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.

2009 Dirty Awards: Most Under-Rated

Nominations and Winners:
- Evan Bourne
- William Regal (Co-Winner)
- Dolph Ziggler
- Gail Kim (Co-Winner)
- Jack Swagger
The co-winners of this Dirty have been overlooked. Gail Kim was meant to revolutionise WWE Divas division in her second run. William Regal however has had it worse than Kim. Gail Kim is just being ignored but Regal got besmirched at SummerSlam by having the mockery of that was 8 second defeat. To be honest I partially paid to see SummerSlam on the ground that Regal would have a proper match. Likewise Regal should at least be ECW champion or competing for the WWE or World Heavyweight Champion. Swagger was passed over for an US title shot instead of MVP or the Mark Henry, likewise Dolph Ziggler seems to be have lost his shine since John Morrison defeated him in their feud. If Bourne can keep his tag team with Primo then maybe WWE will give him a title run or at least a shot otherwise his talent could be wasted.

O’Dea Note: I know that Methos is English but he needs to calm down about Regal, You don’t hear me get this worked up about Drew McIntyre.

NEXT UP: Most Over-Rated

Same Old, Same Old

Fair Enough, the WWE Championship match at Night of Champions was a good, solid match that went over 20 minutes that did what you wanted from a "B" PPV Championship Match and you could say that it was better than their match at Wrestlemania 24, but it's the same old, same old. There are a number of names that have been around long enough to step up to a major main event slot and have proven time and time again they can take the competition, and don't have a Jeff Hardy like risk about putting them in the big time. The fact that this match is the same old match is highlighted by the face that the John Cena-Randy Orton match at Summerslam will be the 25th time in the last 5 years that there has been a combination of Orton-HHH-Cena.

Even though Dolph Ziggler has been back on the main roster for only a little while, they have got the trust in him to put him in big time match with a veteran like Rey Mysterio, where he didn't disappoint. Dolph Ziggler's character is really developing and as JR would say he's getting a real "mean streak". Personally, I think he's watchable, he's a new star who isn't boring and is totally different to the "Spirit Squad" stuff, where I can't even remember who he was, and that was when I first started watching WWE.

There has been news about Evan Bourne being left out of the card on Raw, even though he was meant to be set up to feud with The Brian Kendrick after a solid match at a house show two weeks ago. I'm sorry but this is where WWE is going wrong, he should have been in the US title match at Night of Champions, erm remember that Jack Swagger has been in the company less time than Evan (but I guess that they took the risk with him, by giving him the ECW "gold" which paid off). He's exciting and has shown that he's not just a thrill-factor, that he can have big time matches week in, week out. He's shown perfect for the United States scene, and if not that, have him really feud with Kendrick (and give them some time). Kendrick is the perfect size for him and is very athletic but because he made the wrong decisions he hasn't been able to show that off.

Monday Night Thoughts/Tuesday Morning Reactions

Lets be honest, this was a very strange and indifferent episode of Monday Night Raw. First off the best wrestlers tonight were the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions "Team Ego" Chris Jericho & Edge, with a great (but cut short) promo before their title defense, which was a fantastic match where all four performers work perfectly with each other.

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, lets start at the start with Vince McMahon and his continuing heel turn, he's not giving away a commercial-free Raw or a ticket refund because WWE can't afford it and it creates easy heat. I heard something about a 15 man trade for about 2 seconds, but since that had already slightly leaked onto the net, there was no worries. Then he introduced the guest host not the GM, Batista! Ohhhhhh! I don't give a s**t! No no, I'm being harsh, he gave us a 4-man tournament and a 3-on-Randy Orton Gauntlet Match (which Batista did really well not to tell us that it was going to be 3 new Raw superstars). Tournament Cena-Miz & HHH-MVP, well I wonder how that's gonna turn out.

