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Once again the WWE has brought us another new Pay Per View.  This time taking the popular Money In The Bank match from Wrestlemania, and building an entire show around it.  Each of the brands, RAW and Smackdown get their own MITB match, with the winner having one year to cash in his briefcase on his particular brand.  So how did this new concept Pay Per View stack up? 

Smackdowns MITB match.  Cody Rhodes vs Christian vs Matt Hardy vs Kofi Kingston vs Big Show vs Dolph Ziggler vs Drew McIntrye vs Kane…….winner…Kane.

So this is the first match of the show, and our first look at what I consider the watering down of a great match.   For starters,  it just seems that 8 people might just be a bit too many.  There is a whole lot of down time as guys have to sell some kind of injury so that a few others can work out what they are doing in the ring.  This doesn’t seem to be the case at Wrestlemania as much, where you seem to have a non stop brawl, even during the high spots.  But for what its worth, this was a pretty decent match.  Just seeing The Big Show struggle to get his special reinforced ladder into the ring was good for a laugh.  And of course Kofi Kingston hitting a Boom Drop, from the top of a ladder onto Drew McIntrye on the announce table was a highlight.  But after all was said and done, somebody had to win, and to me it was quite a surprise.  Kane takes the briefcase.

Alicia Fox vs Eve Torres…..winner…Alicia Fox

     I just can’t understand why they would take the Diva’s Title off of Eve Torres in the first place.  The Barbie Belt is already a joke, but then to put it on Alicia Fox, who is barely a Wrestler, just shows how little they think of it.   I was however a bit impressed by some of the moves that Fox was pulling off.  Maybe with some more training there will be hope for her after all.  Either way, Eve did her best to make it look like a good match, then put over the new Champ. 

The Uso’s  vs  The Hart Dynasty…..winners…The Hart Dynasty.

     The Uso’s have been a thorn in the side of The Hart Dynasty for quite a while now, with both teams getting wins over the other.  But this looked like the final showdown between these two, and the Titles were on the line.  This was a pretty good match, and I actually hope that they keep this feud going for a bit longer, as both teams seem to work well together, and each match seems to up their game.

Rey Mysterio vs Jack Swagger…..winner…Rey Mysterio

     As much as I hate to admit this, Rey Mysterio’s matches are actually entertaining.  I just never wanted him to be World Champion, especially since he is pushed down our collective throats with promo after promo, letting us know how special he is and why we should all love him.  But enough of the rant.  Swagger did everything possible to win the World Title back from Mysterio; even attacking him constantly backstage, before their match.  But in true heroic fashion, Mysterio endured and even outsmarted Swagger to retain his Title.  The interesting part though came after the fact.   Swagger, enraged that he didn’t defeat Rey, attacked him yet again.  This brought out Kane of all people for the save.  Kane chased Swagger to the back, then after a couple of minutes, his pyro and music hit.  Kane is cashing in his newly won, Money In The Bank briefcase.  With Rey already worn down, it was a simple matter of hitting a chokeslam and tombstone piledriver for the win.   Your new World Heavyweight Champion, is Kane!

Layla vs Kelly Kelly…..winner…Layla

     This match is a fine example of what could be possible if they just combine the two Women’s Titles, and let everybody just compete for one.  The one being the Women’s Championship of course, and not the Barbie Belt.   Here we have Layla, who actually can Wrestle somewhat, and Kelly Kelly, who is actually improving all the time.  This turned out to be fairly entertaining, and was a much better Diva match than the one earlier in the night.  Naturally Layla picked up the win, as the WWE is still milking their “Beautiful People” rip off.

RAW, MITB ladder match.  Randy Orton vs Edge vs The Miz vs Chris Jericho vs John Morrison vs Mark Henry vs Evan Bourne vs Ted DiBiase…..winner…The Miz

     Everybody will have their opinion as to which ladder match was actually better, but for my pick, I am going with the RAW match.  Aside from Evan Bourne, you didn’t have any high flyer’s in this one, so you knew there would be a lot more ground and pound action.  But with Edge in it, there is bound to be some new and interesting ways for the ladders to inflict pain.  And this one didn’t disappoint.  I don’t know who actually dreams up some of the things that these guys try to do with the ladders, but they always dream up at least one or two great spots.   The biggest surprise though, is who won.  The Miz !!   Either they are really trying to put Miz over as a future World Champion, or he will be the first person ever to cash in his briefcase, and lose.

John Cena vs Sheamus…..winner…Sheamus

     This was to be John Cena’s last shot at the World Title, and it was inside a steel cage.  The purpose for that of course was to keep The Nexus from interfering in the match.  As we found out by the end, that wasn’t the case.   I am a big fan of Sheamus, and I’m glad to see that the powers that be are trusting him in that main event position.  Cena and Sheamus work well together, and this was a good give and take cage match.  Of course by the end, Nexus comes out.  First the referee takes away the bolt cutters they were going to use to enter the cage.  Then the keys to the lock get thrown into the crowd.  But no matter what, their influence upset the match.  As both Cena and Sheamus were attempting to escape the cage, The Nexus slowed Cena down just enough for Sheamus to reach the floor first. 

