Wrestlemania XXVI Preview: Money in the Bank Ladder Match

‘I look up to the sky and now the World is mine’

A line from this year’s Wrestlemania theme ‘I made it’ and I think it quite aptly describes the Money in the Bank ladder match. A briefcase hangs above the ring and the first person retrieves it get a title match at any time from the moment they unhook it till Wrestlemania the next year. Every person that has cashed in MitB has won one of the World titles (however as we all know not everyone who won money in the bank went onto cash it in. Mr Kennedy won the briefcase but lost it to Edge who went on to cash it in.

Anyway that is enough of history lesson now it is time to look forward to tonight’s MitB match. 10 men are all vying for the briefcase. How do they rate? Well let’s take a DSHD look at what we think their chances are. The two number factors are chances of winning in our opinion, which seems pretty obvious and entertainment factor which is basically how many spills/ big spots they will be involved in or just how much will their involvement be remember. So for example at Wrestlemania XXV Mark Henry would score relatively high although not taking many big bumps he was involved with the ‘Tadpole Splash moment’ The Kofi ladder moment and the parting of the Ladders with Kane.

Christian
Captain Charisma making his Wrestlemania return and just like his last Wrestlemania with WWE he is in the MitB money match. The big difference is that this year lots of people have him down as the favourite to win. A former ‘WWEECW’ (thanks for that one Joey Styles) champion and a ladder match specialist it would seem that he has all the advantages going into this match. However, the only time Christian has headlined a company was TNA and would Vince trust him to be able to headline Smackdown or RAW as WWE or WHC? It is hard to tell also it seems that Vince is increasingly about developing new talent which is why the US, one half of the tag team titles, Women championship and Divas championship are all held by rising stars in the WWE as well as the fact that up until Elimination Chamber Sheamus was the WWE Champion and MitB has often been a match to give either a young star his break CM Punk and Mr. Kennedy even if he got injured and lost his chance, but paradoxically it has been used to give a veteran his break for example Edge and RVD all one the big prize for the first time after winning MitB.
Chances of winning 8.5/10
Entertainment factor 8.5/10

Dolph Ziggler
You can’t stop perfection? Well, really? I have to disagree. Ziggler sort of disappeared last summer after his feud with Rey and to be honest he resurfaced at the Royal Rumble as number one again ruining one of my predictions and since then he has been back on the scene with his new move the Sleeper hold, which he has been utilising with to good effect. But I just don’t see him winning MitB because he has not been given a consistent push and I have a horrible feeling he could disappear after Wrestlemania or float around like Shelton until the next MitB or Royal Rumble or a similar event. But I could see Ziggler hitting the Zig Zag off a ladder or something tonight and having a few good spots.
Chances of winning 1/10
Entertainment factor 5/10

Drew McIntyre
The Chairman’s choice, the current intercontinental and with only one lost to his name (sort of) looks destine for great things. But is he destined to win MitB? Perhaps, but it would be a long shot. The Scotsman is making his Wrestlemania debut this year’s as the extra 9th man to the MitB, which in itself suggests that he is not top on the list for people to win. As well as that as a current champion giving him the MitB would I feel be too much too young for this Superstar, who lacks the charisma and in my opinion the talent that someone like the Miz, has can and is currently pulling off holding two titles. But in a year or so I have a feeling I could be writing about MitB and Drew McIntyre could be the odds on favourite. Also with regards to his entertainment factor Drew is neither a powerhouse nor a high flyer and I feel he could get a bit lost in a ladder match with this many men.
Chances of winning 3.5/10
Entertainment factor 4/10

Evan Bourne
If I had to pick a winner based solely on personal opinion then Evan would be up there in the top two. He has bags of talent and when he is given the chance to speak he seem quite charismatic. The problem is WWE don’t seem to know how to use him properly, they don’t have a heel cruiserweight that has the same highflying ability to put him up against and it seems they don’t like Evan doing a David vs. Goliath sort of victory over the bigger competitors. So at the moment Evan is stuck in no man’s land and I really don’t see WWE even consider giving him a title match but what I do see is him stealing the show in the MitB tonight and showing everyone how to go Air Bourne properly.
Chances of winning 0.5/10
Entertainment factor 9.5.10

