The John Report: WWE Money in the Bank 2015 Review

WWE Money in the Bank
Columbus, Ohio
June 14, 2015

Since I missed the show live, I didn’t bother to watch the Kickoff Show. R-Truth beat King Barrett on it because apparently WWE loves booking Barrett to be a massive loser.

The PPV began with a tribute to the legendary Dusty Rhodes, who passed away on Thursday. There was a graphic on the video screen that said “In Memory of Dusty Rhodes 1945-2015″ that was on there during the tribute. The entire roster was by the entrance standing together with Vince McMahon, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon standing in the front together. The bell rang ten times in tribute to him and then his theme song played. Some people on the roster were crying. They were all clapping and the fans joined them. He’ll be missed. Rest in peace, Dream.

There was an awesome video package about the top matches on the show. These videos are always excellent and this was no exception.

The Money in the Bank contract ladder match is up first. Randy Orton walked out first. The announce team of Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield and Jerry Lawler welcomed us to the show. Neville and Kane were up next while the Spanish announcers were also introduced. Dolph Ziggler had Lana with him for his entrance, but she went to the back as he went to the ring. Kofi Kingston was wearing a tag team title as he entered. Sheamus did his big yell on the way to the ring and then Roman Reigns made his entrance through the crowd as the final man.

Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match: Randy Orton, Neville, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus & Roman Reigns

Seven men in one match means it’s tough to recap everything, but I’ll try to get all the key parts. Six guys paired off, so Kingston grabbed a ladder and set it up until the others realized what he was doing and stopped him. There were a lot of climbing attempts until Kane and Sheamus tossed everybody outside the ring. Ziggler nailed Kane with a huge DDT, which led to Ziggler attempting to climb, but that didn’t work because Sheamus dropped him with White Noise. Sheamus hit Reigns with a high knee and then used a ladder as a weapon on Kane as well as Orton. With Sheamus attacking guys outside the ring, Kofi did a climb attempt that was unsuccessful. Neville got into the picture with a missile dropkick on Sheamus and then Kingston nailed Sheamus with the Trouble in Paradise kick. Neville got a hard kick on Kingston, then did a slingshot into the ladder and Kingston climbed. Reigns cleaned house on both guys. There was a ladder bridged across the bottom rope, so Reigns gave Kingston a Powerbomb on the ladder. When Neville tried a hurricanrana, Reigns caught him and gave Neville a Powerbomb onto Kingston. Two huge spots for Reigns that drew a big reaction.

Reigns was a few steps up the ladder when Kane dropped him with a Chokeslam. Orton got back into the ring and nailed Kane with a RKO. Orton tried a climb, Kingston tried to stop that and Orton gave him a RKO. Neville did a climb, when he was up about five steps Orton yanked him off and gave him a RKO. Wow! That looked amazing. Not an easy move to do, but Neville makes everything look easy. Sheamus went for a climb, Orton pulled him down and dropped him with a backbreaker. Sheamus got back up while Orton had his hand on the briefcase, then Sheamus tossed Orton into the ladder and hit a Brogue Kick to knock Orton out. Ziggler did a quick ladder climb and nearly won until Sheamus stopped him. Sheamus battled with Ziggler at the top of the ladder with Sheamus teasing White Noise, so Ziggler applied a sleeper and then brought down Sheamus with a modified Zig Zag. Neville nailed Sheamus with a Red Arrow as the crowd chanted “NXT” for it. Ziggler battled with Neville at the top of the ladder. Some of the other guys in this match have been out of the ring for a bit too long it seems. Neville won that battle, but Kane brought Neville down and then Ziggler nailed Kane with a Superkick. Ziggler and Neville wanted to work together against Kane, but Kane kicked the ladder to break it up. Kane kicked the ladder into Ziggler. Reigns popped back up finally to hit a Superman Punch on Kane.

A bunch of guys were outside the ring, so Reigns ran the ropes and then did a dive over the top to take everybody out. The fans were chanting “this is awesome” for it. Kingston’s New Day buddies Big E and Xavier Woods rolled Kingston back in the ring with Kingston climbing a ladder. Fans chanted “New Day sucks” while Reigns hit a dropkick to take out E & Woods, then Reigns brought Kingston down and launched him Powerbomb style over the top rope onto others outside the ring. Orton went after Reigns, but Reigns fought out of the RKO and hit a Spear to take out Orton.