Final thoughts on the card.   It wasn’t a bad Pay Per View, and it did have some good surprises, but what I fear might be the case.  This will become a yearly event, and this match will be taken away from Wrestlemania.  I would have to give this one  a C +

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So for the month of June, the WWE has given us yet again, another new “concept” Pay Per View.  This time It’s the Fatal 4 Way.  Personally I have never been a big fan of 3 and 4 way matches, as they can never seem to find the right way to exclude the extra people well enough, and the timing always seems a bit off.  But on with the results.

     Drew McIntyre vs Kofi Kingston…Winner…Kofi Kingston

     More and more I am getting fed up with this whole situation of Drew McIntrye being the “Chosen One”  And whining at every turn.  Especially these boring segments where he hogs the Mic, and humiliates Teday Long…as he calls him.  The only thing worse than this, is actually having to watch him Wrestle.  Thankfully Kofi Kingston is in this match, and he is somebody that is fun to watch.  Therefore, this match wasn’t all that bad.  And with a nice little twist at the end that saw Teddy Long actually get a measure of revenge, it was even funny.

Fatal 4 Way, Diva’s Title match.  Gail Kim vs Maryse vs Eve Torres vs Alicia Fox…Winner…Alicia Fox

     The Women’s Division in the WWE really needs to drop the Barbie Belt, and focus all the women’s attention on just one Title.  But here we have a case of finally having somebody in Eve Torres, who is showing signs of being a great Wrestler, who might give that stupid belt a little bit of prestige, and they have her lose it to one of the most useless Diva’s they have, in Alicia Fox.  I would hope that this is just setting up a future win for Gail Kim, while Eve continues to feud with Maryse, but I doubt it.  As for the match itself, it wasn’t half bad, since 2 of the women involved actually knew what they were doing.

Chris Jericho vs Evan Bourne…Winner…Evan Bourne.

     This was easily the show stealer of the night.   Jericho is one of the best there is at putting over good talent, and this was no exception.   Evan Bourne did a great job as the underdog trying to prove that he belongs in the main event, and Jericho as the bully that was doing everything he could to keep him down, was excellent.   Lots of excitement, and a crowd that was actually behind Jericho as much as they were behind Bourne.   I would love to see these two continue this feud for a little while and see where it can go.

 Fatal 4 Way.  Jack Swagger vs Rey Mysterio vs Big Show vs C.M. Punk…Winner…Rey Mysterio

     Thats right everybody, the PG era has its new comic book Champion.  Rey Mysterio pulled off yet another huge upset, and is now poised to sell even more merchandise than before.  On a more serious note though, the match itself wasn’t all that bad,  and you just knew that Kane was going to come out and interfere in some way.  In this case he went after C.M. Punk, who ended up running for his life.  And to his credit, Rey actually pinned Swagger to win the Title.

The Miz vs R-Truth…Winner…The Miz

     I can’t believe I am actually saying this, but The Miz is starting to turn into quite a technical Wrestler.  I wouldn’t start comparing him to Bret Hart, or Kurt Angle just yet, but slowly he is building up quite the catalog of moves.  Couple that with his Mic skills, and he just might make it to the main event yet.   As for R-Truth.  He is a fan favourite, and always seems to have some good matches, but tonight just wasn’t for him.   I don’t think these two have seen the last of each other though, and for what its worth, they did have a good match.

The Hart Dynasty vs The Uso’s and Tamina….Winners….Hart Dynasty

     Here is something I just don’t understand.  Earlier I talked about the Women’s Division, and how it could be better, and in this match we have Natalya, who can Wrestle better than most of the men on the roster, and the new girl Tamina who already shows some good ring skills.  Why aren’t these two competing for Titles, rather than just following their teams to the ring?  Hopefully in time this will happen.   As for this match,  it was quite good.  Mixed tags are always hard to pull off though, but they managed to do a good job of it.  But lets have the guys do their thing on their own at the next PPV, and let the women have at it in a solo match as well.

Fatal 4 Way.  John Cena vs Randy Orton vs Sheamus vs Edge…Winner…Sheamus

     Now this is why I figured they used the Fatal 4 Way concept in the first place.  So that a Champion like Cena can lose his Title in a match where there are no DQ’s and anything goes.  In this case, you knew what was coming.   They talked about the NXT rookies earlier in the night, and during this match, they cut to the back where a few of the guys are watching on a monitor.  No real reason to show that, except that near the end of what was not a half bad 4 way match, the NXT guys attacked.  They took out the boys in the back, then stormed the ring.  Naturally being outnumbered, everybody in the 4 way was take out, with the focus being again, on John Cena.  Or was everybody taken out?  Like a thief in the night,  Sheamus slips into the ring, gets the pin, and runs off through the crowd.   He reappears later at the top of the ramp with the Title Belt, and the Rookies chase him off.  The final scenes of the PPV are of the laid out Wrestlers left in and around the ring.

