From Philadelphia, WWE presents Money in the Bank, an annual pay-per-view where stars become superstars, and superstars become champions. My predictions prior to the the event went as follows. Let's see how many of them did I get right: Money in the Bank (RAW): Rob Van Dam Money in the Bank (Smackdown): Cody Rhodes AJ Lee vs Kaitlyn: AJ Lee Mark Henry vs John Cena: Mark Henry Alberto Del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler: Alberto Del Rio Ryback vs Chris Jericho: Chris Jericho The Shield vs Usos: The Usos
Smackdown MITB Match
Breakdown: Fandango was dominating in this match, and he was looking to win the briefcase. However, a huge brawl ensued as the Shield interfered, as they tried to help Dean Ambrose get an opportunity to win the Money in the Bank. However, Cody Rhodes tried to grab the opportunity as he slowly ascended to get the case, however, he was back-stabbed by his own friend, as Damien Sandow rushed and won the Money in the Bank, much to the chagrin of Cody Rhodes.
Author's Thoughts: What an excellent opener! One of the best ladder matches I've ever witnessed, these seven superstars tore the house down as they tore each other apart, just to win the Money in the Bank match. Damien Sandow winning the Money in the Bank came off as a huge surprise to me, since I never expected the 'intellectual savior of the unwashed masses' to win the briefcase, and guarantee himself a future World Title shot. Damien was out for most of the match, and then him returning to win the MITB was wonderful.
However, the most valuable player of this match is none other than Cody Rhodes. Rhodes gave us one of the best performances of his career, as he tore the house down, and unleashed a new form of aggressiveness; one which we had never seen before. The rest were great too, but Cody Rhodes stood out for me. I'm excited for the Rhodes/Sandow feud now, and hopefully, they feud over the World Title now.
Ratings: 4/5