Jack Swagger
The All American American is the person I want to win and it is not wholly unlikely but I would say that if he did win it would be a big surprise. The former ECW champion was teased as having a feud with Cena when he helped Mr. McMahon the other week (walking to the ring in somewhat comical fashion) likewise in the past when Cena and Swagger have locked horns it has been an epic contest between the two superstars and if they were allowed to go at it again it could really make Swagger’s career much like The Miz. Also it would seem that Cena or a RAW superstar has to win the WWE championship match because technically Batista is a Smackdown Superstar and both titles cannot be on the same brand. Could it be Swagger? Maybe but either way I think this athletic Oklahoman could be quite entertaining in MitB regardless of the outcome.
Chances of winning 5.5/10
Entertainment Factor 7/10

Kane
The Big Red Monster the only former WWE/WHC champion in this match. He has Wrestlemania and Money in the Bank experience which might give him an edge in tonight’s match. Also he came ridiculously close at winning MitB at Wrestlemania XXV which could drive him forward at Wrestlemania XXVI also the man that knocked him off the ladder is not in the match so could this mean it will be Kane’s year? Probably not, WWE seem not to want to give Kane a World title or any title for that matter and I just don’t see MitB making a difference this year but who knows, I have been wrong before?
Chances of winning: 4/10
Entertainment factor 6.5/10

Kofi Kingston
The Ghanaian Buzzsaw was Jamaican in the last MitB that is not particularly relevant on the face of it but actually after reverting back to his actually nationality and ditching the Jamaican accent Kofi actually was given a main event push against Randy Orton and look destined for great things. Then that push sort of died for some unknown reasons and Kofi went into the grey area between mid-carder and main eventer. But also like Swagger during the Mr. McMahon vs. John Cena match it was teased that Kofi could be feuding with Batista in the future. However, Kofi’s ability to bust people open all the time seemingly by accident could put him in lots of people’s bad books a prevent him winning MitB or getting the final push fully into main event status, this seems pretty clear since he was the 10th man to qualify for a 8 man match.
Chances of winning 7/10
Entertainment factor 9/10

Matt Hardy
After a up and down 2009 Matt Hardy has vowed to reinvent himself and set the record straight in 2010 and MitB could be his way of doing just that. A bit of a dark horse and sort of forgotten in the run up to MitB because of NXT, but do not let this fool you Matt Hardy could surprise everyone and finally climb to the same heights as his brother Jeff (no pun intended.) The only drawback is that Matt Hardy has always been second fiddle to Jeff and whenever I look at Matt Hardy I always put him as the second brother. He is a very gifted and talented wrestler but he seems to be never quite reach the level needed to be WWE/WHC champion. But perhaps he can win MitB and shake off the shackles of his brother’s legacy and finally reach the top of the food chain.
Chances of winning 4.5/10
Entertainment factor 6.5/10

Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP)
One half of the World’s Strongest Tag Team (he is the half with the talent and Charisma) MVP has always been a consistently good performer and his Wrestlemania matches are very good. Who can forget his U.S. title match with Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania 23 when he took the Crippler to his limit? MVP has been feuding with The Miz for quite a long time now and to be honest every time the two of them met one on one they have had amazing matches. A truly talented individual that has not quite yet been give the chance to prove himself at the highest level since his debut feud with Kane. Wrestlemania XXVI will probably not be his year but his performance on the grandest stage of them all will be up there with everyone else and who knows this year could well be a good year for MVP.
Chances of winning 4/10
Entertainment factor 5.5/10

