Kester's WWE Money in the Bank Rundown: Paul Heyman turns on CM Punk, John Cena makes Mark Henry tap, Damien Sandow gets the World Heavyweight Championship contract, and more

By Ryan Kester

All Star Money in the Bank Ladder Match

This was, without a doubt, one of the most brutal matches WWE has put on in years. It was shocking seeing what WWE allowed some of their top talent to go through in this day and age. It got a bit convoluted towards the end with Heyman's betrayal taking the majority of the match's focus, but otherwise this was a solid match.

I am alright with Orton winning the match. Whether you enjoy his work or not, he is consistently getting a strong reaction from the live crowds, and his work with Daniel Bryan recently only intensified that reaction. This could easily be used as a means of getting Orton back into a heel role, which is the role his character simply fits the best.

While I predicted and would have enjoyed a Daniel Bryan cash in, he doesn’t need the Money in the Bank briefcase at this moment. He also doesn't need to be used to elevate other talent when he's getting the type of reaction he is, so I hope WWE has something different in mind than trying to make Curtis Axel with a Daniel Bryan feud. That would be huge for Axel, but the midcard is the last place the Bryan act needs to be at this moment.

John Cena vs. Mark Henry

The majority of this match was solid. Mark Henry did amazing work and the two men had a handful of solid near falls. It baffles me that WWE chose to have Cena go over via submission, but otherwise the match was entertaining.

One has to wonder where Henry goes after this. He has the ability to come out and just destroy someone on Raw to get his heat back, but there is only so many times WWE can go back to that well before it stops working.

Rising Stars Money in the Bank Ladder Match

While I expected this Money in the Bank match would lead to a proper split between Rhodes and Sandow, I did not expect one of them going over to be the way to do it. The match itself was very well paced, featured plenty of innovative spots, and told a logical story. I went into this match without any real expectations, and I left it surprised and impressed.

I'm intrigued by Rhodes' apparent face turn during the finish. Rhodes looked like an extremely sympathetic figure from overcoming every other opponent only to be knocked out by his tag partner. The announcers in particular deserve a lot of credit in selling that moment, and Sandow looked great as the tactical, sadistic heel.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler

This was another good outing from these two. I realize many are getting tired of seeing these two wrestle, but with the swapping of roles and Del Rio's more aggressive style, it feels fresh again. The finish of the match didn't bother me, mostly because AJ played her role well. It came off as if she entered the ring because she thought Del Rio was about to injure Ziggler rather than she was actively attempting to screw Ziggler out of the match.

I think the distinction is important because this opens up the opportunity for Ziggler to move on from AJ on his own accord and begin working on establishing a new babyface character. The follow up is going to have to be solid, but what happened in this match worked for me.

Overall Show

The top matches on this show delivered and were entertaining, but far too much of the card felt like filler or lacked a buildup that drew the crowd into the action. For me, it still delivered enough to be a good show, but this was easily a step back from the solid top-to-bottom effort from Payback.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.