Since its inception at WrestleMania 21, the Money in the Bank Ladder Match has long been the highlight of every card it has been included on, not to mention elevated the careers of almost everyone who has gone on to successfully cash in the contract and win WWE’s top prize.
After raising our hops last year with
the promise of a Damien Sandow push which never materialized, WWE have a chance
the move on its youth movement and capitalize on the popularity of Daniel Bryan
by creating a brand new foe for the leader of the Yes Movement which could help
revolutionize WWE’s top tier picture. Along with the chance to freshen up its
headline scene and with only one major title to battle for number once
contendership to instead of two, it would be nice if WWE included an NXT Money
in the Bank Ladder match to showcase the abilities of some of WWE’s next big
stars as well as promote the NXT programme which is regularly better than WWE’s
two main shows.
On June 29th from the TD Garden in
Boston, Massachusetts this is WWE Money in the Bank 2014.
NOTE: others matches should be added to this card after this blog is posted. However with three days to go until the event, this was the card. I left it as late as possible to include other potential matches but none were announced as of Thursday June 26th.
WWE World Heavyweight
Championship Match
Ladder Match
Alberto Del Rio vs Cesaro vs
Randy Orton vs Kane vs Sheamus vs Bray Wyatt vs Roman Reigns vs John Cena
As I sit and write this, only four men
have qualified for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match in Alberto Del Rio, Randy
Orton, Cesaro and Sheamus. I was suitably devastated when Stephanie and Triple
H announced on Raw that they were stripping Daniel Bryan of the WWE World
Heavyweight Championship citing his neck injury as the cause because it just
seems like a waste of time. Everything we went through with him from 2013 to
WrestleMania XXX now seems like a giant waste of time. That the emotional
journey ends like this is a huge comedown and one I imagine Vince McMahon is
relishing. Now he can say that he was correct about Bryan all the time.
I have no idea whether Daniel Bryan will
be inserted into this match at the last moment or if we are actually going to
crown a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, what I do know is that WWE have
missed a huge chance with Bryan who was surely destined to face Brock Lesnar in
one of the biggest matches of the year at SummerSlam. No one already involved
with this match or still to qualify could possibly draw the required numbers
with Lesnar at SummerSlam other than Bryan. It was to be the payoff of all
payoffs when Bryan went over Lesnar in an uplifting victory which would have
set him on course for a successful end to 2014. Now what? Now, we have to sit
back and wait for him to heal after he seemed to be doing so well and suffer once
again whomever WWE decrees eligible to carry the gold.
Would it be a little too much if Bryan
were to miraculously recover before Money in the Bank and take the final place?
Probably! Now he’s been stripped of the gold there seems no reason to have him
involved or it would render all of this pointless. Perhaps Bryan’s replacement
will be C.M Punk. Maybe his marriage to A.J Lee will force him back on the road
so the pair don’t have to spend any time apart. It would certainly seem the
only surprise left which could make Money in the Bank a must see pay-per view
in 2014. I know this is meant to be about the Money in the Bank Ladder Match
and we’ll get onto that in a moment, but let’s just concentrate on WWE’s
saviour in 2014 for a moment and where he goes from here.
I mentioned Brock Lesnar and what must
have been on the cards for SummerSlam. There is still a possibility as I begin
writing this preview on June 10th because of my busy schedule, that Brock
Lesnar will grab a place and win the title thus setting up the series with
Bryan when he returns to action in August. How a Brock Lesnar WWE World
Heavyweight Championship reign would work is beyond me, seeing as he’s on a
part time contract and the gold should and needs to be defended every month on
pay-per view but it would seem right now, the logical step to take. Daniel
Bryan has to regain the title or WrestleMania XXX was for nothing. I just hope
that WWE don’t delve back into the story that took him to WrestleMania XXX
because I don’t believe it has legs a second time around.
Seeing as the gold is on the line for
the winner in this match, it means WWE can book a second Money in the Bank
Ladder Match on the card and actually push some of the younger talent. If a
second match is to be announced then I would heavily suggest either Roman
Reigns or Bray Wyatt take the briefcase for a shot at the gold later in the
year. Another victory for someone like John Cena would just be pointless. Cena
doesn’t need the gold in 2014 or ever again for that matter. Though obviously
I’ll add to this part at a later date, you’ll know by know if a second Ladder
match is on the cards or whether we have to sit through yet another Bray Wyatt
vs John Cena match. Or if Cena, as I predict, will be entered into this bout
only to be cost the match by Wyatt.
Looking at the four announced names so
far, the only real one which stands out as a surprise and popular winner would
be Cesaro. Fans love the guy even though he’s aligned himself with Paul Heyman.