Shelton Benjamin
The Gold Standard, a nickname which is perhaps not very apt as the last time Shelton held a title was March 20th 2009 when he lost his US title to MVP. The best analogy I can think of to describe Shelton’s role in MitB is ‘always the bridesmaid never the bride’ as Shelton has been in 4 of the 5 Money in the Bank matches and at Wrestlemania XXVI he will be entering into his 5th. Shelton will not win tonight, however if he is lucky he might be able to earn a feud with McIntyre over the IC title after MitB depending on how the match pans out.
Chances of Winning 0/10
Entertainment Factor 9.25/10

What is interesting about this year’s MitB is that one of the WWE PPVs later this year is called MitB which would suggest that the briefcase will be cashed sooner rather than later. This could be at Wrestlemania or at the April Pay Per View which at the moment is Extreme Rules a PPV that bodes well for MitB winners. But also this year more so than other years there is no clear winner or even a group of people you could pick to win for example at Wrestlemania XXI Kane, Y2J, Edge and Chris Benoit all looked like viable winners or at Wrestlemania XXIV Y2J, Punk and Mr. Kennedy all looked like they could win. So one of the many reasons why Wrestlemania XXVI will be off the chart this year is that like most of the matches on the card MitB is just too close to accurately call despite my best efforts.

Royal Rumble 2010: ECW Championship Match

Biblically Extreme

I mean, really, who had Big Zeke winning the ECW Homecoming (unless you read the results from the house shows), which I have to credit WWE for, with a massive gap between PPVs and apparently no number 1 contender (thanks Shelton, you won't be needed anymore, don't worry here's Vance Archer) this concept did a good job and gave some interesting brand overlap, well kinda, the ratings say something else.

Personally, this is the match that I am least looking towards (Methos might disagree), I haven't seen anything really wrestling solid from Jackson, i.e. not just squash matches, personally I think that he wouldn't be anywhere without Master Regal. Regal showed again two Tuesdays ago on ECW what a great wrestler he is with a fantastic 15+ Minutes Match with ECW Champ Christian.

But with the Road to Wrestlemania starting at the Royal Rumble, I wouldn't be surprised if Big Zeke actually wins the title and that Christian gets involved in some sort of controversy. Last Year was the same with Jack Swagger beating Matt Hardy in January and Matt Losing the Rematch at last year's Rumble and as they say the rest is history.

I'm sorry that this preview is short but I don't think the Guyanese Goliath should win, really because I'm not his biggest fan, I'm almost sorry for Christian that he has to wrestle him at all let along at a Big Four Pay-Per-View. (It really does day something that I wrote nearly 3 times more for the Women's Championship Match)

Royal Rumble is Sunday, 31st January 2010 Live on Pay-Per-View at 8pm ET/5pm PT/1am GMT.

2009 Dirty Awards: Least Shocking Moment of the Year

Nominations and Winner:

- Christian returning, 10th February

- Donald Trump ‘selling’ RAW back to Vince McMahon, 22nd June (Winner)

- Santina Marella winning the Diva Battle Royale at Wrestlemania 25, 5th April

- Jeff Hardy Quitting, 28th August

- Montreal Screwjob 4, 13th September

Trump selling RAW backing to Vince was funny because of the impact it had on the stock market. But it was no shock because RAW was Vince’s baby and was never going to let RAW go. Christian return was not a shock because everyone knew he was returning at the Royal Rumble and everyone was expecting him them but after that when he did return it was nothing special. Santina winning the Battle Royale at Wrestlemania 25 was not a shock nor was the fact Santina was Santino despite King, Cole and JR’s best attempt to disguise the fact. Jeff Hardy quitting is similar to Christian arriving everyone knew it was happening just not when. Motreal Screwjob 4, the fact it is the forth Screwjob in Montreal should tell you all why this was no great shock.

NEXT UP: The Don't Come Back Award

Video.dot.Blog - Edge & Christian Funny Moments

Edge & Christian Funny Moments Uploaded by 2kdam - Check out more sports and extreme sports videos.

