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The John Report: WWE Money In The Bank 2014 Preview

Posted By: John Canton on Jun 28, 2014

The John Report: WWE Money In The Bank 2014 Preview

This Sunday night in Boston it's WWE Money in the Bank. It's the second PPV in a row without somebody defending the WWE Title, but at the end of the night we are guaranteed to see a new WWE Champion.

This is a two match show. It's all about finding out who the next WWE Champion is going to be. Eight guys in one match is interesting and it should be entertaining. The contract ladder match is appealing too, but it just doesn't seem as important as other years. They could have done a better job of building it up.

There's no announced Kickoff Match to talk about since it's just going to be a Daniel Bryan interview. I've missed him since he's been gone. Hopefully he can return for SummerSlam or before that. We still have no idea when his actual return will be.

 

Curtis Axel & Ryback vs. Goldust & Stardust

Does Goldust & Stardust count as a new team? In a way they are. In other ways they are not. With the way that WWE is booking them they are likely considering them as a new team, so with that in mind they're probably going to be victorious in this match. There's nothing wrong with the Rybaxel team. They're solid. It's just a matter of WWE wanting to put over the Dust Brothers in this match.

Winners: Goldust & Stardust

 

Summer Rae vs. Layla (Special Referee: Fandango)

Hopefully this is the end of this feud because it hasn't been very good. Why should I care about who Fandango dances with and makes out with? The guy has been booked like such a loser for about a year now. Most of his matches for the last few months have been horrible to watch two minute specials that don't help anybody involved. What WWE should concentrate on is making Summer Rae a heel Divas Title contender because she would be good in that role. She's not that likable. Make her the heel. My feeling is Summer flirts with Fandango a lot, he thinks she's really into him and then she finds a way to win. Then after the match she slaps him to end it. I'll take Summer since she's younger, newer and would benefit more from a win.

Winner: Summer Rae

 

Rusev vs. Big E

It's very predictable. I'll just paste in what I wrote in my review of their match last month. Here's that paragraph.

Big E hit a shoulder tackle while Rusev was on the apron and they went crashing to the floor. Big E has been doing that move in nearly every match. It usually generates a big reaction. Crowd loved it. Rusev hit a hard kick to the face that knocked Big E down. Lana told Rusev to crush, so that's what he did as he applied The Accolade and Big E tapped out. The match went four minutes.

That was it. This match should be something similar. It might be even shorter.

Winner: Rusev

 

WWE Divas Championship: Paige (c) vs. Naomi

It's a shame that Paige still hasn't had a good feud for the Divas Title. When Alicia Fox was going after her at least she had a strong character. We knew she wasn't going to win, but at least WWE made an effort to make her stand out at a bit. For this PPV they could have just built up Paige vs. Naomi as babyfaces in a 7-10 minute match and that would have been very good. Instead, they'll probably focus on Cameron too much, which only annoys me.

What they'll probably do is have Cameron accidentally cost her friend Naomi, which would lead to them arguing after the match and Cameron turning heel to do the Funkadactyls split. Naomi will be better on her own. Cameron brings her down. Paige wins in about five minutes.

Winner: Paige

 

WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan

While some may think it's time for a title change, I don't really see it happening. My thinking is that the Usos are being built up as the main team in the tag division, which is the right move. For them to really be established as the team to beat they need a significant title reign. That means longer than three months. If the Usos get a reign that lasts six months or so that will be really beneficial to them and to the value of the titles.

I don't really mention the "get beat up or lose on TV, win on PPV" theory as much because WWE has been going against it of late. However, in this case we saw Harper & Rowan destroy the Usos on Raw, which really makes me think the champs are keeping the gold. A team like Harper & Rowan would be fun as tag champs because they're really awkward in a good way. I just don't think it's the right time to get titles off the champs. Hopefully The Ascension gets called up sooner rather than later because they could definitely be the next tag champs although I'd prefer if that's months down the line. Give this match 10 to 15 minutes. It should be very good.

Winners: The Usos

 

Money In The Bank Contract Ladder Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Jack Swagger vs. Bad News Barrett

My original pick in this match was going to be Bad News Barrett because I think WWE has really struck gold with his gimmick and he's been really solid in the ring of late too. However, due to the shoulder injury suffered on Smackdown we have no idea if he'll be ready on Sunday. We probably won't hear anything from WWE about it because they like to keep things like that a secret. If he does miss the match they might replace him or they might just go with the six guys because that's enough. It wouldn't shock me if Christian was the replacement just because he's the kind of veteran that can really make others look great in a match like this.

The story that makes the most sense to me is a win for Dean Ambrose. Remember that it was Seth Rollins who asked Triple H to put him in the match. It's going to be a decision that will haunt Rollins. Ambrose has something going with his "loose cannon" Brian Pillman like gimmick where he's become this very unpredictable guy that fans are really starting to get behind. Imagine him with the Money in the Bank briefcase in his possession? It would be awesome to see him carrying it around. A win for Rollins seems too obvious. That's why Ambrose winning makes more sense. It's just how WWE likes to book things.