When the former Ring of Honor star turn face its going to be the biggest moment
in his career. He’ll skyrocket to the top as Daniel Bryan has and there will be
no stopping him. There’s something special about the way we get behind someone
new like Cesaro, buck the trend and defy authority even though WWE doesn’t see
guys like him as main event calibre talent. We know what we want and we demand
the very best even though we don’t get it all the time.
A Cesaro victory would be massive and
prove that WWE have the future generation at heart when it comes to their main
event scene. Where though would that lead later in the year? No doubt, as
Cesaro borders on a face turn, a series with Daniel Bryan over the gold would
be hot stuff and certainly better than the one Bryan was meant to contend and end
here with Kane. Their bouts for Ring of Honor were sizzling and if they could
recreate that on the WWE stage it could give us the best main event series
since Punk vs Bryan in 2012. Would WWE really give that spot to another up and
comer though, so soon after believe Daniel Bryan failed them? Probably not.
Sheamus really needs an attitude
adjustment. He’s been face for three years now and accomplished absolutely
nothing. The United States Championship reign isn’t going to change that either
or add any prestige to the gold just because it’ll be featured in the main
event. If Sheamus doesn’t get a heel turn before Survivor Series then he may as
well as for his release because he’s going nowhere. WWE could even book a feud
between him and Barrett who seems to be hearing the cheers with both titles on
the line in a unification match, with the face / hell roles reversed. The pair
have contested some memorable bouts recently, a full blown feud would be
welcome.
Whilst I am adamant that a Sheamus heel
turn needs to happen, we have to be logical about this. Where would he go if he
turned? Well there’s the aforementioned feud with Barrett to consider otherwise
its John Cena again and does anyone really want to relive that feud? Sheamus
was a total draw as a heel in 2009 and 2010 but his face turn took everything
appealing about him away. We live in an age where it’s much more profitable to
cheer the heels as we’ve seen with The Wyatt Family and The Shield before they
turned face.
If WWE want Sheamus to hear the support
once again then this is the only option left open to them. Sheamus is
irrelevant in WWE in 2014, if he’s to recapture that magic before the turn of
the year then something drastic needs to happen. The Irishman has to give fans
something they crave and at the moment he and WWE are totally ignoring the
fans.
As for the other two men who make up the
first four qualified, Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio have had their time in
the sun for very different reasons. Randy Orton has only just lost the title,
for him to regain it so soon would be a soul destroying moment to witness. With
the gold around his waist, Randy Orton was awful in the ring. He produced some
of the worst matches of his entire career and bored his loyal fans to the point
where we were willing for him to drop the gold so he could get his career back
on track.
Since losing the title at WrestleMania
XXX, Randy Orton has been back to his old self. Performances at Extreme Rules
and Payback in six man tag team matches against The Shield were nothing short
of stunning. A stark contrast between what he was in 2013 and what he is now.
Whilst I have no doubt Orton will once again reign as Champion, it should be on
his terms and not just because WWE want to put the gold on someone with
experience at that level. If Randy Orton is comfortable with a feud then he can
perform as Champion, just look at what he did with Christian in 2011. If he’s
thrown into a confusing and meaningless jumble as he was in late 2013 then his
enthusiasm for the job drains faster than us when we’re watching John Cena. At
the time of writing, Randy Orton is the favourite to walk away with the title
but I have to disagree. Next time, it has to be on his terms otherwise his
legacy may begin to fade.
What is there left to say on Alberto Del
Rio other than he won’t be a WWE star by the time we reach December 2015? The
Mexican is just counting down the days until his contract expires and he can
tell WWE where to stick their offer. They’ve ruined him to the point that even
if he did grab an unlikely victory here we could never take him seriously
again. After feeding him to John Cena in the most un-merciless fashion
imaginable, he’s here to make up the numbers. Anyone who believes he’s in WWE’s
plans for the future because he qualified first is misguided.
Just take a look at the way Del Rio has
been treated by WWE since his losses on pay-per view to John Cena in late 2013.
He didn’t have a notable role at WrestleMania XXX, he was a joke entrant in the
Royal Rumble which only served to further his interminable feud with Batista at
Elimination Chamber and he’s been as good as invisible since Mania passed. The
writing is on the wall for Alberto Del Rio, we can read it loud and clear as
can the man himself. It’s just a matter of time now before he gets his freedom
and I can’t imagine that it would come as anything but a relief to him.
Its June 14th as I sit and write this
part of the preview and Bray Wyatt has just qualified as I predicted above.
They say that he has the whole world in his hands but we haven’t seen a lot of
that lately. Rather, the slogan on the back of the new Wyatt Family shirt
should read ‘He’s Got the Whole in His Hands, When John Cena is Somewhere Else’
and actually it fits into the tune of the song if you sing it out loud, but
we’re not so childish that we’re going to spend thirty seconds of our life
applying the new words to an old tune. Are we? Oh, just you in the back then.
