PW Boards Video Club #1 - Money in the Bank 2011

Lord TSC

In the inaugural PWBVC topic, we take a look at Money in the Bank 2011. Card was as follows...

Money in the Bank
Daniel Bryan defeated Kane, Sin Cara, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, and Sheamus

Kelly Kelly (c) (with Eve Torres) defeated Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella)

Mark Henry defeated Big Show

Money in the Bank
Alberto Del Rio defeated Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, Alex Riley, R-Truth, The Miz, Evan Bourne, and Jack Swagger

World Heavyweight Championship
Christian defeated Randy Orton (c) by disqualification

WWE Championship
CM Punk defeated John Cena



======

On a side note, before we get started, next week's show is...

Week Two: gnfrnhead - In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede (July 6th, 1997)
*(The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and Brian Pillman) vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal))*

Lord TSC

So I was happy starting off. I had it in my head this was the show Kane won MITB at, so Daniel Bryan's win came as a nice surprise to me :P Amazing how little character development Sheamus has had in the last 3 years, and my God, what a weak lineup for the opening MITB in hindsight; Gabriel and Slater are gone now, Sin Cara too. Wade still hasn't amounted to much. Cody pretty much gone to since he lost the tag title. Still a fun match though.

I so do not miss Cole's torrment of Bryan on commentary, nor do I miss Booker T period. Wouldn't mind seeing the beard gone from Bryan today as well. The powerbomb through the ladder still stands as one of my favorite MITB moments ever. Maskless, topless Kane feels weird after his return to the mask and then to the suit. That's two major changes, compared to Sheamus who is identical. And the final kick to Barrett looked vicious as well.

Kelly vs Bella was a divas match. I think Henry is at his best when he's just a monster so thought that was grand. Christian vs Orton is a solid match, but then we've seen it 100 times.

Still have to watch the Smackdown match.

And then there's Punk vs Cena. The reason I picked this show was cause this is probably my favorite match of all time. Right, there's flaws in the match itself. But the crowd is fantastic. The fact there's a really good story behind the match is also unusual, which says a lot about WWE. Disregarding the fact it didn't have much long term effect, it doesn't change the fact that we get a show with a unique and interesting storyline at the top of the show.

Too often nowadays do we get shows where the title match is "Me no like you" or "me want title". The actual story here was one of the best, imo, that's been put out for a while, mixing reality with fiction perfectly. The opening video is brilliant, the pre-match video was brilliant (and is Punk at his very best), and the PPV ending was shocking at the time.

Right, it was ruined with how quickly they brought Punk back, and the change he campaigned for, three years later, hasn't come. But for me, that doesn't take away from the fact this PPV was booked brilliantly.

10/10 from me, but then I might be biased since I chose the show :P

gnfnrhead

8

If nothing else, WWE always do great opening video packages but right from the off it is obvious that this is a one match show. The opening video package doesnt even mention either of the MITB matches despite it being the MITB PPV. Cole opens up his commentary by saying it, but Lawler quickly jumps to talking about Punk vs Cena again. WWE dont care enough to advertise the other matches, why should we?

Smackdown MITB

Such an awful line up. Kane? Sin Cara? Justin Gabriel? Heath Slater? This was really the best Smackdown had to offer? Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes are both punching above their weight too. Neither were ready to hold a MITB case meaning there were only two possible winners. Sheamus and Bryan. At the time, I remember thinking there was no way Bryan would be winning so I was fully expecting Sheamus to win it. It's weird seeing a Bryan match without the Yes or No chants happening, but his look was so much better. He looks like a homeless cartoon character now and is popular enough that changing his look wont see him suffer any loss of popularity. Forgot all about Cody wearing the mask, which shows how well that gimmick ended. Sin Cara got a lot of offence in early on, at the expense of almost everyone else. Sheamus then took that role and hardly anybody got to look good until he was taken out. Ironic that the two Triple H guys dominated most of the match. Kane looked good too, but the rest were easily replaceable. Bryan did nothing for 90% of the match. I assume that was to keep him looking as an unlikely winner but it didnt do him any favours. Despite that, it was a great way to open the PPV, and the best choice too considering the rest of the card.

Rating: 6/10

Brie Bella w/ Nikki Bella vs Kelly Kelly w/ Eve Torres

Kelly tries her best but she is just awful. In 2011, Brie was about the same level so it's little surprise that this match is awful. It was mercifully kept short but that's about the only positive. The Bella's gimmick is perfect because they are not in the least bit likable. It's a shame that Total Divas has ensured they are babyfaces for good now despite being so bad at it. 2014 Brie Bella's wrestling ability in 2011 Brie Bella's gimmick would be great. The match sucks and Kelly cant even kick out properly. She did a head scissors early in the match and it was just embarrassing.

Rating: A generous 1/10

Mark Henry vs Big Show

I skipped the preview as I dont really care. Big Show hasnt been worth watching in a really long time but I watched the actual match anyway. Not even Mark Henry could make this entertaining. Big Show got in far too much offence and should never have kicked out of the Worlds Strongest Slam. As best I can recall, this is around the start of Henry's push so killing his finisher so quickly is a bad idea, especially when he doesnt get a new one to make up for it. Big Show is often praised for his acting, but his post match selling of the leg injury is Divas level acting.

