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2011 WWE Money in the Bank Flashback: John Cena vs. C.M. Punk for the WWE Championship, Randy Orton vs. Christian for the World Hvt. Championship, two MITB matches

Posted in: WWE News
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Jul 14, 2013 - 01:17 PM

The following is Jason Powell's review of the July 17, 2011 WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Check back tonight for Jason Powell and Chris Shore's live coverage reviews of the 2013 WWE Money in the Bank. Dot Net Members can look forward to an exclusive MITB audio review with Jason and Chris after the show. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up now via the Prowrestling.net/amember/signup.php.

WWE Money in the Bank
Aired live on pay-per-view
Chicago, Ill. at Allstate Arena


A video that focussed on the C.M. Punk, John Cena, and Vince McMahon angle opened the show... Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Booker T introduced the show from ringside...

Powell's POV: The result of the dark match that was held prior to the show is available on the main page. Let's just say the tag champs didn't get their mojo back.

1. Daniel Bryan beat Sin Cara, Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Kane, Cody Rhodes, Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel to win the Smackdown Money in the Bank match in 24:30. The Spanish announcers were shown at ringside prior to the match. The arena was hazy, presumably from Kane's pyro.

Slater and Gabriel broke out some impressive high spots that we normally don't see from them as heels. Sin Cara caught Sheamus with a big dive to the floor at 4:30. The obligatory Daniel Bryan suicide dive was also somewhere in that mix of high spots. Sin Cara performed his old finisher (the one he and Primo botched) on Bryan perfectly for a big pop at 6:00.

There was a wild spot at 7:55 with Sheamus powerbombing Sin Cara off the ring apron and through a ladder that had been resting on the apron and the announcers' table. The trainers brought out the stretcher for Sin Cara.

There was a spot at 11:35 where Barrett, Gabriel, and Slater ended up in the middle of the ring together. The crowd chanted "C.M. Punk." Barrett tried to climb the ladder and Gabriel and Slater let him momentarily before attacking him to break up his play for the briefcase. They went after the briefcase, but Cody knocked over the ladder.

Sheamus had Daniel Bryan hoisted up when Kane came off the rope with a clothesline for a Doomsday Device. The Chicago crowd popped with an "LOD" chant, but the announcers didn't acknowledge it. Later, with a ladder set up on the second rung of the standing ladder and the other end on the bottom rope, Kane chokeslammed Sheamus onto the bottom ladder at 21:00.

Kane made a play for the briefcase, but the other wrestlers rushed in and stopped him. Barrett hit Wasteland on Kane. Gabriel climbed to the top rope and stood on a ladder that was positioned there. Gabrield hit his 450 splash on Kane from the ladder that was resting on the ropes. Wow!

Barrett made a good play for the briefcase, but Cody pulled him down and clotheslined him over the top rope. Bryan went to the ladder and Cody fought with him. With Cody and Bryan fighting on one side of the ladder, Barrett climbed up the other side. Cody was knocked down.

Barrett went for his finisher off the ladder, but Bryan caught him with repeated elbows to the head and then blasted him with a kick. Bryan climbed the ladder and grabbed the briefcase to win the match. The live crowd popped big, and Bryan shook the briefcase with excitement. Cole threw a fit on commentary...

Powell's POV: This is the ultimate online fan friendly pay-per-view. As if the Punk angle and two MITB matches isn't enough, Bryan actually won the MITB match. Let the paranoia that Bryan won't cash in successfully begin. Either way, that was a very cool moment to end an excellent MITB match. Big spots galore, and the fans absolutely loved the outcome. A great to start to the show. I'm preparing for a slew of emails and tweets with predictions of Bryan challenging his old rival Punk later tonight.

A shot aired of Vince McMahon arriving at the building with John Laurinaitis and an attorney. The announcers said they were trying to make a last ditch effort to re-sign Punk...

Powell's POV: Good spot for the Divas. They needed a buffer for the fans to come down after the first MITB match.

2. Kelly Kelly (w/Eve) beat Brie Bella (w/Nikki Bella) to retain the WWE Divas Championship in 4:50. Kelly got the win with the Fameasser or whatever she's calling it...

Powell's POV: My fish would like to thank the Divas for providing me with time to feed them. It was what it was. I can't pretend to be excited about the current state of the Divas. Vince should call Kharma and see if she can safely induce pregnancy a month early. Okay, not really. I'm a little surprised Big Show and Henry is coming up next since I thought they might use that as a buffer match. Perhaps we'll get something unadvertised or a skit of some kind.

An ad hyped SummerSlam for August 14... A video set up Big Show vs. Mark Henry...

3. Mark Henry beat Big Show in 6:00. Henry actually dropkicked the steps into Show's previously injured knee. It wasn't pretty as the stairs didn't really move. Show recovered and eventually hit a shoulder block off the second rope. He came up holding the knee again.

