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Match 1: Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Cody Rhodes vs. Sin Cara vs. Wade Barrett vs. Sheamus vs. Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater vs. Kane vs. Daniel Bryan (CMV1 rating - ***3/4) (CMV1 note – Daniel Bryan wins the MITB ladder match and makes a ton of smart marks happy in 24:29. The match itself was very good, but a notch below the four-star level. There were a lot of very creative spots, but I didn’t think they all got pulled off all that smoothly. Cara took a nasty bump through a ladder and was carted off, but he got some nicely executed spots in before the injury angle. Wade did a nice job, as did Cody Rhodes. The crowd was not as into it as I thought they would be, and they broke out into a couple of medium sized “CM Punk” chants. Bryan winning was certainly a surprise and a good sign that the WWE is behind him) Match 2: Diva’s Champion Kelly Kelly vs. Brie Bella (CMV1 rating – ¾*) (CMV1 note – Just your typical Divas match. Not really much to say about it) Match 3: Mark Henry vs. Big Show (CMV1 rating - *1/2) (CMV1 note – Pretty much a glorified squash match. It was even right at the beginning, but then Henry injured Show’s knee and dominated him from that point forward. Henry was really put over strong here and it looks as if the big man is heading for his latest attempt at being a main-event player. Naturally, this does not excite many people. He’s done a good job of character development since being drafted to Smackdown, but it’s still Mark Henry and his involvement in main-events has often led to injuries to top performers in the past. The WWE is banking on people having a short memory, in hopes that we’ll all forget Henry’s years and years of being more or less a jobber to the top guys. Look out Randy Orton…someone is gonna try to kick your ass) Vince McMahon says that Punk has not resigned. He says that Punk told him to “get out” when he tried to talk to him about resigning. Backstage skits and interviews tonight - ***. Nothing special, but really set the stage well for what was going to happen later. Match 4: Money in the Bank Ladder Match – The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Alex Riley vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne vs. R-Truth (CMV1 rating - ****) (CMV1 note – Alberto Del Rio wins it at 15:54. A lot more exciting than the SD version and, for the most part, a better executed match that saw the degree of difficulty increase and the quality raise accordingly. The high flyers shined bright, as Kofi, Rey, and Bourne supplied sufficient thrills. There were a few nice false finishes, too, as Miz got injured and returned to nearly win it before Mysterio nearly had it won, as well, before Del Rio ripped his mask off. Mysterio’s fall from the ladder after being de-masked caused the planned finish to be botched, but Del Rio recovered nicely and did what needed to be done) Match 5: World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs. Christian (CMV1 rating - ***3/4) (CMV1 note – Another top notch match between Orton and Christian, this one ending with Orton getting disqualified after kicking Christian in the nuts – thus, Orton lost the title. Christian spit in Orton’s face, playing right into the storyline and continuing what in my opinion has been a tremendous feud. These two work really well together. I can’t overstate that. The match itself lasted under 13-minutes, but it was the most entertaining match of the night despite my rating it lower than the RAW MITB match. It’s as if everything that they do in that ring just cliques. Orton hit Christian with two RKOs on the announce table after the match in frustration. The crowd was going bananas for it and it really put this storyline over well. I really hope that they do the blow off at Summerslam because it’s been a great few months watching these two progress their saga) Match 6: WWE Champion John Cena vs. CM Punk (CMV1 rating - *****) (CMV1 note – Unbelievable match with so much drama…this was the best match of the year without question. The crowd was so involved the entire time. The match itself lasted 33:45 and there was some sort of chant from the crowd virtually the entire match. There were so many different scenarios discussed by myself and the two guys that I watched the PPV with prior to and during the match and two of the most realistic ones actually happened. The first was McMahon trying to do a Montreal Screwjob, but Cena thwarted that and it ultimately cost him the WWE Championship. The second was, after Cena lost, having Alberto come down and cash in the MITB. Del Rio wasn’t able to actually do that thanks to Punk realizing what was happening and taking out ADR before the bell rang. The contract is safe and so is Punk’s title victory and reign. The intrigue that this creates is something we haven’t seen in a really long time. Honestly, that was the first five-star match that I’ve ever reviewed live and I’m SO PUMPED that I got the chance to do it!!! YEEAAHHH!!! I always wanted to sit here at the end of a match and say…THAT WAS A FIVE-STAR MATCH!!! This was what pro-wrestling is all about. It isn't about merchandise or TV ratings...it's about two guys going into a 20X20 ring and putting everything they have into tearing the house down and entertaining people like no one else in the world can. That's what we saw tonight. Congrats to Cena for his first 5-star match and Punk for setting the stage so that he could get his own 5-star match in the WWE) CMV1 PPV Rating System 0-1.5 stars = Demand a refund and don't take no for an answer. If it was this bad, they should pay you to watch the next two PPVs, at least. (Great American Bash 2005) 1.75-2.25 stars = A below average PPV that wasn't worth the money spent watching. (Survivor Series 2010) 2.5-2.75 stars = An average to above average event that was worth watching on that given night. (Royal Rumble 2011, Wrestlemania XXVII) 3.0-3.25 = A really good show that you'd buy on DVD and watch again (Elimination Chamber 2011, Unforgiven 2006) 3.5 = This is how PPV should be done (Summerslam 2002) 3.75-5.0 = You never thought a PPV could be this good... Money in the Bank 2011’s Final Score = *** (CMV1 note – Easily the PPV of the year. Nothing is going to be able to top that, barring a miracle. There were two matches that drug the rating down, but this is the kind of PPV that you lock in the vault for the future. You'll show your kids this PPV one day when trying to explain to them how good wrestling can be)
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