Rating: 5/10

Backstage now for a pointless segment. "Did you re-sign CM Punk?" Any answer other than "no" completely kills the main event. Thankfully they did the right thing and played up the rejection idea to keep the interest in the main event.

Raw MITB

Another shocking MITB line up. Kingston, Riley, Truth, Bourne and Swagger had no chance of winning. Miz a small chance, leaving it as either Mysterio or Del Rio. I miss Del Rio coming out in those fancy cars every week. I also miss Swagger's old entrance music. As for the match itself, the ladder duel at the start is a good way to open and set it apart from the earlier match. The ladders were rarely used as actual weapons in the opener, instead they were used as part of the environment. Speaking of the ladders, I fcuking hate those mini ladders. They werent even funny the first time they were used and they sure as hell arent funny when there are loads of them around. Miz, for all his faults, shows Big Show how it's done with his selling of the knee. He does just enough for you to think his night is over without over selling it and making it obvious that he will be back. This was really the perfect time to turn Miz babyface. Nobody cared about Alex Riley and Miz was somehow getting good reactions from a lot of the crowd. Just send Alex Riley out back to be put down and run with a babyface Miz. I said after the Rumble that I had never heard Mysterio get booed so badly, but it turns out I was wrong as he got booed quite a bit when he stopped Miz from winning.

Much like the Smackdown MITB match earlier, the winner did nothing for 90% of the match. Del Rio took a big move and would lay outside until he was needed to take another. Shame the ending was botched by Mysterio knocking Del Rio's ladder over. Would have been a perfect heel win to rip the mask off and grab the case while he is covering up. It wont be a popular decision, but I think this was better than the Smackdown MITB match. Everyone got a decent chance to shine with nobody over powering the rest like Sin Cara and Sheamus did earlier.

Rating: 7.5/10

Christian vs Randy Orton

Once again I skipped the preview video as I dont care a whole lot. We've seen this match far too many times now and it is always the same result. A decent match but nothing more and this was no exception. Christian trying to get Orton to use the chair early on was a nice touch but anyone with half a brain wouldnt fall for it. At least slap him or something first to try and provoke him. That would have made it a struggle for Orton not to use it which should have been the whole idea. Not a lot to say until the Killswitch. It was going through the motions for the most part with neither man looking good or bad, just dull. It picks up after the Killswitch as both guys just say fcuk it and start hitting their big moves. The finish is a big let down though. Apparently spitting in someone face is enough to make them lose it. I know I previously said Christian should have done something like that, but Orton actually losing it, rather than just fighting the urge made Orton look like an idiot. It should have taken a lot more for him to snap.

All this without mentioning how it's an awful way to win a World title. The post match was decent, but only serves to make Christian look like a pussy who is well out of his league. The last couple of minutes dragged the match from being awful to being decent, as per usual with these two, but that's it. Funny how little things change as the fans start a Daniel Bryan chant, hoping for a cash in, but get nothing for it.

Rating: 6/10

CM Punk vs John Cena

That's how you do a video package. My only complaint is it's fairly obvious what is happening. Punk leaving has been played up far too much for there to be any other outcome. Besides, a Cena win would likely have resulted in a riot with this crowd. This is easily the highlight of Punk's WWE career despite how badly they screwed it up with what followed in the next two weeks.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. In any other city, this exact same match is average at best. The fans take an average match and make it good. The best thing about it, is how natural it is. Ever since this show various cities have tried but failed to do the same. It isnt something you can force. It has to happen naturally for it to work. The post Wrestlemania crowd are the best example of doing this wrong and making it fail by trying too hard. This exact same crowd on Monday night made fools of themselves by ignoring what was happening in the ring for a lot of the show. In other news, was the Nexus ever mentioned again after this show? Punk still had the Nexus on his introduction graphic but they were not actually mentioned, unless I missed it? I'm pretty sure it wasnt mentioned afterwards either, making it the worst ending for a group in quite a long time.

Lawler on commentary makes good and bad points in equal measure. The good is why are the fans behind Punk when he claimed he was leaving. I thought it at the time and agreed, why was Punk being cheered so much? He wants to leave and not come back. I'm not asking about this event, that much is obvious, but I'm asking about the Raw's beforehand as I'm pretty sure he was cheered on the build up too. The bad, being suggesting that WWE is the only game in town. Vince McMahon himself said that Punk could walk into another company with the title. Which is it? At the time, I felt this match was vastly over rated and still believe that to be the case today. It's a good match and is an enjoyable watch, but not a whole lot happens until Vince shows up at the end. Both guys have had better matches, both with each other and with others. I had watched this only recently, so watching it twice in quick succession may have brought it down for me. I find I'm more interested in the crowd than the actual match until the closing minutes.

From the second Vince McMahon comes out, it is damn near perfect. Him trying to call for the bell, Big Johnnie running to ring the bell, Cena stopping the screw job, the quick GTS and the instant crowd reaction are all perfect. Vince panicking and getting Del Rio out was a great touch too, as was how Punk left. Introductions, brilliant. The match itself, meh. From the moment Vince came out to the end of the show, perfect.

