It’s WWE’s annual tradition of grooming the next world champions at Money in the Bank. Thirteen wrestlers competed in two different matches, looking to gain the briefcase to almost assuredly become the next WWE or World Heavyweight champion. The show also featured the return of former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam.
The main event saw six men take the stage for the WWE Championship Money in the Bank Ladder match. Former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam made his return to battle Daniel Bryan, Christian, Sheamus, Randy Orton and CM Punk.
The crowd chanting loudly for RVD, so the other five men dispatch of him. Then Christian, then Sheamus and Orton, leaving Punk and Bryan in the ring to a big ovation. That doesn’t last long as Sheamus brings a ladder into it. A few people get hit before RVD gets in and goes to work. The crowd loving it. The crowd chanting “you still got it.” RVD kicks Bryan onto the ladder and then hits Rolling Thunder.
He wants to deliver the Five Star onto Orton, who he kicked on a ladder, but Christian knocks him off the top with a ladder.
Sheamus builds a ladder bridge between the ring and the Spanish announce table. He wants to put Bryan through it, but Bryan counters, shoves him past the ladder and hits the running knee off the apron. Back in the ring, all six men end up on two ladders fighting for the briefcase until they all go spilling to the canvas.
Sheamus gets his moment to shine. He has his hands on the briefcase, but Punk pulls the ladder out from under him. Punk hits the running knee against a ladder and then a bulldog of some sort with his body against the ladder and Sheamus on the other end. Orton back in and he hits the draping DDT on Punk after hitting him with suplex onto the ladder.
Christian back in and he and RVD are battling on the ladder. RVD knocks Christian down but jumps on another ladder and then goes to the top of his ladder and hits the Five Star. RVD climbs, but is cut off by Sheamus. He hits Sheamus off, but Sheamus comes back and knocks him off. Bryan back in with kicks on both RVD and Sheamus. He runs a ladder into Orton and then puts the ladder onto of him and hits a drop kick. Then he hits the ropes and crushes Punk with a suicide dive onto ladders. Then Sheamus goes flying into the ladder bridge. Bryan starts climbing, but Curtis Axel comes out and hits Bryan with a chair as he was on the verge of winning. Then he hits him with the neckbreaker on the floor.
As Axel walks, Punk grabs him and hits him with GTS on the floor. Punk now crawls into the ring as Heyman gives the out of it Axel a tongue lashing. Heyman rallies the crowd behind Punk. Punk climbs, but Heyman enters the ring and hits Punk twice with a ladder and then finishes him off with one to the head. Punk is busted open.
RVD back into the ring now and he climbs the ladder. Orton grabs his foot and pulls him down into an RKO. Orton climbs, and no one is around at all. No one for miles. He slowly surveys the situation and calmly pulls the briefcase off to win it.
The next WWE pay-per-view is SummerSlam on Aug. 18.
Following a video package, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and John Layfield welcome us to the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia.
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Match #1 – World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Dean Ambrose (Cincinnati, Ohio) vs. Fandango (Hitsville, USA) vs. Jack Swagger (Perry, Okla.) vs. Antonio Cesaro (Lucerne, Switzerland) vs. Damien Sandow (Palo Alto, Calif) vs. Cody Rhodes (Marietta, Ga.) vs. Wade Barrett (Preston, England)
The action gets off to a fast start, with ladders quickly being incorporated into the action. The tag teams in the match work together in the first minutes. Each man getting some time to shine. Barrett tries to hit Fandango with a ladder, but Fandango kicks him, putting the ladder on Barrett and then hitting a slingshot legdrop.
Swagger pulls Barrett down off the ladder right into an uppercut from Cesaro. Rhodes, though, grabs Cesaro off the ladder and hits a Muscle Buster onto the ladder. Swagger tries to grab the briefcase, but Barrett hits the Bullhammer Elbow. Fandango follows up by coming up and hitting a sunset flip power bomb off the ladder on Barrett.