Show motioned for the chokeslam. He got Henry by the throat, but Henry kicked at his knee. Show released the choke and then Henry followed up with a World's Strongest Slam. Big Show kicked out at two. The announcers failed to emphasize that Henry went after Show's knee. Henry followed up with another World's Strongest Slam and a two big splashes for the clean pin.

Afterward, Henry wrapped a chair around Big Show's leg. Henry went to the ropes and performed a second rope splash onto the chair and Show's leg. Show sold an ankle injury afterward while a trainer tended to him. They brought out a stretcher and a mobile cart to bring Show to the back. The fans chanted for C.M. Punk while Show was being placed on the cart...

Powell's POV: I didn't see the clean pin coming. Show has the out with Henry targeting his knee, but it's a shame the announcers didn't really tell that story. This match isn't going to garner any consideration for match of the night obviously, yet both men tried hard to have a good outing. It was just fine for a big man match, and the post-match angle keeps the feud alive heading into SummerSlam, assuming Show isn't going to sell the injury beyond then. Big win for Henry's character.

At ringside, the announcers spoke about Mark Henry. Cole questioned how much longer Teddy Long would tolerate that type of behavior. Lawler said it will eventually come back to haunt Henry...

Backstage, Vince McMahon vented to John Laurinaitis while the attorney sat on a couch. Josh Mathews entered the room and asked whether Vince was able to sign C.M. Punk. "No, no I didn't," Vince said. "Let me just say this guy is the biggest ingrate I have ever met in my life."

Vince said he offered him the biggest contract he's ever offered anyone. He said the C.M. Punk fans shouldn't be upset at him because he tried everything he could. Vince said Punk pointed at the door and told Vince to get out. Mathews brought up John Cena. Vince cut him off and said this is all on Cena for pushing to have the match.

Vince said that if Punk should leave the building with the WWE Championship, "May God have mercy on John Cena's soul"...

Powell's POV: Well, at least Vince isn't saying Cena will be fired. I hated that story line development because nobody bought it. Making his life miserable is much more believable. By the way, I checked with a source to see if the attorney is anyone of note and the person I asked did not recognize him.

4. Alberto Del Rio beat The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Alex Riley, Rey Mysterio, R-Truth, and Jack Swagger to win the Raw Money in the Bank match in 15:55. All eight wrestlers picked up small ladders and rammed them into one another to start the match. Miz and Truth were the last men standing. They rammed their ladders together and then Swagger took them both out with a ladder shot.

At 3:45, Mysterio and Kofi performed simultaneous dives from the ropes onto the other wrestlers on the floor. Bourne followed up with Air Bourne off the top of a ladder onto the heels on the floor.

Later, Miz and Bourne were on top of the ladder when Del Rio knocked them down. Miz came up holding his knee. He shoved the referee away and pulled down his knee pad. Miz rolled to ringside and was helped to the back. The match continued in the ring.

Powell's POV: A legit injury? An excuse to get Miz out of the match? Will The Miz return later in the match and at least try to steal the win? Hard to say. People are pointing out that it was the right knee rather than the standard left knee that wrestlers sell. It may have been legit, but he may have gone with that knee with the goal of fooling everyone.

At 12:00, there was a spot when the wrestlers all had ladders clustered together in the middle of the ring. They stood near the top of their ladders and traded punches. The wrestlers fell one by one until it was down to Mysterio and Kingston. Kofi kicked Mysterio aside.

Kofi reached up to grab the briefcase, but Swagger stopped him and they both took a big tumble to the floor. The Miz came limping back down to ringside and got some cheers. He tried to climb the ladder, but Mysterio performed a sunset flip into a powerbomb on Miz.

Mysterio was booed as he climbed the ladder. Del Rio tried to stop him, but Mysterio kicked him off. Del Rio climbed up the other side of the ladder to stop Rey, who rammed the briefcase into his head. Del Rio pulled Mysterio's mask off. Rey's ladders fell and he fell along with them. Del Rio's ladder also fell. He set up the ladder again and pulled down the briefcase to win the match...

Powell's POV: A good match, but not nearly as good as the Smackdown version, which is the most pleasant surprise of the night so far. They ladder wars stuff at the beginning got things off to a slow start. They just didn't have enough near grabs to keep the fans on the edge's of their seats. There were some cool high spots and it was an entertaining match, but it just didn't live up to the one we saw earlier. Chicago loves the heels tonight. I'm surprised the unmasked Rey like that and even replayed the spot where his face was visible.

A WrestleMania 28 travel package ad aired... A video recapped the Randy Orton vs. Christian feud...

Backstage, Josh Mathews interviewed Alberto Del Rio, who said he didn't even know why he was in the MITB match given that he became No. 1 contender on Raw. He said he proved how great he is by winning. He said his destiny is to become WWE Champion...

