Thursday, August 22, 2013

WWE Money in the Bank 2012 Review

Match 1: World Heavyweight Championship Contract Money in the Bank - Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Santino Marella vs. Sin Cara vs. Christian vs. Tensai
Differentiating each match from the past year is always the biggest challenge for the competitor’s in the ring. While this group doesn’t look like the most promising on paper, I still had confidence that they would pull off a good one. This match came off as a bit of a cluster and very sluggish at times. It looks like they wanted to pull off big moves to impress but on occasion, came up a bit too short. However, more than most of the time, they managed to create some daring and innovative spots including Tensai recalling last year’s match by slamming Sin Cara on top of a ladder. Tyson Kidd was the sleeper hit of the match. While not the most recognized face of the match, he definitely took advantage of his spot in the match and made an impact. Aside from maybe Cody Rhodes and the winner, nobody really came off as strong and it took away much of the match. It felt like many of the guys in the match were just there to fill spots. As Christian climbed the ladder to retrieve the briefcase, Ziggler popped out of nowhere and retrieved it himself. Christian is never going to win one of these. Wasn’t really expecting anyone else to win this match but it didn’t take anything away from the fun. Again, lots of sluggish spots but that is going to happen in this type of environment. Ziggler should be in the main event slot soon and as for everyone else, the future doesn’t look as promising. Sometimes, the obvious choice is the best choice.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: ***½

Match 2: World Heavyweight Championship - Sheamus © vs. Alberto Del Rio
This feud has become personal after Del Rio smashed Sheamus with the hood of his car. Sheamus looks to get revenge by successfully defending against Del Rio. This was the type of match you would expect from these two, good but nothing that necessarily crosses the line. Del Rio smartly focuses on the already damaged arm of Sheamus and looks to win using his submission lock. Crowd is a bit turned off by this style of wrestling and have definitely cooled down after the opener. This probably wasn’t the best spot to put this match on the card. The match itself just feels unimportant and lacks that flavor the previous match had to carry on the flame. Sheamus lands a White Noise on Del Rio with a huge Brogue Kick afterwards to pick up the win. Del Rio attacks Sheamus after the match which causes Dolph Ziggler to run out and try to cash in. However, Sheamus recovers in time to hit a Brogue Kick on Ziggler before the referee could start the match. A nice match with nice pacing and a good amount of time to go with it. The crowd wasn’t much into the action but I’m sure the viewers at home still enjoyed it. The feud definitely doesn’t end here and will likely carry into Summerslam.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ***  

Match 3: Epico & Primo vs. The Primetime Players
Really unsure why they felt the need to put this match on the card. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth come out to do commentary ringside. This really feels like it’s straight out of Raw. Abraham Washington accompanies The Primetime Players after turning on Epico & Primo a month ago. He adds an extra layer to the team and as odd as this may sound, he was a refreshing taste added to what was a dull match with an even duller commentary on the side. Epico & Primo get the surprise win but The Primetime Players don’t take it lightly as they go up to the faces of Kingston & Truth before Truth splashes water in Washington’s face. Unnecessary added match to the card that really didn’t serve any real purpose other than to give a gap between the title matches.
Winners: Epico & Primo
Rating: **

Match 4: WWE Championship - No Disqualification - CM Punk © vs. Daniel Bryan
With AJ playing the role as a special guest referee, this match has something odd written all over it. The two pulled off an amazing match at the May PPV in Over the Limit and look to repeat magic once again. I was scared that AJ would steal the action these two would put on in the ring and it happened to be the case here. I understand where this feud is headed and how it revolves mainly around her, but I don’t think anyone wanted her to become a distraction in what should be an awesome match. The other stipulation added to the match that there would be no disqualifications and this rule definitely helped elevate the match and separate it from its predecessor. The use of a chair, kendo stick, and a table at the end added not only to the match, but the heat that was between them. When foreign objects in wrestling are used in a correct manner, it can be so much fun to watch. The chemistry these two have in the ring is top notch and it was no different here as they took the crowd in a roller coaster of a match. AJ as a referee added an interesting dynamic to the mix but I just felt like the match could have been much better off with her interfering in it or something. A fun match with tons of back and fourth action but I couldn’t help but feel under whelmed when the match was over. My expectations going into this one were through the roof and while I still felt they delivered, I feel like a bigger deal could have been made. Punk’s reign continues into Summerslam.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ***¾

Match 5: Ryback vs. Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks
Since both guys could not beat Ryback individually, they get another shot in a handicap match. Just another predictable squash match to further Ryback. Looks like the guys in the back are really getting behind Ryback considering he gets another quick showing on PPV. Squash matches get crazy annoying.
Winner: Ryback
Rating: ½*

Match 6: Layla, Kaitlyn, & Tamina Snuka vs. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, & Eve
Layla is on fire as of late and looks to continue her streak in this tag match. Decent action from the Divas but they per usual, they don’t get the efficient amount of time to fully develop their matches. Therefore, every match comes off as stale and repetitive. However, I will admit that they made great use of their time and had a nice little match prior to the main event.
Winners: Layla, Kaitlyn, & Tamina Snuka
Rating: *

Match 7: WWE Championship Contract Money in the Bank - Kane vs. Chris Jericho vs. The Miz vs. John Cena vs. The Big Show
This is easily, if not the biggest Money in the Bank match of all time. Star power is written all over this one and they started off hot. Since this was the main event, not only did they have to be different, but they had to do something special to cap off the night. Starting off with Cena driving Show through the table with everyone burying him in ladders soon after, the action was nonstop for the most part and they managed to keep things interesting throughout. There are two of these matches in the night so in order to make sure this match is memorable, the guys need to be innovative. The hot crowd and action reminded me of one of those TLC matches back in the day. However, the match seemingly paced down near the final stages of the match where things cooled down and the match felt like a completely different animal from what I was watching just a few minutes ago. Big Show destroys all the ladders before bringing out an enormous ladder for him to propel himself slowly to the top. However, things get hectic when The Miz and Jericho try to stop him until they get punched to the ring below. Cena is in pursuit of the contract as he nails Show with the briefcase and takes it off its hook in the process. Cena wins in a really exciting fashion and lands a couple more blows to Show’s head with the briefcase for good measure. Just a fun match and a fitting way to cap off the night. Cena winning doesn’t really excite me considering how much we’ve seen him in the title picture. However, it doesn’t take away from what a unique match this was.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ****

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
While this was still a pretty nice effort from the WWE, it just feels like they came up short just a tad bit. The 2011 version of this PPV was amazing and while nobody expected this event to be as memorable as that one, there was still this high expectation that was seemingly buzzing in the air. Even still, you won’t go wrong with checking this event out for a little bit of fun.
Rating: 7.75/10

No comments:

Post a Comment