With Reigns climbing up the ladder, the lights went out and the Bray Wyatt graphic appeared. There’s Bray Wyatt in the ring shaking the ladder while Reigns had his hand on the briefcase. The crowd cheered even though Wyatt’s the heel. He brought down Reigns and nailed Sister Abigail to take him out, which led to Reigns rolling out of the ring. The crowd chanted “yes yes yes” for what Wyatt did. Sheamus was the only man to get back to his feet after all that carnage. He climbed to the top of the ladder. Neville tried to stop him, but Sheamus grabbed his hair and tossed him to the mat. Sheamus grabbed the briefcase and he’s the winner of the Money in the Bank contract in the briefcase. It went 21 minutes.

Winner: Sheamus

Post match, they replayed some key spots including Wyatt screwing Reigns out of the win and Reigns was frustrated outside the ring. Sheamus was shown holding up the briefcase by the entrance while JBL said that the Celtic Warrior has a championship ahead of him.

Analysis: ***1/2 I didn’t see that coming and I doubt a lot of others did too. I thought it would be Reigns, but I’m cool with it not happening since he’s in the title picture usually anyway. Now that Reigns will be dealing with Bray Wyatt, he’s out of the WWE Title picture, which is perfectly fine with me. It wasn’t a particularly violent ladder match because there weren’t that many crazy bumps, but there were definitely some memorable moments in there. The best spot of the match was Orton’s RKO on Neville. There were some other good ones too, but that was the main one that really stood out. I don’t mind Sheamus winning because I think he’s pretty good and much more enjoyable as a heel. I wish WWE booked him stronger when he came back because then his win in this match would have been more believable. Maybe they’ll realize he needs to be booked like more of a badass now.

There was a “don’t try this at home” commercial.

Paige was interviewed by Renee Young. She mentioned that not one diva has come up to her to try to help her take down the Bella Twins. She said that if she takes away the Bellas championship then she can change things. Then she said something ridiculous about how the Bellas have dominated the divas division for seven years. She said she would initiate change and said it’s for you Dusty.

Analysis: That was a big stretch for Paige to talk about the Bellas dominating since they didn’t do much for like five years. The last two years they’ve been featured a lot more.

Divas Title: Nikki Bella vs. Paige

No Brie with Nikki at ringside although it was noticeable that they were dressed the same on the stage earlier, so if you noticed that you know what’s coming. Paige sent Nikki to the floor and hit a cannonball dive off the apron. I like that spot. Outside the ring, Nikki slammed Paige face first into the top of the barricade. Nikki sent Paige back first into the side of the ring, which led to Nikki doing push-ups. Other divas were shown watching the match on a monitor backstage. Natalya said that all Nikki cares about is how she looks. Paige nailed Nikki with a running knee attack for two, but Nikki hit a clothesline to get control back. Slingshot suplex by Nikki for two. After Paige tried another comeback, Nikki stopped again with a neckbreaker and then there was another chinlock by Nikki. Paige hit a standing side kick to knock down Nikki for a two count. There was another high knee by Paige, this time against the turnbuckle. Paige applied a STF like submission, but Nikki got to the ropes. Nikki hit an Alabama Slam as the divas were shown looking on backstage. I could hear them calling spots as Paige applied the PTO submission, but Nikki got out before she could apply it. Nikki hit an impressive kick off the middle rope for another two count. Paige hit her Rampaige DDT, but Nikki kicked out at two. Paige was shocked by it. Another loud call with Paige saying she’ll pick her up, so she did and set her up on the top rope. They did a spot where they brawled on the top rope with each woman nailing a forearm shot and falling to the floor. Brie was under the ring again and did the switch with Nikki. Brie did the inside cradle, then Paige reversed it and Paige did an inside cradle for the win. The bell rang.

