectly. Sandow is in the Intercontinental Title battle royal but Stephanie interrupts and freaks out on Damien. He gets to face a giant also in the battle royal right now.

Great Khali vs. Damien Sandow

Chop, pin, four seconds.

It’s time for the return of a former WWE Champion and it’s….the Miz. He brags about being in Marine 4 and says he’s back to prove everyone wrong. People have called him a fluke but he’s here to show them that he isn’t a fluke. Miz isn’t leaving until he main events Wrestlemania again and people are begging him not to go. He’s finally cut off by the returning Chris Jericho in the real surprise. Miz rants about being the Marine and a huge star but gets taken down by a Codebreaker. Jericho says that felt great but we’ve got Wyatts. A triple team beatdown sets up Sister Abigail to leave Jericho laying.

Fandango vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler tries to start fast but gets sent into the corner and dropped face first onto the mat for two. Fandango gets a kiss from Layla but Dolph hammers away with right hands. Summer, looking great in a pink dress, comes to the ring and kisses Ziggler who does the same right back. Fandango isn’t sure what to do so it’s the Zig Zag for the pin at 2:36.

Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Stardust/Goldust

Goldust hammers on Axel to start but Ryback gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over. We hit the chinlock on Goldust for a bit before he counters the Meat Hook with a spinebuster. The hot tag brings in Stardust who cleans with clotheslines all around plus a springboard dropkick. A downward spiral is enough for the pin on Axel at 3:00.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here again as Goldust and Stardust are already getting dull. I do like Cody getting a new finisher but it would have been nice if it was something a bit less generic. Ryback and Axel have lost every bit of their momentum from winning all of those matches against Goldust and whoever he had as a partner.

Here’s Paige with something to say. People have been telling her that she needs to go back down to NXT because she isn’t ready to be a champion but she has proven everyone wrong. This brings out the returning AJ Lee who says she wants to prove that she can get the title back. She congratulates Paige on being champion but Paige won’t shake her hand due to it being exactly what Paige did in her debut. The Title is on the line right now.

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Paige

Paige takes her into the corner to start and poses a bit. She shouts that this is her house now but gets small packaged out of nowhere to give AJ the title back at 1:00.

John Cena/Roman Reigns vs. Kane/Randy Orton

Cena and Orton get things going and the fans are already on John. Feeling out process to start with Cena getting the better of it. Reigns comes in and Orton bails to the corner for the power showdown. Kane is sent to the floor and we take our last break. Back with Reigns in trouble and Orton cranking on a chinlock. Kane gets in a few shots but Reigns nails a clothesline to start a comeback.

It only lasts a few seconds though as Orton sends him to the floor for a clothesline from Kane. Back in and Kane puts on a chinlock but Reigns powers up. They slug it out and a Samoan drop is enough to put Kane down, allowing Reigns to make the hot tag. House is cleaned and Kane takes the ProtoBomb but Orton nails Cena with an RKO. Reigns Superman Punches Kane down though, leaving Orton and Reigns to fight up the ramp. Kane sends Cena to the floor and nails him with the steps for the DQ at 11:57.

Rating: C-. This was pretty dull stuff and was only there to build towards the fourway. Kane isn’t going to win the title and everyone knows it but at least he’s getting a nice push instead of looking like everyone else. It was just a standard main event tag match and not a very good one at that.

Post match Kane tombstones Cena and knocks him out, drawing out Rollins for a cash in. HHH says ring the bell but Ambrose hits the ring to attack Rollins before the bell. Ambrose chases Rollins into the crowd and HHH is livid. Kane gets a chair to go after Cena but Reigns comes back and spears him down. Roman and HHH stare each other down and the fans are into it to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling wasn’t the best in the world here but a lot of stuff was happening on this show. We had three returns, a new champion, a title vacated, and the start of a nice new feud for someone that needs it. This show took care of a lot of things they’ve needed to get around to and it worked really well as a boost. Battleground feels like a throwaway show but they seem to actually be putting some effort into it on the way. That’s a rare thing but it’s very welcome. Not a great show but it got some stuff done.

Results
Seth Rollins b. Rob Van Dam – Curb stomp
Wyatt Family b. Usos/Sheamus – Discus lariat to Jimmy Uso
Funkadactyls b. Nikki Bella – Reverse DDT
Kofi Kingston b. Cesaro – Rollup
Great Khali b. Damien Sandow – Chop
Dolph Ziggler b. Fandango – Zig Zag
Stardust/Goldust b. Ryback/Curtis Axel – Downward spiral to Axel
John Cena/Roman Reigns b. Kane/Randy Orton via DQ when Kane used the steps

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Tonight is one of those nights that is going to change everything all at once. The World Title is vacant and will be hanging above the ring like the briefcase normally would. In addition to that we have a regular briefcase ladder match, meaning we’ll see the future of the company for the net few months decided tonight. Let’s get to it.

As per the pre-show, Bad News Barrett is officially out of the ladder match with a shoulder injury.

Instead of a match on the pre-show, we’ve got an interview with Daniel Bryan. He’s already out of the neck brace and does a full YES chant around the ring. The fans come unglued for him and Bryan is clearly overwhelmed by their reaction. Bryan: “Shh.” Fans: “NO! NO! NO!” Bryan: “Well ok. YES! YES! YES!”

Cole gets right to the point: when can we expect him back in the ring? Bryan doesn’t know because his arm strength isn’t back and there’s talk of another surgery. He promises that he’ll be back and better than ever though. It wouldn’t be a Daniel Bryan story if he didn’t have a setback, and he’s coming back to win his title.

It’s time for some Twitter questions. Bryan thinks Reigns will win tonight and felt disrespected when he was stripped of the title. He finds it interesting that he was stripped of the titles because no one could beat him. This brings out Bo Dallas of all people for this line: “I know you can’t compete tonight. That’s got to be a pain in the neck!” Bryan can still climb the ladder of life and make his way back to the top. All he has to do is Bo-lieve! Bryan steals the line from the NXT fans and tells Bo to leave.

The opening video is about the climb and how it is more important tonight than ever before as it will decide the future.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Wyatt Family

The Usos are defending and have been feuding with the Wyatts for over two months now without actually defending the titles against them. The children’s choir sings a few lines of He’s Got the Whole World before the music changes to some slow rock music. It’s far better than the banjo music they had on Raw. Jey and Harper get things going and Luke gets kicked in the ribs to start. The Usos speed things up with some tagging but Harper dropkicks Jimmy down.

Jimmy gets caught in the wrong corner for some double teaming but he finally dropkicks Rowan through the ropes, setting up a big dive off the barricade to take him down again. Back in and a high cross body gets two on Erick and it’s off to Jey vs. Harper. Luke quickly sends Jey through the ropes before catapulting him throat first into the bottom rope for two. Rowan puts on a claw hold for another two before it’s off to a neck crank.

Jey avoids a legdrop but Harper breaks up the tag. A legdrop gets two on Jey but Rowan misses a splash and goes shoulder first into the post. Jey finally makes the hot tag to send Jimmy in to face Harper. Things speed way up and both Wyatts take Samoan drops. The Umaga attack nails Rowan and a Whisper in the Wind gets two on Luke. Two straight superkicks get a near fall on Harper but Jey dives into Rowan’s arms. Jimmy dives onto both of them but walks into a shot from Harper as he comes back in.