First match tonight, Triple H vs MVP. It was obvious which way the match was going to go, but this was a rubbish match to start Raw, it didn't even go over an ad break. The finish was rubbish, too predictable! MVP goes for the playmaker, I knew that HHH would get out of it then s**t all over one of the best young competitors in WWE with the Pedigree (which is the most boring and over use finisher EVER!). Will Triple H ever lose against someone like MVP. And can he please leave Randy Orton alone, how much more can they do between these two, Randy is great, HHH is a douche! They tried to re-vamp this feud in the Road to WrestleMania, considering they had a long summer run last year, ending quicker than WWE would have wanted when Hunter broke Randy's collar bone. So, for the rest of the first hour I was pissed off about how Triple H shat on MVP, why?

Next up was the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship Match, already talked about this, loved it all. Okay, at the time of writing, I hadn't watched the whole of "The Bash" PPV so didn't see all the Cena-Miz Match but I heard that it was crap and didn't live up to any of the hype. On Raw they replayed the recap promo from the night before and I think that it must have been longer than the actually match on Sunday.

This match, which was the second in the Night of Champions #1 Contenders Tournament was good and was a solid match and they should have had a match of that caliber at the PPV, it's called a Pay-Per-View for a reason! I enjoyed this match when I got into it and knew that it wouldn't be a straight squash (and why the f**k would it be!). Except for the very end, "Moves of Doom" and Short tap to shit hold, I like this match considering it was unfortunately obvious the outcome.

I'm really liking the Miz, he's good in and out (theoretically) of the ring, even Chris Jericho, master of the heel, said about Miz practicing his promos backstage on Sunday: "In the pretape room inside re Arco arena watching Miz stumble and mumble his way through humane society promos. Top entertainment!".

Haven't heard of a Women's Fatal-Four Way before yesterday night, not bad, but don't they have a better heel than Rosa Mendes. Alright match, but when they where on the outside trying to allow others to fight in the ring, they looked like right idiots. One thing, near the end of the match, Beth Phoenix was dropped off the apron and it looked like she really smashed her head on the ring steps, that look and sounded too real, if it was, Michael Cole said that Maryse was laughing at that point, evil bitch, haha.

Here comes the Big Show, where is he going with any storyline right now, what, is he going to get a United States Championship match at Night of Champions, shut up. Double countout, could you really see a non-Big Show win against Kofi being anything but a countout or DQ, but hey a double countout is the same sorta stuff. Show then looked like a douche by storming out, doing nothing and the camera following him all the way, couldn't they have just gone to a break earlier. Silly match.

The Main Event was a 3-on-1 Gauntlet Match with the WWE Champion Randy Orton facing off against 3 new performers that have been "traded" to Raw. First up Evan Bourne, yeah! That's good, and strangely I didn't know how much of a size difference the was going to be between Evan and Randy, Evan looked like a child with his child-like head. He did well in the short time but lost from a massive top rope RKO after Orton stopped the Shooting Star Press, lost. Up next, again from ECW, Jack Swagger! YES! I'm loving this, he showed in april at the Draft show against John Cena how he can hold his own against the big boys in WWE. His future is bright. And finally, Mark Henry, who got a great reaction? What? Does everyone in the arena remember who this is, but actually he played it as a babyface, this is the only way I think I'm going to be able to enjoy Mark Henry, but I think I'm really going to enjoy face Mark Henry. I started to remember Sexual Chocolate, it won't be like that, but he's smiling and soaking up the pop from the crowd, who have been very good all night. But the end was very lackluster, I was thinking "Oh, Is that it? I guess so... Erm, Yeay!"

It was alright and it'll be interesting to see how the new superstars will slot in, is Jack Swagger the new Legacy member, Randy was rather surprised at Jack's actions and count-out (on the ring apron). I think I'm looking forward to next week, Ted DiBiase Sn. as Guess Host and HHH-Cena for WWE Title shot at Night of Champions (btw its so obvious its going to be a triple threat, because they've done Orton-HHH, too much and they will not let either of their biggest faces be beat like they beat Miz & MVP), YEAH?

John Morrison vs Evan Bourne ECW 4/14/09 (HQ)

Evan Bourne/Matt Sydal Return Promo (HQ)

I know its a bit late, but just put it on the YouTube account, and is a really good short Promo.

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.