Someone slap him when he’s finished, there’s wrestling to get down to.
Now, Bray Wyatt hadn’t been the star WWE
predicted he’d be after The Wyatt Family made their debut in the company almost
one year ago. That’s because WWE’s booking of the team and Bray Wyatt in
particular had been shoddy. The group were never going to profit from a feud
with Kane, it was ridiculously inconceivable. Kane couldn’t get an old hand
across let alone someone who needed to make an immediate impact. Rather, WWE
used The Wyatt Family to explain Kane’s absence. They should never have been
used as a convenient alibi. All three are better than that.
If we’re being honest here, Bray Wyatt
didn’t really grab our attentions as a wrestler until his stunning match with
Daniel Bryan at the Royal Rumble. From there, it was all uphill as he decimated
John Cena at every avenue he got and was the centre piece of the scorching six
man tag team match at Elimination Chamber. The cheers The Wyatt Family received
when John Cena was planted with Sister Abigail at the conclusion to the
Elimination Chamber match were foretelling of whom the WWE Universe believed
the future star to be whether WWE believed it themselves or not. So was a
bright feud with Cena, followed by several enhancing victories in the pipeline?
Of course not, that’s not how WWE roll.
Losing to John Cena at WrestleMania XXX
was undoubtedly a dent in the rise of The Wyatt Family. Worse, the group were
constantly beaten down and warded off by John Cena who took no care in making
the three and only served to break them and the image they had carefully
crafted to themselves. When it came to John Cena, no one was safe and instead
of reigning him in and insisting that he sold for The Wyatt Family week in and
week out to provide a suitable base for the group, WWE once again turned a
blind eye as he almost ruined three more bright careers. I don’t know how long
WWE are going to allow this to continue but somewhere down the line Cena is
going to come face to face with Cesaro and then he can’t do this again. For a
new star, John Cena should have extended the courtesy which was granted to him
by stalwarts in 2005. He couldn’t even be bothered to do that. What a selfish
prick. And until he begins, he’ll receive no favour here.
With the chance to enhance Bray Wyatt on
the grandest stage passed, WWE instead believed that he would prosper from a
victory at Extreme Rules. He may have done had John Cena not once again ruined
Harper and Rowan at ringside before Wyatt was granted a distraction victory
which, I will say was a little eerie. Even at a non important pay-per view
event Bray Wyatt wasn’t allowed a clean victory. The signs weren’t good. But
then they never are when ‘new talent’, ‘pay-per view’ and ‘John Cena’ are
mentioned in a sentence together. He has a bad track record which should be
negated from happening again. Even the Payback outcome was signposted from the
beginning.
But now I have to question WWE. Was all
of that, the losses to Cena and the hype going into WrestleMania just
foundations for this? Can Bryan Wyatt credibly win the WWE World Heavyweight
Championship at Money in the Bank and go on to have a successful and celebrated
victory? Of course he can, but only if WWE are willing to allow him to go over
John Cena clean on pay-per view at some point because should Wyatt win, guess
who’s going to be the first challenger to get in line. Should WWE give Bray
Wyatt the gold just so he can lose it John Cena at SummerSlam then this will
have been a pointless exercise.
There is support enough still from the
WWE Universe that Bray Wyatt could take the gold at Money in the Bank without
sufficient build up. Fans believe in him enough that he could reign until
WrestleMania XXX with the correct build and a face turn which would catapult
the group into the stratosphere. But it has to come from WWE this time. We
can’t keep pushing them into making the correct decision. If they’re not
willing to do it off their own backs then there’s no hope. Because as soon as
we turn our attention elsewhere, they’re going to fall back into bad habits.
They always do. WWE have to want to make Bray Wyatt a star even if it means
putting John Cena second for two years. I’m not convinced they want it that
much.
So where would Bray Wyatt go if he were
to win the gold on June 29th? The answer seems simple. The only story which
could possibly get the fans attention after Money in the Bank, providing he
walks out with the gold is another gripping feud with Daniel Bryan. Fans would
lap it up when Bryan returned from injury and should the leader of the Yes
Movement lose at SummerSlam, Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series clean then fans
would once again take his rise to the top to heart. Also, Bray Wyatt would get
a hell of reputation. He cannot be allowed to retain the gold by fluke or by
other means.
I can’t outright predict if Bray Wyatt
will take the spoils at Money in the Bank because WWE have been predictable
when it comes to Wyatt and company. If they do then it would be a good idea to
put the tag team gold on Harper and Rowan to make the set. The Wyatt Family are
one of the few teams who could elevate all three pieces of gold in 2014. If
John Cena qualifies for this match after I write this segment then the match
will go one of two ways. John Cena will once again reign as WWE World
Heavyweight Champion, or for the fist time as WWE will tell us because he’s
never held the unified gold before, or Bray Wyatt will cost John Cena the gold
in the end with interference from Harper and Rowan only to lose to John Cena in
August. Should John Cena not qualify for the event then the possibilities are
endless, as long as WWE can see them of course.
