A2Z Analysiz: WWE Money in the Bank 2015 (Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose)

DVD Reviews

Money in the Bank 2015

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Nationwide Arena – Columbus, OH – Sunday, June 14, 2015

Michael Cole, Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, and JBL are on commentary.

~KICKOFF MATCH~
R-Truth defeats King Barrett at 5:45. So this is what winning the King of the Ring tournament gets for you. Truth gets the early advantage before the unnecessary commercial break, and when we come back the King has taken over. They go back and forth a bit and Truth actually gets the pin with a crucifix. Jeez, who did Barrett piss off? Glad that was on the preshow and not the main show.
Rating: *½

~MATCH #1~
Sheamus defeats Dolph Ziggler, Kane, WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston, Neville, Randy Orton, and Roman Reigns at 20:50 in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match. In past Money in the Bank ladder matches, Sheamus is 0-2, Ziggler is 1-3, Kane is 1-5, Kofi is 0-5, and Orton is 1-2. Neville and Reigns are making their Money in the Bank debuts. Reigns would have to be considered the odds-on favorite here. The action is fast and furious, with all seven guys getting a chance to shine and do what they do well. Orton of course gets to hit a bunch of RKOs, which is always fun. Late in the match with everyone down on the floor, Big E and Xavier Woods come out and try to help Kingston climb the ladder and grab the case. Reigns does not think that’s appropriate and tells them so, with force. It should be noted that the crowd here in Columbus doesn’t hate Roman Reigns. When it looks like he’s about to grab the briefcase the lights go out, and when they come back on Bray Wyatt is in the ring. Wyatt pushes the ladder over and hits Sister Abigail to take Reigns out. Sheamus finds himself as the last man standing and he goes up for the briefcase and Neville quickly joins him. The Celtic Warrior dumps Neville to the mat and brings the case down to get the win. Fun collection of spots and a bit of a surprising winner, but nothing elevating it into the upper echelon or anything.
Rating: ***½

~MATCH #2~
Divas Champion Nikki Bella defeats Paige at 11:18 to retain the title. Nikki has been the Champion since 11.23.14, and this is her tenth defense. This one gets heated pretty quickly and the spend some time brawling outside the ring. Nikki pretty much dominates, keeping Paige grounded with a variety of maneuvers. Eventually Paige makes the big comeback and reverses the Rack Attack into the Ram-Paige but Nikki kicks out! Paige stay sin control though and with Nikki in trouble she tries to pull off some twin magic, but Paige reverses the small package and gets the pin! But wait, the referee figures out it was Brie when she pulls stuffing out of her top. Then for some reason the idiot referee allows Nikki back in the ring to hit Paige with a forearm smash and the Rack Attack to get the pin. How did Brie’s interference not lead to a disqualification? The match was doing okay but that finish was idiotic.
Rating: **¼

~MATCH #3~
Big Show defeats Intercontinental Champion Ryback by DQ at 5:28. Ryback has been the Champion since 5.31.15, and this is his first defense. Miz joins the idiots on commentary. The champion starts off on fire, and even attacks Miz just to be a jerk. That allows Show to gain control back inside the ring. Ryback gets several opportunities to show off how strong he is, but when he goes for the Meat Hook he gets caught and Show hits a Chokeslam! Show then knocks Ryback out of the ring with a WMD, and when they get back in the ring Miz attacks Show to draw the DQ. That was a total TV match with a total TV finish there. No thank you.
Rating: *½

~MATCH #4~
United States Champion John Cena defeats NXT Champion Kevin Owens in a non-title match at 19:15. The crowd is heavily in favor of Owens, and they’re into this one from the beginning. That gives this one a big-match feel. Owens steals Cena’s moves early on, angering the leader of the Cenation. Both men land big moves that the other kicks out of, including a big Attitude Adjustment that Owens powers out of at two! Cena actually argues with the referee on that one, which is rare. When Owens misses a moonsault from the top rope, Cena hits another AA and Owens kicks out again! Cena even busts out a Code Red but Owens kicks out, and then Owens hits a Pop-Up Powerbomb and Cena kicks out! The crowd has been losing their minds throughout this match. Cena hits the springboard Stunner (mostly) and follows up with his third Attitude Adjustment to finally get the pin. What an incredible fight between two opponents seemingly made for each other. Cena needed the win there to set up a third match (which Owens should’ve won), and Owens made him work for it. The crowd was juiced through this entire match and made everything they did feel like a big deal. Just awesome, awesome stuff here.
Rating: ****½

After the match, Cena tries to show Owens respect by shaking his hand and raising his arm for the crowd, but Owens kicks him in the gut and sends Cena to the floor. Owens hits the ring apron powerbomb and leaves Cena laid out.

~MATCH #5~
The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O’Neil) defeat WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) at 5:48 to win the titles. New Day have been the Champions since 4.26.15, and this is their fifth defense. The champs control early on, keeping Young isolated from his partner. Eventually the hot tag is made and O’Neil is a house afire. O’Neil hits Xavier with the Clash of the Titus to get the clean pin and win the titles. Unfortunately for these four, they had a tough act to follow in the Cena/Owens match, and while the PTP got a nice pop for the win, most of the match was pretty dull and heatless.
Rating: **

~MATCH #6~
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defeats Dean Ambrose at 35:40 in a Ladder Match to retain the title. Rollins has been the Champion since 3.29.15, and this is his fourth defense. Both men are amped up for this battle of former Shield members, and they take it to each other both in and out of the ring, using ladders to their advantage. Rollins introduces a chair, and uses it on Ambrose’s leg, which is really smart strategy. He even uses the ring-post Figure-Four Leglock, which is always a cool move, as well as a regular Figure-Four. Ambrose tries hard to fight back but frequently gets cut off by the Champ. It takes some old Nigel McGuinness moves for Ambrose to reclaim the advantage, but he’s having a hard time following up because of his injured knee. The fight spills into the crowd, which Rollins wants nothing to do with. Ambrose builds a ladder bridge between the apron and the announce table, and is able to backdrop Rollins right on top of it! The war wages on and both men are using everything they can to keep the other one down. Rollins hits a Pedigree and gets to the top of the ladder, but Ambrose hooks his leg. They take it back to the floor, where Rollins throws Ambrose face-first into the ladder bridge, and then hits two running powerbombs into the barricade. Rollins pulls out a pile of chairs on top of a ladder and hits another powerbomb onto that. He then buries Ambrose under a pile of chairs and ladder, and goes into the ring to climb for the belt. Ambrose unbelievably (as in, not believable) gets back in the ring and climbs the ladder with Rollins. Both men grab for the title and fall off the ladder together, but Rollins is able to come down with the belt to retain. Really good match, TERRIBLE finish. I love that Rollins did it without Authority help, but the three powerbombs on the floor should’ve been enough to put Ambrose away. Especially given what they’ve done with Ambrose since (very little), there’s no reason not to sacrifice him here. That being said, it was a 35-minute main event between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, so it was still pretty boss.
Rating: ***¾

A2Z Analysiz
The top three matches were very good – great, and out of six that’s a really good percentage that makes this show worth recommending. The other three matches were pretty bad though, and they keep this show from reaching an elite level. Cena v Owens is worth going out of your way to see.

I grew up and now I write for Inside Pulse. Oh, and one time I saw a blimp!