Ambrose comes in and hits his finish on Fandango off the ladder. Ambrose gets pulled off the ladder and then swings it around, but Swagger and Cesaro get ahold of him with Ambrose across the ladder on top and they throw him out of the ring. WIth no ladders in the ring, Cesaro stands on Swagger’s shoulders and they go for the briefcase. As they get under it, Rhodes hits a missile dropkick on Swagger. Rhodes runs wild, hitting Cross Rhodes on Cesaro and Barrett. He then grabs a ladder from outside and climbs, but Ambrose runs up. They trade blows. Ambrose resorting to head butts, busting Rhodes open in the process. Now Rhodes grabs a hold of Ambrose’s vest and smashes him. He climbs another rung, but Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns attack.
Rollins kicks Barrett, Reigns with a spear on Fandango. Rollins sets the ladder back up by the Usos hit the ring and dispatch of Rollins and Reigns. Ambrose climbing now, but Rhodes pushes the ladder over and Ambrose goes flying over the top into a huge crowd of people. Rhodes climbs the ladder with no one around, but then, out of nowhere, Sandow comes up from behind and shoves him off the ladder. Sandow scales the ladder and grabs the briefcase.
Winner: Damien Sandow
Match Rating: 9/10
New Raw general manager Brad Maddox is out. He says he made the decision to have Vickie Guerrero on the pre-show panel. He thanks Guerrero for her efforts and then tries to lead the crowd in a chant of “Thank you Vickie.” Instead, they chant, “you got fired.” He then directs us to the Tron for a video tribute to Guerrero. Of course, it’s a video of her most humiliating moments. Maddox tries to get her a standing ovation, but he’s interrupted.
Match #2 – WWE Intercontinental Championship – (c) Curtis Axel (Champlin, Minn.) vs. The Miz (Cleveland, Ohio)
Paul Heyman is quickly kicked out after The Miz makes up that Heyman hit him, so the referee kicks Heyman out. The crowd chants “We want Heyman.” Axel hits a nice Saito suplex and goes to work. Miz tries to rebound. He hits the corner clothesline. He wants the Skull-Crushing Finale, but Axel counters. He pushes Miz into the post and hits the Perfect Plex but Miz kicks out at two. Miz locks in the Figure Four Leg Lock now. Axel is in the center of the ring, but is fighting it and reverses the hold. Miz flips it back over, but now Axel is near the ropes.
Miz goes for it again, but Axel kicks Miz and hits the swinging neckbreaker and that does it.
Winner via pinfall and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: Curtis Axel
Match Rating 6/10
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Match #3 – WWE Divas Championship – (c) AJ Lee (Union City, NJ) vs. Kaitlyn (Houston, Texas)
AJ runs Kaitlyn’s injured elbow into the ring post twice early on. AJ continues to work on the elbow in the ring. She’s using all sorts of different holds. Kaitlyn runs AJ into the corner, though, and then hits a back breaker. Kaitlyn starts to fire up. She hits a drop kick and shoulder tackle. She follows with a reverse DDT for two. They get up and AJ slaps Kaitlyn only to be clotheslined. AJ knocks Kaitlyn down and goes to the top. Kaitlyn knocks her down, only right into the arms of Big E Langston. Big E puts her back in the ring and Kaitlyn spears her, but Kaitlyn hurts her elbow doing it. This gives AJ an opening to recover and she locks in the Black Widow. Kaitlyn holds it off forever, but finally has to tap.
Winner via submission and STILL WWE Divas Champion: AJ Lee
Match Rating: 6/10
Match #4 – Chris Jericho (Winnipeg, Manitoba) vs. Ryback (Sin City)
Jericho in control early on, making Ryback take a little walk. Jericho goes to work on Ryback’s leg. Ryback goes to the apron and Jericho wants a kick, but Ryback puts him throat-first on the top rope. Ryback hits a splash, then works a headlock. He goes to the second rope and hits another splash for two. Ryback using his power to throw Jericho from pillar to post.