Like I said before, if you ‘Follow the
Buzzards’, they’ll lead you to brighter and more promising future.
It’s June 16th now and wouldn’t you know
it, John Cena has qualified for the Money in the Bank Ladder match, though that
isn’t the name WWE are touting it under this year, which makes me think the
pay-per view has no meaning. The whole point of the event was to stage a match
of the same name. Without that it just becomes another pay-per view. But right
now that’s not the point. Neither is the point that there’re only two matches
announced with a week to go, but the point is that John Cena is once again in the
championship picture and that isn’t a good thing. No matter how much his fans
rejoice.
As I’ve stated before, matches like this
should only be for wrestlers who haven’t held the title before. Had this bout
been full of new wrestlers, guaranteeing a new champion rather than an old one
then the interest in the bout would have been amplified by ten. Now, people
will expect John Cena to win but that could be where WWE play their trump card.
Yes, no one wanted to see him here in the bout, me least of all but if that
means an even bigger shock when he doesn’t win it and a new face does then this
match and his participation in it will be tolerable.
I don’t have much more to say about John
Cena because it’s all been said before. However, if he’s here just to continue
his feud with Bray Wyatt and then take the gold at the end, WWE need a boot up
the backside. It would be a huge mistake to make John Cena champion again now,
especially when there has been such a positive reaction to the youth movement
at Extreme Rules and Payback. In fact, it would be a massive step backwards if
Cena were to scale that ladder and unhook the title. We’d be back where we were
in 2010 and no one wants that. Instead, John Cena should be now used as a mere
facilitator, someone who helps ease in a new generation and someone who doesn’t
get greedy when it comes to crunch time. We can respect him more in that role.
Because WWE doesn’t need John Cena as champion as much as it needs its future
generation to shine.
What I assume to be the final entrant
into the already overbooked bout is Roman Reigns, a man who will undoubtedly be
one of the audience’s favourites going into this. However, I disagree. Whilst
Reigns is the star of the future, he’s not ready for a jump this big yet. Going
from upper-mid card player to main event player is a huge leap for anyone. But
there are still some faults in his in ring activity which must be ironed out
before he’s set loose on the company in a singles capacity. Don’t get me wrong,
Reigns has shined over the last year but he’s still missing that something
which will show if he is pushes as champion at Money in the Bank.
Everyone else with a few minor
exceptions has that all around feel to them, even Bray Wyatt which is why he’s
my favourite heading into the event. But Roman Reigns still has to eradicate
that boring chin lock from his routine and learn a few other tricks including
how to brush up on his selling. His feud with Evolution has been brilliant and
produced two brilliant matches whilst giving him an education under fire. Now,
WWE need him to come full circle quickly. I may be wrong. He may win this match
and go on to dominate like Batista did, but it’s doubtful. By the end of the
year, Roman Reigns will be champion, but just not yet.
And if he did, what would happen to what
is left of The Shield? Dean Ambrose is beginning to get lost in the shuffle in
WWE whilst Seth Rollins rightfully takes a lead role in The Authority and Roman
Reigns is getting the spotlight where the main event is concerned. Which leaves
Ambrose where? If Reigns win this match then The Shield may as well go their
separate ways and it’s a possibility. A victory for Reigns could continue the
Shield vs Evolution feud in some form not to mention bring Daniel Bryan back
into the fray as a member of the group to help them vanquish a threat he’s
defeated before.
So the ball is very much up in the air
when it comes to the winner of this match. Bray Wyatt, Cesaro or Roman Reigns
would be popular winners, whilst John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus and Alberto
Del Rio would be greeted with sighs and apathy. WWE have to take the next step
now and continue their youth movement by having one of them capture the gold.
It’s the only way to move forward.
Winners Prediction: Bray Wyatt
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
(c) The Usos vs Luke Harper and
Eric Rowan
It’s been pretty uneventful for The Usos
since they won the WWE Tag Team Championships after Elimination Chamber. Their
fatal four way stunner on the WrestleMania XXX pre-show was meant to be on the
main body of the card but once again lost out to bigger names when it was
better than everything except for the opener and main event and to add insult
to injury, they haven’t been advertised on pay-per view since the grandest
stage of them all. It’s not the beginning we envisaged for the sons of Rikishi
when they toppled the Outlaws for titles and not the start the titles needed
either.
After being held by Billy Gunn and the
Road Dogg, which only served to dent their image, the gold needed something
new. Something untested before and to all intent and purposes The Usos were it.