Blink and it's over....But He's Back

William Regal's plan unfolded??? According to Matt Striker. So instead of blindsiding the champ before the match and winning the title. His plan was to lose the match and then beat Christian up. Now I do not claim to be an expert but ECW is not until Tuesday and I would like to think the next ECW title match will be 'Breaking Point' which is three weeks away. So is there going to be some residual effects? I don't think so. Well to make up for this absolutely stupid idea hopefully Regal will destroy Christian at 'Breaking Point' with the Regal Strech and give some class to the ECW Title.

To be honest, I can live with DX winning cause it was an amazing match with a great entrance, Legacy were on the top of their game and will only get better working with DX. I am pleased Show and Y2J won and even pleased MVP beat Swagger although I would have liked a longer match. Kane vs Khali was surprisingly good especially the ending with the veteran outsmarting the rookie, using his emotions. But I will not be able for a long time to be able to understand the decision to make the ECW title match go down like that. Restart after restart, wow, i never knew Orton vs Cena could be this bad and yet... the match was restarted not once, not twice, not three times but four times. The fan, a plant? A nutjob? Since when could another official correct a mistake of another in the past the in ring official would have gone with his original decision. Likewise how did Lilian Garcia get news from Vince without a headset? When Freddie Prinze Jr was interviewed he implied that he was going to interfere on Cena's behalf to help him win but that was not to be. To be honest all I know is that after that awful match I don't want Cena Vs Orton at 'Breaking Point' I would rather Orton vs HBK or Orton vs MVP or perhaps even dare I say it Orton vs Santino Marella at 'Breaking Point'! TLC led to RIP. Jeff Hardy lost,can't say I am not happy cause I am ecstatic. I think this could also signal the end of Jeff Hardy's run in WWE despite Matt Hardy saying he was staying. Taker is the new World Heavyweight Championship number 1 contender and Punk is the champ. Hardy was almost stretchered out before the end of the match (kayfabe I assume) but a (kayfabe) injury could be just what WWE need to get him off screen and out of his contract. But it could just be away to get him and Matt working together again? Only time will tell. The match itself was good and the ending was amazing, the high impact climax balanced with the realistic fight for the belt, however this is become more and more over used in ladder matches and WWE need to be careful that they balance out the endings in ladder matches to keep things fresh. The big return was meant to be DX but on a personal level for me I am much more excited about the return of The Demon of Death Valley. This combined with the fact that two of my favorite wrestlers could enter into a feud! Taker Vs Punk. Hopefully Hell's Gate vs Anaconda Vice at 'Breaking Point'

Final Card for WWE SummerSlam Tonight

World Heavyweight Championship, Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match:
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk

WWE Championship Match:
Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena

Degeneration X vs. The Legacy

ECW Championship Match:
Christian (c) vs. William Regal

Intercontinental Championship Match:
Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

Unified WWE Tag Team Championship Match:
Chris Jericho & The Big Show (c) vs. Cryme Tyme

MVP vs. Jack Swagger

Kane vs. The Great Khali

Tonight on the WWE 3-FOR-ALL

Tonight at 8/7 CT (1am BST), The 3-for-all, with 4 massive title matches from all 3 brands. From ECW, The New ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer goes up against former champ Christian, the "gold" on the line. From Smackdown, a Triple Threat for the World Heavyweight Championship, the new champ CM Punk defends against Jeff Hardy and Edge. The vacant WWE Championship will be put on the line in a Fatal-Four Way between the Big Show, John Cena, Randy Orton and the returning Triple H. Also, Chris Jericho will put his newly won Intercontinental Championship on the line against Rey Mysterio. With Former Raw GM Vickie Guerrero quitting last week Vince McMahon is back to announce Raw's new GM! And So make sure you tune in for 3 hours of WWE at its very best!

