Money in the Bank: Shocking or Boring?

So the Money in the Bank pay-per-view is over and almost every match had an unexpected ending. Not all of them were happy endings either. In fact, depending on your point of view, none of the matches had a happy ending.

The MITB match was first, pitting Dolph Ziggler, Neville, Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston,Sheamus, Roman Reigns and Kane against one another. Yes, it was a seven man ladder match, which meant a lot of time was spent laying on the mat outside the ring. The pacing of the match was changed from the traditional "beat each other and get the ladder later", in this match the ladder stayed up in the ring for a long time. In fact the ladder only went down when someone needed some room to do a big power move.

All in all, it was a decent match. Personally I feel like Randy Orton has been phoning in his matches recently. Other than hitting Neville with an RKO off the ladder, he really didn't do much in this match. In fact I don't even think Orton needed to be in this match, it would have played out better without him. With New Day coming out to help Kofi later in the match, there was a total of ten guys who made an appearance in the ring for this match.

I can't make sense of why the WWE would give the briefcase to Sheamus. There is no combination of matches this can create that I would be interested in. Sheamus is a mid-card heel and that's all I can picture him as. He's one of the wrestlers that appeared when I wasn't watching wresting and he has yet to impress me. Now I know everyone has an opinion, every wrestling fan with a blog site thinks he can book better matches. But I am a writer, storytelling are my life, so I am going to give my EXPERT opinion on which wrestlers would have provided the best story lines from their MITB:
#7- Sheamus. Worst possible choice.
#6- Neville. Would  have been a waste of a contract since he's already challenged three different champions already.
#5- Dolph Ziggler. Rusev is gone, the Lana thing is bogus and I am not even sure if he is a heel or face. Ziggler's a floater and will continue to float around until he finds someone to elevate him, either as a partner or an opponent.
#4- Randy Orton. At least he'd use it wisely. Personally I've never seen Randy with the briefcase so for me, this guy is fourth.
#3- Kane. Kane's always dangerous, I can't knock the guy. Having him win would have given him a great tool to manipulate and infuriate Seth Rollins.
#2 - Kofi Kingston, Had Kofi won, we could have seen New Day against the Authority and Kofi would finally get a MITB victory. Too bad MITB was not a good night for the New Day.
#1 - Roman Reigns. He's perpetually getting screwed. But his victory would have been like a sword of Damocles hanging over whoever wears the belt. Instead, we got a set-up for a pay-per-view match between Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns. I like Wyatt, I like the idea of a feud with Reigns, just not like this.

My guess is that Sheamus is going to join the ranks of such illustrious failures as Mr. Kennedy and Jack Swagger as men who have failed to cash in the contract for a victory and title win. I really hope Roman Reigns absolutely destroys Bray Wyatt for this.

Nikki Bella VS Paige: This was actually one of my favorite matches of the night. I don't know why Paige keeps complaining and talking about change but then going right back into the match and doin the same old thing. I think Nikki is right, Paige just isn't good enough. She did manage to score a victory here, briefly, until the ref realized the Bellas had pulled a switch with the old Twin Magic routine. I actually thought that meant Nikki lost her title to Paige, but when Nikki returned to the ring, the ref continued the match as if nothing had happened (even though there was a third party in the ring who clearly interferred). Nikki Bella scored the victory. Which is great, because the Bellas rock.
(Yeah I watch Total Divas, so?)

Ryback Vs Big Show: Ryback's strong. That's about all I got from this match. Both men did their thing and if this was 1992, it would have been an epic match. But this is 2015 and watching two big moose push each other around a pen just isn't that interesting. Ryback tried to put a few holds on Big Show and actually wrestle a bit but both men were either sloppy or uncoordinated, I am not sure which of them is to blame but a lot of the moves looked poor. Throwing Miz in between these two guys makes no sense, unless they simply swapped Miz for Daniel Bryan and continued the same storyline.  . Ryback maintained the Intercontinental Championship anyway.

Cheers to the WWE for the fantastic tribute to Dusty Rhodes. My wife and I had a disagreement about whether or not Stardust and Goldust should have wrestled. She said they should be with their families, but I disagree. Dusty's life was wrestling, his friends and family were wrestlers, his children should have wrestled a match as a tribute to him. I have no yet seen RAW but I hope Stardust at least gets a chance to shine, it would be great to see crazy Cody come off the top rope with a "bionic elbow".