After the pin, Brie started freaking out saying that it was her and took out tissues from her top to show that it wasn’t Nikki since we all know they look different in that regard. Brie also showed the tattoos she had below her stomach. Paige kicked Brie out of the ring. Nikki nailed Paige with a forearm shot and then the Rack Attack for the win after 11 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Nikki Bella

Analysis: **1/4 I guess they did that for Dusty because they did the Dusty Finish with the tease of Paige as the winner. The good news is they were given about 11 minutes, which is longer than the usual 7 minutes that divas get on PPVs. The bad news is that finish sucked. It was a pretty good match with a terrible finish that they probably did in order to necessitate another match for them. Seeing Brie explain that she has smaller breasts than her sister and tattoos below her stomach is a very unique way to end a match. JBL made a good point that you can’t really blame the ref since it’s not like you can expect to see something like that. It should have been a disqualification ending because the Bellas blatantly cheated, but you could say the ref restarted it to give Paige a chance to get the win after Brie got involved. Give the women credit for working hard in the match. I just didn’t like the finish very much.

There was a plug for that WWE Swerved show coming soon to WWE Network.

The Miz entered for a promo saying he’s from Ohio and ripped on the state of Ohio saying they don’t count like Hollywood. He complained about how he’d be Intercontinental Champion if not for Big Show. He sat in on commentary for the IC Title match. They showed two replays of things that happened between them on television. They did not mention Ryback beating Miz clean on Smackdown, of course.

Intercontinental Title: Ryback vs. Big Show

I love Miz for making fun of Cole for reading a tweet. Ryback nailed Show with a Meat Hook Clothesline early on and then he knocked Show out of the ring with a clothesline. Ryback attacked Miz by tossing him over the announce table. Back in the ring, Show took down Ryback with a Spear. Show with a body slam while Miz was still in pain outside the ring. Show with a shoulder tackle. Ryback did a surprising move by taking show down with an armbar submission until Show got to the ropes. Ryback hit an impressive looking vertical suplex followed by a splash for a two count. Show nailed a Chokeslam for a two count. That’s no longer his main finisher, so no surprise Ryback would kick out. Ryback wanted Shellshock, Show got out of it, bounced Ryback off the ropes and Show hit the KO Punch to knock Ryback out of the ring. Show rolled Ryback into the ring and then Miz attacked Show with a microphone to the back. Miz also attacked Ryback. The match went six minutes.

Winner by disqualification: Big Show (Ryback is still IC Champ)

Analysis: *1/2 A short match with a bad finish to follow up the previous match with a bad finish. They worked hard in the time they were given and were able to do some cool things in the match with Ryback busting out an armbar while Show also looked strong since he wasn’t in a position to lose at any point. They probably did that because they didn’t want either guy to lose while also setting up a triple threat match involving Miz. It could lead to some interesting interaction with Miz as the cheap heel that annoys the two power wrestlers or it could be really boring.

This Monday on Raw it’s hip-hop artist Machine Gun Kelly, who you might remember from some other WWE event most notably WrestleMania 28. He’s from Cleveland, so the crowd may not boo him.

There was a commercial for Tough Enough starting on USA Network on June 23. There’s also a special on WWE Network this Tuesday that shows how they narrowed it down from 40 people to just 13 people that they didn’t even mention.

A video package aired for the highly anticipated Kevin Owens vs. John Cena match. Owens won clean two weeks ago.

The NXT Champion Kevin Owens entered first to a pretty good ovation. Lots of cheers in there and then some “Fight Owens Fight” chants from the crowd. John Cena entered to a good ovation, but definitely some boos for him too. Neither title is on the line.

Kevin Owens vs. John Cena

They paused at the start to soak in some “Fight Owens Fight” chants. Each man got a shoulderblock takedown early as there were more “NXT” chants. The crowd was on fire doing the dueling Cena chants as Cena hit a huge clothesline and then Owens came back with a dropkick followed by running senton for a two count. After Owens tried to ground him, Cena came back with a dropkick, then the two shoulder tackles and Owens countered the spinning suplex. Then Owens did the Cena shoulder tackles and spinning suplex. He even hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena slipped out of the Attitude Adjustment and then applied the STF, but Owens got the ropes. Cena hit a very impressive reverse suplex for a two count, which they replayed and it looked great. Owens hit a move that looked like a Codebreaker for two. Cena came back with his spinning suplex, then the shuffle and Owens avoided the AA. Owens hit a release German suplex followed by a running cannonball attack in the corner for two. Owens had Cena on his back and dropped him down in a move that looked a bit like White Noise for two. Owens went up top for a Swanton Bomb, but Cena got his knees up and they were well placed right in Owens’ back. Cena put Owens on his shoulders and then slammed him face first for a two count. Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment for two and Cena got right in ref Mike Chioda’s face to argue it.