Rating: 8.5/10

Overall, it was a one match show. TSC is being VERY generous in giving it a perfect ten considering the abortion that was a Divas match, the boring Mark Henry vs Big Show match and the mostly pretty dull Orton vs Christian match. The Smackdown MITB was a good opener, but nothing special. The Raw MITB was better, but still nothing special. The main event is literally the only reason to watch this show and even that is mostly only for the last few minutes.

I struggled to think of a fair way to score this, so I decided to rate each match and average it out.

Smackdown MITB: 6/10
Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella: A generous 1/10
Mark Henry vs Big Show: 5/10
Raw MITB: 7.5/10
Christian vs Orton: 6/10
Punk vs Cena: 8.5/10

Total: 34/60 which when rounded off equals a 6. I was thinking a 6.5 so close enough. Without the Divas match, it would be rounded off to a 7 and I'm tempted not to include it because of how bad it was. I'm saying 7 but with an asterisk beside it.

gnfnrhead

8

Disappointing that nobody else has bothered to reply yet. Seemed like there was a lot of interest beforehand.

jaykhunter

Ya gotta give people more than a day. Like one per week is loads.

gnfnrhead

8

jaykhunter wrote: »

Ya gotta give people more than a day. Like one per week is loads.

The impression I got was to have it done by Thursday so it could be talked about for the following days, then next Thursday the next show takes over, and so on.

Loughc

9

jaykhunter wrote: »

Ya gotta give people more than a day. Like one per week is loads.

I agree. I'm having a Busy week in work but I was gonna watch it on Sunday and post my thoughts them.

gerrybbadd

9

I'm gonna watch this afternoon

Deadlie

9

Love this thread idea. I'm only back watching about 9 months or so now since giving up whenever it was Mysterio was first champ. I never saw this PPV before and I don't know the background to some of the stories, some apologies if I'm a bit misguided!

This is a good PPV for spots I think. The Air Bourne, Justin Gabriel's off the ladder 360 flip, Sheamus banjacksing Sin Cara. Id imagine the highlights reel looks awesome. Overall I felt it didn't flow too well. The overselling of Sin Cara's injury (which I'm reading was because he failed a drug test?) kinda put a downer on that match. I get they were making Shambo look like a beast and showing how much its worth to them all, gadda yadda, but it kinda killed the match in the middle. Same with Shows injury. Just a bit flat and oddly handled.

Those Bella's are fecking awful.

As said already the Punk match was a good one, but the ending was superb. Love Vince for things like this. Hes happy to look foolish if the story merits it. The build up during the night was great and the opening promo at the start of the night was good too.

Think it'd be great if in the future if there was a roundup of the Raw before in the opening paragraph and the results weren't given away - at least not in the intro post.

ShagNastii

9

Remember watching this one live. I gave it a rewatch just to brush up on the match ups. The Punk/Cena match in a total stand up. It was brilliant booked and definitely five stars in terms of storytale and hype. It was so legit in terms of getting us to care about the title, the man(CM Punk) and the company as a whole.

Vince's stuff can be somewhat over acted but I think this one was played to perfection. That kiss by Punk along with him hightailing into the crowd as a class moment.

Divas' match was a divas' match. No matter what they produce I'll never be bowled over. Henry wholloping Big Show was great in terms of a investing beatdown. I fascinates me how Henry "emerged" as a credible powerhouse after such a long time and countless efforts.

Don't know how I'd rate the two MITB matches. I guess the RAW one had maybe a bit more star power and a few bigger spots. I've been a Sheamus mark since his arrival in the WWE. I feel he was the MVP of the Smackdown ladder match. The powerbomb to Sin Cara was a beaut, looked like it split the masked man in half. Kane has always put in solid performances in these kind of matches. Bryan winning as great but tbh I think I was gunning for Barrett.

He's up there with Snake, Perfect and Halk in terms of being overlooked for a world title. He was flawless throughout the Nexus angle and the MITB would have put him back in the game.

Was an interesting start in the Raw fight with everyone wielding ladders. Lot of guys did little of note Miz, R-Truth. Swagger was the opposite to smooth in the whole match. The bump he took after his slip up looked painful as hell. An interesting finish with Rey's mask going it's a pity the ladders fell about taking a shine off the end but happy that Del Rio got it.


8/10 solid crap free PPV. Two decent MITBs and Punk/Cena one of the best in modern times.

brianregan09

9

Sorry lads my laptops in for repair hence no ppv show in the draft either

A Brad Maddox Guy

Before I watch this I just wanna say that this event is what actually got me back into wrestling. From some time in 2006 (I think) the only wrestling I really saw would have been a handful of random episodes of TNA, until 2010 when I watched Summerslam and 2011's Wrestlemania. Then I saw an ad for this and remembered how much I liked the Money in the Bank match so looked up a preview. The main event sounded cool so I decided to watch it. It reminded why I loved WWF/WWE so much as a kid/teenager that I decided to start following it again. I'm sure that now I'm much more invested in wrestling as a whole that the nostalgia will be diminished somewhat when I watch it again but I think it just goes to show what a really great story, angle & crowd can do.