I think outside of Rollins or Ambrose, the only one with a chance is Ziggler. That's only if WWE starts to believe in him again, which they should. Guys like Kingston, RVD and Swagger have been booked so poorly for months that it is silly that they can win a title match contract like this. Did WWE plan this long term at all? It doesn't seem like it. If they did, maybe those guys would have actually won matches to warrant a spot here.

Since Rollins, Ziggler and Ambrose are among my current favorites in WWE I expect it to be a really entertaining match. Rollins will probably do something crazy to match Kingston. Ziggler will probably overdo it, but that's why we respect the guy so much. They'll get 15-20 minutes and it will be one of the two or three best matches of the night. My pick is Ambrose although it really is a tough one to call.

Winner: Dean Ambrose

 

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match: Kane vs. Sheamus vs. Alberto del Rio vs. Cesaro vs. Roman Reigns vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt

It's a tough match to predict with eight performers involved and Brock Lesnar likely looming as a SummerSlam challenger in less than two months. Who makes the most sense to win the WWE Title leading to an eventual match with him? My answer is John Cena. I can hear you booing as you read this, but that's what I feel. I'm not a Cena hater at all although I understand why some people are too. The reason for Cena winning is that it's a good business decision by WWE at a time when the company has had a rough time of late from the financial side of things. Who is the biggest draw, top merchandise seller and unquestioned real face of WWE? Cena. That's why he should win.

Earlier this week there was a SummerSlam poster that got leaked out featuring Cena and Lesnar. It was on Amazon.com for a few days before it got replaced by a generic SummerSlam logo with nobody on the graphic. That same Cena/Lesnar graphic was sent to subscribers of a WWE mailing list too. There have been reports that WWE is upset that it got released, but who knows if they are really upset? The poster is legit. It got people talking. If they are upset then maybe they'll do something where somebody else wins this match, then Cena gets the gold at Battleground to set up the SummerSlam battle with Lesnar, but that really would hurt the title more than anything. If they want to have Cena carry the gold then have him win it here. It's the KISS theory: keep it simple, stupid.

While guys like Roman Reigns, Cesaro and Bray Wyatt are all stars on the rise, it doesn't seem like the right time for any of them.

Reigns should get screwed out of the win. Just as he's about to win, somebody will come out to cost him. Maybe have Triple H come down to prevent him from winning as a way to set up a SummerSlam match between them or some other match in the near future. The right time for Reigns will be when he wins the 2015 Royal Rumble and then the WWE Title at WrestleMania 31. Doing it during an average PPV in June just doesn't feel right. He'll continue to be built strong, but they can keep him busy feuding with Orton, Triple H and Rollins for the rest of the year if they play it smart.

If Cesaro was in the contract ladder match for the briefcase he would be the best winner for that. In this match he just feels like another guy that can do some impressive spots, but it's unlikely that he'll leave as champ. He'll need to be built up more. Maybe later in the year he can win the gold. I expect him to be the most impressive guy in the match after Reigns, who will be booked strong like usual.

A win for Wyatt would be cool although it also seems unlikely. He's been doing promos about how being the champion would give him more power, but after losing the Cena feud he's lost some steam.

They could go with Randy Orton. It would be a step back considering how boring his last title run was last year and into this year. It just kept on dragging. Orton can stay relevant without being the champ again. Just keep the title off him.

Even though Kane lost a stretcher match to qualify for Money in the Bank he's in this match. It probably upsets some people, but so what? That's The Authority being heels. He's in his mid-40s. He shouldn't win. When Daniel Bryan comes back they can feud non-title, Bryan can beat him again and go after the champ.

Then there's Sheamus and Del Rio, both of whom are solid veterans that aren't going to win. Del Rio has become just another midcarder that was barely featured for a couple of months, yet they put him in this match based on his past. Sheamus is doing fine as US Champ. A heel turn would be nice for him, but I don't think it's going to involve winning the WWE Title.

As for the actual match, I don't really expect crazy stuff to happen aside from some superhuman power spots by Cesaro because he's a freak like that. It's not a match filled with high flyers or guys that will take a lot of risks because they're not going to do anything stupid to risk injury. This will be the longest match on the show that will go between 20-25 minutes. It should be very good. The booking of this match really intrigues me.

When it comes to a winner it's the obvious choice, but it's also the one that makes the most sense to me. Plus, it's not a bad idea to have hometown hero John Cena winning it in Boston either even if he does get booed there too.

Winner: John Cena

 

Final Thoughts

It's not a strong show from top to bottom although as a fan of Money in the Bank ladder matches I'm glad they are doing two of them. Those matches are always above average, so that will help the quality of the show. The problem is that the other matches really don't come off as special. The tag title match will probably be the third best on the card, but we've seen it before. Everything else is just average. It's basically a two match show.

I'll be writing about Money in the Bank live on Sunday at 8pmET on TJRWrestling.com. There will be a full recap of everything that happened with the results and analysis of everything on the show. I'll post it at other sites on Monday. I'm Greek (Canton is a pen name), so I could be in a really bad mood or good mood depending on Greece's World Cup match with Costa Rica a few hours before this.

John Canton - mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport

Personal Facebook and TJRWrestling.com on Facebook


Tags: #thejohnreport #wwe #mitb

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