Cena tried to set up Owens on the top rope, but Owens fought out of it, had Cena on his shoulders and turned it into a spinning sitout Powerbomb for a two. Wow that was great. Fans were chanting “this is awesome” and they were right to chant that. Owens wanted a Popup Powerbomb, but Cena countered into a hurricanrana, which looked great. Then Owens came back quickly with a superkick for a two count. Wow! Another awesome nearfall. This match is incredible. Cena was on the apron and nailed a Tornado DDT for a two count. Owens came back with a package powerbomb for two. King was ranting about how Owens came out of virtual obscurity to be here. Yes he’s new on the main roster, but they shouldn’t say it like that. Owens up top, he was facing Cena and then turned it into a moonsault that Cena was able to avoid. Cena came back with an Attitude Adjustment for a two count. The crowd was really on fire at this point. It’s hard to do it justice, but if you watched it you know they are so into this match.

Cena placed Owens on the top rope, but Owens countered it like he did in the last match into a cradling suplex for a two count. That’s so impressive every time he does it. Cena managed to trip Owens up and applied the STF submission. Owens grabbed the ropes to break the hold. They did a spot where Cena jumped on Owens’ back, then stumbled a bit and Cena turned it into a sunset flip powerbomb for a two count. Wow! We see smaller guys do that spot, but not guys this big. Owens nailed a Popup Powerbomb for a two count that they missed live because they were showing a replay. A replay of that move showed Cena was able to kick out just before the count of three. Owens was talking trash, yelling at Cena to stay down and Cena came back with a springboard stunner that actually stunned Owens a bit and then Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment for a third time. One…two…three. That’s it after 20 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: John Cena

Analysis: ****3/4 What a fantastic wrestling match. Loved it. I give it 1/4* more than their last match and the Royal Rumble triple threat, so it’s my WWE match of the year so far. I liked it a bit more than the first match they had just because they were able to do some spots similar to that match, but they topped a bit more with some really good believable nearfalls. A lot of people complain about how sloppy Cena can be at times, but he was outstanding in this match and was hitting his moves very well. Plus, I couldn’t hear him calling spots like I did in the last match they had. When you can have a match where the execution of the moves is great, the crowd is riveted the entire time (they were), the amount of time is just about right and there’s a clean finish it really doesn’t get much better than that. Kudos to John and Kevin for putting on a match that I won’t soon forget. It was a classic that is one of the best of Cena’s career while Owens continues to show how awesome of a worker he is. My pick for the match was Owens. I get why Cena won so they can build to a third match. I just think we see booking too often where guys trade wins in major feuds and I would have liked to see Owens go up 2-0 in this series to show that he is the better man. However, it’s definitely not a bad thing because they are on their way to having the feud of the year at this point.

Cena celebrated with his US Title even though it wasn’t on the line. The announcers put the match over huge saying they just had an all time classic, which I would agree with.

After the match, Owens was staggering around the ring with Cena in there waiting for him. Cena pointed at the fans that were giving them a standing ovation. Cena handed Owens his NXT Title back. Cena extended his hand and Owens shook it. Then Owens kicked him in the stomach! Owens grabbed Cena outside the ring and gave him a Powerbomb on the side of the ring apron like he’s done in NXT so many times. A lot of fans were cheering Owens for doing that. Owens went back in the ring to grab the US Title, which he held up in the air. He tossed the US Title down. Doctors and referees were tending to Cena while Owens walked back looking proud of what he did.

Following some replays, Cena was seen favoring his right leg. I assume he’s just selling the attack, but why sell the foot when it was the back that was attacked? Hopefully there wasn’t some legit injury that happened there. The announcers were using SERIOUS VOICES~! to talk about what Owens did to Cena.

Analysis: That was an awesome attack by Owens. He’s a true heel that isn’t out there trying to be cool or to suck up to the fans in any way. That’s why he demands respect from the crowd too. We’ll get a third match from these two that hopefully Owens can win.

There were commercials for WWE Shop and the return of Total Divas in July.