They were young, vibrant, talented and raring to go. It’s what the division
needed after so many disappointments and certainly a Usos vs Rhodes Brothers
feud would have been preferable to what they were fed after Goldust and Cody
were toppled at Royal Rumble. Many rightly predicted that the Outlaws were only
holding the gold to build a little nostalgia interest and that their loss would
kick start a new era for the titles. But it has yet to appear.
Maybe that’s for the best though.
Because whilst The Usos always give their best in every match, WWE simply
aren’t interested in them. If they had been, the twins would have been pushed
as the company’s top team. Instead of capturing the imaginations of the WWE
creative team, Jimmy and Jey have been treated as caretaker champions and now I
truly believe their time on top of the mountain is over. It’s time for two more
popular and important wrestlers to take the mantle and see if they can do
anything at all to lift the division. Which, as you sit here and read this, may
not be as difficult as it appears should the gold go two thirds of The Wyatt
Family at Money in the Bank.
It would be a shame for The Usos to drop
the gold so soon after winning them but when progression is at stake then
sometimes there’s no choice. Right now, as things stand I cannot see them
taking the company and the division forward. Let someone else who may stand a
chance at least try. Whilst WWE have themselves to once again blame for failing
to push the brothers as they should have been pushed. An attitude adjustment
and two new characters would have set the brothers careers alight, even a heel
turn would have done but of course that was never in contention as WWE have
very few face teams to combat them.
Now though, stars seemed to have aligned
and with Bray Wyatt surely the favourite to capture the WWE World Heavyweight
Championship in the headliner, the tag team gold is destined to go to his wards
so The Wyatt Family can reign supreme over the company. There’s something
coming from this, I’m sure of it. Its doubtful WWE would book all three men in
such important positions just to shoot them down again at the final hurdle.
Apart from being ridiculously stupid, it would be a colossal waste of money as
the company risk having to start from scratch with the factions build.
Of course, there were other ways of
getting Harper and Rowan over other than hastily dethroning the Samoans. One of
those options would include giving the pair the United States and
Intercontinental Championships but they’re not the stature enhancers they used
to be so why not allow the pair to rebuild one division rather than splitting
them between two separate ones which wouldn’t get WWE’s attention anyhow.
If Harper and Rowan succeed here, then
expect Bray Wyatt to shock the world and lift the big one on top. WWE have to
rebuild The Wyatt’s after the John Cena debacle and the best way to do that
would obviously be saddle them with the gold and a gripping storyline. Maybe
the faction, holding most of the gold, could finally bring in Sister Abigail as
that role would catapult either an NXT star or development star into the
stratosphere. In their bid to take over WWE, its possible the faction could
recruit another member. Real life brother of Bray Wyatt, Bo Dallas would be the
ideal candidate. Right now though, the group are chugging along nicely and as
long as they avoid the John Cena pitfall once again, they should finish strong
in 2014.
There are many possibilities for The
Wyatt Family in 2014. I hope WWE see the possibilities and book the trio to
take on The Authority and turn face for control of the company. Just imagine
how big that would be if Bray Wyatt got his hands on the ownership of the business
for six months. It could tie in Vince McMahon’s return to television as well as
give The Shield, or at least what’s left of them, something to do as Triple H
turned them all heel and recruited them to win back what he sees as his
company. Alternatively, a Wyatt Family vs Triple H, Randy Orton and Seth
Rollins would be a massive box office draw at WrestleMania XXXI, especially if
as said, it was for control of the company.
Right now, the slogan is right. The
Wyatt Family do have the whole world in their hands and the longer WWE stretch
it out, the more everyone involved will benefit. Watch this space, The Wyatt
Family could be as big Stone Cole Steve Austin. Oh hell yeah.
Winners Prediction: Luke Harper
and Eric Rowan
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
WWE World Heavyweight
Championship Contract
Seth Rollins vs Rob Van Dam vs
Kofi Kingston vs Jack Swagger vs Dean Ambrose vs Bad News Barrett vs Dolph
Ziggler
At some point before Money in the Bank
went live on June 29th, I knew WWE would yield to demand and book a second
ladder match in order to give the winner of the WWE World Heavyweight
Championship match some opposition as we head into SummerSlam and the high
hopes which surround it in 2014. Whilst I opined some time ago in this blog
that I believe John Cena will challenge the champion at the biggest event of
the summer that could be proved wrong if WWE have the guts to fill this bout
with new and upcoming stars, such as Seth Rollins, who was the only competitor
announced as I write this first section on the second ladder match on the card.
In many ways, this should be the most
exciting bout of the night if WWE fill it with young stars such as Rollins and
Stardust which is Cody Rhodes’ newest persona, in the hope that it will revive
an otherwise tired career which has been spent treading water. Whilst the world
will expect John Cena to life the main gold at the end of the night, WWE could
go a long way to making another career here and the person in line for the push
doesn’t even have to win the bout, all they must do is put in the career
performance of a lifetime and they will be seen as another break through star.
