WWE Money in the Bank 2011 Review

From September 11, 2011.

Match 1: SmackDown Money in the Bank - Sin Cara vs. Kane vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel vs. Sheamus vs. Heath Slater vs. Cody Rhodes
The SmackDown Money in the Bank match kicks off the show. I have no idea where to start for this one. Incredible spots, carnage erupting everywhere, and a really hot crowd to go along with it. Early in the match, the biggest spot in the match happened where Sheamus threw Sin Cara off the side of the ring and through a ladder which caused Sin Cara to be carried out to the back and out of the match. The chaos doesn't end there as just about everyone in this match put their bodies on the line with some of the sickest and most innovative moves ever displayed in this type of match including Justin Gabriel hitting his 450 Splash off of a horizontal ladder on the top ring rope. Later in the match, Daniel Bryan fights off Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett to grab the briefcase and earn himself a shot against a World Champion within the next 12 months. Great opening contest with everyone playing their spots well and putting on a great performance. No one looked bad and the ending result probably came as a shock to most with a deserving Daniel Bryan winning.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Rating: ****

Match 2: Divas Championship - Kelly Kelly © vs. Brie Bella
Kelly Kelly looks to defend her championship against one of the Bella twins with Eve in her corner. Kelly looked really motivated all while looking very sloppy in the ring. Short match with Kelly picking up the win. Typical Divas match with nothing special to offer.
Winner: Kelly Kelly
Rating: 1/2*

Match 3: The Big Show vs. Mark Henry
Mark Henry has been on a roll of late since returning to SmackDown and after taking out Kane, he looks to do the same here with The Big Show. Normally, I'm not a fan of these big men matches but the way both men have been of late, I actually have a pretty good feeling about this match. Henry puts his focus on Show's left leg throughout the entire match before slamming Show twice and splashing him twice to get the huge win. Afterwards, Henry places a chair between Show's left leg and jumps off the middle rope which damages Show's leg to the max. Henry looked like a beast here and while the match wasn't really anything too special, give credit where credit is due. Both men looked good and the aftermath was great.
Winner: Mark Henry
Rating: *1/4

Match 4: Raw Money in the Bank - Rey Mysterio vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Alex Riley vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Evan Bourne vs. The Miz vs. R-Truth vs. Jack Swagger
The second Money in the Bank match kicks off with every man holding a ladder in their hands and attacking Del Rio with them due to his actions on Raw. Having two Ladder matches in one night is very difficult because it forces the guys in the ring to be different which is tough considering of how great the first one was. This match was just one huge fest of spots with jumps after jumps and spots after spots. A somewhat different pace from the first match of the night which I like. However, I feel like some of the spots on here got really repetitive at times and not every man got over like what happened in the first match. Other than the winner, the one person to really get over in this match was The Miz who is already an established wrestler after he came back to the ring from injuring his knee. The final two of the match were Mysterio and Del Rio. Mysterio was about to capture the briefcase until Del Rio ripped off Mysterio's mask and grabbed the briefcase to win. Good Ladder match but it just seemed very sloppy at times with a lot of botches but this is a Ladder match and those are bound to happen. Del Rio now has another chance at glory.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Rating: ***1/2

Match 5: World Heavyweight Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian
Following Christian's two losses against Orton, Christian gets another chance at glory. This time around, if Orton gets disqualified, the title changes hands over to Christian. Crowd is about evenly split between the two as the bell tolls and we're off. Both men brought the goods here with a lot of good psychology starting off with Christian handing over a chair to Orton in the beginning. From then on, Christian does his best to take out Orton but seemingly cannot as Orton has every reversal for every reversal from Christian. Christian eventually spits right in the face of Orton which leads to Orton going berserk and landing a blatant low blow in front of the referee. The referee then calls for the bell and Orton is disqualified! Christian is now champion! Frustrated, Orton continues his berserk mode and beats the living hell out of Christian after! Orton then placed Christian on the announcers table and lands an RKO! Orton then walked up the stage and returns to give Christian another RKO on the table! Orton looked like a beast here and the disqualification ending here goes well for the storyline. The match was great but the big spit and the post match following it was what sold me. Great match, great ending, and a phenomenal way to keep the storyline running strong.
Winner: Christian
Rating: ****

Match 6: WWE Championship - John Cena (c) vs. CM Punk
It's not time for what might just be the most anticipated main event match in recent WWE history. CM Punk challenges John Cena for the WWE Championship. Let's also not forget to mention that this is CM Punk's last WWE match and that if Cena loses, he will be fired. Oh, and we're in Chicago, CM Punk's homeland. With that being said, CM Punk arrives to a huge crowd reaction. Probably one of the loudest crowd reactions ever! After, Cena comes out to a reaction that can be compared to his one at ECW: One Night Stand back in 2006. The bell tolls and the match has officially begun. Things start off at a good back and forth pace with great chain wrestling which kept the crowd enthralled throughout. Punk gave Cena his best and Cena fired right back and held up his own right against him. Really good interactions with the loud crowd from both men including Punk copying Cena's signature taunts as well as Cena going for a Five Knuckle Shuffle to the crowd's dismay. Once the dust settled and the chain wrestling ended, there was still no clear cut favorite here as both men managed to keep the match flowing at a nice and unpredictable pace. From then on, they turn the notch up with near fall after near fall and submission after submission. Punk manages to kick out of two Attitude Adjustments and also managed to reverse the STF into an Anaconda Vice. The crowd is going nuts for all of this! Cena manages to fire back and reverse Punk's GTS into the STF but Punk managed to dramatically crawl his way out by grabbing onto the bottom rope. However, Punk was able to hit Cena with a GTS later on the latter of the match but unfortunately for him, Cena falls through the second rope and out of the ring! Punk has no other option but to carry Cena's sandbagged body back into the ring but Cena fought back into the match and eventually puts Punk back into the STF once again. As Cena does this, Vince McMahon & John Laurinaitis try to pull another Montreal Screwjob but Cena punches Laurinaitis and tells McMahon that he wants to win fairly. As soon as Cena gets back in the ring, Punk hoists Cena up and nails him with the GTS! Punk covers and gets the win as the crowd goes into a frenzy! Shocked, McMahon calls for Alberto Del Rio to cash in his briefcase but gets drilled in the head with a kick by Punk! Punk blows a kiss to McMahon and leaves the arena with the WWE Championship. Phenomenal main event that is very reminiscent to John Cena vs. Triple H a few years ago in the same building at WrestleMania 22 with a hot crowd and marquee attraction. The involvement of McMahon made things more dramatic and I didn't feel like it took anything away from the match. This match perfectly closes out a great night of wrestling and will definitely be remembered for a long time coming.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ****1/2

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Watch this show! The Ladder matches were great and the two main events were really great! Just take a look at those star ratings and decide for yourself. This is one show that will be remembered for a long time coming.
Rating: 9.25/10