John Cena VS Kevin Owens: Owens is so good in-ring, he's helped John Cena push his game up to the next level. This match was everything a major sports entertainment show is supposed to be. The heel KO kept the fans interested and by stealing Cena's three move combo, he forced Cena to come back with something original. There were a few incidents where they missed their mark or didn't sell the move, but that is to be expected in a live event match of this caliber. Unlike the previous matches in this pay-per-view, this match actually had a legit ending in the ring. I actually thought Owens might turn face after he shook Cena's hand, but I was wrong. Turns out KO the heel is here to stay. As I mentioned in a previous post, as tough as Owens is, Brock Lesnar is back and I really believe that when they meet, the chant "Fight Owens Fight" is going to be changed to "Please Don't Die."
Owens really needs to return the NXT title though. If these two face each other again at Battleground, its going to get ugly.

New Day VS Prime Time Players: I kind of knew that they were going to push Titus and so it was not much of a surprise that New Day lost. It's great we got new champs, but Titus really needs to work on his in-ring performance. He's the same size as Roman Reigns but has none of the same energy and impact. Throwing guys is not wresting (well, unless its off the ropes or out of the ring I guess. . )

Seth Rollins VS Dean Ambrose: So far, every Seth Rollins match has been a great match. This was no exception. It went on for over a half hour and when it was over, Seth had just barely managed to hold onto the belt and score the victory. Dean Ambrose lost primarily because he was too cr/lazy to go up the opposite side of the ladder. Instead, both men went up the same side, took hold of the belt and fell on their heads. In the end, Rollins won and Ambrose cried. Definitely a good match but it is disappointing that Ambrose's title run is over now. Or is it? We shall see.

"Listen, forget all this. Clear your mind. This is what you wanted, right? To stand on your own two feet. So show them. Show them. Show them why I chose you. Show them that you are not the future, that you are the man. Show them who you are. Show them you are Seth Rollins, the World Heavyweight Champion. SHOW THEM!"  - Triple H

Can't wait for Monday Night Raw, to see where the WWE is headed this summer. It was a surprising pay-per-view that was well crafted but somewhat disjointed due to all the shady victories and heroic defeats. Maybe the WWE bookers are taking inspiration from that Games of Thrones show?

NXT is Unstoppable!

You gotta love an audience that chastises the referee for not doing his job.

NXT Unstoppable was my first NXT pay-per-view and only my second viewing of a NXT show. To keep it organized, I'll do a run down of the results and give my impression of the matches and the wrestlers.

Tyler Breeze VS Finn Balor

This really seemed like a battle of the gimmicks match. Both men had very well produced entrances, although if I were to pick which one of them had the better intro, I'd go with Tyler Breeze. Something about seeing Finn crawling around on the ground with dragon wings on seemed silly to me. Balor's make-up, the first time I've seen it in ring, was incredibly well done, especially the Eye of Sauron, sorry the Eye of Balor, painted on his back. My wife thought Finn was ridiculous, she doesn't see the sense in painting yourself up just so it smudges off in five minutes. I am kind of intrigued by the idea of a wrestler who SOMETIMES lets the beast out but other times wrestles without it. It's an interesting angle, if that is what he is doing. I saw him once in a show at ring side and I thought he was rather slim for a wrestler, but I guess if he is a high-flyer that's alright.

Tyler Breeze is looking a little . . . . aged. I am not sure how long he can pull this gimmick off, unless he just pulls an Adrian Adonis (man, was that guy ugly). I'd watch Tyler Breeze in the WWE, he might make a perfect foil for Stardust.

Not sure how Finn manages to double foot stomp people without hurting them. It looked painful, which I guess is the point, I just didn't think you could DO that in wrestling.

The way that Hideo Itami was taken out was poorly put together. Asian guys just can't catch a break in the wrestling industry.

I'd watch either of these guys again.


Dana & Emma VS Bayley and Charlotte

So Bayley is the one responsible for all those "I'm a Hugger" shirts?

It was a mixed bag match, the only thing I can say was worthwhile here was finding out Rick Flair had a daughter and seeing Charlotte and Bayley strut Flair-style at the end of the match. Just not enough here to judge them on.


