How I Would Book It- Money in the Bank

The WWE Money in the Bank Pay-Per-View is this Sunday in my hometown of Chicago. Here’s how I would book Money in the Bank and I have included my predictions. I will also predict how the Chicago crowd will react to some of the WWE Superstars.

RAW Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, Alex Riley, Evan Bourne, Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, R-Truth, and Jack Swagger

I am confident that all eight participants are capable of making this a great ladder match. This is Rey Mysterio’s first MITB match so I’m looking forward to seeing how he does. I’m sure the crowd will love everything Evan Bourne, Rey Mysterio, and Kofi Kingston does. The crowd reaction for R-Truth should be interesting because I don’t think R-Truth has ever appeared in Chicago during a WWE event.

How I Would Book It: If the John Cena vs. CM Punk match wasn’t on the card. I would have Kofi Kingston win. I’m interested to see how Kofi would do if he was given a huge push and good things usually happen when mid-card superstars win the MITB match. However, with the CM Punk vs. John Cena match taking place later that night, it makes sense to have Alberto Del Rio win.

Prediction: I think Alberto Del Rio will win.

SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Kane, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, and Heath Slater

I’m less excited about this match than the RAW ladder match because I’m worried about how Sheamus, Kane, Wade Barrett, and Heath Slater will look in a ladder match. The other four should do a great job. This will be Sin Cara’s Chicago debut so it will be interesting to see how the crowd reacts to him.

How I Would Book It: I would have Wade Barrett or Kane win. Both of them are World Heavyweight Championship ready.

Prediction: I’ll go with Wade Barrett. Sheamus seems to be the favorite but I think Sheamus will be in a World Heavyweight Championship match sometime in the near future. I don’t see why one of Smackdown’s top heels would need the Money in the Bank briefcase when he has gotten several title matches on his own in the past.

Divas Champion Kelly Kelly vs. Brie Bella

This is probably the least anticipated match on the card but at least it features two of the hottest divas in the WWE. I think this will be the first time in a few years that Kelly Kelly has a match in Chicago.

How I Would Book It: I don’t have much to say about this match. This has been a mediocre feud. If Big Show vs. CM Punk at Night of Champions last year got less than five minutes then this match shouldn’t get more than that. Four and a half minutes is enough time for them to have a decent match.

Prediction: I’m sure Kelly Kelly will win and extend her title reign.

Big Show vs. Mark Henry

I’m disappointed that this is not a No Holds Barred match or a Street Fight. However, this has been a really good feud and everything these two have done on TV in the last few weeks has been very entertaining. Seriously, every time we have seen Mark Henry and the Big Show together, something interesting has happened. So maybe they CAN have a decent match. I’m looking forward to this match a lot more now than I was three weeks ago. I’m sure the crowd will appreciate both of these Superstars. Chicago has a lot of older fans and these two are both from the Attitude Era. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mark Henry gets a nice reaction from the crowd even as a heel.

How I Would Book It: I would have them wrestle for about five minutes and then Mark Henry grabs a steel chair and whacks Big Show causing a disqualification. Then Mark Henry takes Big Show to the ringside area or maybe even backstage and Henry throws the Big Show into tables and other stuff that is in the area. It doesn’t matter who wins this match…I want to see a good brawl.  

Prediction: Mark Henry wins cleanly over the Big Show which effectively makes him the #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.

World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs. Christian

This should be an awesome match. On any other PPV, this would be the match of the night. On this PPV, it might be the fourth best match of the night. This is the fourth Orton vs. Christian match for the World Heavyweight Championship but they have had really good matches so I am glad they are having another match. The crowd reactions for this match should be good. The last time Orton was in Chicago for a PPV, he had a bigger crowd reaction than anyone on the card. This will be Christian’s first time in Chicago since his heel turn and I really think Christian will get cheered. We might hear some dueling chants during this match.

How I Would Book It: I would have a lot of nearfalls in this match. Christian should come very close to winning two or three times. I would have Christian hit his finisher on Randy Orton and have Orton narrowly kick-out in time. Christian will get upset and argue with the ref. While Christian is telling the ref that Orton didn’t get his shoulder up in time, Orton gets to his feet. Christian turns around and Orton hits him with an RKO. Orton gets the win.