Jey saves his brother from a double something and Jimmy rolls up Harper for a VERY close two. Harper powerbombs Jimmy for an even closer two before diving through the ropes at Jey. Jimmy’s dive is caught by Rowan so Harper dives through the ropes again to take Jimmy down. Back in and something like a double chokeslam (if you lift under the arms instead of by the throat) gets two on Jey as Jimmy has to make a save. Harper is kicked to the floor so Rowan goes up top, only to get crotched out of desperation. The Usos superplex Rowan down and both add splashes for the pin to retain at 13:17.

Rating: B+. This was AWESOME and a great opener. Luke Harper continues to blow my mind every time he goes insane out there and those double dives should not be coming from someone his size. The Usos are a great team and work so well together with a lot of that coming from being brothers. You can’t create chemistry like that.

We recap the Shield split, leading into Rollins vs. Ambrose.

Ambrose says he wants to grab Rollins by his new tie and rip him apart before climbing the ladder and grabbing the briefcase. The question is should he climb the ladder and grab the briefcase or use the ladder to bash Rollins’ face in? Case or face? Case or face? Eh why not both?

Divas Title: Naomi vs. Paige

Paige is defending and Naomi gets the shot due to beating Paige on Main Event. There seems to be a respect between them but Cameron and Naomi have been having issues lately. Naomi takes Paige down to start and slams her down from the apron to the floor. A big running dive over the top rope crushes Paige again but Cameron doesn’t look happy. Back in and they trade some quick rollups for two each before Naomi puts on a modified surfboard.

Naomi goes up but slips off the top, only to pull Paige out to the floor with her. They get back in at eight and Paige grabs a stump puller of all things. Cameron is finally smiling. Paige lets the hold go and Naomi snaps off a quick hurricanrana. The Rear View connects for a near fall but Paige blocks the split legged moonsault with knees to the ribs. Naomi tries the reverse DDT but Paige spins out and hits a fisherman’s DDT for the pin at 7:03.

Rating: C+. They tried something different here and it worked for the most part. They’ve been letting the wrestlers wrestle a bit more lately and it’s getting better every time. Naomi vs. Cameron isn’t going to do much for anyone but it’s what you have to expect from reality show stars?

Cameron cheers at her partner losing.

The expert panel (host Renee Young, Booker T., Alex Riley and Christian) talks about what we’ve seen so far and make predictions for the ladder matches.

Money in the Bank by the numbers video.

Here’s Damien Sandow as Paul Revere to warm us that the half wits are coming. That would be the Rosebuds for those of you that aren’t smart enough to understand him. Rose comes out and says his usual stuff before backdropping Sandow to the floor.

Adam Rose vs. Damien Sandow

Rose hammers away with his comedy stuff to start but Sandow trips him up and rams Adam’s face into the mat. The fans sing Rose’s song as Sandow hooks a chinlock. Sandow hits the Wind-Up elbow (Sandow: “The elbow is coming! The elbow is coming!”) and it’s back to the chinlock. You’re Welcome (full nelson slam) gets two but Sandow misses a middle rope moonsault, setting up the Party Foul for the pin at 4:18.

Rating: D. Just a Raw match here but Sandow got more offense than he’s gotten in months. Rose needs a feud against someone not named Jack Swagger but he might have already reached his peak. He’s still good for a lower card act for the song though so he’s worth keeping around until he gets something to do.

Jon Stewart from the Daily Show is here.

We get some old school interviews from each guy in the MITB contract match.

Seth Rollins says he’ll shock the world again. Plan A is he wins the contract. Plan B is he wins the contract.

Rob Van Dam says he’s the winner.

Kofi Kingston says he’ll fly high and everyone else will have trouble in paradise.

Dolph Ziggler says lightning strikes twice tonight.

Zeb Colter says tonight another great patriot will have his moment in Boston.

Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. Dean Ambrose

Everyone but Kofi and Van Dam head to the floor to start but Kofi is quickly outside as well. Swagger goes for a climb but Kofi is back in to dropkick him down. The Boom Drop on a ladder crushes Swagger and Kofi goes up. Ambrose shoves the ladder over but Kofi lands on the top rope and springboards down onto the rest of the people in the match. Rollins and Ambrose fight over who gets to climb with Ambrose slamming Seth down. A ladder is laid in the corner and Dean suplexes Rollins onto the steel.

Kofi and Dolph climb the ladder but have to deal with Swagger. They climb again after sending Jack to the floor but fight down to the mat where Rollins nails them with another ladder. Van Dam kicks Rollins in the face and puts a ladder over the bottom rope. Rolling Thunder crushes Rollins onto the ladder and Ambrose is kicked to the floor. Ziggler and Ambrose are dispatched as well with Swagger taking the Five Star. Lawler points out how meaningless that is as Rob finally realizes he needs to climb.

Kofi comes back for a save but takes too long trying to superplex Van Dam, allowing Swagger to hit Kingston in the back with a ladder. Jack sets up a ladder in the corner in front of Van Dam but gets headbutted down to the mat. Rollins breaks up a Five Star attempt but has to fight out of a superplex attempt. Swagger climbs up and powerbombs Van Dam down but Dean climbs the ladder and superplexes Rollins down. Both guys are down but Ambrose grabs a ladder, only to have Ziggler dropkick it into his face.

Swagger throws Kofi around and hits the Vader Bomb onto the ladder onto Kofi. Van Dam makes a save but Ambrose and Rollins pull them both down. Seth and Dean climb up and slug it out on top of the ladder with Rollins being knocked down. Swagger makes a save and pulls Ambrose down, only to have Dean counter into a DDT off the ladder. Ambrose comes up holding his shoulder and the doctor says he dislocated it. He quickly walks off under his own power but isn’t happy about it at all.

Rollins goes up but Rob makes the save. They fight on the ladder and Kofi bridges a ladder between the ropes and into the standing ladder. Van Dam falls and seems to have hurt his leg. Kofi backdrops Rollins onto the bridge and almost gets the case but Ziggler makes a last second save. Ziggler hammers away on Swagger as Van Dam is back up, only to take a Fameasser.

The Zig Zag to Kofi sends both guys onto the ladder but Dolph is still able to climb. Swagger puts him in the ankle lock but Ziggler still climbs in a cool visual. Jack gets kicked away but Rollins his Ziggler in the injured ankle. Rollins climbs but Ambrose comes back and destroys him with the chair. Dean goes up but Kane’s pyro goes off and he makes the save. A chokeslam plants Ambrose and the safest looking tombstone I’ve seen in years knocks him out. With Kane playing defense, Rollins gets the case at 21:23.

Rating: B. Good but not great match here. One thing that stands out to me more than anything else though is how much easier this match went with fewer people. There were a lot of times where people were able to stand around, meaning there wasn’t so much insanity that you couldn’t keep up with it. Some of the earlier spots were scary at times but they settled down and got a great reaction for Ambrose, which is a really good sign.

The Authority comes out to celebrate with Rollins.

Orton says he doesn’t need the same help Rollins needed. He has nothing to say about Roman Reigns.

Goldust/Stardust vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel

Axel now wears a singlet but gets quickly taken down by both Dusts. An armdrag sends him over for a tag off to Ryback who gets double teamed very quickly. Goldust comes in for an atomic drop and kick to the side of the head but Axel gets in a shot from the apron. Goldust gets hammered by Ryback and the middle rope splash/elbow combination gets two for Axel.

We hit the chinlock as JBL sounds like his voice is starting to go. Ryback comes in with a slam but misses a splash in the corner, allowing for the hot tag to Stardust. House is cleaned and Stardust DDTs Ryback for two. Shell Shock is countered into Cross Rhodes for two with Axel making a diving save. Stardust sends the partners into each other and rolls up Ryback for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: D+. Another Raw match here and there was no way the Dusts were going to lose this early into their run. The team could go one of two ways in the coming months but the clear thing is how into the role Cody is. The visual of his face is awesome and the character is already working.