Dean Ambrose was interviewed by Renee Young. He wondered what kind of animal does she take him for. Perhaps that’s an inside joke comment for her since she’s his girlfriend. Ambrose had the WWE Title on his shoulder saying that he took the title because he was sick of things and that he had to take what was his. He did a fired up promo about standing up for himself saying it’s about respect and he’s going to leave as WWE Champion.

Analysis: He’s basically doing the Stone Cold gimmick without the catchphrases. I don’t really mind it because Ambrose is great.

The announcers talked about Dusty Rhodes passing away on Thursday at the age of 69. JBL thanked Dusty and said it was a life well lived. Lawler said he really was one of the best talkers ever while Cole said that Dusty did a lot for the younger stars in NXT helping them with promos.

A video package aired about the career of Dusty Rhodes. What’s evident from watching these clips of him as well as hearing people talk about him is that he really loved the wresting business. The fact that he was still working in wresting even the day before he died showed how much he loved it because even when he couldn’t perform anymore he gave back to the business by helping developmental talent in NXT. There was a clip from when he was inducted in the Hall of Fame by Dustin and Cody. Then there were clips of him with some of the talents of NXT mixed in with great moments from his career. That shot of him with Goldust and Cody when they teamed together is one of my favorites because you could tell it meant so much to Dusty.

Analysis: It was very good like all these videos are, but very sad to know that this man so full of life is no longer with us. He will be missed.

Following Raw on Monday, there’s a “Celebrating the Dream” special about Dusty.

The tag champs Big E and Xavier Woods were out there without Kofi Kingston while saying Kofi was robbed from being Mr. Money in the Bank. Big E said cheaters should never win especially after they come off probation just like Ohio State, which is a reference to their football program winning the National Championship in January. Big E asked the crowd to support Kofi by clapping, then Woods went into a rant and Big E stopped him from being too negative. There was more clapping and chanting to get the crowd riled up before the PTPers entered.

The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O’Neil)

The champs worked over Young early on. Big E nailed a nice belly to belly release suplex. They followed that up with a lot of quick tags. There was a spot where Big E did an abdominal stretch and smacked the ribs of Young to the tune of “new day rocks.” Belly to belly suplex by Big E and then he brought in Woods. Big E hit a one armed slam for two. Young created some space after Big E missed a corner charge and there’s the hot tag to O’Neil. The big man O’Neil cleaned house with clotheslines for both guys, a backbreaker and then he tossed Woods down hard. O’Neil hit a big shoulder tackle to knock down Woods for a two count. With Young on the apron, Big E took him down with a shoulder tackle that sent both guys out of the ring. I love that spot. O’Neil was left alone with Woods and he dropped him with a spinning sitout spinebuster, which was enough for the win after six minutes.

Winners by pinfall and New Tag Team Champions: The Prime Time Players

Post match, the PTPers celebrated with the WWE Universe at ringside.

Analysis: *1/2 The match was just okay with Young working the whole time before the hot tag to O’Neil for the finish. It’s a tough spot following Cena/Owens, but at least they did a promo before the match to upset the fans. I’m surprised by the title change because I love New Day as tag champs, but I don’t have a problem with the PTPers winning since they really deserve it. It’s the first time the PTPers won the gold. Both guys have been there a while, so I’m genuinely happy for them. I just think they could have built up the feud for more than two weeks before doing a title change.

The MITB panel talked about things from the show as well as the WWE Title match coming up. It’s Renee Young, Booker T, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.

Announced for WWE Battleground on July 19 it’s Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt. My favorite thing is there’s a five week break leading up to that. I’m glad after writing about so many shows in the last month.

The video package aired for the ladder match between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.

The WWE Champion Seth Rollins was shown walking backstage. Kane walked up to him to say that the future is history. J&J Security were behind Seth laughing and they walked away with Kane. Stephanie McMahon said that he weight of the entire company rests on Seth’s soldiers. She said if Ambrose wins the WWE Title then they’ll have nobody to blame, but her and she left. Triple H did his coach speech about how this is what Rollins wanted to stand on his own two feet. Hunter told Rollins to “show them” repeatedly and to show them that he is Seth Rollins, the WWE Champion. “Show them. Show them all.” Rollins was fired up as he walked toward the ring alone.

Analysis: That was a good coach promo by Triple H. The others seemed to have lost faith in him, but Hunter believes in him and that was reinforced by that promo.