Alfred Borden

8

Well finished watching this. Initially thought the match for the raw briefcase was a terrible lineup but turned out to be my favourite match of the night. really exciting throughout, really doubted my memory of who won it during it :pac: in the SD match,Seamus and Sin Cara stunt on the ladder was awesome. Bryan was a show stealer again. Henry show was actually a decent big man match. really didnt enjoy the WHC match at all, lame ending and hated that feud, christian is so overrated. main event was epic and really got me and many others back into wrestling. was sucha cool ending and even i doubted what was really happening :pac: was one of cena's best matches too, and the one that elevated punk imo.
Overall very good show, one of the best of the PG era, 7/10

gerrybbadd

9

Finally getting around to watching. Did Justin Gabriel originally start off with David Otunga's music, or is it a dub job?

rossie1977

10

gnfnrhead wrote: »

Overall, it was a one match show. TSC is being VERY generous in giving it a perfect ten

50% of people here at the time gave it a 10



cagematch has it as the number 2 ppv of all time with roughly 80% of voters giving it a 10 http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=66471

i disagree completely that its a one-match show especially given a major selling point of the ppv is the mitb matches. christian and orton had a million times more heat coming into that ppv than orton/batista or joe/magnus have going into their upcoming ppvs..

its easily one of the top ppvs of all-time, red-hot crowd thoughout, one of the great storylines in history leading into the event and one of the greatest endings ever to a pro-wrestling ppv

Lord TSC

With regards giving it a 10/10.

I honestly don't think many, if any, PPVs would ever hold up long term if you weigh each match evenly. Even removing the Divas match, I wouldn't weigh the possible score given to, for example, Henry vs Show, the same as what Cena vs Punk could achieve.

For me, even taking it as a "One match show"....that one match delivered in such a big, big way.

I guess I should also point out though that I, personally, am not a huge fan of workrates and intrinsic details in matches; spot matches tend to do more for me than chain wrestling, so in many ways, the fact the MITB matches were spot fests did grand by me.


EDIT: And fair enough about match results and the likes being posted; from now on, I'll list the match and put spoiler tags on winners, and I'll do a quick summery if possible with the help of Wiki

gerrybbadd

9

I'm typing this out as I'm watching the event,so there may be some random observations included in the review!

WWE really know how to build a video package, the promo to kick off the MITB PPV was brilliant, and really helped build the tension and anticipation of what was to come.

SD MITB match:

Really enjoyed this match. This is a format that had become very diluted, with 2 matches on the PPV annually. Based on this match, its hard to see why Justin Gabriel isn't higher on the card currently. Sheambo with an insane powerbomb on Botch Cara, and a great pop for a member of Booker It's fave 5, a super over D Bryan!

8/10

Divas match:

I went for a pīss

Mark Henry vs Big Slow:

Always a spectacle when these 2 got together. Michael Cole trying to be JR at the start, throwing out the thigh, chest and shoe sizes for the 2 lads. This match was fairly hard hitting. Odd seeing Mark apply the half Boston on Big Show! Even odder seeing Show come off the ropes with a flying shoulder!!! I think it was after this event where Mark and Big Show recreated the ring collapse following a top rope suplex. I enjoyed Henry semi squashing Show at the end. Some great selling from Show when his leg got Pillman'ed! Mark really landed hard on that chair.

7/10

Backstage skit was great with Josh asking Vince if he had managed to resign Punk to a new contract, which he didn't.

Raw MITB Match:

Del Rio really should start coming to the ring in fancy cars again (and bring back the Razor Ramon pyro!). Strange seeing Ron Mysterious without his fat suiot attire! Lot of guys in this match that underachieved. Anyone remember when Alex Riley was a wrestler? Was there always 8 competitors in these matches? I think 6 is the golden number for ladder matches. Evan Bourne and Kofi had some good chemistry early on in this match, they'd make a good tag team... {Oh, wait...) I remember watching this live, hoping Swagger would win again, as he had won the same match at Mania 26, which I was at. He then cashed in on Smack down against Y2J, and I was ringside for that too! Did Miz genuinely injure his knee in this match? Swagger and Kofi nearly died at the end, bumping hard. Anyhow, at this time in WWE, there was only ever gonna be one guy winning this, ADR! The crowd were not happy with the possibility of Ron Ron winning this, and popped great for Alberto. Nice how ADR unmasked Rey to stop him getting the briefcase. Although Rey selling it like sulphuric acid to the eyes was unnecessary. Quite enjoyable match this, on a par with Smack down for me. Nice visual with all the trashed ladders strewn around the ring at the end.

8/10

Orton vs Christian, WHC:

These guys had a great feud, with some amazing matches, both on SD, and on PPV. This was the beginning of the One More Match Movement (patent pending). I was not happy when they took the title off Christian so soon after him winning it, but It did lead to some great matches. Great video package to start off the match.

(ADR interlude) quick interview, pointing out that he didn't know why he was in the MITB match seeing as he was the no 1 contender anyhow. Great point. Love when he insults people in Spanish - Perro!