Goldust and Stardust dispatch an attacking Axel after the match.

We recap the love triangle between Summer Rae, Layla and Fandango. Summer had been Fandango’s dance but Fandango dumped her and picked up Layla. She saw him kissing Summer recently and now they’re fighting over him.

Fandango is in the back when the girls come up and present their attributes to him for lack of a better term.

Rusev vs. Big E.

Big E. hammers away to start and actually has some early success. Rusev in knocked to the apron but gets up a knee to stop the spear through the ropes. The gutwrench suplex drops Big E. and we hit a chinlock from Rusev. A splash misses though and Big E. gets two off a belly to belly. Rusev charges into the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two and Big E. avoids the jumping superkick. Another suplex sends Rusev to the apron and now the big spear connects. Back in and the straps come down but Rusev kicks him in the side of the ear. The jumping superkick and Accolade keep Rusev undefeated at 7:19.

Rating: C-. Better than last month’s match between these two but it was still nothing special. Rusev needs to move up a step as he’s defeated Big E. twice in a row now. It’s good to see him get tested a bit though and that’s what this match was designed to do. Those kicks still look good too.

The expert panel talks a bit more and we see clips from Bryan’s pre-show speech.

Summer Rae vs. Layla

Fandango is guest referee. It’s a brawl to start with Summer stomping her down into the corner. Layla kicks her into Fandango and puts on a leg lock, drawing a CM Punk chant from the bored crowd. Summer fights out with a bunch of basic offense, only to get her neck snapped across the top rope, setting up a high kick for the pin at 2:59.

We recap the main event, which is taking place because of Bryan’s injury.

WWE Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kane vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro

The title is vacant coming in. It’s a huge brawl to start with everyone going for a ladder or each other early on. Bray escape an AA attempt and dives at a ladder to crush Sheamus before hooking up with Cesaro to clean house. Reigns and Orton fight while Sheamus and Kane do the same on opposite sides of the ring. Reigns and Sheamus pick up ladders to crush Kane and pin him underneath the smaller ladder. Del Rio stops Reigns from going up as Cesaro and Sheamus climb. All four start climbing two ladders but Kane breaks it up and cleans house.

Cena comes back in and charges into a chokeslam before Kane cleans out most of the ring. He sets up a ladder in the middle of the ring and tells Orton to go up just like he did with Rollins earlier. Reigns shoves Kane into the ladder for the save but gets jumped by Bray. Cena comes back in with a ProtoBomb to Wyatt, only to walk into Swiss Death. Cesaro and Sheamus slug it out on top of the ladder as Bray spider walks up and shoves the ladder over. The Europeans are left hanging in the air and eventually fall to reset things.

Orton is all ticked off after getting hit with the ladder so he pulls out more ladders. He bridges one between the announce table and apron so he can put Sheamus over the bridge for an Elevated DDT. Back in and Orton throws a ladder to the floor before setting up the big one in the middle. Everyone gets back in and we go into scramble mode with no one getting higher than the second or third rung.

The people all get steadily knocked to the floor until only Kane is left standing. He takes down the big ladder and goes over to fight with Sheamus instead of climbing. Sheamus comes back with the forearms to the chest and White Noise, followed by a Brogue Kick to Cena. Sheamus sets up the big ladder again but Kane makes a save. The Irishman goes up but Cesaro bridges a ladder into the tall one to climb faster for another save. Cena and Del Rio fight to the floor as Reigns lifts up the big ladder with Sheamus and Cesaro on top. The bridged ladder keeps them from falling and Cena pushes it back to level.

Everyone is back in again and Cena is slammed onto the bridged ladder by Wyatt. Kane pulls people off the ladder but gets speared by Roman. Orton sends Reigns into the big ladder and knocks it over though, leaving no standing ladder in the ring. Reigns comes back with Superman Punches all around and the apron boot to Del Rio. HHH is all ticked off and we’re down to Cena vs. Reigns. They slug it out and Cena tries the AA, only to get speared out of his shoes.

Reigns goes up but Orton makes a last second save. With blood on the top of his head from earlier, Orton goes up but Bray takes him down with Sister Abigail. Del Rio stops Bray (and kills the crowd) but Sheamus shoves the ladder over and kicks Del Rio’s head off. An RKO pulls Sheamus off the ladder but Reigns stops Randy’s attempt. Orton is busted open BAD so Reigns rips at the cut and headbutts him a few times. Kane is back in for yet another save though by chokeslamming Reigns off the ladder. Cena grabs Kane for an AA though and Orton gets one as well, allowing Cena to get the titles at 26:30.

Rating: B. They toned down the big spots in this which kept my stomach in better shape this time. These matches are fun but man alive can they be scary at times. Cena winning is going to annoy some people but he’s the most logical choice as Lesnar is waiting in the wings for whoever gets the belt here. Brock vs. Cena will be awesome and is the money match that people will pay to see.

Overall Rating: B. This was a solid show for the most part with the Tag Title match and the ladder matches both delivering, but the rest was pretty meaningless stuff. Still though, those are the only matches that mattered for the most part and they were good enough to make the show solid. Money in the Bank tends to be hard to screw up and this was no exception.

Results
Usos b. Wyatt Family – Superfly splash to Rowan
Paige b. Naomi – Fisherman’s DDT
Adam Rose b. Damien Sandow – Party Foul
Seth Rollins b. Kofi Kingston, Dean Ambrose, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and Rob Van Dam – Rollins pulled down the briefcase
Goldust/Stardust b. Ryback/Curtis Axel – Rollup to Ryback
Rusev b. Big E. – Accolade
Layla b. Summer Rae – Kick to the head
John Cena b. Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Bray Wyatt and Kane – Cena pulled down the titles

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Daniel Bryan is on the preshow. I don’t expect much from this but it’s always cool to see him and we might get an idea on his return date.

I’m going to go in a bit different order this time and get the obvious and unimportant matches out of the way.

Rusev beats Big E. Again. Not much to say there.

I don’t think Naomi takes the title yet but she’ll be champion someday. Paige is starting to reach the point where she could drop the belt though.

Goldust and Stardust win as there’s no way they lose this early in their run. It’s a shame that Ryback and Axel have been stuck in this feud instead of getting a title shot.

I’ll flip a coin and say Summer beats Layla. It’ll be a nice view if nothing else. Fandango is guest referee and playing Charlie Haas to Dawn Marie and Jackie Gayda.

The Wyatts take the Tag Titles so the evening isn’t a total loss for the Family. I fully expect the title change but I wouldn’t be furious if the Usos kept the belts. They’ve had a nice reign though and it’s time for a switch.

Now we get to the big ones, where things are obvious in theory but that might be the time for a surprise. I’ll go Rollins to win the briefcase and give Ambrose something to chase besides revenge. It looks like Barrett is out or else he would have been my dark horse to win. Rollins and Ambrose will have some fun moments in there.

The logical move is Cena winning the title so he can be fed to Lesnar at Summerslam, but that DVD cover could change a lot of things. WWE has this weird obsession with the idea that people won’t watch if they can predict something. I get the theory behind that, but it doesn’t hold up when you actually test it. People are going to watch Cena vs. Lesnar because they’re two huge stars and had a great match already. Knowing it’s coming a month earlier than it’s announced isn’t going to change that. Hopefully it doesn’t lead to some swerve that doesn’t make sense and isn’t necessary.