Rhyno VS Baron Corbin

At 6'6, 273 lbs, Baron Corbin is a big dude, one of the biggest I've seen in NXT. He's a little slim for a big man, but he makes up for his lack of bulk with speed and precision. I am not a Rhyno fan, the guy is way too old to be in NXT and seeing him there was kind of a disappointment. Yeah, I am sure there are Rhyno fans who are going to blast me for this one, but the guy is a walking reminder of all the terrible and out of business wrestling promotions he's worked for over the years.
Here's what I'd do with Baron Corbin: Build up some more muscle and have the Undertaker bring him in as his Under-study. Let old Undertaker teach him the ropes, the way he did with Big Show when he arrived in the WWE. Then put Corbin up against the Wyatt family members and display how powerful he really can be. He doesn't really need to be on the mic yet and he isn't ready for any kind of title, but he's got a lot of raw potential. Perhaps we'll see him face Finn Balor soon?

Rhyno, as always, was forgettable. The Rhyno is extinct.


Blake & Murphy VS Enzo Amore & Big Cass
SAWFT was so bad I don't even want to talk about them. Enzo was every bad gimmick in wrestling all in one body. Big Cass had all the charm of Test, whose greatest contribution to wrestling was dying. Yeah I went there, that's how much I disliked these guys.


Becky Lynch VS Sasha Banks

I am really not sure why Sasha Banks is so well loved by the NXT crowd. I think the entire Divas division is ten times better than it was a decade ago and it continues to get better, but Sasha's personality just got on my nerves. I guess that makes me a member of the Lynch Mob. It was an impressive match and it was sad to see Becky lose, but I believe she's got a good shot at the WWE Divas division.

Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens

I still say KO is the most oddly shaped wrestler out there, although his chicken legs were less noticeable than on RAW. Zayn controlled the match up until a pop-up power bomb on the ring apron but him out. I am not a fan of matches ending without a winner, and certainly don't like matches that end with someone making their appearance on the show. Samoa Joe, in my mind, is a lot like Rhyno. I've watched his ROH matches and a couple other appearances and I just don't get Joe's appeal. If this guy is on his way to the WWE, I hope he runs right into Roman Reigns, the real Samoan champion.

I have to give Owens a thumbs up for the John Cena shirt. Is he going to drop the belt to Joe and move on to face Cena?

Not sure how well Owens heel power is going to stand up to guys like Kane or Brock Lesnar if he moves up the ladder to the WWE. We shall see.

My favorite part of the show is the crowd, what a rowdy, outspoken audience! I love the way they engage and influence the action in the ring. I also really like the yellow and black ring set-up, I immediately went and added an NXT show Wednesday night in my WWE 2K14 universe. Now I need to find a custom made KO. . .

As a young, starting point for wrestlers, NXT is doing a fantastic job. Even just streamlining and training some outside wrestlers in how the WWE works is a good idea, I just don't want to see the washed up wannabes, or the guys who blew their opportunities, hanging around NXT for a second chance. That's what TNA is for, NXT seems to be a hot, new, way for fans who maybe want a more real wrestling experience but still want to stay in the same WWE universe.

I'd like to see more interesting NXT venues in the future, maybe in some of the smaller, stranger, venues you can't take a big show to, or even an outdoor NXT bash at the beach.

I've got one complaint, one thing that is currently bothering me about both WWE divisions: The announce table. All of these guys, except for Michael Cole, Jerry the King and JBL, are horrible. Even the King isn't giving his best work, it's almost as if without JR he can't hit the same beats. Everyone else is terrible. Booker T is decent enough when he talks, but he doesn't say enough, he doesn't sell the in-ring action either. These guys need to know ahead of time which side they are on and play that up. They need to know the histories of every wrestler and use that to sell them in the ring. It's really that simple. Hell, fly me down there and I'll coach them for a couple hours, make them watch old JR footage.

That's it for this week. Cheers!

VICE profiles Sara Del Rey

Sara Del Rey, via VICE.

I have been a fan of Sara Del Rey for years. The first ever Shimmer champion, one of the strongest forces in Chikara history and an all around amazing performer, she turned that into a full time training gig with WWE. Since then, she has become a stalwart of the developmental program and her influence on the current female NXT wrestlers cannot be overstated.

So it is awesome to see VICE profile her and her career in a new article.

The landscape of professional wrestling is changing. More women involved in an already great entertainment form can only be a good thing. And Sara seems to be leading that charge. Go learn more about her if you haven't already.