     All in all, this was a pretty good show.  Not too much filler, and even the  fluffy Diva’s match was somewhat entertaining.   I would have to give this one a B+

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This years Royal Rumble  was billed as being the most star studded lineup ever.  Granted they say this pretty much every year, but this was definitely one of the best groups Ive seen in quite a while.  But before we get to the Rumble match itself, there were a few matches before the big dance to talk about.  The first of which was for the ECW Championship.  I have always been a fan of Christian, but I didn’t hold out much hope for this being any good since his opponet was Ezekiel Jackson.  Thankfully I was surprised by how good this match turned out to be.  Big Zeke has improved quite a bit over the last few months, and with Christians ability to make just about anybody look good, this was a very good way to start off the show.  Next up was the United States Champion The Miz, taking on MVP.  For the most part this was very much by the numbers, and I actually found my attention wandering.  I’m not sure If Its because I find MVP boring, or because of my lack of interest in this feud, but I was just happy to see this one come to an end.  Thankfully the next up was Randy Orton vs Sheamus.  I was really interested in seeing how the crowd would react to two “bad guys” facing off.  It didn’t take long to get my answer.  The crowd was behind Randy Orton, almost 100%  As for the match itself.  I have to say, It was better than average.  Sheamus has great potential, and seeing two heels try to out do each other with who can be more destructive was fun to watch.  I would love to see these two have at it a few more times.  The only down side to this match,  was that it was short. But because of the Rumble match itself, this was the case for pretty much all the matches.   Naturally after something heavy like that, we need a bit of comedy relief, which brings us to the Womens Championship match between Michelle McCool and Mickie James.  Mercifully I think this will be the end of the whole Piggy James angle.  There wasn’t a whole lot to mention match wise, except that it was very fast, and kind of funny.  Now that we have had a laugh, we get serious again, and settle in for Rey Mysterio vs The Undertaker.  You know with Mysterio you are going to get a lot of fast action and some high flying, which is probably why he was given this shot.  Taker is rather beat up, and probably shouldn’t even be holding the Championship right now, but he is a big draw, so we have him going against somebody exciting, that can carry the match for the most part.  And all things considered It worked.  I’m not sure I would like to see these two work together too much, but for one night It was a good pairing.  Now this brings us to The Rumble.  I was going to list the order in which everybody came in, but I thought that would be too much of a spoiler for those that haven’t seen It yet.  So let me just say that I was happy to see a good collection of top stars this year, with a few funny moments, a couple of twists, and at least one good surprise.  Overall this was a very good Royal Rumble.  Now to see how things play out on the Road to Wrestlemania.

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Not so long ago, at a little Pay Per View called Table’s Ladders, And Chairs there was a bit of an upset.  Sheamus, in controversial fashion beats John Cena for the WWE Championship.  Some people booed, some cheered, and a few little kids were close to tears.  I on the other hand was very happy.  Aside from the fact that I’m Irish, I was really happy to see that the powers that be in WWE finally decided to try something new.  Granted, they have shaken things up in the past, but usually you can see it coming.  Such as C.M. Punk cashing in his money in the bank briefcase.  This one took me by surprise.  I honestly thought they were just trying somebody new out against Cena.  You know, a trial run to see how people react.  I never expected Sheamus to win.  At least not in his first title match.  Now here we are on the verge of the Royal Rumble, and as much as I hate to say it, I don’t like Sheamus’s chances.  I only say this because of one thing.  Wrestlemania.  The rumble is the big lead up to WM, and you usually have things set well in advance.  As we all know, the winner of the rumble will get an automatic spot in the main event against one of the World Champions.  I can almost guarantee that Undertaker will be one of those Champions, and will not lose his title before WM.  That brings us to Sheamus and Orton.  There is still plenty of time before Wrestlemania, but I would assume that those same powers that be that I mentioned earlier, would rather have an established name as the other half of that co-main event at Mania.  Sheamus is an experiment, and a very good one. I see him being a multiple time World Champion, and a main eventer.  But there needs to be some build up for a WWE title defense.  Therefore, Sheamus must lose his Title, and soon.    I would prefer not to have him lose it to Orton, for the simple fact that I find him as boring as watching grass grow.  But having him in the main event at Mania has been done before, and I would imagine It will be done again.  This time with Cena chasing the champ.  But I don’t think It’s all bad news for Sheamus.  As I said before. I think he has great potential, and once Mania is in the books, he can resume his quest for the gold. I just hope the WWE keeps on giving guys like Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, John Morrison, and Evan Borne, more chances to shine.  Because they are the future of the company.

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