Dean Ambrose entered first in a grey shirt and jeans as his ring gear. The crowd was loud for him as he walked under an open ladder, which is bad luck for people that are superstitious. The WWE Champion Rollins walked out alone while the WWE Title was hanging above the ring. The two men faced off in the ring with Ambrose’s hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio earning him a nice reaction since they are in the state of Ohio.

World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match: Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

The winner is the first man to climb a ladder and retrieve the WWE Title that is hanging above the ring. It’s starting with about 40 minutes left until the top of the hour, so it’s going to get a lot of time. Ambrose was the aggressor early on as they worked a slow place because they have so much time. Ambrose worked over Rollins with a suplex, hard clothesline, corner clothesline and bulldog. Rollins was able to come back by sending Ambrose head first into the middle turnbuckle and then hit a knee attack to knock Ambrose outside the ring. Rollins sent Ambrose into the steps to continue to try to wear him down. With Rollins outside the ring, Ambrose nailed him with a suicide dive to take him out. Ambrose tried to bring a ladder into the ring, but that didn’t work. Rollins tried to hit a dive on Ambrose, but Ambrose got the ladder up to block it and Rollins was hurt going into the ladder. They finally set up the ladder in the ring with both guys trying to climb although neither man could do it, so Ambrose just tossed Rollins into the side of the ladder. The ladder was set up against the turnbuckle, which led to Ambrose giving Rollins a double underhook suplex onto the ladder. Ambrose climbed the ladder, did a Dusty Rhodes tribute with his hands and dropped his own unique bionic elbow attack. Then he sent Rollins outside the ring.

Ambrose climbed the ladder and he was very close to reaching the title. Rollins came back with a steel chair, which he used to nail Ambrose in the left leg two times to knock him down. Rollins drove the ladder into the left knee of Ambrose as the momentum shifted to the champion. Rollins trapped Ambrose’s left leg between the ladder and then stomped on it. Rollins did a ringpost Figure Four, which led to “Woo” chants from the crowd since that was Ric Flair’s move, but Bret Hart is the one that did it regularly as a heel in WWE in 1997. Back in the ring, Rollins did a figure four leglock. Rollins attacked Ambrose with a chair to the knee. Rollins hit a double foot stomp on Ambrose while Dean was upside down against the turnbuckle. Rollins climbed up and Ambrose knocked him down by shoving the ladder. Rollins stopped an Ambrose rally by tossing the side of the ladder into the head of Ambrose. If there was blood allowed they would have had Ambrose blade there. Rollins trapped Ambrose’s left leg in the ladder again and used a chair to hit the ladder. Ambrose got back at him by tossing the chair at Rollins. It looked like it hit the shoulder rather than the head. With Rollins stuck on the top rope, Ambrose crushed him with a clothesline that led to Rollins selling it by doing a flip bump to the mat. Ambrose had a hard time running because of the knee, but he managed to hit a clothesline over the top to the floor.

The fight went outside the ring for a bit. Then they went back in, Rollins got a kick to the head and Ambrose did his bounce off the rope clothesline to crush Rollins, who sold it again by doing a flip bump. Rollins tried to escape through the crowd, so the Ambrose went after him. They brawled into the stands with Rollins winning that battle by tossing Ambrose into a wall. Rollins went back to the ring and brought out a ladder from under the ring. Ambrose hit a dive while running across the announce tables to take out Rollins. There was a ladder bridge from the side of the ring to the announce table. Rollins charged at Ambrose and did gave him a back body drop over the top onto the ladder, which bent in half. There’s the biggest spot of the match. Ambrose had to do get another ladder, did a slow climb, Rollins stopped him and then they went back outside the ring where Ambrose nailed him with a clothesline over the Spanish announce table. Rollins wanted the Pedigree on the announce table, but Ambrose countered into Dirty Deeds on the table. The table didn’t break, though. The fans chanted “one more time” so they could break the table. They didn’t do it again. Way to show that toughness, Spanish Announce Table.