Overall Money in the Bank should be fun but it doesn’t have my interest for the most part. The ladder matches will be good but the rest of the show doesn’t do much for me. That could be because there are fifteen guys in two matches and no personal feud between most of them but why would we need anything like that? The show is usually good and it gets us closer to Summerslam so maybe it works. It doesn’t look bad and WWE ppvs have been good lately so hopefully it pulls through.

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It’s the final show before the Money in the Bank pay per view so odds are we’re going to see various matches between the participants in the two ladder matches. The build for the show has been acceptable but nothing thrilling for the last few weeks. Then again, a good wrestling show is always entertaining. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We open with a recap of how we reached the World Title ladder match, complete with a music video.

Here are HHH, Orton and Rollins to get things going. HHH talks about all the eras we’ve seen in WWE history and says we’re currently in the Authority Era because the Authority keeps making history. One way they’re making history is by having the first Money in the Bank ladder match for the WWE Championship and to be the new face of the WWE.

But wait, there’s more. There’s also going to be a ladder match to become the new Mr. Money in the Bank. After Sunday, you’re looking at one heck of a team in front of you. Orton promises to climb the ladder and become World Champion on Sunday, meaning he’s still the face of the WWE. Rollins says he’ll win as well but says there’s a chance that Orton can’t get the job done. Orton thinks Rollins might not win either, but HHH cuts them off, saying it’s either survive against the Authority or thrive with the Authority. That brings him to Dean Ambrose, who is in for some Bad News tonight.

Bad News Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose

Non-title. They circle each other to start until Dean hits the Thesz Press and pounds Barrett out to the floor. Back in and Barrett hits a big boot to take over followed by a neckbreaker for two. Barrett hits his running boot while Ambrose is in the ropes and Dean is knocked to the floor again. We take a break and come back with Dean caught in a chinlock before he quickly fights out and nails some forearms. Barrett runs into a corner elbow but is still able to counter a tornado DDT. Ambrose escapes a pumphandle slam and hits his bouncing clothesline, setting up Dirty Deeds for the pin at 6:45.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t quite the Ziggler match on Monday but this was still better than most matches you get in WWE anymore. They’re actually having a competitive midcard again and it’s really nice to see for a change. Dean getting a clean win is a good thing, though I wish it had been against another opponent.

Post match Swagger comes out and beats up Barrett in retaliation for Barrett hitting the Bull Hammer on Main Event. Ambrose jumps Swagger and pulls out a ladder but they wind up brawling without it. Dean starts getting the better of it but Rollins comes in through the crowd and sends Dean into the steps. A curb stomp leaves Ambrose laying.

Cameron vs. Paige

Non-title. Naomi sits in on commentary. Paige runs her into the corner to start but gets caught with something resembling a Codebreaker for two. Cameron puts on a headscissors as Naomi says Cameron is always talking. A quick Paige Turner gets the pin at 1:17.

Paige and Naomi have a friendly staredown after the match but Cameron jumps the champion again, knocking her into Naomi. Naomi and Paige are about to fight but cooler heads prevail.

The Wyatts pop up on screen with Harper talking about never having nice things but the Usos have what they want. Tick tock tick tock. Bray says his brothers will trample the Usos and a ladder will be his stairway. He’ll take their ornament of power and have it all right in his hands. Imagine a nation of sheep led by a lone wolf.

Bray Wyatt vs. Sheamus

Non-title. Sheamus hammers away in the corner to start and runs Bray over with a shoulder before stopping a charging Wyatt with feet in the corner. The top rope shoulder looks to set up the forearms but Bray bails to the outside. The Family offers a distraction, allowing Bray to knock Sheamus off the apron as we take a break. Back with the Usos at ringside and Bray getting two off something we didn’t see.

Sheamus fights out of a superplex attempt but gets punched off the top rope to the floor. Back in and Bray fires off headbutts in the corner before we hit the chinlock. Sheamus comes out with a running ax handle to the face followed by the forearms. Some more ax handles set up the powerslam but Bray nails a quick splash in the corner followed by the backsplash for two. A mostly botched Irish Curse sets up a top rope knee drop but Sheamus doesn’t cover. Instead he puts on the Cloverleaf, drawing in the Family for the DQ at 8:35 shown of 12:05.

Rating: C-. Basic power brawl here with Sheamus getting in more offense than I was expecting. Bray’s chances of winning on Sunday fall further and further every week, which is a shame as he’s the most interesting guy in the match when he isn’t being jobbed out time and time again.

The Usos immediately come in and the Family is sent running.

Goldust and Stardust accept Ryback/Axel’s challenge for Sunday. Stardust shows up and talks about staring into the sun and how terrifyingly beautiful it is. He talks about other stars but knows that he’s everyone’s favorite. Cody is nailing this so far.

Rob Van Dam/Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro/Alberto Del Rio

Heyman is on commentary as Del Rio and Van Dam get things going. A quick monkey flip sends Del Rio flying for two and it’s off to Ziggler for the big elbow drop. Del Rio throws him down though and brings in Cesaro to work on Dolph’s arm. Back to Alberto for a kick to the arm in the corner as Heyman breaks down the strategy for Sunday: “Climb the ladder and get the titles. What a stupid question!”

Ziggler hammers away in the corner and nails a neckbreaker as Heyman turns it into an analogy about asking Hilary Clinton how she’ll become President. Cole of course gets in a jab at Hilary because that’s probably what Cole told him to say. Del Rio kicks Ziggler out to the floor and us to a break. Back with Del Rio holding Ziggler in a chinlock followed by the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Cesaro puts on a chinlock of his own as Cole and Heyman continue their amusing banter about Sunday.

Ziggler fights back and puts on a sleeper but Cesaro rams him into the buckle to escape. Dolph avoids a charge and makes the hot tag to Rob as house is cleaned. Rolling Thunder gets two on Alberto but he nails a Codebreaker to the arm. Rob avoids the corner enziguri and hits the split legged moonsault for two. Swiss Death lays Ziggler out and Rob kicks Cesaro to the floor. The Five Star hits knees though and the armbreaker gives Del Rio the submission at 10:00.

Rating: C. Totally standard and therefore fine upper midcard tag match here which did what it was supposed to do before Sunday. I doubt any of them have a chance at winning on Sunday but it’s nice to see WWE give them some lip service. Also Van Dam continues to job to anyone he can find like he should be doing.

The Usos talk very fast about keeping the titles on Sunday. They can cut some energetic promos.

Lana and Rusev do their thing in the ring, consists of standing there looking intimidating and looking great in a blue suit. You figure out which is which. The theme this week is urban decay in America, which just doesn’t happen in Russia.

Rusev vs. Sin Cara

Total squash of course with Rusev winning via the Accolde in 42 seconds.

Big E. comes out after the match and talks about how America has transformed into a nation that works hard to keep things together. A real man looks his opponent in his eye which is what Big E. does here, but Lana makes Rusev back off. I’d buy this feud a bit more if Rusev hadn’t destroyed Big E. in almost every encounter they’ve had.

We look at the Stephanie vs. Vickie angle from Raw. That’s a great sendoff for Vickie and Stephanie’s YOU’RE FIRED sounded so much like her dad’s it was eerie.

Big E. vs. Rusev and Layla vs. Summer Rae with Fandango as guest referee have been added to the MITB card.

Roman Reigns vs. Kane

Feeling out process to start until Reigns gets two off a running shoulder. A slam gets the same but Reigns lowers his head and gets caught by a running DDT for two. We take a break and come back with Reigns in a chinlock but quickly breaking out. Kane walks into a Samoan drop but he kicks Roman in the face to take over.

