What's the deal with the Money in the Bank ladder matches?

[NegativeFeedback]

What's up with the MitB ladder matches? Seriously? Here are my main gripes:

1. I don't like that they dropped the number to 7 guys. I liked the 8-man dynamic, and there are plenty of guys who coule have been added.

2. Sheamus and Christian are horribly misplaced. They haven't been in the WWE title picture for years, they should be in the World title ladder match.

3. Ryback and Jericho's random match makes no sense. Ryback has been hunting the WWE title and Jericho said he wanted a shot. They should have been in the match. It would have added some star value.

4. Why is the WWE title match all faces and the World title match all heels? That boggles my mind. I bet the crowd will be dead for the World title one.

4B. It makes no sense for Teddy Long to award all the heels with a shot at MitB.

5. Evan Bourne should have been placed in one. What better way to reintroduce him than adding him to the World title match? It would also give the crowd someone to cheer for!

6. Having all former champions in the Raw ladder match kinda pisses me off. Money in the Bank used to be about guys who have yet to reach the brass ring needing to fight it out to finally get their shot. As of last year, the WWE title MitB match has been "former champions" only, which is kinda ridiculous. It takes all the fun out of hoping for a competitor to win. Why would I care if Punk or Bryan win? These guys are going to get title shots regardless. See what I mean?

They could have split it like this:
CM Punk vs. Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane vs.
Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow vs. Ryback vs. Dean Ambrose

Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho vs. Christian vs. Rob Van Dam
Antonio Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger vs. Fandango vs. Wade Barrett

 

[The Butcher]

Seem like nitpicks to me, FB. I like both matches.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Oh yeah they're all definitely nitpicks. Well all except except 6. That one really bugs me. It doesn't really have the special feel as the other MitB matches where you were rooting for guys like Edge, Christian, Hardy, Punk, RVD and McIntyre to finally grab the brass ring.

Everyone here already had the brass ring, multiple times. Why would I care if Sheamus wins? Or Punk? It's not like they need the briefcase for a title shot.

 

[Vincent Michaels]

Oh yeah they're all definitely nitpicks. Well all except except 6. That one really bugs me. It doesn't really have the special feel as the other MitB matches where you were rooting for guys like Edge, Christian, Hardy, Punk, RVD and McIntyre to finally grab the brass ring.

Everyone here already had the brass ring, multiple times. Why would I care if Sheamus wins? Or Punk? It's not like they need the briefcase for a title shot.

People actually rooted for him?

 

[The Butcher]

Oh yeah they're all definitely nitpicks. Well all except except 6. That one really bugs me. It doesn't really have the special feel as the other MitB matches where you were rooting for guys like Edge, Christian, Hardy, Punk, RVD and McIntyre to finally grab the brass ring.

Everyone here already had the brass ring, multiple times. Why would I care if Sheamus wins? Or Punk? It's not like they need the briefcase for a title shot.

Yeah, when you put it that way it is kind of a damper. Then again when you go back and look at the competitors from prior MITB matches (especially before it became a two briefcase affair) they were guys who were due for their shot to grab the brass ring. That is, there aren't as many midcarders who I personally think are deserving of getting the MITB contract, and fewer who I think would be deserving of the subsequent title reign.

 

[ABMorales787]

Seems someone enjoys overkill.

 

[Bone For Tuna]

If it were me, I would have made it Bryan vs. Orton vs. Kane vs. all 3 members of the Shield.

That would have ruled.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

 

[Uncle Sam]

If it were me, I would have made it Bryan vs. Orton vs. Kane vs. all 3 members of the Shield.

Hmm. I actually quite like this idea.

 

[Dr. Mantis Toboggan, M.D.]

i'm not allowing you to say "brass ring" anymore. you've overused it guy.

 

[SD619]

I bet the crowd will be dead for the World title one.

The PPV is in Philadelphia. There are more chances of the crowd chanting for some inactive wrestler than of the crowd being dead.

5. Evan Bourne should have been placed in one. What better way to reintroduce him than adding him to the World title match? It would also give the crowd someone to cheer for!

I don't think that he is completely healthy yet.

 

[King Patrick Star]

If it were up to me, I would have gone with just having one Money In The Bank ladder match. My participants are Rob Van Dam vs. CM Punk vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kane vs. The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler. I’d also add Edge if he wasn’t retired, Mr. Kennedy if he wasn’t currently TNA’s “@$$hole”, Alberto Del Rio if he wasn’t currently World Champion, and / or John Cena if he wasn’t currently WWE Champion.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

What's up with the MitB ladder matches? Seriously? Here are my main gripes:

1. I don't like that they dropped the number to 7 guys. I liked the 8-man dynamic, and there are plenty of guys who coule have been added.

Are you seriously capable of keeping up with that many guys whether it is seven or eight? Are there really dynamics to each number?

2. Sheamus and Christian are horribly misplaced. They haven't been in the WWE title picture for years, they should be in the World title ladder match.

So you want the competitors to have recent history with the belt they are chasing. That makes sense. I disagree but understand your point.

3. Ryback and Jericho's random match makes no sense. Ryback has been hunting the WWE title and Jericho said he wanted a shot. They should have been in the match. It would have added some star value.

Again fair enough. Ryback seems qualified for the match and Jericho is certainly as qualified as most of the guys entered. Personally I'd rather get this feud while Jericho is still around than to never have it.