Ambrose crawled back into the ring where the ladder was set up under the title. With Ambrose near the title, Rollins got back into the ring and nailed Ambrose in the leg with a TV monitor that was on the table. Rollins nailed Ambrose with a Pedigree to take him out again. Rollins climbed up again looking he was going to get the title, but Ambrose got back up to grab his leg. Rollins missed a charge, grabbed Ambrose out of the ring, slammed Ambrose head first into the side of the broken ladder outside the ring and then Rollins hit a Powerbomb into the barricade at ringside. Rollins launched Ambrose back first into a barricade again. Rollins had a ladder folded up outside the ring. He put some chairs onto the ladder and then delivered a sitout Powerbomb onto the ladder that had the chairs on it. Rollins tossed more chairs onto Ambrose, who was buried under a ladder. When Rollins tried to climb, Ambrose climbed back up. They battled at the top of the ladder. Both guys had the title and they fell off at the same time with Rollins ending up with the in his hands. The match went 36 minutes.

Winner: Seth Rollins

The replays showed that Ambrose had the title too, but when he hit the mat he let it go and Rollins ended up with the WWE Title in his possession.

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a very good match with a unique finish that is reflective of how WWE is really reluctant to push Rollins as a strong champion. It just lacked that extra something to make it feel special. I’m a huge fan of both guys and I love their matches, but I felt like this one went too long at 36 minutes. They really tried to make it a different kind of ladder match with Ambrose selling the knee injury for most of the match while Rollins looked like a really smart heel working on it as much as he could. There were parts in the match where the crowd was really into it, but at other times you could tell the crowd was tired because it was such a long match. The ending was reminiscent of the end of a steel cage match where they do the close finish where one guy’s foot hits the floor going out the door and the other guy drops down the side of the cage. This kind of finish hasn’t really been done before in a WWE ladder match where they both come down with it at the same time. Give credit to both guys for putting on a hell of an entertaining match. I just thought that if they cut out 10-15 minutes it would have been a lot more intense and have a better flow it. If it was me booking then I would have had Rollins win more decisively. If you’re going to put him against Lesnar then he needs to leave no doubt about being the champion. That finish was a bit of a fluke, but he should be fine anyway.

Post match, Rollins posed with his WWE Title while JBL put him over for doing it on his own. Triple H showed up looking like a proud coach (or father) as he raised the hand of Rollins. Ambrose looked frustrated in the ring. More replays were shown of the finish with Rollins keeping possession of the title when they fell at the same time.

There was a quick interview with Jojo coming out to ask Rollins if they had any thoughts. Here’s what Rollins had to say: “I told you so! Hahaha! Nobody can hang with me. I am the best this company has to offer and I’m the greatest WWE World Heavyweight Champion of all time.” The show ended with yet another replay of the finish and Rollins holding the WWE Title like the prized possession that it is.

Analysis: Rollins is as cocky as ever and that’s why it’s the perfect time for Brock Lesnar to come back as a babyface. That’s going to be a lot of fun.

Five Stars of the Show

1. Kevin Owens

2. John Cena

3. Seth Rollins

4. Dean Ambrose

5. Sheamus

Final Thoughts

It gets a 6.5 out of 10 from me. A very good show that had the potential to be great. I just think some of the finishes were poor and that hurts the show a bit.

It was a three match show going in and those three matches delivered, but I thought that the MITB match and the WWE Title match both could have been better.

Like I said earlier, I thought Cena vs. Owens was a special match and the best WWE match of the year so far. They really were able to deliver another classic, which isn’t always easy to do when you’ve seen a lot of it in the first match.

Wyatt’s attack on Reigns sets up a new feud for them, which I didn’t really expect because I thought Reigns was going to leave as MITB winner. It was also something we’ve seen before with Wyatt since he’s done similar attacks to several others in the past. At least Wyatt has a feud that’s fresh.

Some of the match finishes were questionable. Stop booking Nikki vs. Paige if you can’t do a better finish than that and the IC Title finish was pretty poor as well. Ending of the IC Title match was just bad. Tag Title change was okay, but it felt flat. The main event finish is probably going to upset some people, but I didn’t hate it.

If you missed it, make sure to watch Cena vs. Owens because they had the match of the year.

2015 PPV Rankings (Scores out of 10)

WrestleMania – 8

Elimination Chamber 7.5

Payback – 7

Money in the Bank – 6.5

Extreme Rules – 6

Fastlane – 5

Royal Rumble 4

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John Canton – mrjohncanton@gmail.com

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