5. Christian beat Randy Orton by DQ to win the World Hvt. Championship in 12:20. Ring announcer Tony Chimel stated that Orton would lose the title if he's disqualified. He did not bring up the bad referee portion of the stipulation. Booker said Christian would go to the back of the line if he couldn't beat Orton tonight.

Christian went to ringside when the bell rang. He grabbed a chair and slid it into the ring towards Orton in hopes that he would use it and be disqualified. Funny. Later, Orton caught Christian with a great dropkick when he was jumping off the rope. Christian came back with a top rope headbutt around 8:30.

Orton went for a third RKO attempt at 9:15, but Christian countered into a successful Killswitch for a great near fall. The heel loving Chicago crowd popped big for Christian's finisher and they weren't happy that Orton kicked out. Christian showed frustration over failing to pin Orton.

Christian went to the corner and tried to spear Orton, but Randy leapfrogged him. The crowd booed as Orton hoisted up Christian in an inverted body vice and dropped him with a neckbreaker. Cole said it was an RKO and in a sense it was, but I'd be surprised if the powers that be wanted it sold that way. Orton followed up with a DDT off the ropes.

Orton struck the Viper's Pose. He went after Christain in the corner. Christian spat in his face. Orton flipped and fired away with repeated punches. He followed up with a kick to the balls and the referee called for the bell and awarded the title to Christian per the disqualification stipulation.

After the match, Orton continued to flip out. He took Christian to ringside and struck him with a television monitor from the Spanish announce table. Teddy Long came down to ringside and joined several referees in pleading with Orton, who blew him off and RKO'd Christian onto the announcers' table, which remained intact.

Orton started to head toward the entrance, but he came back and hit Christian with another RKO on the table, which still didn't break. Orton headed up the ramp again and continued to sell his anger and frustration before heading backstage. The crowd wanted to see another RKO, so there were some groans when Orton headed to the back. Christian had to be helped to the back, yet called for his title belt, which was handed to him. Christian was booed...

Powell's POV: That was one hell of a loogie! Yes, it was disappointing way to see Christian get the championship, but he did get some good heat for doing so. The fans didn't seem to get into it until that Christian near fall off the Killswitch. For those wondering why we didn't see Daniel Bryan cash in, I assume they're going to have him go the honorable route rather than be an opportunist.

A SummerSlam ad aired... The announcers spoke at ringside about the main event. The fans booed when Cena's graphic was shown, and then roared in approval when Punk's graphic was shown... A video recapped the Cena, Punk, and Vince drama...

A huge C.M. Punk chant broke out and the place went nuts when his music hit. Punk came out minus the mustache wearing a special edition white shirt that had his logo on the front and "Best in the World" on the back along with the date. Very cool.

Cole said he received a partisan crowd response. Even Lawler asked if Cole was kidding with the understatement of the year given the massive ovation for Punk. Punk played to the crowd while standing on the ropes and worked them into a frenzy. Punk sat down in the middle of the ring as the crowd chanted his name. They stuck with this for quite a bit before they played Cena's entrance them.

Cena got the expected amount of massive boos. He didn't stop to salute. Cena kept a serious face as he headed to the ring. Cena held up the title belt while Punk stood at ringside and clapped for him. Justin Roberts handled the in-ring introductions for the championship match...

6. C.M. Punk beat John Cena to win the WWE Championship in 33:45. Colt Cabana was in the front row, but the announcers did not acknowledge him as the match got underway. Cole ran through a list of notable WWE Champions while trying to set the mood for the match. The fans chanted "You can't wrestle" at Cena.

At 4:15, Cole mentioned Vince McMahon screwing Bret Hart out of the WWE Championship at Survivor Series. Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment early, but Punk slipped away. Punk went for the GTS, but Cena got out of it. The fans remained red hot in their support of Punk.

Cena nailed Punk with a clothesline. Punk reached up to see if he still had all of his teeth. The announcers kept babbling on endlessly and did more to take away than enhance the opening minutes of the match. Both men went for pin attempts that the live crowd didn't buy into. Lawler said said he didn't know whether there were any Cena fans in the building even though there was one guy dressed like Cena in the front freaking row facing the hard camera.

Cena ended up at ringside on the hard camera side. Punk went after Cena and stopped to slap hands with Cabana and what appeared to be Ace Steel in the front row. Lawler said Punk was slapping hands with his fans. Ugh.

Later, Cena suplexed Punk off the ring apron and to the floor. Good spot. Back inside the ring, Cena put Punk in the abdominal stretch. Punk eventually hip-tossed his way out of it. Cena and Punk hit simultaneous clotheslines. Cole had a good call as he explained that it was more important for Punk to get to his feet as the challenger.