Prediction: I think Randy Orton will win again.

WWE Champion John Cena vs. CM Punk

This should be the main event. Although I’m from Chicago and CM Punk is my favorite WWE Superstar, I don’t think I’m biased when I say that this might be the most anticipated match of the year so far. I don’t think anyone really knows how this match will end. A lot of people immediately assumed Cena would win this match as soon as Mr. McMahon said he would fire Cena if CM Punk walked out of Chicago with the WWE Championship but now I am seeing a lot of people predicting that CM Punk will win. This may not be a classic match if you are judging the actual in-ring wrestling but the story of this match should make it a classic. I’m worried that the amount of CM Punk love and John Cena hate will be less than many people are expecting but I’ve been to enough WWE events in Chicago to be confident that Punk will be cheered and Cena will be booed.

How I Would Book It: This may be the toughest “How I Would Book It” I have ever attempted. There aren’t many scenarios that haven’t already been discussed but I think I came up with a new one. After 20 minutes of wrestling, CM Punk wins the match. While Punk is celebrating his victory, Punk’s music stops and we hear Mr. McMahon’s music. Mr. McMahon grabs a microphone, walks into the ring, approaches John Cena, and says, “Well John…I think you know what’s coming next. John Cena…you’re…” Before McMahon can finish his sentence, Punk grabs the mic from him. Punk says, “Hold on a second Vince. You’re really going to do it? You’re really going to fire John Cena?” McMahon gets another mic and replies, “Yes I am. I am a man of my word and Cena couldn’t do what I wanted him to do so I’m going to fire him.” Punk says, “I can’t let you do that. The WWE needs this man and I know you Vince. Once you fire Cena, you aren’t going to re-hire him right away. You might not even re-hire him at all. You will never admit you made a mistake. You think that if you fire Cena and then re-hire him right away, it is going to hurt your reputation and the other wrestlers will do whatever they want and not worry about getting fired. John Cena is a good man. He may not be a better wrestler than me but he is definitely more loyal to this company than I am. I wasn’t lying when I said I was going to leave with the WWE Championship but I wasn’t going to keep it forever. I was just going to have some fun with it and then send it back to you eventually. But you shouldn’t fire John Cena. You are already losing me…you shouldn’t lose him too so I’ll give you your precious WWE Championship belt right now. Yeah that’s right I called it a belt. What are you gonna do…fire me?”  CM Punk hands the WWE Championship over to McMahon. Cena is still in the ring and heard everything Punk said. Cena thanks Punk, tells him that he is a good man, and tells the crowd to give Punk a round of applause. Mr. McMahon then tells Punk that he wishes Punk the best in his future endeavors. CM Punk leaves the ring. Mr. McMahon with the WWE Championship says to John Cena, “CM Punk has vacated his WWE Championship and I am awarding it back to you.” McMahon starts to hand the title over to Cena but instead he hits Cena in the head with the title. Cena is knocked out in the middle of the ring. McMahon runs out of the ring and runs to the backstage area. Right after that, Money in the Bank winner Alberto Del Rio comes down to the ring with Mr. McMahon, a referee, and his briefcase. McMahon tells the referee to start the match. The referee says he has to wait until Cena is ready to compete but McMahon tells the referee to start the match or he is fired. So the match starts, Del Rio covers Cena, and Del Rio becomes the new WWE Champion.

Prediction: I thought about it and I decided I am not making a prediction for this match. I don’t care if I’m right or wrong. If I pick Punk, I don’t want it to look like I’m picking Punk just because he is from Chicago and I have too much respect for Punk to pick Cena so I’m not making a prediction for this match. My only prediction is that this match will be great as expected no matter what the outcome is.

This Sunday, July 17, follow me on Twitter. I am @TonyKegger. I will be at the Money in the Bank PPV in Chicago so I plan on tweeting before, during, and after the show. This is your chance to find out exclusive information about the PPV that you might not find out on TV. I’ll try to post the dark match result, a photo of the stage, what happens after the PPV goes off the air, and anything else I think you might want to know.