4. Why is the WWE title match all faces and the World title match all heels? That boggles my mind. I bet the crowd will be dead for the World title one.

When did faces and heels make a difference in one of these matches? Guy are going all out for themselves. Isn't that what we want? MiTB doesn't have to be about good against evil. Has it ever settled a feud? The match is about spots and rising to the top.

4B. It makes no sense for Teddy Long to award all the heels with a shot at MitB.

It makes perfect sense. This is the first non-tag-team match Teddy has ever booked. He doesn't know how to do it.

5. Evan Bourne should have been placed in one. What better way to reintroduce him than adding him to the World title match? It would also give the crowd someone to cheer for!

You just complained about Sheamus and Christian no belonging in the WWE Championship match but now you're putting in a guy that has never won anything significant in his life and has been gone for 18 years.

6. Having all former champions in the Raw ladder match kinda pisses me off. Money in the Bank used to be about guys who have yet to reach the brass ring needing to fight it out to finally get their shot. As of last year, the WWE title MitB match has been "former champions" only, which is kinda ridiculous. It takes all the fun out of hoping for a competitor to win. Why would I care if Punk or Bryan win? These guys are going to get title shots regardless. See what I mean?

When you have two world titles and two MiTB matches each year you're going to have a lot of champions. It's the exponential effect of these types of changes.

Smart and smark fans know Bryan and Punk will get title shots again but WWE doesn't book for those fans. Regardless, fans are fans - they don't want to wait for a guy to get their shot. They want their guy to get it now.

They could have split it like this:
CM Punk vs. Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane vs.
Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow vs. Ryback vs. Dean Ambrose

Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho vs. Christian vs. Rob Van Dam
Antonio Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger vs. Fandango vs. Wade Barrett

But where is Evan Bourne dammit?

When was Orton, Rhodes, Sandow, or Ambrose last in the WWE Championship picture? When was Van Dam, Cesaro, Fandango, or Barrett in the World Championship picture?

This line up is barely any different in the grand scheme of things. The match concept is a draw, the competitors are secondary. I think you would still have some of the same complaints with that line up.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Are you seriously capable of keeping up with that many guys whether it is seven or eight? Are there really dynamics to each number?

I think there's a difference. I like it when there are four pairs fighting it out simultaneously. That type of dynamic can't happen with 7 guys. It's very nit-picky, but my point was that I don't understand why WWE wanted to randomly decrease the amount.

So you want the competitors to have recent history with the belt they are chasing. That makes sense. I disagree but understand your point.

I just want some context into how the matches are made. Sheamus wants a title shot and deserves one? That's great, but a WWE title shot? It's just very random.

When did faces and heels make a difference in one of these matches? Guy are going all out for themselves. Isn't that what we want? MiTB doesn't have to be about good against evil. Has it ever settled a feud? The match is about spots and rising to the top.

From a booking standpoint, it's better to have at least ONE face and ONE heel. I'm not saying the numbers have to be even, but it's good for the casual fans to actually LIKE someone in a match, or to actually HATE one in the other.

It makes perfect sense. This is the first non-tag-team match Teddy has ever booked. He doesn't know how to do it.

You just complained about Sheamus and Christian no belonging in the WWE Championship match but now you're putting in a guy that has never won anything significant in his life and has been gone for 18 years.

Evan Bourne has always been booked as a threat for the MitB match. It's the only time of the year when he has been relevant. Remember that mini-feud with Orton? Younger casual fans always view the high-flying underdog as a good bet to win, while pretty much all fans enjoy seeing his insane spots.

When you have two world titles and two MiTB matches each year you're going to have a lot of champions. It's the exponential effect of these types of changes.

That's true, but if it was up to me, I'd make it part of the gimmick that no one who has held the title is allowed to compete for its briefcase. It adds an extra aura of "Who is going to Breakthrough?"

Smart and smark fans know Bryan and Punk will get title shots again but WWE doesn't book for those fans. Regardless, fans are fans - they don't want to wait for a guy to get their shot. They want their guy to get it now.

I think most fans will know that guys like Punk and Sheamus don't need to win MitB to get a title shot. This is even a more valid point when Cena won the MitB last year, lost his shot, and then kept getting title shots all year.

But where is Evan Bourne dammit?
When was Orton, Rhodes, Sandow, or Ambrose last in the WWE Championship picture? When was Van Dam, Cesaro, Fandango, or Barrett in the World Championship picture?

Ha, well, I meant to shuffle the 16 guys WWE has currently booked for the PPV. If I were to completely fantasy book the matches, 60% of the competitors would probably be different.

This line up is barely any different in the grand scheme of things. The match concept is a draw, the competitors are secondary. I think you would still have some of the same complaints with that line up.

If I was going to fantasy book completely, I'd probably only do 1 MitB match for a chance to cash in at either the WWE or World championships. If they want a second one, you can have a MitB for a shot at either the US or IC titles. Like that, you can at least use the midcard ladder match to build a new guy. (I'd have one of Shield win the main event briefcase, and either Wyatt or Sandow win the midcard one).

 

[ABMorales787]

I really dug the 4 Way dynamic they were doing last year. Then they added The Miz for no reason other than because he got rid of his stupid haircut.

 

[Alastor]

Isn't money in the bank just a ladder match with tons and tons of wrestlers?