Extreme Rules 2009: One Last Chance ECW Championship Hardcore Triple Threat Match

At Extreme Rules it will be the last opportunity for Tommy Dreamer to capture the ECW Championship, otherwise he walks from WWE from that night. Tommy Dreamer's contract expiries the night before Extreme Rules, and Jack Swagger pointed this out when ECW GM Tiffany made the match, but they even have a way round that, by signing a "one day extension" to his WWE contract so he can compete at the PPV. Lets not forget the title matches Jack Swagger and Christian have had at the two last PPVs ending with Christian picking up the win with the help of some underhanded tactics, which Jack Swagger hasn't forgotten and used this fact to almost force himself into this title match. And personally I think that having him in the match will mix it up a bit more, considering we've seen Christian-Dreamer for the title two times and we know that if it was that again, there would be more interference (yet at Extreme Rules that wouldn't have finished in a No-Contest). “The All-American American” has had his eyes firmly set on the ECW Championship after he lost it by being outsmarted by Christian at Backlash. Again at Judgment Day, Captain Charisma outwitted Swagger. Since these losses, the cocky, young Superstar has been calling Christian a cheater and he’s been interrupting Dreamer’s chances at the ECW Title. So Now, Christian will once again defend his ECW Title, but at Extreme Rules, Captain Charisma will have two opponents, and both former ECW Champions. He’ll take on Jack Swagger and Tommy Dreamer in a Hardcore Rules Triple Threat Match.

Judgement Day 2009: ECW Championship

ECW Champion Christian didn’t get to enjoy his new status among the Land of the Extreme for long without having the vulture-like hungry Superstars for ECW’s most coveted prize knocking at his door. On the Tuesday following their ECW Title Match at Backlash, former title holder Jack Swagger insisted on a rematch, which would take place at Judgment Day. Moments later, Tiffany confirmed the contest. Ensuring he would also get retribution against Christian in addition to the title back, Swagger interfered in Tommy Dreamer’s match against the champion later that evening on ECW on Sci Fi, forcing the trophy to remain in Captain Charisma’s possession. Christian heads into Judgment Day with the advantage, having defeated Swagger for the gold at Backlash. But who knows what tricks “The All-American American” has up his sleeve to make sure he can regain his role as the face of Extreme? Find out, only on pay-per-view.

WWE Superstars #4

On the forth ever edition of WWE Superstars there will be one of the big mis-matches in WWE History, When Hornswoggle faces the Big Show. Click to see the Tale of the Tape. Strangely with this only being the 4th episode of WWE Superstars, this is the 3rd time Hornswoggle would have made an appearance on the show and the Big Show's Second.

Also on this edition of WWE Superstars, The Gold Standard Shelton Benjamin will face the current Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio, what will happen between two of Smackdown's best Superstars, just 3 days before Rey defends his Championship against Chris Jericho at Judgement Day.

And Finally on this Episode of WWE Superstars, the ECW Champion will have his hands full with "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry, with his title defense to Jack Swagger only 3 days away, Expect Everything.

This is the 100th Post here on The Dirt Sheet HD blog, I wanted to do something better and bigger, but the blog had been left not updated for nearly a week, so I had to at least get this one in.

Wrestling Quote #6: Cake

Kurt Angle, Edge & Christian are in the backstage area: Edge: "Kurt, don't worry about it, you take care of Triple H, beat the snot out his never ending nose, then afterwards, we'll all have cake!" Christian: "Yeah cake rocks the body that rocks the party."..... "Come on Kurt man, listen I'll play your music for you (putting a kazoo up to his lips to play Kurt's music) 2, 3, 4" Edge: "Angle... Angle... ha ha... Angle" Kurt Angle: "Guys, Guys..."

WWE Superstars Debut Tonight

On the debut of “WWE Superstars” on WGN America, Undertaker takes on Matt Hardy. Both are coming off huge wins at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania. Something’s got to give. Who will make history on this exciting television premiere?

Shane McMahon and Cody Rhodes, both scions of wrestling greats, will square off on the premiere episode of WWE Superstars, little more than a week before they face one another in the WWE Championship Tag Team Match at Backlash.

