Money in the Bank: Better for starting a push, or taking a push to the next level?

[Thriller Ant]

So, every wrestling fan in the world now knows that Jack Swagger won Money in the Bank last night, to the shock of many. Most of us expected Kofi Kingston, Drew McIntyre, or Christian, three men in the middle of or just coming off of major pushes, to pull down the briefcase and win. Instead, we got Swagger, a man who lost to Santino in some kind of contest that I can't remember prior to the Rumble, as Mr. Money in the Bank seemingly out of nowhere.

My question to you goes like this: What works better for you? Giving a guy MitB to start a push, like what seems to be happening now with Swagger, or using the briefcase to take someone in the middle of a push to the next level, like what would have happened with the 3 guys I mentioned earlier?

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Definitely furthering a push. When i read that Swagger won while on WZ at work today, I said 'WTF?' loud enough for customers to hear, but the look on my face must have justified it.

Jack Swagger. The All American American (impressive as that is, it still sounds stupid when they say it to hype the guy). He saunters down to the ring, he's got cockiness oozing from him, he stops, points out to the crowd and then to the ground and..... does 2 push ups...............

He gets up, gets in the ring, beats his chest with a stupid smile on his face, gets on the mic, and stffffuffering stfffffffuckatash, he starts stffffffflobering all over the mic, and wrestles like a poor man's Kurt Angle.

My point is, is that based on those facts, which sarcastically put as they were, (yet are undeniably true), it's going to be difficult for the guy to get over.

They make him ECW champ. Has a great run with that. Only started losing when veterans started cheating, and then what happens? I'll tell you what happened. The same fuckin' thing that happened to MVP. The same fuckin' thing that happened to Mr Kennedy. He got traded to Raw and they're doing fuck all with him. He has one match with a ME'er, that was actually really entertaining, much like Kennedy's fued with HBK, and then sweet fuck all. He's now doing run ins where he's attacking that very same guy he was having that awesome match with 6 months ago, he hits one of his signature moves 3 times in succession, and the victim acts like that was a mere inconvenience.

And as ThrilledHer pointed out this is a guy who lost 3 straight over-the-top rope challenges to Santino Marella, the 21st century equivalent of Al Snow(although to Al's credit, he did win a lot more than Santino). Over-the-top-rope challenges. That's not even an actual match is it? It's just 'throw the guy out'. A 2x All American can't throw an Italian jobber out of the ring once in 3 opportunities? (Actually, they weren't all against Santino, he did get someone else to do it for him at least once). And 3 months from now they expect us, the audience, to buy Swagger as a credible champion?

Anybody remember the 3 or 4 months between Punk winning MiTB the 2nd time and him actually cashing it in? As i recall, in his PPV matches he jobbed to Kane and Umaga each and then beat Umaga once and then cashed in. How is that any kind of way to push the guy you're going to give the belt to? Hell i don't even remember what Punk was doing before winning MiTB the 2nd time.

Face it folks, Matt Hardy is never going to wear the World title. Just accept it. Drew McIntyre? I'm no fan, but thank god they didn't give it to him because they're allready all over the place with force feeding Sheamus to us, without going ahead and fucking up Drew's 3rd run on the main roster right away.

After all that ranting i should summarise what i'm trying to get across. MiTB is a shortcut that the creative team use to build someone up from nothing. Instead of using it to add flavour to a push, like the Rumble does or the KOTR used to, they just tell someone to 'carry on as normal, but carry this shiny shiny briefcase around every night, and don't ever leave the PPVs before the end, because Vince might decide your title reign starts tonight.' The problem is, after MiTB, people don't turn up to PPVs to see the MiTB winner wrestle. They turn up to see if one of the World Title matches ends with neither of the advertised guys leaving as the champion. It's like putting a big red flashing light on a swerve and saying 'it's on its way!!!!!!'