Now WWE have canned several of their most useless talent, it makes it easier to
focus on building new stars and budding new talent.
As stated several times above, this bout
should be for new wrestlers only and no one who has held the gold before; with
the exception of Daniel Bryan should he be cleared for action by the time Money
in the Bank comes about. One way to get Daniel Bryan into the bout should he be
fit would be to allocate one place to Kane, only to have Bryan turn up on the
night, attack Kane backstage and then appear to the surprise of the audience in
Kane’s position. WWE could play the assault as a ‘whodunit’ for a few minutes and
you can guarantee Bryan will get a thunderous reception as well as the backing
of the fans. It would be the perfect timing for Bryan who has been stripped of
the gold and instead of working his way through another underdog story, it
would make sense should Bryan win this, if he’s cleared, then challenge the
champion in a long and thrilling feud which would end in 2015 with a Bryan
victory.
However, that’s only speculation and at
no point have I been given any reason to believe Daniel Bryan will be fit for
Money in the Bank. Which turns attention to the first entrant, Seth Rollins.
It’s not often you get to say this in wrestling but I was shocked when Rollins
turned his back on The Shield and joined Triple H and Randy Orton in what is
meant to be a new Evolution without Batista. The Shield had so many more places
to go as a faction and now Rollins, arguably the most talented of the trio, has
departed, one has to question what will happen to the faction. Where can they
go from here? It would certainly be best for everyone (Dean Ambrose especially)
if The Shield were to add a new third member to their ranks from the NXT
roster.
Just look at what it for the Rollins,
Ambrose and Reigns to be part of a successful stable and at least two of the
three are heading to be main event players. There are many people who could
fill Rollins’ space in the team and I’ll leave it up to you to argue amongst
yourselves about whom you’d like to see, but if WWE don’t act upon the gap left
by Triple H’s new lap dog then they may find Roman Reigns flourishes but Dean
Ambrose is lost in the mid-card shuffle. Can anyone really see Ambrose being
treated by WWE as a player who can affect things high up? Now, Ambrose is the
weak link of the team and needs someone to take under his wing whilst Reigns
charges towards the main event.
One question I would like answered by
WWE is now Seth Rollins isn’t a member of the shield anymore, why hasn’t he
changed his ring attire? It’ll have been several weeks between Rollins leaving
The Shield and competing at Money in the Bank and still he’s donned in his
Shield attire. Why, if he’s not going back to the group and his affiliation
with Triple H isn’t a ruse to get the stable ahead of the game, quite
literally. This is still an option at this point if things don’t quite work out
the way WWE would like with the main event push.
As it stands, Seth Rollins has to be a
major favourite to win this bout, being under Triple H’s wing as it were. The
whole point of this match and the storyline it will be built around is Triple
H’s urge to get the belt out of circulation and back under his watchful eye for
when Daniel Bryan returns. Seth Rollins would be able to achieve that and be a
poplar choice. If WWE’s idea is to turn The Wyatt Family face and have them
feud with Triple H and the authority for control of the company then Bray Wyatt
vs Seth Rollins would be an excellent choice for main event feud if WWE were
brave enough to back it and not put it on before any type of John Cena match.
Seth Rollins could be the leader of a
new WWE generation along with Wyatt and company and there are several avenues
WWE could take him down if he wins this bout here. Many will be looking at his
participation and expect that if picks up the briefcase then Roman Reigns would
take the gold to set up a Shield feud at the top of the card. Of course that
would be massive. Two men who only made their debut a year and a half ago
feuding over the gold would cement WWE’s backing of the new generation but then
against so would Wyatt vs Rollins or Wyatt vs anyone other than John Cena.
I can see a bright future for Seth
Rollins and those around him if WWE can keep interest high and not lose their
own drive to push him. Is he WWE World Heavyweight Championship material? That
remains to be seen. Just because he reigned as ROH Champion before he came to
WWE doesn’t mean he’ll be readily accepted as WWE’s top man by either the
company and backstage staff. If that is the case then it’ll be a shame. WWE
fans have taken to Rollins thus far and it would be the epitome of pathetic if
he didn’t grab the proverbial brass ring because of what people think behind
the scenes.
I don’t think its worth going into great
detail about several of the other competitors in this match. As most of you
will know, everyone except Seth Rollins was announced for this bout six days
before the event was due to go live meaning that the majority will hold no
interest of value with the fans. Had WWE announced this match three weeks
before the event then each competitor would have held some interest for the
audience, even making them believe this was a new beginning for the likes of
Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler when in actual fact those three
men are just here to fill the spots at such a late date.