The side slam gets two and a frustrated Kane sends him out to the floor. He loads up the announcers’ table but Reigns drives him back first into the edge. Back inside now with Reigns nailing a clothesline followed by some headbutts. The apron kick sets up the Superman Punch but Orton comes out for the DQ at 4:52 shown of 8:22.

Rating: D+. It’s a decent power brawl but it didn’t have the chance to go anywhere. As I’ve said for a few weeks now though, Reigns is looking more like an even footing star every night and it’s getting easy to accept. Reigns beat Kane up here for a lot of the match and was never in any serious trouble. That’s a really interesting sign.

Orton takes the Superman Punch but Reigns walks into a chokeslam. Kane brings in a ladder but Orton isn’t too keen on him climbing up. Kane steps to the side as Orton looks up, allowing him to climb the ladder. JBL is putting the pieces together as Orton takes the belts down (note that they’re attacked to a kind of hanger and Orton took the hanger down, making it less likely that someone would only take one belt) and poses. Orton loads up the Punt on Reigns but gets speared. Kane takes one as well and Reigns holds up the titles to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show did a much better job of what it was supposed to do as Sunday now feels a bit more interesting. On top of that, there are now three more matches on the card, which solves one of the show’s biggest problems. This was no masterpiece or anything but it was an easy way to spend two hours.

Results
Dean Ambrose b. Bad News Barrett – Dirty Deeds
Paige b. Cameron – Paige Turner
Sheamus b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered
Alberto Del Rio/Cesaro b. Rob Van Dam/Dolph Ziggler – Cross armbreaker to Van Dam
Rusev b. Sin Cara – Accolade
Roman Reigns b. Kane via DQ when Randy Orton interfered

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Stephanie opened the show and I need to get this out of the way first: she looked GREAT on Monday with the dress showing off her figure very well. She’s been playing up her sexuality just a bit lately and it really does work for her. I’m not saying she’s Trish Stratus, but she has a really pretty face and can rock a tight dress with a very expensive body.

Anyway the point of the segment was she brought out Vickie to fire her but gave Vickie one more chance: if Vickie can beat Stephanie later in the night, Vickie can keep her job. Again, Stephanie was on fire here with how evil and vindictive she was but had that slight hint of a smile and sass to it that made the whole thing that much better. Her voice when she made Vickie beg was perfect and totally fit her character.

One thing though: Vickie said she’d do it because the one name more respected in wrestling than McMahon is Guerrero. I legitimately laughed and said are you serious when I heard her say that. In what world outside of El Paso does ANYONE believe that’s true? The Guerreros were a regional/midcard act until Eddie made them a big deal in the 90s and 2000s and their reputation would be nowhere near what it is if Eddie was still alive. To suggest that the Guerreros are on the level of the Harts for example is completely ridiculous.

The Usos and Wyatts traded singles wins in matches less than two minutes each. There’s not much to say about this.

Lana and Rusev insulted some Washington DC landmarks. I’m always a fan of things that are filmed on location as you can only have so much atmosphere in an arena.

Naomi beat Alicia Fox in a glorified #1 contenders match. The notable part of the match was Cameron on commentary as the MOST ANNOYING PERSON EVER. I really hope it’s a new character for her as she was every stereotype of a reality TV “star” that you could think of rolled into one. She spent the whole match babbling about how people are talking about her and that’s all that matters. Thankfully Paige shrugged all this off and held up the title to Naomi, asking if she wanted it. Simple idea and it worked. Paige is another girl that is better looking every time I see her, especially with that smile.

Bo Dallas beat Titus O’Neil in the same match that Bo has had since he debuted. It’s still working but he needs to move forward before it goes bad.

HHH announced the entrants in the Money in the Bank briefcase ladder match which had no one out of the ordinary listed. He put Rollins over as the favorite before RVD came out to trade some insults with Seth. A match followed with Seth winning via DQ when Ambrose interfered. The thing I thought the most out of all this was how bored I am with RVD. You get the exact same match out of him every single time and it’s really hard to care about him anymore. The one good thing is he’s putting a lot of people over and the matches aren’t bad. Uninteresting but not bad.

After the match Ambrose said that he had to be put into the ladder match or he’d just wreck the whole pay per view. There’s something awesome about that but more importantly, think about Ambrose for a second. Can’t you picture him interfering in every single match and then really screwing up the ladder match just because he could? That’s a very valuable kind of character to have: one that talks a big game but you could totally picture him doing it.

After a break, Rollins asked for Ambrose to be put in the match and HHH was totally cool with it. This was slightly spoiled for two reasons. One: it was pretty freaking obvious, and two: the original graphic had one more slot than had already been filled.

Bad News Barrett beat Dolph Ziggler to retain the Intercontinental Title in a very solid match. Ziggler looked good and Barrett showed that he can go in the ring. I have zero problem with thirteen minute matches between two talented guys for the midcard title every week. Make the thing the wrestler’s title again like it was back in the golden days.

Vickie came out for her match to Eddie’s music but the match was turned into a mud pit match, meaning the first person to go into the mud would lose. Stephanie sent Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes and Layla to do her dirty work but Vickie threw all of them into the mud instead. Stephanie hit her in the back to send Vickie into the mud, then did a PERFECT imitation of Vince to fire her. She followed it up with a very appealing little dance while singing the goodbye song, only to realize that Vickie had nothing left to lose. Stephanie went into the mud and Vickie did Eddie’s shimmy to leave on a high note. This was the perfect way for her to go out and I smiled way more than I expected to.

Stardust sang When You Wish Upon A Star, prompting Goldust to say he’s the normal one now. Another funny bit.

Jack Swagger beat Kofi Kingston in a warmup match for the ladder match. Nothing to see here and no one buys either having a chance at winning the briefcase either.

Alberto gave one of the best promos of his WWE career when he talked about his success in Money in the Bank. Cesaro came in and stared him down while Heyman did the talking. Better than expected here.

Big E. beat up Damien Sandow as Abraham Lincoln as the stupid gimmick continues. Post match Big E. imitated a black preacher while talking about how amazing America was…..only to be laid out by Rusev. Again.

Cena did a Cena promo about Sunday.

The main event was another 4-3 handicap match and was basically the same match from Smackdown, meaning it wasn’t anything great but served its purpose.

Post match Kane was added as the eighth man to the ladder match but got laid out by Reigns to end the show.

This was an interesting week for Raw as some of the stuff was good but nothing on it was required viewing. After three hours, I had the same interest in the pay per view that I had going in and nothing made me want to watch on Sunday any more than I already did. The show wasn’t bad, but it didn’t need to exist for the most part. Stephanie in that dress was a very nice touch though.

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It’s the go home show for Money in the Bank and the big story tonight is the reveal of the rest of the roster for the contract ladder match. Other than that it’s likely going to be the usual go home show, with a lot of speeches about why everyone will win and not have a lot of other development. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Stephanie in a very tight pink and black dress to open things up. She says that as owner of this business, she can’t stand gross negligence. Vickie Guerrero couldn’t get her a simple cup of coffee, so Vickie needs to get out here and face the consequences. Vickie comes out looking terrified and says she knows Roman Reigns spiked the coffee. Finally, someone watches the show.

Stephanie is still annoyed though because Reigns was the one thing that Vickie was supposed to avoid. Somehow Vickie screwed up and allowed Roman to get into the title hunt and Stephanie gets in a plug for the ladder match. Stephanie says Vickie has been riding Eddie’s coattails for nine years. She couldn’t be a Diva so they made her a GM, but Vickie couldn’t even do that right.