I beg WWE, do something different this year. Have Swagger lose but stay in the spotlight, because people will probably be more interested in him for losing and coming back, than they will be if he wins and beats a couple of the weaker ME'ers like Kane and a DQ victory over Cena, and then just jobs to HHH and goes back to getting thrown out of the ring by Santino.

 

[The Con Volt]

He gets up, gets in the ring, beats his chest with a stupid smile on his face, gets on the mic, and stffffuffering stfffffffuckatash, he starts stffffffflobering all over the mic, and wrestles like a poor man's Kurt Angle.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! Dude I almost creamed myself there. Look I was surprised as anyone by that outcome last night, but unlike others on here, about 5 seconds later I was like, "Ok. I can buy it." I really hope he uses that case to his best advantage. Not "use it and lose it." Like everyone one here is hoping happens. THEY'RE NOT GONNA SPEND MONTHS ON THIS MATCH WITH HUGE BUILD-UP JUST TO HAVE THE WINNER LOSE HIS CASH IN. Get that through your thick fucking skulls guys. Jack Swagger by this time next year will have been a world champion. Get used to it. Cuz he's an all american american american AMERICAN....american... Sorry, is that too many american's?

Back to the main point. It can work either way for me. It made sense when both Edge and Punk got it the second time having already been world champs, as well as for RVD when he hadn't been. And it WILL work for Swagger.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I really hope he uses that case to his best advantage. Not "use it and lose it." Like everyone one here is hoping happens. THEY'RE NOT GONNA SPEND MONTHS ON THIS MATCH WITH HUGE BUILD-UP JUST TO HAVE THE WINNER LOSE HIS CASH IN. Get that through your thick fucking skulls guys. Jack Swagger by this time next year will have been a world champion. Get used to it.

I've no problem seeing Swagger as the champ. But if 2010 is anything like 2009, then Jack Swagger is going to spend a lot matches looking up at the ceiling while the ref is slapping the mat 1-2-3, and then one night he'll be walking out the champion and in between his 2 press ups along the aisleway, he'll think to himself 'Why doesn't anyone seem to care?'

I'm not saying i want him to lose and then never get a shot again for months. I'm saying i'd be more shocked that he lost and would want to see him get another proper match where he wins the title, then see perhaps Batista and Cena have an amazing Last Man Standing match and then Swagger comes out afterward and does a gut wrench powerbomb, and those preceeding 40 minutes where an actual match took place for the title, are already irrelevant.

It made sense when both Edge and Punk got it the second time having already been world champs, as well as for RVD when he hadn't been. And it WILL work for Swagger.

Come on dude, Edge got it the 2nd time because the guy with the briefcase and one of the guys with a World title went on the injured list in the same week, pure and simple.

Punk's 2nd win didn't make sense either. Nobody should win it twice. Punk winning a 2nd time just told us that the creative team realised what a fuck up his first title reign was, so they thought they'd try again. And it was still shit. His heel turn, was amazing. His stuff since has also been amazing. The push immediately after his MiTB cash in, was atrocious. He struggled to keep the title from Jeff Hardy, a man who spent 2007-2009 getting pissed on repeatedly by the real ME'ers, and then people were actually shocked that he lost to the Undertaker, and i'm sat there thinking 'after everything that's happened, why would you even consider the idea of him having a chance against Taker?'

 

[Bobbywoodhogan]

Well with the MITB PPV coming up I bet hes gonna cash it in very soon infact I even think he may challenge Cena to a match at Extreme Rules. I certainly don't think Swagger will win the title but I reckon it will be a test to see if he can make it with the big boys. I think he should show up in a suit on Raw and be all cocky about winning MITB and challenge Cena to a match at Extreme Rules.

As for the MITB PPV they should just bring back King of the Ring with the stipulation that the winner gets a title shot at SummerSlam.

 

[Guilty]

IMO the MITB winner HAS to come out after a match and get the easy win.

