LIVE Money in the Bank thoughts - July 15, 2012

10:47 - That was an odd ending, with the handle just tearing off when Cena was using it as a weapon against Show.  I'm not saying it might have been an accident, but it was a bit anti-climatic.  And there's another reason why this shouldn't have been the last match.  It was good, but not great.  Certainly not the best match of the night.  Possibly not even the best ladder match of the night.

To steal a phrase from Scott Keith, this is pretty much the definition of a "thumbs in the middle" type show.  Punk/Bryan was awesome.  WHC MITB was great.  And WWE Championship MITB and ADR/Sheamus was good.  Then you had a lot of pointless filler.  I don't regret ordering the show, but it wasn't as great as it could have been.

What are your thoughts of the show?

10:40 - I will say that Big Show is doing a good job of selling the enormity of this ladder.

10:24 - By the way, Big Show's camouflage singlet is dreadful looking.  Never liked it.

10:23 - I don't know.....I guess Cena wins this.

10:19 - No Kharma appearance, which everybody was hoping for with the entire Divas division in the ring at once.

10:14 - Wow, so there is a Divas match....with all of them getting their own entrance?  With only 45 minutes left of the show?  I'm a bit surprised the MITB match isn't getting more time (especially since they have 5 entrances as well).  I'm going with the face Divas winning.  Because Natalya getting pinned is always a safe bet.

10:11 - And now she just said that they should have done a Divas championship match instead.  Yeah, because Layla is far more marketable than Ryback.

10:08 - So former WWE Diva Maria just tweeted "Why is Ryback Goldberg?  Why is Ryback Batista?  Why is Ryback Brock?"  Clearly, in her mind, all musclebound guys who win squash matches are all the same.  But she's something special and stands out from all of the other females in the wrestling industry (rolls eyes).

10:02 - That was an absolutely epic match and while it wasn't last (which it should have been), it did at least get a very respectable amount of time (and the announcers hyped it as a really special, big deal).  These guys didn't hold anything back, and the AJ factor was handled great.  At certain points she was a pot stirrer.  At other times, she seemed like she felt remorse for these two potentially injuring each other.  In the end, she played it down the middle.  And if I read her expressions right, she seemed concerned for Bryan and resentful towards Punk, perhaps because he seemingly completely ignored her post-match.  My only concern is that with Bryan losing clean, this is the end of their feud.  I certainly hope not.

I think this goes without saying, but Ryback wins.

9:44 - Honestly, in the middle of all of this carnage, imagine them doing backstage shots of the MITB winner watching, and the announcers wondering if that person is going to cash in.  I just don't get it.

9:41 - This is a great match and they're really unleashing a lot of punishment.  Now just remember if we had the added concern of whether the MITB winner would cash in afterwards.  What a complete waste.  They better have something SHOCKING planned for that ladder match.

9:31 - So the WWE Championship Money in the Bank winner will be rewarded by going further down the card?

9:29 - Daniel Bryan's new attire is kinda strange.  And decidedly less cool than his old one.  I'm sure I'll be loving it in another few weeks, though.  CM Punk sporting last year's MITB attire, which is a little disappointing.  I see Punk retaining, although I'm not sold on that prediction.

9:24 - I think a rant might be necessary.  I said this in my Trending Topics piece, but the MITB ladder match should ALWAYS be before the championship counterpart, simply because you can build the intrigue of whether the briefcase will be cashed in.  But on top of that, this Punk/Bryan/AJ story is getting A LOT of attention and the fans are really digging it.  I'd say, far more than the MITB match.  What's the point of not ending the show with the WWE Championship match?  It's rather frustrating.  I'm invested in this match, but I'm not in the MITB match.  It'll make the last hour kinda pointless for me.

9:20 - That was sorta strange, to be honest.  A rather good match, but it just didn't seem to make a lot of sense.  Why not just do a tag title match?  And Kofi and Truth were silent while on commentary.

Looks like the WWE Championship match is next.  Which is really, REALLY lame.

9:14 - Alright, I'll admit that AW did say two things that made me laugh.  Asking the audience to applause and telling Rosa to shut up.

9:13 - Sorry, forgot my prediction (100% so far!)  I'm going with the Prime Time Players winning.

9:08 - So the Tag Team Champions are on the pre-show, but the #1 contenders are on the PPV?

9:06 - Fresh haircut for Daniel Bryan.  I love it when the Superstars look like they cleaned themselves up for a PPV.  By the way, this video package makes me worried they might actually have the WWE Championship Match before the Money in the Bank match.  Which would be awful.

9:03 - Fun tease with Ziggler almost cashing in.  And the fans ate it up.  The "We Want Ziggler!" chant as ADR and Ricardo beat on Sheamus was great.  I almost sensed we might get a Dolph face turn.  Glad they didn't have Ziggler lose the briefcase so quickly, though.