Vickie doesn’t deserve the same respect Eddie got so Stephanie has no choice. Guerrero offers to beg and the fans chant NO. Stephanie tells her to beg on her knees and Vickie does just that. The boss says stop humiliating yourself because you have one more chance: win your match tonight or get fired. Vickie wants to know who she would have to face and of course Stephanie is the opponent. Stephanie is about to fire her but Vickie gets some courage and says the Guerrero name is more respected than the McMahons. The match is on.

Jimmy Uso vs. Luke Harper

The Family now has some I believe organ version of He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands for their entrance. I’m hoping it’s just for the tag team because it doesn’t work at all. Harper nails a quick dropkick to start but gets caught by a spinning kick to the face. Jey and Rowan get into a fight on the floor and Jimmy loads up a dive, only to walk into the discus lariat for the pin at 1:43.

Jey wants to fight Rowan right now and gets what he wants after a break.

Jey Uso vs. Erick Rowan

Joined in progress with Jey fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in a fall away slam. Another slam gets two for Rowan but he misses a charge into the post. A superkick puts him down though and the Superfly Splash is good for the pin at 1:58. Same match with the roles reversed.

The Wyatts destroy the Usos post match. Bray pops up on screen and says he’s proud of his boys. He and his brothers look down upon creation and see the bodies of all their conquerings. On Sunday, Bray will climb the ladder and become champion of champions. His brothers will prove themselves worthy to be his disciples and they will roam the earth like disciples, spreading their message of follow the buzzards.

Lana and Rusev went sight seeing earlier today and rip on some Washington landmarks. America’s only option is to bow down and accept Vladimir Putin.

Alicia Fox vs. Naomi

Paige and Cameron are on commentary. Naomi gets a quick rollup for two but can’t hit the Rear View. Cameron brags about how touch she is and how she’s going to dance all over everyone and win the Divas Title. The girls fight on the floor with Naomi getting the better of it but getting pulled off the apron and down onto the concrete. Fox gets two off a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker as Cameron is still running her mouth. A northern lights suplex gets two on Naomi as Paige shrugs off everything Cameron says. Fox sends Naomi outside and poses a lot but back inside, a quick reverse DDT gives Naomi the pin.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t bad as you had two girls who could have a decent match in there, but Cameron was painfully annoying and was almost literally shouting PAY ATTENTION TO ME. Paige vs. Naomi could have a great match if given the chance but we’ll have to put up with Cameron because of a team split that no one is going to care about.

Post match Paige gets on the apron and holds up the belt while sticking out her hand. Naomi slowly shakes it and it looks like we have a future title match set.

Sheamus and Reigns are in the back talking about their 4-3 handicap match tonight. Reigns is ready but Sheamus brings up Shield attacking everyone in WWE over the last year and a half. Sheamus says Sunday is every man for himself and Reigns says he’ll be ready. The idea seems to please Sheamus and both guys say they’ll win on Sunday.

Titus O’Neil vs. Bo Dallas

Bo has a black eye but brings up Titus’ two losses in less than a minute on Smackdown. He suggests Titus Bolieve of course. Some dropkicks have Titus staggered but he comes back with a series of slams and chops in the corner. Titus misses a charge though and the Bodog gives Bo the pin at 1:06.

Titus knocks the mic out of Bo’s hands post match. Bo: “Silly me. Mr. Butterfingers.” Titus gets the pep talk but nothing else happens.

Here’s HHH to talk about how all the decisions in this country are made right here in Washington DC. He explains the double ladder match on Sundaya nd how the winner of the briefcase is almost guaranteed to be World Champion. The lineup for the ladder match will be Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler (big pop), Rob Van Dam and Bad News Barrett. That’s only six even though the graphic had seven spots. HHH picks Rollins to win the match of course and here’s Seth, now with his own t-shirt.

The fans chant YOU SOLD OUT and Rollins says they really should be over it by now. If the fans love Ambrose and Reigns as much as they claim they do, they should still be thanking Rollins for getting them as high as they did. Shield may have gotten him this far, but this Sunday he’ll climb the ladder all by himself. You can call him a sellout but on Sunday you’re going to call him Mr. Money in the Bank.

This brings out RVD who thinks he’s not being taken seriously. Seth: “I do take you seriously. I’d take you even more seriously if this was 2005.” RVD: “Back when you had to ask your mom to stay up late and watch me wrestle?” Van Dam brings up crushing HHH’s trachea in the first Elimintion Chamber before challenging Seth to a match right now. HHH says let’s do it.

Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins

This actually starts without a break and Van Dam hits a quick monkey flip to take over. Seth is sent to the floor for a dive followed by a moonsault from the apron as we take a break. Back with Rob getting choked on the ropes before Seth hits Three Amigos for two. After a chinlock goes nowhere, Seth gets two off the spinning sleeper drop.

Back to the chinlock for a few moments before Rob grabs a rollup for two. Some clotheslines look to set up Rolling Thunder but it takes a big spinning kick for Rolling Thunder to connect. A top rope kick to the face drops Seth but the Five Star only hits mat. The buckle bomb sets up the curb stomps but Dean Ambrose runs in for the DQ at 10:00.

Rating: C-. I’m really getting tired of Rob Van Dam lately. His matches aren’t bad for the most part but you can call almost every spot he’s going to do in the entire match depending on how long it runs. Thankfully he’s only there to put people over at this point because that’s all he should be doing now.

Ambrose destroys Seth until Rollins can get away. Dean demands to be put in the ladder match because he’ll wreck things if he doesn’t get in.

After a break, Rollins wants Ambrose in the ladder match so Seth can keep his eyes on him. Rollins says any failure will be on him so HHH grants his wish.

Intercontinental Title: Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler

Rematch from a non-title match on Smackdown where Ziggler got a quick upset. Barrett rips on the Redskins before the match. We get big match intros after a break and Ziggler grabs a quick rollup for two. A clothesline puts him on the floor though and Barrett takes over. Back in and Barrett cranks on a chinlock but comes back with a hard series of right hands on the mat and in the corner. Winds of Change gets two more for the champion but he gets caught by the Zig Zag. Barrett rolls to the floor before Dolph can cover though and we take a break.

Back with Ziggler getting two off something we didn’t see but being sent to the floor so the champion can take over. We head back inside with Bad News kicking him in the ribs for two but going up top, only to get caught in the top rope X Factor for a very close near fall. Barrett loads up a powerbomb but switches over to Wasteland for two instead. The Bull Hammer is countered into the Fameasser for yet another near fall as the fans are WAY into this. Another Winds of Change is countered into a crucifix but the Stinger Splash lands on the Bull Hammer for the pin to retain the title at 12:34.

Rating: B. This was a very solid back and for the match and makes up for the loss on Friday. It made that match look much more like a fluke as Barrett gets to come back and win a competitive match. These two had chemistry together and that’s always something good to see.

Vickie says she has no regrets. Orton shows up and says Vickie will get what’s coming to her.

Vickie Guerrero vs. Stephanie McMahon

Guerrero comes out to Eddie’s music and Stephanie comes out in the pink and black dress and heels. The match isn’t going to take place in the ring, but rather in a mud pit. The first person to go into the pit loses the match, and Vickie is fired if she loses. Stephanie sends Rosa Mendes, Layla and Alicia Fox to attack Vickie and she’s easily overpowered, but manages to send Rosa into the pit. Layla goes in as well and Alicia follows her, causing Vickie to do the YES chant. Stephanie hits her from behind though and knocks her into the pit for the win. Not a match of course.

Stephanie fires her in a perfect imitation of Vince’s voice. She starts the Goodbye Song but Vickie gets fed up and the reality that Vickie has nothing to lose quickly sets in. Vickie throws her into the muck and Vickie does the Eddie dance before leaving. The referee is pulled in while helping Stephanie just to make things all the better.

