The Money in the Bank Storylines
Daniel Bryan defeated Sheamus to kick off the last show before WWE Money in the Bank. Bryan is completely over and the crowd loves him, no matter where he is at. The Baltimore crowd was into this match from the beginning to the end and how couldn't anyone be? Sheamus and Bryan put on a five star match in the ring, with Bryan getting the win by reversing the Texas Cloverleaf into a rollup. This match had everything, including a suicide dive to the outside, multiple 2 counts, Sheamus' White Noise and Battering Ram from the top rope, and even Bryan locking in his submission hold. THIS should have been the opening match for Wrestlemania 28, not that nonsense they gave us. Sheamus is very underrated in the ring. His instincts and timing are very similar to Triple H, who I feel is the best ever in that case. I love WWE not being afraid of giving Sheamus the clean loss.
Grade: A
The Shield defeated Tons of Funk in a match that showed the faces garnering most of the offense. Brodus and Tensai really worked down Rollins, who is much more polished in the ring. I really liked Tensai's flop to the corner, but you knew that it was not going to be enough. Rollins flew to the outside, while Reigns hit a spear for the win. Where were The Uso's? Again, WWE knows they are not good and worthy of this match on Sunday. They are the ONLY option WWE had.
Grade: C
Chris Jericho defeated Curtis Axel with The Miz on commentary. Jericho and Axel put on a slower, but more intelligent match. Jericho faces Ryback on Sunday, but Ryback does not appear. Axel faces Miz on Sunday and that makes sense for Miz to be on commentary. I feel like the feud is more Jericho/Miz/Axel now with no vision of Ryback during this time. The match was pretty good, too. Axel and Jericho went to the outside, hit a few big (but cautious) spots, and had Jericho get the win thanks to a distraction.
Grade: B
Kane defeated Christian in a match that the crowd checked out of. I like Christian, but he does not "awe" or "wow" the crowd every single week. I feel like we have seen every single Christian match before. I am not knocking the guy, because he is consistently good, but I need more personality and drive from him while in the ring. Kane wins with a chokeslam. After the match is the real story….
Wyatt Family Debuts with a creepy entrance, lighting, and feel. Being in the crowd was a great feeling because you really were engulfed with the group and anxious to see what would happen. They take out Kane and Bray kneels over his body. I loved it because it did not give us TOO MUCH. Bray and his partners need to be built up slowly. The entrance was great and they targeted a big name. It was a win/win situation. I cannot wait to see what happens next.
Grade: A-