9:00 - A perfectly fine match, just rather uninteresting.  They did well for themselves, but I REALLY hope these two are done with each other now.  There are plenty of talented guys on Smackdown, why not give Cody Rhodes a push and throw him in a feud with Sheamus next?  Post-match beatdown....does Dolph cash in?

8:48 - Granted, things haven't picked up yet, but the live audience is totally dead during this match.  Why did WWE insist upon this match anyway?

8:45 - By the way, ADR seemingly replaced white with black, which gives him a bit of an edge.

8:43 - Sheamus sporting his PPV-only (apparently) red trunks.  I approve.  I predict Sheamus retains.

8:39 - Looks like they are doing the WHC match now.  Disappointing.  Within the first hour, both (all) of Smackdown's advertised matches will have taken place.  Don't get me wrong, I have NO desire to see Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio (hopefully this gets it out of their system), but they're preventing themselves from building some intrigue around Dolph possibly cashing in.  I feel strongly that both Money in the Bank matches should occur before both championship matches, just to create a little distance between the two.

8:36 - I'm thrilled that Miz entered himself into the WWE Championship Money in the Bank match.  The match was definitely lacking and I'm for any new entrants.  But I have to say, the guy looks incredibly awkward with the hair parted to the side and the kinda-sorta facial hair.

8:33 - I hope they don't do the World Heavyweight Championship match next.  That would defeat the purpose of the Money in the Bank advantage.  Plus, is it really necessary to hammer the point home that the World Heavyweight Championship pales in comparison to the WWE Championship?

8:28 - Considering the insane bumps he took throughout the match, Dolph definitely deserved that victory.  And overall I think he was the right guy to win.  Hopefully he'll be like Edge -- after repeated failed attempts at winning the title legitimately, he "cheaply" uses Money in the Bank.  But in doing so, he firmly establishes himself as championship material and a main event Superstar.  Great match -- I suspect the WWE Championship counterpart will have a tough time topping that.  And hopefully the front office took notice of Tyson Kidd's great performance.

8:26 - Does this mean that Sin Cara failed another Wellness test?

8:18 - Relatively minor botches aside, this is an enjoyable match thus far.

8:14 - Everybody expected Sin Cara to botch....I don't think many expected it to be with Dolph Ziggler, though.

8:09 - Love that Christian got the prestigious "last entrant" honor, but disappointed he didn't debut some new attire either.  By the way, anyone else notice that Christian always takes off his belt and leaves it at the stairs, instead of handing it to the time keeper like everyone else?

8:07 - So instead of debuting new attire, Cody Rhodes has seemingly reverted back to his old ones.  Negative points for him.  Positive points, though, for Kidd wearing Barbershop Window's "Bank on Kidd" t-shirt.

8:04 - REALLY cool opening video package.  Top notch.  Looks like I was right about the first match.  This is an incredibly tough one to pick a winner for, since there are so many possibilities for where things might be going.  Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes seem like the strongest bets (especially Ziggler), but I could see them doing something surprising and giving Damien Sandow the win.  If I'm forced to pick, I'm going with Ziggler.

7:59 - Show is about to begin.  I predict we start with the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank match.  However, I wish they'd do something riskier and start with the WWE Championship one.  Then spend the entire show building the intrigue of the repercussions for whoever wins.

7:53 - So apparently a No DQ stipulation was added to Punk vs. Bryan, which is very strange and unnecessary because (a) people are already intrigued by the match and (b) with a guest ref, the possibility of a screw job is already there.  Very odd.

7:44 - And now Matt Striker is doing commentary on the YouTube show, while interviewing Tyson Kidd backstage on the PPV show.  Mind.  Blown.

7:41 - Hold on a second....is Kofi Kingston wearing Skeletor trunks?  If so, that's super awesome.  Kofi has some of the coolest designs.

7:39 - So Scott Stanford is currently doing commentary on the YouTube pre-show, while also hosting the PPV pre-show.  Quite surreal.

7:35 - Bravo to Kofi Kingston for debuting some new trunks at tonight's show (the first of, hopefully, many). I said this before and I'll say it again -- why on earth is Kofi NOT in the Money in the Bank match???  This guy was tailor made for that and is always a highlight.  Big mistake.

7:29 - Well, I decided to take the plunge and order Money in the Bank.  Last year's show was so incredible that I decided to take the gamble.  And that's exactly what this show is -- a gamble.  There's a great deal of potential for it to be a fantastic show....or for it to be a terrible show.  Mostly, it's a sign of where the company might be going.

Last year, for example, had CM Punk winning the WWE Championship in an awesome match that was the culmination of an amazing feud.  We also saw Christian win the World Heavyweight Championship.  And Daniel Bryan, shockingly, win the Smackdown Money in the Bank match.  It was like a smart fan's dream show.

This year is a bit less thrilling, but I'm willing to give it a shot.  Espcially since I'm LOVING this Punk/Bryan/AJ feud.  The rest is....questionable.  Especially since only 4 matches have been announced.

I'll be giving my predictions before each match.  Now, onto the pre-show.