There’s no doubt that Dolph Ziggler will
be one of the fan favourites on the night. The WWE universe have been
surprisingly supportive of him regaining his top spot being regained and would
love nothing more than to see him grab the briefcase, which would be nice but
wouldn’t fit into the story of why this match exists. WWE didn’t need to book a
second ladder match, but we’re thankful they did or the title of the event
would have very little meaning. However, they have booked it for a reason and
as mentioned above will not entertain anyone who has previously been considered
a flop in their eyes to take the briefcase. Even if it’s clear the paying
audience require to see Dolph Ziggler claim the contract.
For the likes of Jack Swagger, Rob Van
Dam and Kofi Kingston, this could be a new beginning for the trio if the
company are remotely bothered about their futures in wrestling. WWE could use
this match to platform at least two heel turns for Kingston and Van Dam and it
wouldn’t even be that taxing. Using the frustration the pair feel at constantly
being overlooked before being foiled by seconds by the eventual winner of the
bout, it could be huge. Fans still want to see Kofi Kingston do something
meaningful which means WWE wouldn’t be wasting their time with him. A heel
Kingston would be huge for his career, not to mention open up other avenues for
him to go down. Because right now, he’s lucky he wasn’t on the list of those
‘Future Endeavoured’.
Whilst there’s a possibility a heel turn
could do something huge for RVD and Kofi Kingston, it’s getting harder and
harder to come up with things for Jack Swagger to do in the company. With Zeb
Coulter by his side, he’ll remain a low to mid card player until he jettisons
the former Dutch Mantel, however one option could be to make him a face. The
‘We the People’ chant has really caught on, surprisingly, so there may be
mileage in that but something spectacular is needed to really propel him into
the atmosphere. Right now, I just can’t see what that is. Would we really see
Jack Swagger a true contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in
2014? I don’t think so.
I worry about Dean Ambrose. Roman Reigns
is headed for main event stardom and Seth Rollins is being readied for what
seems like a massive push at the top of the card. So where does that leave
Ambrose? The Shield seems all but over and done with which means he can now be
considered a singles wrestler and whilst his feud with Triple H is still
ongoing at time of writing, it’s not something which is going to last thanks to
priorities lying elsewhere. There is a chance that Dean Ambrose could be turned
heel to side with Rollins, especially if he should win the bout and Roman
Reigns wins the main event. Apart from that, what else is there?
Bad News Barrett has to keep the
Intercontinental Championship which means Ambrose can’t head up that division
so he’d be floating between divisions with nowhere to call home. I would hate
to think of Dean Ambrose as a Tommy Dreamer character who misses out on the top
spot every time only to be used when the company have no one else. What Ambrose
needs now is a red hot feud which puts him amongst the elite. He certainly has
the skill and drive to make it at the top if WWE push him, but it just seems at
the moment they’re too busy elsewhere.
As for Bad New Barrett, what else is
there to say about him? Since winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship his
character seems to have taken off. Those who watched the 2014 Hall of Fame will
have seen how popular his character is with chants of ‘Thank You Barrett’ after
he came out following Mr. T’s induction. Ideally, it should have been Bad News
that brought Mr. T off that night, wash your minds out, by interrupting him
after he’d gone over with a speech resembling something like; “I’m afraid I’ve
got some bad news. Mr. T, just like 1986, your time here is done.” That would have been brilliant.
It’s a character that has been done
before but not for a very long time which means it works. His material may not
always be fresh and funny but his presence and popularity mean he should go far
this time as long as WWE don’t lose interest in him again.
Wade Barrett needs something meaty.
Something to get his teeth into. The mid-card scene isn’t exactly alive at the
moment so maybe WWE would be better employing him in a secondary role as a
speaker rather than a wrestler, fighting once per month on pay-per view after
riling someone with his words. Until a huge wrestler becomes available and a
storyline comes along that will benefit him and elevate him. It’s for the best.
We don’t want this run to be bad news also.
Winners Prediction: Seth Rollins
WWE Divas Championship
(c) Paige vs Naomi
Do you know, I’m getting quite bored of
talking rubbish about the Divas division? We sit here month after month and say
the same thing yet nothing ever changes. So why do we bother if WWE aren’t?
They’ve made no effort to bring in some dangerous challengers for Paige in the
absence of A.J Lee and this is a rerun of A.J’s title reign all over again.
What’s the point? I’m not going to waste my time saying the same thing for
things to be identical at Battleground next month. Because they will be. WWE
never seems to learn from its mistakes and if A.J Lee isn’t back by July then
Paige will defend her gold against another unimportant member of the division.
Of course, things will change when A.J
Lee gets back from her honeymoon at the end of July or the beginning of August.
