WWE Money in the Bank Review - July 15, 2012

Daniel Bryan applies the Yes Lock on WWE Champion CM Punk.

Fun match with WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeating Hunico and Camacho. The styles of the two teams meshed nicely and the crowd certainly enjoyed the high spots. Sure, the victory didn't do much in terms of giving either team needed momentum, but it was a successful way in setting a tone for the actual pay-per-view.

Exciting World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match to kick off the show. Although there were some sloppy spots early on, it really heated up in the latter half of the bout with a handful of awe-inspiring spots from the likes Dolph Ziggler, Tyson Kidd, Christian, and others. Although it wasn't one of the better Money in the Bank Ladder Matches I've seen, everyone played their roles well regardless. Despite the fact he doesn't  need the briefcase as much as Cody Rhodes, Ziggler was still and excellent choice as Mr. Money in the Bank.

Good match with Sheamus successfully defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio. It was exactly what we expected it to be, so nothing really out of the ordinary. If anything, it was something you'd see apart of a SmackDown main event. I'm glad they didn't have Dolph Ziggler cash-in here, so it was a nice tease of what's hopefully to come. Most Money in the Bank winners unsuccessfully attempt to cash-in their briefcase before becoming champion later down the line.

Decent tag team match with Primo and Epico defeating the Prime Time Players. Obviously, it was used to kill time, but it was a nice buffer and put more emphasis on the tag team division. The action was fine for what it was, but the real surprise came when Primo and Epico pulled out the victory. While I don't like how heat was taken off the number one contenders, I do appreciate the effort in putting some focus on an actual tag team feud, which should hopefully be building towards a three-way WWE Tag Team title match at SummerSlam.

Strong No Disqualification match with CM Punk successfully defending his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan with AJ as the special guest referee. It was a bit odd that the No DQ stipulation was announced at the last minute, especially since I felt like it didn't do all that much to enhance the match. However, it was a great brawl with a lot of fantastic story-telling. It felt slow and dragged at times, but I'm of course glad they received nearly thirty minutes of in-ring time. Having Punk retain here was a smart move and it AJ's choice of not making choice of either Superstar was well done. I hope they add a new chapter to this feud going forward, or move Punk into a whole new program to keep things fresh.

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John Cena performs a Five Knuckle Shuffle to both Miz and Jericho.

Fine Handicap match with Ryback defeating both Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks. It was certainly a step up from Ryback squashing two enhancement talents on pay-per-view, and this "feud" was somewhat built going into this show. Sure, it hurts the credibility of Reks and Hawkins since they lost in a two-on-one situation, but they got in some nice offense on Ryback who also sold well. Seeing Reks and Hawkins receive a full entrance on a pay-per-view was also a very nice touch.

Throwaway tag team match with Divas Champion Layla, Kaitlyn, and Tamina Snuka defeating Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and Eve. Although the action was fine for what it was, it felt like a complete waste. The Divas division is non-existent right now and having an unadvertised match-up directly after another unscheduled contest was a drag. WWE needs to really start taking their Divas seriously if there's any hope for them going forward.

Entertaining Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match that saw John Cena emerge victorious. Quite honestly, I was not looking forward to this contest at all going into the event and was disappointed it would be  closing the show, but this bout undoubtedly exceeded my expectations. The Miz's return was a nice surprise and he was a perfect addition to the match-up. Everyone had their share of fun spots, even though it was a bit predictable Cena would be winning the briefcase. I have no problem with the outcome at all since it was the most logical decision, but it came after an enjoyable contest that left me feeling satisfied.

Overall, a great pay-per-view that was certainly better than expected in being both enjoyable and getting me excited for what's to come. Sure, most of the matches were predictable, but sometimes predictability isn't always a bad thing. They were all logical outcomes that either progressed angles or culminated them in solid fashion.

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