Trending Topics - What closes MITB? - [a case of the summer]

In this week's edition of Trending Topics, I thought I'd discuss Kyle's question in this past Monday's LIVE Raw thoughts thread.  Here's what he asked:

Now here's the question, what goes on last at MitB? 2 weeks ago it was obviously going to be the John Cena Title match yet again (in this case, Money in the Bank, barring a necessary angle which required MitB to go on earlier so they could cash in later in the same show), but Punk/Bryan/AJ was MUCH hotter with the crowd and has actually gone on last two weeks in a row. At this point how do they NOT put Punk/Bryan on last?

If you asked me two weeks ago, the "safe bet" (although not necessarily obviously) was the WWE Championship Money in the Bank match, only because Cena and Big Show have been pushed so heavily (plus they were hyping it as this super exclusive, special thing).  If I was forced to pick today, I would actually probably say the WWE Championship match.  And that's kinda awesome.

While I don't want to discount the fact that Punk/Bryan/AJ is super hot right now, I think the thing that really works in their favor is that logistically, the championship HAS to go on after the MITB match.  They've brought up the fact more than once that Kane cashed in the night of the event, which means they likely want us to keep that possibility looming in our heads.  That would of course be impossible if the ladder match happens after the title match.

Plus, knowing the result of the MITB match adds a significant amount of intrigue going into the title match.  Let's say Big Show wins.  They could easily do a backstage skit in which Big Show reminds Bryan that Bryan cashed in his contract against him last year.  Big Show can promise to do the same if Bryan wins the title that night.  If Kane wins, he could remind either competitor (or the announcers can) that last time he won, he cashed in that night and won the title.  If Jericho wins, he can confront Punk backstage and tell him that he'll finally do what he failed to do earlier in the year and take the title from him.  They quite needlessly miss out on all of these possibilities if they close the show with the MITB match.

And quite frankly, the fans ARE far more into the WWE Championship match.  Why waste this opportunity to let them shine just to remind everybody that John Cena is their biggest star?

Another thing working to their advantage:  WWE LOVES ending their PPV's with a cliffhanger.  I'm convinced that's why they closed Over the Limit with Cena/Johnny Ace.  Having AJ turn on Punk or Bryan and helping that individual win the match is right up the alley of how WWE likes to end their shows.

The fact that Punk/Bryan/AJ has pretty much dominated Raw and Smackdown for the past couple of weeks really makes me believe that that match will rightfully close the show.

Now, one of two mini rants:  It is absolutely tragic how much they've crapped on the World Heavyweight Championship MITB match.  They immediately made the WWE Championship counterpart seem more special by making theirs exclusive to former champions (spoiler alert:  That's the second mini rant) while opening up this match to anybody.  Then on Raw, the WWE Championship MITB match gets about 15 minutes, with a Cena promo and each person getting an entrance.  The WHC one doesn't get any entrances, and less than 2 minutes.  It's really sad and entirely counterproductive.

And then there's the WWE Championship MITB match.  First off, you have only four people in the match.  Ordinarily that wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that two of them are not really fit for that sort of match (Kane and Big Show) and one of them is too important to risk a serious injury (Cena).  And the last remaining guy (Jericho) isn't exactly a bump artist or a super high flyer.  So the match will probably fall a lot flatter than the World Heavyweight Championship MITB, despite the significantly greater star power.

On top of that, who exactly should I pull for here?  While MITB has undoubtedly tarnished the prestige of some first-time World title runs, it has been a great first step for building the anticipation towards a Superstar's journey to become champion.  It was legitimately exciting when Daniel Bryan won last year.  Ditto for Edge the first year and CM Punk's numerous victories.  Who am I to get excited about here?

First, there's Cena.  The guy has held a World title, what, ten times?  He's in the title scene, typically, numerous times per year.  The guy doesn't need another title reign any time soon, and he certainly doesn't need a briefcase to get it.  Big Show, meanwhile, spent a significant part of last year feuding for the World Heavyweight Championship.  That was less than a year ago....would you be excited to see HIM in the title scene again?


Jericho and Kane are in similar boats.  Hell, just LAST MONTH Kane was fighting for the World Heavyweight Championship.  And he had a lengthy reign with the gold a couple of years ago.  Jericho also had a multi-month feud with CM Punk over the WWE Championship.  And during his last stint with the company, he held the World Heavyweight Championship a couple of times.


And I think that's what it comes down to:  Money in the Bank works because we're to believe that this individual needs the briefcase to get a title shot.  Not necessarily because the person isn't good enough, but because he hasn't been afforded the opportunities.  All of these guys HAVE been given those chances.  There's no emotional investment.


The only upside would be if one of these guys won the briefcase but failed to win the title.  This is the time to do that, since the Superstar is established enough that they won't suffer from the loss.