At 18:00, Cena slammed Punk and went to do the "You can't see me" routine, but Punk caught him with a kick and sent him to ringside. Punk followed up with a suicide dive. He reached up and high-fived a woman who was seated next to Cabana and Steel (likely a family member, but just guessing).

Punk missed a top rope move. Cena did the "You can't see me" and hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment. Punk landed on his feet and stumbled. He got up and hit Cena with a series of cool kicks. Punk hoisted up Cena for his finisher, but Cena slipped out and hit a gut wrench suplex for a good near fall at 21:00.

Lawler said Cena appeared to have a knee injury. Cole agreed that Cena was grabbing a knee whenever he hit a move. They said he wasn't trying to sell the knee injury. Punk hit two high knees to Cena's head in the middle of the ropes and then followed up with a bulldog.

Punk followed up with a top rope clothesline for a near fall. They replayed the high knee and it definitely connected. Very cool in slow motion. Punk hit Cena with some kicks while he was down. Cena avoided the last one and countered into the STF. Punk crawled toward the ropes and eventually grabbed them, which got a big pop from the fans.

Punk followed up with a kick to the back of the head and scored a good near fall near the ropes. The mostly standing crowd was silent for a moment as both wrestlers took a brief breather. They came right back to life as Punk got to his feet and went to the ropes.

Punk hit a cross body from the top rope, but Cena rolled through and stood up with Punk. He went for the Attitude Adjustment, but Punk slipped out and picked up Cena for the GTS. Cena countered with the Attitude Adjustment. Punk eventually countered out of the hold and the crowd went crazy.

Punk locked in the Anaconda Vice, which Cole called "a submission maneuver." The live crowd recognized it and popped big. Cena eventually got to his feet while breaking free. Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment and went for a cover, but Punk kicked out at the last moment to pop the crowd again. Another C.M. Punk chant started.

Lawler said he's now wondering if Cena can beat Punk after spending the first part of the match wondering if Punk could beat Cena. "I can't call it," Booker said. Yeah, no shit. Cena went up top and went for the leg drop. Punk turned it into an clunky powerbomb for a near fall. Another Punk chant started.

Punk signaled for the GTS. Punk picked him up for the move, but Cena grabbed the ropes and and pulled himself over. Cena clotheslined Punk with the top rope. Cena went to the top rope and leg dropped Punk for another good near fall. Cena sat up and flashed a great look of disbelief as if to say he didn't know what he had to do to put Punk away.

Cena waited as Punk slowly got to his feet. Cena picked up Punk for the Attitude Adjustment and hit the move. Cena went for the cover and Punk kicked out at the last possible moment at 30:00. The crowd popped huge. Cole acknowledged that they were now 30 minutes into the match. Lawler said he didn't think Cena was winded, and Booker said Punk appeared to be out on his feet.

Cena brought Punk to the ropes and set him up for a second rope Attitude Adjustment. Punk fired back with repeated elbows to Cena's head. Punk hit a huracanrana from the ropes on Cena. Cole praised Cena for rolling to the corner so that Punk couldn't go for a cover.

Punk hit a high knee in the corner and then followed up with the GTS. However, Cena's momentum carried him through the ropes and down the floor. Punk flashed a great look of frustration and disappointment when Cena went to the floor. Punk went after him and could be seen saying something in Cena's ear before he rolled him back inside the ring.

At 32:30, Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis walked halfway down the aisle. Vince had a look of disgust on his face. Inside the ring, Cena applied the STF. Vince tired to recreate Montreal by calling for the bell. He sent Laurinaitis to ring it, but Cena released the hold and cut off Laurinaitis.

Cena indicated to Vince that he wasn't going to win that way. Meanwhile, Punk recovered, picked up Cena, and hit the GTS. Punk made the cover and scored the 1-2-3. The crowd roared in approval. Cole said that in one hour and 13 minutes, Punk was going to be a free agent and could leave with the WWE Championship.

Vince McMahon went to ringside and grabbed Lawler's headsets. He said stop it and then said, "Get Alberto out here." Del Rio ran out with the briefcase. Punk blasted him with a kick to the head that left him lying in the ring. Punk looked down and Vince and smiled. Punk hopped onto the guardrail and stopped long enough to blow a kiss to Vince.

Punk ran through the crowd with the WWE Championship as the live crowd went ballistic. Vince was left standing on the ring apron with a look of shock while Punk held up the championship belt in the crowd. The camera showed Punk walking through the concourse while Vince remained in the ring in shock to end the show...

Powell's POV: Awesome match and an awesome finish. I guess we will be seeing Punk on Raw after all. Cole was quick to point out that Del Rio never cashed in because the bell didn't ring to start the match. This should create some sensational buzz for Monday's Raw. If this fails to pop a Raw rating, then I'll listen to arguments that the angle didn't connect with the casual fans. Overall, a great pay-per-view with a terrific cliffhanger ending.

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