As you’ll have read about elsewhere, WWE has big plans for a lengthily A.J vs
Paige feud and it should be awesome. Paige has learnt a lot from being on
television week in and week out and is by and away the best wrestler in the
division. Her and A.J combined should be nothing less than magic. If only her
short career had been up to this point. There were several scenarios WWE could
have played out on television, none would have cost them a lot of money to
initiate but they didn’t think of them.
The first would have been the feud with
Tamina. Whilst producing solid results at Extreme Rules, this wouldn’t have
been a massively entertaining feud but would have kept Paige occupied until her
real opponent arrived back on the scene. The story could have been centred on
A.J sending Tamina to get her title back for her or at least soften up her
opponent. Or the other and more preferable scenario would have been for WWE to
hire three Japanese female wrestlers to mysteriously attack Paige throughout
the weeks, with Paige defending her title against each one on a different event
before having to take on all three at once.
After she’d done away with the trio who
would pose a threat to her and her title, it could be revealed that A.J had
sent them to do the same as she would have done to Tamina. Not only would we
have gotten several brilliant matches from Paige but the storyline would have
been fresh also. The three female Japanese stars wouldn’t have had to stay a
long time just a few months to build up the feud between A.J and Paige. It
would have given the landscape of the division that much more legitimacy and
made the gold seem important again. Which is what it needs right now.
I have every confidence that A.J and
Paige will produce something unforgettable at SummerSlam and afterwards as long
as they’re allowed to do what they want and not stick too rigidly to a
conformed plan. If that happens and WWE tries to tell them what is good
wrestling the whole thing could fall completely apart.
Winners Prediction: Paige
When I look at Money in the Bank 2014, I
can’t help but feel WWE have missed a chance to really hype the event to its
full potential. I know that WWE didn’t have a choice about vacating the WWE
World Heavyweight Championship, Daniel Bran just wasn’t ready to compete but
had they delayed the event until July and dovetailed Battleground with Payback
in June then the company would have had a lot more time to properly flesh out
the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture and hype a supporters favourite
instead of just thrown them all in and hope for the best. Even though Bryan may
have been cleared for action in July, the gold would still have had to be
vacated.
The favourite for the Money in the Bank
Ladder Match is clearly Bray Wyatt. He’s captured the imagination of the WWE
Universe and will be the outright favourite on the night with Cesaro coming a
close second. No one will want to see the likes of Randy Orton, Sheamus or
Alberto Del Rio hold the gold for a long time to come. Had Battleground come
first then WWE would have been able to really build Bray Wyatt with one final
and clean victory over John Cena at Battleground before moving onto Money in
the Bank. It would have been the preferred method of build. However, now we
face the prospect of a brand new and previously untested WWE World Heavyweight
Champion reigning and that can only be a good thing.
Before we wrap up this preview and to
save me bleating on about how the Money in the Bank Ladder Match should only be
for those who haven’t previously held the title, I would like to point out an
event which transpired as the pay-per view was taking shape. For those who kept
abreast of happenings will know that in mid-June WWE released several
superstars from its roster and wished them customary ‘All the Very Best in
Their Future Endeavours’. It came as somewhat of a shock, not that they’ve been
released because we were all expecting them to be fired at some point or
another. But rather the timing.
WWE usually cuts its roster or at least
had done previously immediately after WrestleMania and not as we approach
summer. I see this as a warning from Vince to the WWE locker room that anyone
can go at any time. Those who were released were, JTG (not we even realized he
was still employed with the company), Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal, Aksana,
Curt Hawkins (who was doing what exactly at time of release?), Theodore Long,
Camacho (explains itself), Brodus Clay (at last, he had no future in
wrestling), Evan Bourne, Yoshi Tatsu (who was only employed to raise WWE’s
profile in Japan, apart from that he was pointless and never used) and referee
Mark Harris.
Some of these releases were surprising.
Evan Bourne was still on WWE’s injured list and awaiting clearance for a
comeback. He should find work on the independent scene when fit to wrestle
again and if they have the money could be a star for TNA or Ring of Honor. Drew
McIntyre was once handpicked to be a star by Vince McMahon and not just on
screen. Vince saw unlimited potential in McIntyre but since his inclusion with
3MB, the writing was on the wall. Teddy Long deserves an induction into the WWE
Hall of Fame for what he has done in wrestling.
Something else which surprised me was
those who got a reprieve. From all those who have been cut, The Great Khali,
Mark Henry, Heath Slater, Tensai, Sin Cara and Fandango are still employed in
WWE and I bet no one in the company can tell us why. I’m actually quite
surprised Kofi Kingston still has a job. Of course there are a whole heap more
who should and may be gone by Christmas, but hey, it’s a start. Now these make
way for the excellent NXT rookies who do deserve a place on the roster and who
have a future in the industry.
Onwards and upwards...