Back to the WHC match. Orton will lose the title if DQ'd. Several pairs of panties flooded when Randall makes his entrance. Mostly girls looing for Orton. Jeez, that Big Gold Belt seems soooo much more prestigious than that massive logo belt that passes for the WWE title these days. The die hard Punk fans in attendance were vocal enough with the Randy sucks chant, more behind Christian (even though Mitchell Cole insists that the WWE fans, firmly behind Orton!) This match was nothing innovative, and it was a re-hash of some of their previous matches and spots. Remember when Randy used to snap scoopslam everyone, then everyone copped onto him, and he used to still do the full turn, but with no body in his grasp? This was a thing back during this PPV. Several "vintage" calls during this contest too. Christian tries to force the DQ at the end, and Orton succumbs, kicking Christian's plumbs. Christian announced as the new WHC, due to the stipulation that Orton couldn't be DQ'd. Cue a very PG beat down of Christian by Orton. Teddy Long comes down to see how he can possibly make a tag match out of the situation. Ends with an RKO on the Spanish announce table, which went into business for itself, and refused to sell the move. Randy tries it again, the table no sells. Randy roars a bit, then goes backstage, no doubt in worse shape than Christian, as the RKO means he is landing on his back, and taking more of a bump than Christian. Finally, super slow month replays of Christian spitting into Orton's mouth to try and push the DQ.

6/10

Be A Star promo. That kinda got dropped quietly, huh Ryback?

Did I mention I hate that "money" theme tune they insist on using for everything to do with money?

Main Event - CM Punk vs John Cena, WWE Championship:

Awesome video package, recapping Punk's infamous pipe bomb. What a time in WWE. That promo came out of nowhere, with Punk being stuck as the leader of the New Nexus, and going nowhere really. John CDMA took great acception to being called the New York Yankees during this package, punching Punk. Punk was not yet using Cult of Personality as his theme, using Killswitch Engage. Although an awesome song, Cult Of Personality seems to have more impact, especially with the static at the start. Weird hearing"its clobbering time!!!" To this song. Debut of the Best In The World shirt too, which I'm sure sold millions (have one myself!) Still no ice cream bars yet though...

Crowd were crazy hot for this match, even more so than they were for Raw in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. Nice touch delaying Cenas entrance to build heat. I don't think a crowd has been that anti Cena since One Night Stand vs Rob Van Dam back in the day! I love when they start a title match by announcing the competitors when they have had their entrances, and are on either side of the ring. Though I wish the ref would still pat them down and check for foreign objects.

And 2 minutes into the match, the network kicks me out... Great

Aaaaaannnddd... its back!

Some good mat wrestling to start the match off. Fundamentals really. For all the bad reactions Cena gets both live and with the IWC, he has been in some epic contests. He's had some great matches with the likes of Punk, Orton, Edge, Jericho etc. Surprisingly, the let's go Cena fans could be heard loud enough. This match starts off quite slow, with some rest holds being applied. John Cena injures his knee taking a cross body from the top. Things begin tonpicknup pace when Cena suplexes Punk over the top rope. That was some bump, you don't see that often!

Mid match now, nice back and forth, trading punches before Cena applies an abdominal stretch(!), before a classic double clothesline, both men down. Cena launches into his 5 moves of doom, before Punk takes back momentum... For a second. Punk then knocks cena out the ring, before suicide diving out on top of him, to the delight of the crowd, who are red hot.

After Punk fûcks up the AA reversal, and lands on his ass, Cole... "He landed in his feet, he landed in his feet!" No Michael, I have eyes, he didn't. Love how Punk hits the running knee twice in the middle of the ropes before hitting the bulldog. Replays show how hard these knees hit old Lantern Jaw. STF now applied... Cole shouting TAP.OUT.PUNK. prick.

Things are really back and forth now, with neither guy really gaining the upper hand. Series of reversals, from cross bodymto AA, to GTS, to STF have the crowd going ballistic... Anaconda Vice time! Mynsecind favourite submission! Imagine if Cena had of submitted to lose this match? That'd be some twist in the story. AA hit, and Punk kicks out. Everyone is standing in the crowd now. Second AA hit, and Punk kicks out with nanoseconds to spare. Booker T is exhausted! Match is a half hour in. Punk hits a top rope Frankesteiner (refuse to call these Huricanranas) then gets a GTS, and Cena luckily rolls out the ring! Here comes Vince for the screw job! Cena Knicks John Laryngitis out to prevent him from ringing the bell. Back into the ring, GTS... We got a new new champ. Crowd have a collective orgasm! Vince's Adams apple is bobbing like Linda Lovelace's head in Deepthroat. Vince grabs a headset, and asks for Alberto to come out and cash in. He comes running out, Punk hits him and makes his escape through the crowd. Awesome stuff. Punknis heading home to put the title in his fridge.

10/10

Overall rating, for this PPV 8/10 (average of 5 matches, didn't rate the divas match)

Can't wait to do Canadian Stampede at a later date!

gnfnrhead

8

rossie1977 wrote: »

50% of people here at the time gave it a 10

http://i58.tinypic.com/5l2fyv.jpg

cagematch has it as the number 2 ppv of all time with roughly 80% of voters giving it a 10 http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=66471

i disagree completely that its a one-match show especially given a major selling point of the ppv is the mitb matches. christian and orton had a million times more heat coming into that ppv than orton/batista or joe/magnus have going into their upcoming ppvs..

its easily one of the top ppvs of all-time, red-hot crowd thoughout, one of the great storylines in history leading into the event and one of the greatest endings ever to a pro-wrestling ppv

The main event skews it a lot. The rest of the PPV was mostly average. But, the majority will vote based on the last match rather than the show as a whole. Main event was great, but the show as a whole wasnt far above average.

