Money In The Bank

[jonny316]

I was half expecting when I looked on Ewrestling to find many blogs praising the Money In The Bank PPV. Instead I find the same old nonsense from people who think they are smarter bookers than the people in charge and how they want the WWE to go back to a sleazy, smutty, bad taste product that was all the rage in ninety-nine. Well, let this dumb ol’ mark be the first to say, THAT WAS THE GREATEST PPV OF ALL TIMES!!! And I cannot stress that enough.

What makes it so remarkable is that to create the atmosphere which was just as electric as Tyson-Spinks, Ali-Foreman or any other big time prize fight, was that all it needed was CM Punk and a microphone. That deadly combination was enough to create not just “Match of the Year” but the greatest match of all time. And if legendary Chicago wrestling promoter Fred Kohler was alive I am sure he would agree.

It is one thing to build up a big fight, anyone can do that, even TNA, but it is another to deliver it and talk about deliver, UPS got nothing on CM Punk and John Cena. But going back to TNA for a second. Last week, Destination X, they promised to show the most dangerous match in professional wrestling, The Ultimate X match. Frankly, it was a big let down, and the main event of Styles-Daniels which was a good match fell short as absolutely nothing on the line. Last night WWE put on two of the most dangerous matches ever witnessed and a main event with everything on the line. TNA wrote some checks that bounced like Cena’s head off Punk’s knee and WWE wrote a check that proved “Money In The Bank” was a more than appropriate title.

The opening match, the “SmackDown Money In The Bank Ladder Match” was the better of the two ladder matches and I could even argue it was the greatest ladder match ever. Some of the spots were sickening. Whether it was Sin Cara getting power-bombed through a ladder by Sheamus, Daniel Bryan getting folded up like an accordion or Sheamus taking a bump on the ladder that looked almost lethal. But what set the this match apart from other ladder matches was the finish. Most finishes in ladder matches are an anti-climax. It is usually the wrong winner and I think to myself “Was that it?” and “I was expecting more”. This had the right winner and it was perfectly timed, with so much tension and suspense you would think Alfred Hitchcock booked it. You certainly got your money’s worth. I put this down to some of the guys involved, who are some of the best workers WWE has had since I can remember. Guy’s like Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, those guys don’t need to fly about like spot jockeys, they can get you off your seat with a kick. Now that’s how you work. This match was so good I won’t even mention the popcorn shot from Justin Gabriel, wait a minute, oops, I just did.

I’ll gloss over Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly, even though it was a good match. Because my hat has to go off to Big Show for doing his best to make Mark Henry look good and Mark Henry for making himself look incredible. I was not expecting a catch-as-can classic, but I was certainly in to it due to the amazing build up. Big Show getting smashed through cages and tables, sound guys getting launched into orbit and poor Drew McIntyre being in the wrong place at the wrong time made this an intriguing affair. With the outcome being Mark Henry becoming the biggest, baddest heel on the block.

On to the Orton-Christian match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Another fantastic match on this most loaded of loaded cards. It is one that Christian had to win and he did with the DQ. Classic Christian if I do say, with a very well worked story.

Now the “Raw Money In The Bank Ladder Match”. This was just brutal. Miz did a magic trick with a disappearing knee cap, Jack Swagger took a real nasty bump and the ladders crumpled and fell with Del Rio and Rey Rey on top of them. This match was unpredictable, unscripted chaos. The only thing I was sure of that Del Rio would win and he duly obliged.

It was now time for the main event. Probably one of the best promo videos and greatest introductions I have seen since Rock-Goldberg in 03’. I defy anyone who did not get goose bumps over CM Punk’s white hot reception or the ice cold one met with Cena. It was like the Cena-RVD match at ECW’s One Night Stand, except times by a million. You knew this was going to be an epic when the bell rang with forty-five minutes to go in the pay-per-view. That was confirmed by the mat based wrestling exchange that opened the match, these two were going to need some gas in the tank for later on. I would like to write so much about this match but my brain and the words in the English language could not possibly cover the magnitude of emotions that this contest put me through. And mark my words this was a contest. This was not sports entertainment, this was a sporting event, ably assisted by some excellent commentary which certainly painted the picture, told the story and connected the dots. In the past I’ve raised an eye brow when Michael Cole or J.R would big up a fight and sell it to death but Cole’s claim that this was, and I paraphrase, “The greatest match in WWE history” was no exaggeration and probably under sold it. The stiff shots would of made Killer Kowalski wince, the false finishes were reminiscent of Savage-Steamboat at 3‘, the submissions and submission counters were like HBK-Angle at 21‘, and when Punk kicked out of the numerous Attitude Adjustment’s it was like Rock-Austin at 17’, but the crowd responses though were like nothing else. Anyone who saw it saw history, never mind about the finish. But the finish itself left my jaw on the floor for at least five minutes after the broadcast. Anything could of happened. I was leaning towards someone cashing in “Money in the Bank”, like most. But when Vince McMahon and John La-La-Lar, er, Laryngitis? When Vince and Johnny Ace came down I thought the screw job was on the cards which would have been an awful ending to an amazing match. So Cena unlocking the STF and knocking out before Johnny Ace could get to the time keeper was about the hundrendth great thing that happened on the show, but the show was not over. A perfectly executed GTS and a three count later Punk is the WWE Champion. After I calmed down, I thought here we go, Money in the Bank time and Alberto Del Rio appeared at the request of Vince, but before he could cash it in, Punk was gone through the crowd of his adoring public and out of the arena with the WWE Championship. I’m getting chills just writing this.

Slap my backside and call me a mark, I didn’t ever think wrestling could be this good. This exceeds anything ever achieved in the times of Rock ‘n Wrestling, Attitude era or any other point in history. And all it took was CM Punk and a stick, if he told me Santa Claus was real I would probably believe him. But to quote Tazz, “What does this mean?” I’m guessing he will do a tour of New Japan and Ring Of Honor with the belt and I get a sneaking suspicion that they might do a slow burn for Wrestlemania 28. After all that was one of the reasons why he was angry with Cena that he was in the main event with Dwayne and the greatest wrestler in the world, CM Punk, was not. So if Punk comes back around the Rumble with the gold it could set up the "Match of the Year 2012" with The Undertaker. Although that’s just my imagination running away with me. To be honest I would hope they strike whilst the iron is hot. This angle is far too good to let it sit on the shelf for six months.

In closing, if you did not think last night was one of the best nights ever in the history of history and not just lived up to the hype, but blew the hype out of the water, you are not a wrestling fan. And that’s the bottom line ‘cause Jonny3:16 said so! And because CM Punk walked out of Chicago with the WWE Championship.