WWE Money in the Bank 2011 was the best non-WrestleMania WWE PPV I’ve seen in years. The wrestling was strong and the results were outstanding for Internet marks. For fans that prefer pro-wrestlers that can actually wrestle (sadly, not always the talent pushed by WWE), this was a refreshing and satisfying show. Here are some results and random thoughts.
Daniel Bryan Bryan Danielson Won the SmackDown MitB Match: This was an outstanding match full of high spots, believable near finishes, and a bit of power wrestling thrown in. All the credit goes to the diverse talent that managed to work well together. There were crazy high-flying spots, nice bits of technical wrestling, and tremendous power moves throughout the match. I’m a huge Bryan Danielson fan and was thrilled that he got the nod. The Chicago crowd was into the win too, which wasn’t too surprising since Ring of Honor often has shows in Chicago Ridge and Danielson has loads of fans in the area.
I was actually surprised by the result. Even though I’m a huge fan of Danielson, WWE seems to have cooled on him lately. He’s an outstanding technical wrestler, but he’s also smaller than the guys the writers usually push. The big fear among Danielson fans is that he becomes the first guy to fail miserably when cashing in the MitB title shot.
Some Divas Match Happened: I was completely uninterested in the match so I went to get a drink, pee, and read email. I was really excited about the Divas division when Awesome Kong (Kharma) was in the mix. Now it’s back to the same old pretty girls with limited abilities when it really should be about Beth Phoenix and Nattie Neidhart ruling the division — you know, two women that can actually wrestle.
Mark Henry Beat The Big Show: My expectations for this match were low and I was pleasantly surprised by what these two put together. Henry looked monstrous and Show did a great job of selling. It was hardly a classic, but Henry and Show wrestled an above average big-man match.
Alberto Del Rio Won the Raw MitB Match: This wasn’t nearly as good as the SmackDown MitB match, but I’m still pleased with the result. Del Rio has been lost in the shuffle for more than a month and it’s great to see that he’ll be in the title hunt. He does have a fabricated “issue” since the status of the WWE title is up in the air. (Yes, I just spoiled the main event for you.)
As for the match itself, it was good, but it was hard to follow the excellent SmackDown match. It’s odd that they unmasked Mysterio for a bit. I wonder if the writers will use that for more Del Rio vs. Mysterio matches until the CM Punk situation is resolved. The Miz did a great job heeling it up and keeping the crowd involved. Evan Bourne Matt Sydal probably had the high-spot of the night with his crazy shooting-star press from the ladder. Kofi and Swagger were good, but I was hoping for more out of them since I want them do get pushed. This match didn’t take either to a new level.
Christian Won the World Heavyweight Championship: I love that Christian won the belt, but I hated how he won it. It was good in terms of putting heat on Christian and putting Randy in a position to chase the belt (he’s better chasing than as champion), but it made Christian look kind of lame. He’s a great wrestler and he got to show some of that ability in this match, but he’s capable of more. It’s kind of weird thinking that Christian had better matches in TNA.
CM Punk Beat John Cena for the WWE Championship: Wow. This was just an outstanding match. It had great wrestling, fantastic storytelling and an awesome result. It was definitely the right way to get in terms of storytelling. So many different angles and opportunities are now opened up. Cena put on a good effort, but Punk really carried him to a great match. This was the best WWE main event I’ve seen in years (that didn’t involve Shawn Michaels).
On a side note, it was awesome to see Colt Cabana and Ace Steel in the crowd. Cabana is a close friend of Punk’s and wrestled in WWE as Scotty Goldman. He came up with Punk and they wrestled together in the indies. Steel was one of Punk’s early trainers and they also wrestled together in the indies.
Closing Thoughts: I loved this PPV. The right guys won. The wrestling was mostly great. For Internet marks like me, this was an amazing show. I’m pretty sure Summer Slam 2011 is screwed. Even with The Rock making an appearance, I doubt it will top this show.
Oh i completely agree with ur assesement. I was streaming this on my iphone and even though there was a delay between audio and video; along with buffering issues i thoroughly enjoyed this ppv. I regret not going to see it in person.
I was actually thinking of flying out for it to get bonus miles on UAL and because I could get free tickets, but I chose not to since I just back to Hawaii. I wish I saw it for Danielson and Punk.
*waves fists in anger* you bastard!