It is a one match show since both MITB matches arent even mentioned in the opening video. The ENTIRE focus is on one match. That's a one match show. Cena vs Punk was the only match anybody cared about. You could change every other match on the card and it wouldnt make any difference.

Lord TSC

I think though that when you go into a show knowing it's a one match show, AND that match delivers so, so well, then of course a lot of people will base their decision on how good a show it was based on that one match.

Chagan

7

I've been looking forward to this starting, I haven't got the network yet so I imagine I'll be scrambling around the web trying to find bits and pieces of the older PPVs.

As always, the video packages are top notch. "Do I have everybody's attention now?" is a nice little soundbite.

Smackdown Money in the Bank

The opening MITB was a solid enough affair. I was never a fan of two briefcases. It spread the pool of potential winners too thin, which was apparent in both matches. It was weird seeing a) Bryan without a dirty mass of hair b) Heath Slater not being the butt of a joke c)Sin Cara.

I enjoyed the early period where nobody was really using the ladders but just letting the high-flyers jump around. The series of dives to the outside was a personal highlight (including Gabriel taking a wicked looking back bump for his trouble).

I was surprised at how impressed I was with Sin Cara. That moonsault finish he hit on Bryan was a beaut. It's a shame that being broken in half off a ladder was the last relevant thing he did for the company.

After SC was carted off, it kind of settled into "generic ladder match" for me. The 450 was impressive, that doomsday device absolutely killed Bryan, Seamus being chokeslammed on the ladder was justice for the Sin Cara murder and Bryan putting the guillotine on on top of the ladder was cool. But Jesus, Cole was horrible to listen to. If I hear the word "nerd" again I'll flip out. Crowd went nuts for the Bryan win so I was glad they went with it. Good opener and probably my second favourite match of the night. 7/10

Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. They almost botched a head scissors but made up for it with the bump outside. "She doesn't even eat! How could you not beat her?" was the best thing that happened. 3/10

Big Show vs Mark Henry

I could watch Mark Henry smash fools all day but this one did nothing for me. It was just too slow. Post match was a little better. I can always go for a good ol' fashioned Big Show beat down. 5/10

Raw Money in the Bank

I wasn't massively impressed by this to be honest. Maybe it's the benefit of hindsight, but Alex Riley and Evan Bourne challenging for a WWE Title shot? No.

I liked ADR (with car too. They should really bring that back) bringing a ladder in with him. Of course, everybody else follows suit which created a nice juxtaposition to the earlier match straight away. Miz sold the knee well and I thought having himself and Sin Cara being carried off was a good way of showing the danger of the match. Kofi landing on Swagger's face got a laugh from me anyway.

I wasn't mad about Miz's return, it seemed a bit pointless. The botch at the end slightly ruined the impact of the finish too. It was fine, but not much more than that. 6/10

Orton vs Christian

Randy Orton and Christian in a match is as bland as it can get for me. Perhaps I just wasn't paying enough attention, but I had no clue who was face and heel in this one. Despite that, the first half was somewhat entertaining. The big neckbreaker thing Orton hit was fantastic. They built up the idea of Christian just not being able to get the win pretty well.

But that finish, Christ that finish was ridiculous. Orton was in control, Christian had thrown all he could and was still falling short. Just see it out. But no, Orton gets provoked into such a rage that not only does he get dangerously close to a DQ for pummeling Christian's face in, he then follows it up with a low blow about 15 seconds later. Cold, calculating Randy Orton my ass.

Post match was even worse. That beating made everybody look bad. Orton looks like an idiot, Christian looks small time and Bryan is the biggest dope of all for not cashing in. Just wall to wall stupidity. 5/10

CM Punk vs John Cena

What can be said that hasn't already been said a thousand times. That crowd, I mean wow. The buzz in that arena was amazing. It reminded me of Cena/Edge in Toronto, just better.

I've got to say, the commentary was very good for this. Booker and Lawler both reacted to what was happening as opposed to just spouting rubbish one liners. Cole did great, he had the bias toward Cena but didn't force it down your neck. They're concern to Cena's injury really added to the match too. The "Oh my God" was probably the most effective call Cole has ever made.

In terms of the match itself, I actually think Cena outdid Punk on the night. The man knows how to work with hostile crowds. I loved when he would slow things down with an abdominal stretch or something just to let the crowd simmer some more before starting the Punk comeback each time. I thought Punk was sloppy at times, twice he fell on his ass during a reversal and his powerbomb off the leg drop looked soft. That knee to Cena's face was vicious aswell.

