‘WWE Money in the Bank 2014’ Blu-ray Review

One of the more interesting of WWE’s annual b-shows, Money in the Bank is the night of the year where a younger talent has the chance to grab the contract that sets them up for a built-in storyline and eventual chance at winning the WWE World Title. Here, there are two ladder matches, one for the contract and one for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Daniel Bryan, who was forced to relinquish his WWE World Title due to a neck injury, appeared on the pre-show/kick-off show and told the world that he was still suffering effects of his injury and may still require further surgery, Bryan then promised he would be back as soon as he could and win back the WWE World Title. Time will tell, but I have a sinking feeling that Bryan’s time as “the guy” are behind us.

So, with a card filled with matches that range from uninteresting to very interesting, it should be, well, interesting to see what happens at Money in the Bank 2014.

The match results:

• The Uso’s beat Harper & Rowan to retain the Tag Team Titles
• Paige defeated Naomi to retain the Divas strap
• Adam Rose pinned Damien Sandow
• Seth Rollins won the Money in the Bank match for the Title Contract
• Goldust & Stardust beat Rybaxel
• Rusev defeated Big E
• Layla beat Summer Rae
• John Cena won the WWE World Title in the main event ladder match

The opening match between the teams of The Uso’s and Harper & Rowan was, in my view, one of two of the strongest matches on the card. A mixture of brilliant brawling, aerial artistry and technical wrestling, all four men gave their all to the Boston crowd here in what was a stunning bout. The Uso’s shocked me by picking up the victory by pinning Rowan following two top-rope splashes, but I am hoping we see these two teams continue this feud, with the two Wyatt Family members eventually grabbing the golden belts.

The Paige/Naomi match was fine, but Paige is still being booked poorly and Naomi is a talented worker but she doesn’t know how to sell, which lets her down. It was one of the better women’s matched lately. The Adam Rose/Sandow, Rusev/Big E and Dusts/Rybaxel matches felt like typical RAW fare, none of them offering the “big show” feel, which is one of the major problems with WWE PPV’s in 2014. The Summer/Layla match with Fandango at the referee was a waste of time and one of those times when you are glad that non-wrestling fans aren’t sharing the room with you. Embarrassing. The fans chanted for CM Punk during the match.

The Money in the Bank match for the briefcase, featuring Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Kofi Kingston, RVD, Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger, was an entertaining and spot-filled match in which the crowd were on the side of Ambrose, and to a lesser extent, Ziggler and RVD. There were some spectacular spots featuring most of the six men involved and it was a blast from start to finish. Rollins picked up the win after Kane interfered, knocking Ambrose off the ladder and choke-slamming him. I felt like this was a very lame finish that lacked creativity, but Rollins winning makes sense.

The main event ladder match for the vacant WWE World Title, featuring John Cena, Randy Orton, Kane, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus was a good match for the most-part and featured plenty to cheer about. Cesaro, Reigns and Wyatt got a nice pop from the fans. Cena and Orton were booed loudly. The fans had a short nap when Sheamus and Del Rio hit the ring. Kane suffered from indifference. The fans, like me, and many at home, are after something different, but sadly WWE, here at Money in the Bank 2014, had other ideas. John Cena won here, making his number of WWE World Championship reigns rise to the massive number of 15. The rumours of Cena vs. Lesnar for Summerslam appears to be coming true. A sour ending to a mediocre show.

With three good matches but all with questionable finishes, and one with a very questionable result, Money in the Bank 2014 was a show of two halves. One half was RAW and Smackdown level matches that were just phoned in and bland. The other half, with the tag title match and the two ladder matches, were entertaining, featured some awesome moments, but ultimately failed to deliver when it came to the results. WWE have taken two steps back after taking one step forward back in April, and we are back to Cena as champion, with part-timer Brock Lesnar set to return to television in the next couple of months. The silver lining of this? We get more Paul Heyman. Still, yet again WWE disappoint and fail to deliver on PPV, something that have consistently done since WrestleMania XXX.

• Best Match: (tie) The Uso’s vs. Harper & Rowan, Money in the Bank.
• Worst Match: Summer/Layla
• OMG! Spot of the Night: Rollins gets back-dropped off a ladder, onto a ladder.
• Biggest Crowd Pop: Dean Ambrose
• Honourable Mentions: Kingston, RVD, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro

Extras on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of WWE Money in the Bank 2014 include:

• Money in the Bank Kickoff, Daniel Bryan Interview
• Fandango and Layla Interview
• Money in the Bank Moment #1, 28 March 2010: Jack Swagger
• Money in the Bank Moment #2, 17 July 2011: Daniel Bryan
• Money in the Bank Moment #3, 15 July 2012: Dolph Ziggler
• Money in the Bank Moment #4, 14 July 2013: Randy Orton

Blu-Ray Exclusives:

• Batista Quits Evolution (Monday Night Raw – 2 June 2014)
• Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton (Monday Night Raw – 2 June 2014)
• Seth Rollins Announces a Second Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Main Event – 17 June 2014)
• 4-on-3 Handicap Match: John Cena, Roman Reigns & Sheamus vs. Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Alberto Del Rio & Cesaro (SmackDown – 20 June 2014)
• Jimmy Uso vs. Luke Harper (Monday Night Raw – 23 June 2014)
• Jey Uso vs. Erick Rowan (Monday Night Raw – 23 June 2014)
• Seth Rollins Begs Triple H to Add Dean Ambrose to Money in the Bank (Monday Night Raw – 23 June 2014)
• Six-Man Tag Team Match: Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler & Kofi Kingston vs. Seth Rollins, Bad News Barrett & Jack Swagger (Main Event – 24 June 2014)
• Stardust & Goldust Accept Rybaxel’s Challenge (SmackDown – 27 June 2014)

WWE Money in the Bank 2014 is released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 15th, courtesy of FremantleMedia International.