Why wouldnt EVERY wrestler do this? Why waste your breifcase and you SHOT at the title in a regular match? Makes more sense to let 2 guys battle it out and when one wins and can barely stand, Mr. MITB cashes it in for the easy win.


Swagger should do this. Batista gets a rematch clause at Extreme rules. Plummels Cena relentlessly BUT...Cena gets the win. Cena can barely stand before we hear 'Check 1, 2" and Swagger is the new Champ.

 

[tmoney4488]

to me swagger winning was a big shock...i was hoping for christian to win bc he deserves a world title run for all the crap he has put up with in his career in wwe...swagger winning will be a change in the main event scene yes, i see him going to smackdown n winning the world title i dont see him being the champ on raw.

 

[killswitch3:16]

Im surprised Swagger wone but lets look at the the young stars, hes the only one who looks like a major powerhouse in the near future. He has a Cena kind of body, all the new major young stars ( mIz, Morrison, Kofi, Legacy,) have a crappy skinny ass body. the MITB should be the start if a push because RR is taking the push to the next level. I believe they will use swagger properly becuase he is a good wrestler and his finsher is nice. He just needs to lose that friggin lisp. We cant consider wat swagger did before Mania beucase the new year reallly stsrts after mania for the E

 

[Gallops]

I think the MITB is actually better for starting a push, because the MITB winner has a year to cash in. That's a year the creative team has to build the MITB winner as a credible champion.

If you think Swagger is cashing in soon, don't count on it. I see him cashing it in in September at the earliest. I think they'll have him fued with a few big names, and get him over. I could see him fueding with Triple H and Triple H putting him over. I could see him showing up on Smackdown and taking out Mysterio, this way they give you the "which champion will he cash in on" deal.

I think Swagger would be a solid World Heavyweight Champion right now. Fued with Edge, Mysterio, even Jericho and Punk.

 

[Warrior]

Taking a push to the next level without a doubt.I don't believe starting a push with money in the bank would work.It would be like having an instant sheamus.Someone that no one care about (Jack Swagger) wins the title but unlike sheamus we don't even no when the match wil be so we can get ready for it and we have zero indication of a push.If you give the case to a superstar being push or someone already very Skilled and popular It like giving the WWE a reason to give them the title.Even if Jack loss,a push would be hard to pull off.If Christian,Kofi,or even Matt Hardy or Kane would be better because they all have proven they could do it IMO.

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

I really didn't mind seeing Jack Swagger win the Money in the Bank. Even though I assumed the winner would be Christian or maybe M.V.P. (same predictions as last year). However, I would say that Swagger's MitB win was actually starting a push. It sure seemed like it after he lost to Santino, but you think about it, he was actually starting to look more like himself afterwards and the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania. Had it been Evan Bourne... that would be STARTING A PUSH. Shelton Benjamin... STARTING A PUSH. Jack Swagger? I don't look at it that way.

Even though we didn't expect to see Jack Swagger win the match at Wrestlemania, it was atleast "believable". We know that Jack Swagger can take advantage of a push. When he won the ECW Championship, four months after his debut, many of us, including me, didn't think he was ready. While, he definitely wasn't the best ECW Champion we've seen, he sure held his own as the champ. Since winning the title, he remained in the ECW Title scene for the remainder of his time on ECW, which was 5 months.

He's been in the WWE for about a year and a half, he's only 27, 28 years old. He already a former ECW Champion and the current Mr. Money in the Bank. He's not a stranger to pushes, he thrives on them. This early in his career, he's looked at as an underdog, and when he wins... he proves his naysayers wrong.

Now, to answer your question, I think the Money in the Bank is better suited to start a push. I say that because if you are in the middle of a push, you looked at in the MitB match and the favorite to win. If you're not in the middle of a push, people may think you're only in the match for "star power" or "spots". When you win, you surprise the fans. It's good to surprise the WWE Universe and throw some curveballs once in a while.