We recap the debut of Stardust.

Goldust is in the back and says he didn’t see Cody last week. This brings in Stardust who sings When You Wish Upon a Star. Goldust: “WOW! Now I’m the normal one!”

Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger

Kofi goes after the leg to start before kicking away at the ribs. A hard shoulder puts Kofi down but he comes back with the jumping elbow to the jaw. Swagger kicks him in the ribs and hits the Vader Bomb before cranking on the arm. Kofi fights up with some dropkicks to send Swagger outside, followed by a big flip dive. Back in and Kingston’s top rope cross body is caught but he comes back with a victory roll for two. A flapjack sets up the Patriot Lock though and Kofi taps at 3:56.

Rating: C. The match was fine but they seemed to be a step off at times. It’s nice to see Swagger get a clean pin, but at the end of the day I have no reason to buy into his push at all given how many times it’s gone nowhere before. Kofi’s high flying is still awesome and he’ll have a job because of it for years.

Naomi vs. Paige is official for Sunday.

Del Rio says he’s the only one in the ladder match that is undefeated in Money in the Bank. Not true but whatever. Cesaro and Heyman come up with Paul talking about how Del Rio may be the one in the ladder match, but Heyman is the one behind the one in 21-1 and how Cesaro will win on Sunday. Del Rio asks Cesaro if he ever talks, so Cesaro says he doesn’t speak loser.

Damien Sandow is Abraham Lincoln this week and reads a proclomation that says some people don’t find him entertaining. He’d rather spend a night in Ford’s Theater than let simpletons determine his career. He runs his mouth for a bit longer until Big E. interrupts.

Damien Sandow vs. Big E.

Sandow wrestles in the suit and stomps away in the corner. Big E. runs him over and hits the Big Ending for the pin at 54 seconds.

Post match Big E. goes into what sounds like a preacher rant about how this is the land of the free and how tired he is of hearing Rusev and Lana run down America. Lana comes to the stage, allowing Rusev to jump Big E. from behind. The jumping superkick sets up the Accolade as America is crushed again.

Cena talks about how this Sunday, seven men will fight for the WWE Championship. Moments and memories will be made but we’re guaranteed to see a new WWE Champion. It’s time to pick which of the Magnificent Seven walks out as champion. He’s wearing green tonight and that’s the color of money, so people should bet on him. I’ve heard worse lines.

John Cena/Sheamus/Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio/Randy Orton/Cesaro/Bray Wyatt

Rematch from Friday. Cena and Orton get things going after a break with John quickly running him over and making the tag to Sheamus. It’s quickly back to Cena to face Del Rio with Alberto stomping away in the corner. The running bulldog puts Alberto down and it’s off to Cesaro for a big showdown. Cesaro wins a test of strength and takes Cena into the corner for a stomping from Wyatt.

We hit the nerve hold on Cena followed by the running backsplash as we take a break. Back with Del Rio trying to keep Cena in a chinlock. Cena gets to his feet but a DDT brings him right back down for two. Cesaro tags himself in and loads up the Swing but opts for a Boston crab instead. John fights up and powers out, seting up the hot tag to Reigns. Roman cleans house with his usual stuff, including the apron dropkick to Del Rio. The Superman Punch drops Cesaro and Orton but Del Rio gets two off a Backstabber.

Back to Bray for the running cross body followed by the gutwrench suplex from Cesaro. Orton tags himself back in to Cesaro’s annoyance before suplexing Reigns down for two. We hit the chinlock before the heels all start taking their turns on Reigns. A quick Superman Punch drops Bray and Cesaro comes back in, only to knee Reigns into the tag to Sheamus.

The pale one cleans house and hits fourteen forearms to Cesaro’s chest. White Noise doesn’t work but the powerslam puts Cesaro down. Everything breaks down and it’s finishers a go-go. Orton and Del Rio take AA’s but Cesaro lays Cena out with Swiss Death. The Brogue Kick out of nowhere is enough to pin Cesaro at 15:30.

Rating: C. This was pretty much just a shotened version of the Smackdown match, meaning it wasn’t all that great. This is the most basic version of a match like this that you can have and while it’s full of stars, the action was nothing all that special. That’s part of the problem with Money in the Bank: it focuses everything on one match and that causes problems.

Post match Kane comes out to clean house with chokeslams for most of the seven men. HHH comes out and announces Kane as the eighth man. Reigns spears Kane down after the fire comes out of the posts.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling was ok, the build for Sunday was acceptable and we got a good moment from Vickie. That being said, the show felt like it was a very paint by numbers build up show which is what I had a feeling we’d be getting. It’s not bad or anything, but I have no more desire to watch Sunday’s show than I had coming into tonight. The show should be fine but I’d have liked a bit more than this.

Results
Luke Harper b. Jimmy Uso – Discus lariat
Jey Uso b. Erick Rowan – Superfly Splash
Naomi b. Alicia Fox – Reverse DDT
Bo Dallas b. Titus O’Neil – Bodog
Seth Rollins b. Rob Van Dam via disqualification when Dean Ambrose interfered
Wade Barrett b. Dolph Ziggler – Bull Hammer
Jack Swagger b. Kofi Kingston – Patriot Lock
Big E. b. Damien Sandow – Big Ending
Roman Reigns/Sheamus/John Cena b. Bray Wyatt/Cesaro/Randy Orton/Alberto Del Rio – Brogue Kick to Cesaro

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We’re in the home stretch now for Money in the Bank as the WWE Title ladder match’s lineup is set. However, there’s now a second ladder match which was announced on Main Event. Seth Rollins is the only confirmed name for the match with the rest being announced on Raw. They’re really going to be stretched thin at the PPV as a result. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Cena vs. Kane from Raw.

Here’s Cena to get things going. He points out the titles above the ring and gives us a ten second recap of the last nine months of the titles. That brings us to Money in the Bank and it sounds like the start of a bad joke. “A Mexican, an Irishman, a European, a Duck Dynasty reject, a primadonna and Dudley Do-Right walk into a WWE ring.” Cena says that’s where the comedy stops because he’ll be knocking all of them out at Money in the Bank and taking his title back. So he’ll be knocking himself out?

This brings out Del Rio who says Cena needs to stop talking and start worrying. He qualified first and then he’ll climb the ladder first. Sheamus comes out and says people haven’t forgotten to be afraid of Del Rio. People just don’t care about him at all. Sheamus will leave the PPV as a double champion. Cue Cesaro with Heyman and the latter talking about how Cesaro loves a match where it’s every man for himself because only Cesaro has a full time strategist. I haven’t heard Heyman talk this fast in a long time.

Next up is Reigns with what sounds like new and slower music but it’s very similar to the Shield’s song. He has trouble trusting people anymore but now the only thing that matters are those titles. Reigns doesn’t care who you think you are (looking at Cena), no one is going to stop him. He and Cena stare each other down and John takes off his shirt but Orton interrupts. Randy reminds everyone that he’s the face of the WWE and Reigns is already on the ramp to brawl with Orton. They fight up by the stage while the others brawl in the ring. Sheamus and Cena clear the ring but don’t fight each other. This was fine.

Seth Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston

Rollins has new ring gear, including what look to be dark gray tights and no shirt. Kofi says he wants in the ladder match in an inset interview before we get going. Seth is quickly tripped down and splashed for two before Kofi takes him into the corner for some right hands. Kofi gets sent into the buckle and put in a chinlock about a minute into the match. Back up and Kofi nails a quick cross body for two but Trouble in Paradise hits the ropes. The buckle bomb and a good looking curb stomp put Kofi away at 2:55.