Jericho tries to rally, but Ryback just uses the power again and regain control. Ryback tries to run at Jericho, but Jericho bursts out of the corner and goes low on Ryback. Jericho hits the Codebreaker, but Ryback was hanging through the ropes and ends up on the floor. Jericho goes up, but Ryback grabs him and wants Shell Shock, but Jericho slides out and hits a DDT. Jericho with some strikes and Jericho goes for the Lionsault, but Ryback rolls out of the way and then rolls Jericho up and gets the win.
Winner via pinfall: Ryback
Match Rating: 5/10
Match #5 – World Heavyweight Championship – (c) Alberto Del Rio (San Luis Potosi, Mexico) vs. Dolph Ziggler (Hollywood, Fla.)
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Crowd heavily rooting for Ziggler. He hits 10 straight elbows. Del Rio, though, hits a huge kick to the back of Ziggler’s head and then runs him into the barricade. Del Rio goes back to work extensively on Ziggler’s head. Del Rio goes for rope hang, but goes sliding through to the floor. Del Rio goes to the top, but Ziggler runs up and hits an X Factor off the top. Del Rio charges, but Ziggler side-steps and Del Rio goes into the post.
Del Rio with a bridging German suplex for two. Del Rio misses a kick and Ziggler hits the Fameasser for two. Del Rio comes back with a backbreaker. Ziggler hits Del Rio with a dropkick and AJ’s music hits and she starts skipping around the ring. Ziggler asks her to leave. Ziggler counters a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker into a DDT. He goes to the top but Del Rio crotches him after Ziggler looked at AJ. Del Rio grabs Ziggler and hits a reverse superplex but Ziggler kicks out at two.
Del Rio throws Ziggler into the air and hits a super kick but Ziggler kicks out at two. Del Rio pulls down his knee brace and charges, but Ziggler catches the kick and spins Del Rio around when AJ jumps into the ring and clocks Del Rio with her belt. That’s it.
Winner via disqualification and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Alberto Del Rio
Match Rating: 7/10
Match #6 – WWE Championship – (c) John Cena (West Newbury, Mass.) vs. Mark Henry (Silsbee, Texas)
Henry beating Cena viciously early. He drops him stomach-first on the ring steps. Henry’s power impressive against the big Cena. Henry with a giant swing and he chucks Cena. Cena falls to the floor and Henry goes after him and swings him into the barricade. Cena moves away from a Henry charge and tries to lift him, but it goes nowhere and he collapses.
Cena, though, tries to fire up. He hits some strikes and then a shoulder tackle. He hits a side suplex and hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. He goes for the Attitude Adjustment, but again, Cena collapses. Henry grabs Cena on his shoulder, but Cena slings around and smashes Henry face-first into the canvas. Now Cena gets Henry up and hits the AA, but Henry kicks out at two.
Cena goes to the top now. He goes flying, but Henry catches him in mid-air and hits the World’s Strongest Slam but it’s Cena who kicks out this time. Henry rips a turnbuckle pad off in anger and goes and grabs two chairs. As the referee fixes one, Henry exposes another, but Cena pushes Henry into it and then locks in the STF. Henry makes the ropes.
Cena pushes Henry into the corner but Henry pushes Cena out into the ref. Henry low blows Cena and goes for the cover, but Cena kicks out. Henry goes for the World’s Strongest Slam, but Cena comes out and top and locks in the STF. Henry is nearing the ropes, so Cena pulls him away, locks it back in and Henry taps.
Winner via submission and STILL WWE Champion: John Cena
Match Rating: 8/10
Match #7 – WWE Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Rob Van Dam (Battle Creek, Mich.) vs. Christian (Toronto, Ontario) vs. Daniel Bryan (Aberdeen, Wash.) vs. Randy Orton (St. Louis, Mo.) vs. Sheamus (Dublin, Ireland) vs. CM Punk (Chicago, Ill.)
Winner: Randy Orton
Match Rating: 8/10
Event Rating: 7/10
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