Money in the Bank Ladder Match

SETH ROLLINS VS. DEAN AMBROSE VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. BAD NEWS BARRETT VS. KOFI KINGSTON VS. ROB VAN DAM VS. JACK SWAGGER

Best Case Scenario: Seth Rollins gets Electric Chair Dropped by Dean Ambrose from the top of the ladder, while Kofi Kingston hops over the both of them to reach the top of the ladder. Then, he gets some BAD NEWS from a miraculously healthy Wade Barrett in the form of a Bullhammer elbow. Dolph Ziggler, having distracted Rob Van Dam and Jack Swagger with a bong, wins his second Money in the Bank contract.

What Will Happen: Before his injury, Bad News was a dark horse to win this, but without him, it looks like Seth Rollins has this one in the bag. Hopefully it doesn’t mean he’ll leave an awesome Dean Ambrose feud flapping in the breeze.

To go Hubie for a minute: You talk about a feud that has gone from 0 to OH MY GOD, I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT ALL THE TIME faster than any other feud in history, you talk about Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Both are main eventers, the type of performers people go out of their way to see, to pay to see and care about what they are doing on an existential level.

In the same way that, for instance, the Rock being on television can raise ratings, a Dean Ambrose promo has now become a needle mover just as much him appearing anywhere near Seth Rollins at any time. And that was, by and large, the story of this match. This, more so than the break up, is the catalyst for everything that comes after it. The WWE managed to transfer the existential stakes between them almost directly to a tangible entity they can fight over.

This is enormous. In one match, in fact in about 5-7 minutes of actual interaction, they’ve evolved the Money in the Bank briefcase into a “No. 1 Contender” title, something they’ve been hinting at since Edge took it away from an injured Mr. Kennedy.

It came closest during last year’s feud between Sandow and Cody Rhodes, but that looks more like a trial run now, with its relatively low stakes — it was for a post-Batista/Taker/Edge, pre-unification WHC — helping it be so forgettable that both guys have new gimmicks and one of them (Cody) has a new name. That will not happen with these two. If only for that, and nothing else, this would have been a match worth watching over and over again.

But, of course, it wasn’t.

While the match may have been better served with Bad News Barrett in the mix, the work of Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston and Rob Van Dam (of all people) kept the action (or the crowd) from ever dropping below very excited be there. This match has delivered essentially every time it has ever been contested. And this time was no different.

Match 1.0 | PPV 1.9

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