Post match Rollins gets on the mic and says he’ll win the briefcase. Ambrose pops up on screen and says tonight might be the night he gets his revenge on Rollins. If it’s not tonight, then it’s coming soon. Rollins says that might be a good idea if Ambrose didn’t have to face Kane. Dean: “Shut up.” Ambrose promises to take care of both Rollins and Kane.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett

Non-title. Ziggler wants another chance to be Mr. Money in the Bank. The bad news of the week: everyone else’s chances at Money in the Bank are like the US’s World Cup team: they might have some early success but they’ll fall at the end. A quick dropkick puts Barrett down but he sends Dolph into the corner and kicks him out to the floor. We take an early break and come back with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock but getting kicked in the ribs to put him right back down.

Some knees to the face set up the big boot in the ropes to put Ziggler on the floor. Back in and JBL references the White Bronco and Roddy Piper vs. Goldust at Wrestlemania XII. A jawbreaker puts Barrett down and a running cross body does the same. That’s about it for Dolph’s offense though as he walks into Winds of Change for two. The Bull Hammer misses and Ziggler grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 4:08 shown of 7:38.

Rating: C. Not enough time to go anywhere but they got in most of their signature stuff. I’m not wild on the ending but it’s nice to see Ziggler getting a clean win over a name. I’d assume both of them will be in the ladder match, but this doesn’t put much confidence in me for Barrett’s title reign.

Ziggler walks into a Bull Hammer post match.

Adam Rose vs. Titus O’Neil

Titus sends him into the corner to start but gets rollup for the pin at 42 seconds.

Titus says ring the bell again and gets rolled up for another pin at 10 seconds.

Kane vs. Dean Ambrose

Rollins is on commentary. Ambrose’s new ring gear is a white undershirt and jeans. It actually suits him well. Ambrose charges at Kane to start but gets sent face first into the buckle. Rollins dares Ambrose to come fight him anywhere as Kane drives knees into the ribs. Dean stops Kane with a boot to the face and a top rope dropkick puts Kane down. A clothesline does the same and Ambrose hammers away in the corner.

Dean escapes a quick chokeslam attempt and gets two off a tornado DDT. Rollins stands up and dares Dean to come fight him but Ambrose sends Kane outside instead. Dean dives on him before going after Rollins, only to walk into an uppercut from Kane. Back in and the chokeslam is good for the pin at 3:34.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to get anywhere but it was more about Ambrose vs. Rollins than anything else. Seth as part of the Authority rather than Evolution works much better as Orton is being phased out of the group anyway and Rollins as the new star isn’t a bad idea at all. Ambrose vs. Rollins will be one heck of a fight.

Rollins curb stomps Ambrose post match.

We recap the opening segment.

Big E. vs. Jack Swagger

Colter talks about Big E. taking a handout last week when Lana distracted Swagger. Big E.’s music cuts him off and we’re ready to go. Swagger takes out Big E.’s leg to start and clotheslines him out to the floor. Back in and Big E. runs him over and the Big Ending gets the pin at 47 seconds.

Fandango knocks on the Divas locker room door and tells Layla that they’re up. She says she’ll be right there so Fandango turns around and sees Summer Rae. Summer says she understands why Layla loves him but she loves Fandango more. Summer kisses him and of course Layla comes out and catches them, sending her back into the locker room in tears.

Video on the Special Olympics.

Fandango vs. Bo Dallas

Fandango comes out on his own but Summer runs out to dance with him. He isn’t sure but Layla runs out to jump Summer. Fandango tries to break it up but the girls get in the ring. Layla accidentally kicks Fandango in the head and the girls run to the back. The Bodog gets the pin at 1:16.

Fandango gets a pep talk post match.

The Wyatts pop up on screen with Bray talking about a bunch of mice running around chasing a piece of cheese. Bray is the snake entering the maze and the monster ready to sink its jagged teeth into the world. All he has to do is climb a ladder and take what is his to bring us into the era of Wyatt. Can we please get the writers a thesaurus for some new words other than era?

There will be six other people in the briefcase ladder match to be announced on Raw.

Roman Reigns/Sheamus/John Cena vs. Randy Orton/Cesaro/Bray Wyatt/Alberto Del Rio

Sheamus and Cesaro get things going with the Irishman hammering away in the corner. Cesaro takes him down to the mat before running away when Sheamus gets back up. Off to Wyatt for a slugout with Sheamus with the pale one nailing his running knee lift. Cesaro offers a distraction and Bray takes over. Back to Cesaro who hammers away but Sheamus says bring it on. Cesaro does just that but walks into a powerslam anyway.

Cena comes in for his bulldog, sending Cesaro off to Del Rio for a tag. Alberto does about as well as Cesaro as he’s taken into the corner without putting up any offense at all. Cena tags Sheamus back in and Reigns looks annoyed that he didn’t get the tag. Del Rio gets Sheamus into the corner for a tag off to Cesaro as the heels take over. The Irish Curse out of the corner sends Cesaro to the apron for the ten forearms to the chest.

We take a break and come back with Del Rio getting two on Sheamus off what looked to be a suplex. A chinlock keeps Sheamus in trouble as the fans want Roman. Sheamus shrugs it off and tags in Cena again to work over the now legal Orton. Randy is knocked to the floor and we get the seven man standoff followed by the seven man brawl. Orton brings Cena back inside for the Elevated DDT and stares down Reigns. Cena gets taken into the heel corner for some stomping before it’s off to Bray for the running splash.

Del Rio hits the low superkick but misses a charge and falls out to the floor. Cesaro throws him back inside for a fast tag to Orton who powerslams Cena down with ease. Randy hammers away before it’s back to Cesaro for more of the same. A delayed vertical suplex gets two on John and we hit the chinlock. Reigns looks like he’s about to explode on the apron. The fact that Cole described it using the exact same words frightens me a bit.

Cena fights up and suplexs Cesaro down but Swiss Death prevents the tag. Del Rio gets two off the corner enziguri but gets dropkicked out of the air to put both guys down. He’s right back up for another low superkick to stop the tag again though and it’s back to Cesaro. A big right hand knocks Sheamus off the apron but Cesaro is afraid to punch Reigns.

Cena avoids a shot to the head and makes the tag to Reigns for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down with Reigns hitting the apron dropkick but getting sent into a forearm from Wyatt. Del Rio kicks Roman in the ribs but the armbreaker is countered into the spear for the pin at 16:03 shown of 19:33.

Rating: B-. Again Reigns is made to look like a star and treated like a main event equal. I don’t think he wins the title but it’s still too early for him to do that anyway. This did what it was supposed to do and followed a solid tag team formula to get there. Cesaro being afraid to fight Reigns was a great visual too.

Overall Rating: C+. This was another show where most of the stuff went by so fast that it’s hard to grade it. The stuff that did get time was good though, especially the Money in the Bank build. I’m still not sure how they’re going to fill in a card with fourteen people in two matches and four in another but they’ve pulled off harder tricks before. Good building show tonight.

Results
Seth Rollins b. Kofi Kingston – Curb stomp
Dolph Ziggler b. Bad News Barrett – Sunset flip
Adam Rose b. Titus O’Neil – Rollup
Adam Rose b. Titus O’Neil – Rollup
Kane b. Dean Ambrose – Chokeslam
Big E. b. Jack Swagger – Big Ending
Bo Dallas b. Fandango – Bodog
Roman Reigns/John Cena/Sheamus b. Cesaro/Alberto Del Rio/Randy Orton/Bray Wyatt – Spear to Del Rio

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