The final stretch was just supreme. The GTS to the ribs and the desperate dive to stop Cena falling out was nice. Then Vince and Big Johnny come down to give us the screwjob that nobody wanted. Cena gives it the "not on my watch bitches" in true Cena fashion. His nobility causes his downfall and Chicago gets it's win. Everything just comes together perfectly in that one moment, Punk's elation, Vince's desperation, the crowd's joy and Cole's despair. Just wonderful. 9/10

If we were rating the show on the main event alone it would be one of the best I've seen. However, the rest of the card didn't really blow my mind. The MITB matches offered nothing new and the Henry/Show and Orton/Christian matches were disappointing. I'll give it a 6 overall.

Loughc

9

First of all I like to say, this is a great idea for a thread, apologies for the delay I was working long hours all week and I only got around to it today.
So like some of the previous posts I am typing this as I watch it, and before the event even kicks off the first thing I notice is the awful post, (Big Show and Hornswoggle looking at a pot of gold) how can a company so good at making video packages are so bad at making posters. This Year’s WM and last year’s Summerslam and the Santino Royal Rumble one are just some that spring to mind!

And speaking of video packages here we go.

The opening package is something else, it really sets the scene and Punk’s line “Have I everyone’s attention now” sums it up. This video has my attention and eager to see the main event. Much of what Punk said in that opening video is still true todays especially the “Say goodbye to CM Punk” line.

Opening Match is the Smackdown MITB ladder match.
Wade Barrett seemed to have been built up as the early favourite here. Strange to here Justin Gabriel’s music dubbed over with Otanga’s. I used to love the mask gimmick Rhodes had, I wonder where his career is over now he is no longer a tag champion. The class of nXt season 1 is well represented in this match.

Just seen sign in the crowd we’ve “sin” enough cara, very funny and apt haha. 15 minutes and Booker T’s commentating is already grating. It’s going to be a long night! Sheamus’ powerbomb through the steel wood ladder makes me wish Sheamus was a monster heel again.

The Kane, Sheamus, Bryan, LOD spot looked sick and it was great to hear the crowd chant L.O.D after it as well.

Bryan left all alone on the top of the ladder and the crowd is going wild. Great opener and great winner. Sure it was a spot fest at times but it was good fun. 8/10

Divas Championship Match : Brie Bella Vs. Kelly Kelly ©

My problem with this match is I just don’t believe Kelly Kelly as a credible champion. If this was a real fight I think any diva could take her. The match was what it was, used as a cooler after the hot starter. 3/10

Mark Henry Vs. Big Show

Mark Henry getting a big push that he showed he deserved. It’s ironic to thing when this feud gets going for the World Championship towards the end of 2011, D-Bryan will feature in it.


The match itself was a fine solid encounter used to put over Henry as a monster which they needed to do. It was short which it needed to be. A solid paint by numbers push heel monster match. 6/10


Raw MITB

Evan Bourne we barely knew you. The Miz knee injury seemed very forced but it served its purpose later on with the false finish. Looking at the competitors in this match it’s mad to see not one of them really surpassed Mid-Card in the past three years. Sure Del Rio has won a few world championships but now there is only one world title it’s a safe assumption we won’t be seeing him as champ ever again.


The pop Miz got when he ran back down actually, what the hell was that about! Haha! Even though the finish was botched, I liked the idea of it and they really couldn’t help it. 7/10


World Heavyweight Championship: Christian Vs Randy Orton ©

This for me for the feud of the summer but it lost some of its mystique due to the Summer of Punk and their matches together were fantastic and very compelling to watch. Sure a lot of people didn’t like the idea of if Orton gets DQ’d he loses the title, but I think it added to the storytelling of the match and the psychology of it, which they needed to do to keep the feud fresh.


The counters towards the end were the bread and butter of the Orton-Christian feud. Watching Orton getting more and more frustrated plays towards the finish so well. The after match beatdown could have been saved for the following Smackdown thought. 8/10

WWE Championship: John Cena © Vs CM Punk


And here we go the main event is upon us and what a main event it was. The CM Punk chants sets the tone, the video prior to the match is WWE at its best.


The crowd booing the hell out of Cena reminds me of One Night Stand it’s great to see this kind of atmosphere. The hometown crowd reception Punk gets is like nothing else. The crowd is fantastic for the entire match they do not let up once throughout the match.

McMahon coming out and Cena stopping him was a great twist and the finish was dream like. The crowd, bringing Del Rio out and Punk’s kick and then the kiss to McMahon and his exit was the best finish I’ve ever seen to a match and a great way to finish a ppv, you HAD to tune into Raw to see what happened next.

Ladies and gentlemen that’s how you do a main event 10/10.

As a big Punk, Bryan and Christian fan this was a very good ppv for me, it stands up just as good on a third viewing (tonight’s). The main event had a massive big fight feel about it, which the WWE Title match should always have and which is massively lacking from this year’s main event at WM. That said I give this PPV 8/10.

ShagNastii

9

I have to state I seemed that Bourne was over big style. The pops he got throughout the Raw ladder match were probably biggest of any of the others in the match up.

A Primal Nut

I was taking an extended sabbatical from WWE at the time. I have since watched this PPV about a year ago, will hopefully watch again in the next couple of days. It was definitely an excellent PPV, and don't agree it was a one-match show. Both MITB matches were great. 10/10 for me. I don't remember the WHC match though.

Just wondering if people can explain why everyone thought Cena or MITB winner was going to leave with the title (or is that the case). It seems like Punk going home with the title was out of the question for most people because they really thought he was leaving the WWE - is that true?