With his son Hornswoggle at his side, Finlay will take on Captain Charisma himself, Christian in the finals of the Elimination Chase, with the winner challenging Jack Swagger at Backlash for his coveted ECW Championship.

To watch Superstars Live in HD tonight for Free, go to Wrestling Bay.

Match Preview: MITB

Always one of the most exciting matches at Wrestlemania every year and this is now the 5th Money in the Bank Match, which always has the athletic and high-flying action every year. It, to be honest, could be better this year, because Mark Henry's in the match, why is he in this match, a ladder match, he can't wrestle let alone do a match like that, he will not be able to get half up the ladder. Except for him everyone else has experience in the match and has the creadability, even Kane. There is so much experience in this match, that this is Shelton Benjamin's 4th MITB and he adds something to the match everytime, he's the best superstar in this match who has never won it. I wouldn't be surprised if it starts 'Mania and that would be a great start to what looks like it will be an almost perfect night. But this year I think it might be the first one that is somewhat unpredictable at the winner unless the go with Punk again, or maybe after years of doing this match giving a real push to Shelton, or Vince might have changed his mind about Christian after all this time. The one thing I hope doesn't happen is Mark Henry winning, because I would stop watching WWE until he won it and then lost it again and totally forget about him again. Anyway I hope Mark Henry gets an injury early on to get him out of the way and then have a real match, which is shaping up to be one of the best Money In The Bank Ladder Matches, and considering they always say about that someone could cash in the contract that night at Wrestlemania, it would be great to actually see someone do that. And Finally, what would have made it better would be Evan Bourne being in the match, along with Shelton, Punk, Kofi, Christian and MVP that would be a great match, but too many babyfaces, considering R-Truth was meant to be in Mark Henry's position, wouldn't have been great theatre.

Road to Wrestlemania and WWE in General

WWE is rolling full steam ahead towards Wrestlemania. Money in the Bank is full up and my hope to win is Kane, but despite internet rumours I think it is Captain Charisma will be taking the briefcase away or will CM Punk make it two in a row? This could be my personal opinion but I have never been a fan of Matt and Jeff Hardy and so I am not particularly excited about this match, but usually Jeff is a solid performer with lots of spills and so is Matt, therefore despite lack of interest on my part it should be good. On Smackdown the Undertaker defeated Kozlov to make it 1-1 and on Raw there was an average tag team match between HBK and Taker Vs JBL and Kozlov. Kozlov’s ring work is getting better and better but the overall match was poor and the surprise ‘Sweet Chin Music’ on the ramp was poor and Shawn’s mad rant was poor. Also on Smackdown Kofi looked fired up taking on Edge and that could signal great things for the WWE and this young rising star. Also Carltio and Primo was unsuccessful which in my opinion is a good thing because I think that the Miz and Morrison are the best tag team in the WWE and this shows that when they took on DX last year there should have been a clear winner and it was not the men in green and black. The World title matches are a really interesting prospect. HHH VS Randy Orton especially with the house invasion being very dramatic. Also the Edge, Vickie and Show love triangle (something I never fought I would say!) HHH VS Rhodes was a great match showing the power of The Game. The inclusion of the cage along with Legacy was amazing. Rhodes unfortunately did not get the chance to show how talented he is but if there was a Tag team match at Mania I would like to see: Legacy VS The Miz and Morrison VS the Carlito and Primo VS Rey Mysterio and Evan Bourne to unify the tag team titles, with the Miz and Morrison winning the belts cause this would cement their status as the number 1 tag team in the WWE. Jack Swagger has disappeared from ECW seemingly or at least it feels like that, I think I have seen DJ Gabriel and Paul Burchill more than the champion. Personally I think he is a great champion but needs more time to progress in his skill. Also just to finish up I hope ‘Good Old’ JR Jim Ross is ok after from suffering chest pains that he later found out to be walking pneumonia. I hope that he gets better soon.