Well I do review PPVs too and after I enjoyed last year's show so much, I thought I'd offer up my two cents. I felt this PPV got some great build up especially on the CM Punk/Cena angle and there were several different directions that things could have gone in and it was pretty unpredictable. Smackdown's title match didn't offer much excitement with yet another Orton/Christian match although the ladder match itself felt decently built up. Raw just gave us a last ditch effort on Monday with a clusterfuck segment but I was looking forward to that match anyway. The divas got more build up than they usually do as well and the less said about Big Show/Mark Henry the better. Let's get started:
1) Smackdown MITB Ladder Match - Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, Kane, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Sin Cara & Sheamus:
Well half the guys in this match had never even been in a ladder match before and that really showed here. The set up seemed more like a battle royal situation and there was a lot of moments where we were all wondering if anything was going to happen. Sin Cara did fine in his first ladder match and it's a shame he had to be taken out so early, even if he was suspended. I'll admit, I thought he was legit injured. I guess I was rooting for Wade Barrett though nobody in this match really stuck out as a potential main eventer. I suppose I'm happy for Daniel Bryan winning though the ending was just awkward. The work was there but it just paled in comparison and I have to label it the weakest MITB ladder match I've ever seen. 6/10
2) Kelly Kelly* w/Eve vs Brie Bella w/Nikki Bella (Divas' Championship):
Hmm, Kelly seems to make sure she has a gal pal with her whenever she competes at this PPV. This could have been worse but it wasn't much better. The two spots on the outside were nice to watch and Kelly is pretty daring, it shows she's willing to put that extra effort into her matches even if the writers aren't putting any into her feuds. Brie was seriously off tonight but her sister has always been the better worker. She was just slow with all her moves, and even though the work was there I wasn't feeling it. It wasn't a bad match but the ending brought it down. They could have made it more exciting but nope, Kelly just hits the K2 and that's it. Hopefully the Bellas' push is over now. 5/10
3) Mark Henry vs The Big Show:
Well despite the writers' persistent efforts to try and get people to give a crap about this match, I wasn't buying it and I wasn't the least excited for it. Still I wasn't that turned off as the opening parts of the match were impressively quick for two wrestlers so....um vast. There was a bit of a story being told with Henry going after Big Show's knees and I found myself paying attention. He lifts Big Show impressively for the World's Strongest Slam which opened my eyes and thankfully the match was over soon enough. They managed to strike...not gold or silver really, sort of a combo of bronze and silver and hopefully that's the end of it. I guess the ending segment implies that no, this will not be the end of it. Big Show's got guts as there's no way I'd allow Henry anywhere near me with a chair. 5/10
4) Raw MITB Ladder Match - The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Alex Riley, Evan Bourne & R-Truth:
Well despite having almost no build up, this match was the saving grace of the night. I was saying I'd keep watching just for this match and thankfully it was what kept me watching the rest of the show. This was brilliantly done and I couldn't get enough of it. It was just chaos everywhere. Props to Alex Riley who one upped the Smackdown guys by not looking like a lost lamb in there. I never figured him as one for the high spots but he impressed me. My main man Evan was on fire as always and the multi Air Bourne off the ladder was one of the best spots of the match. I cringed when Miz fell. I thought it was a legit injury too but did you hear the crowd when he ran down to the ring again? I feel he's making a few steps towards a face turn and the crowd are following suit. I mean Rey Rey got booed for stopping Miz getting the briefcase. Poor Rey, getting booed out of the building. The moment with the mask was creative and sold Del Rio as a big time heel to me. The ending looked clumsy and chaotic but it worked and although I was pulling for Kofi, I was happy enough that Del Rio won. I could have watched this go on for much longer. 10/10
5 - Randy Orton* vs Christian (World Heavyweight Championship):
Okay I wasn't that hyped up for this match and I kept telling myself that Christian needed to get the title this time or it would all be pointless. The match was fine as it was going along and I was never sold on Christian as a heel but he pulled his weight and delivered. The little thing with the chair was funny and the whole back and forth action kept me interested. I'm glad they took it to the outside and they surpassed the match at Capitol Punishment anyway. The ending I'm in mixed opinions about. Why not just give Christian the title clean? You had no problem jobbing Orton out to Cena when he was a heel so just let Christian pin him clean so his reign will actually mean something. It actually worked in the old days when the wrestlers weren't meant to be superhuman. The beatdown at the end was nice and please let them settle this in some special type of match that will allow Christian to cement himself as the top heel on Smackdown. 7/10
6 - John Cena* vs CM Punk (WWE Championship):
Well I've never been this excited for a Cena match or really a Punk one in a very long time. But I was itching to see this and the crowd were hot for it, which really adds to it. Poor Cena up against the second biggest city of smarks in America, but he actually got some of them on his side which ain't nothing to sneer at. People do harp on at Cena for not making an effort but he brought his A-game here and gave a top quality wrestling match. There was no ridiculous "get beat down for so many minutes then get a magic second wind", it was competitive and back and forth, surpassing Cena's last few WrestleMania matches. Punk did the best he could and he botched a couple of moves but so did Brie and so did Mark Henry, so I'll forgive him. He put on one of the best matches of his career and gave a good show. I didn't even know he could do a Frankensteiner. Of course Vince would get involved at the end but I'm happy for Punk to leave as champion. I guess him and Trish Stratus are the only ones to have done that. A really special match and moment. 8/10
So I felt this PPV was a letdown from the first three matches but it kicked into gear with the Raw MITB match. Raw really benefitted from this as they have so much storylines to work with now, what with Vince retiring, a new champ getting crowned, Miz supposedly turning face and Kelly hopefully getting a new challenger. Smackdown of course will step up in the weeks leading into SummerSlam and hopefully they'll give us something to watch as well. Overall rating: 7/10
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