It seems strange giving how WWE gave Punk a big push and focused on how "Punk might leave with the title" - usually when they suggest things like that it often happens. Punk leaving with the title seemed like the logical conclusion to the storyline, but that's me speaking with hindsight of course.

From reading the wrestling observer from back then, even Meltzer seemed shocked that Punk won and left with the title.

Would be nice if someone can talk through what the thinking was about the match in the IWC in the runup to the PPV.

gnfnrhead

8

A Primal Nut wrote: »

I was taking an extended sabbatical from WWE at the time. I have since watched this PPV about a year ago, will hopefully watch again in the next couple of days. It was definitely an excellent PPV, and don't agree it was a one-match show. Both MITB matches were great. 10/10 for me. I don't remember the WHC match though.

This is my issue. 10/10 based on half of the card? 10/10 is a perfect score. If you are judging the card as a whole, nobody in their right mind would say it was a perfect show from start to finish.

Just wondering if people can explain why everyone thought Cena or MITB winner was going to leave with the title (or is that the case). It seems like Punk going home with the title was out of the question for most people because they really thought he was leaving the WWE - is that true?

It seems strange giving how WWE gave Punk a big push and focused on how "Punk might leave with the title" - usually when they suggest things like that it often happens. Punk leaving with the title seemed like the logical conclusion to the storyline, but that's me speaking with hindsight of course.

From reading the wrestling observer from back then, even Meltzer seemed shocked that Punk won and left with the title.

Would be nice if someone can talk through what the thinking was about the match in the IWC in the runup to the PPV.

As best I can recall, Punk's contract was actually up, hence the shock. It turns out he signed a new one shortly before the PPV but it was kept under wraps until afterwards.

Deadlie

9

What was the fallout on Raw the next night?
I don't have the network and can't find a blow-by blow account of it. The only thing I've found is that the rating were relatively poor.

Lord TSC

If I remember correctly, Vince had a little bit of a freakout, and the show ended with Hunter stripping him of his duties. Hunter then announced he was COO, which he's been since.

The next week, I know they did a tourney that Rey Mysterio won to become champion, only for Cena to challenge and beat him for the title, and then Punk returned.


On a side note....I really like that the very first topic we do like this, we've got a discussion about ranking shows :P

rossie1977

10

gnfnrhead wrote: »

This is my issue. 10/10 based on half of the card? 10/10 is a perfect score. If you are judging the card as a whole, nobody in their right mind would say it was a perfect show from start to finish.

there is no such thing as the perfect card from start to finish. mania 17 is generally considered the greatest ppv ever and yet the first hour is weaker than what you see on raw these days, chyna vs ivory and the gimmick battle royale come after that. benoit and angle was only booked 6 days before the show on raw and had zero heat going into the ppv.

pro-wrestling is theatre at its very base and in terms of pure theatre very few shows match mitb 2011.

gnfnrhead

8

rossie1977 wrote: »

there is no such thing as the perfect card from start to finish. mania 17 is generally considered the greatest ppv ever and yet the first hour is weaker than what you see on raw these days, chyna vs ivory and the gimmick battle royale come after that. benoit and angle was only booked 6 days before the show on raw and had zero heat going into the ppv.

pro-wrestling is theatre at its very base and in terms of pure theatre very few shows match mitb 2011.

So why give it a perfect score if there is no such thing? That's my issue. People ranking a show based on one match instead of the whole card.

rossie1977

10

gnfnrhead wrote: »

So why give it a perfect score if there is no such thing? That's my issue. People ranking a show based on one match instead of the whole card.

i gave it a 9 at the time and still think its a 9 today but i don't see the problem if people vote it a 10 given you have 2 **** matches and a ***** match plus the entire storyline which massively increases the value of a ppv just like the storyline at bash at the beach 96 will forever keep that show in high regard.

looking back you voted summerslam 2013 6 out of 10 (a ppv with two exceptional matches) so it would be interesting to hear what ppvs wwe have done you consider deserve big scores?

A Brad Maddox Guy

gnfnrhead wrote: »

So why give it a perfect score if there is no such thing? That's my issue. People ranking a show based on one match instead of the whole card.

In fairness the main event of any PPV should take up at least 50% of any rating in my opinion. A sh!te main event leaves a sour taste in the mouth and largely overshadows whatever preceeded it. Similarly a great main event can easily cover the flaws of a poor undercard. The main event (in other sports too) is more often than not the most important match of the night and should be rated accordingly. That would be my approach to rating shows anyway

gnfnrhead

8

A Brad Maddox Guy wrote: »

In fairness the main event of any PPV should take up at least 50% of any rating in my opinion. A sh!te main event leaves a sour taste in the mouth and largely overshadows whatever preceeded it. Similarly a great main event can easily cover the flaws of a poor undercard. The main event (in other sports too) is more often than not the most important match of the night and should be rated accordingly. That would be my approach to rating shows anyway

Would you do the same for Wrestlemania if it has a load of great matches then Batista vs Orton goes on last and is awful? Would Batista vs Orton in a dud be worth 50% of any rating even if the rest of the card is amazing?