Breaking Down the Biggest Winners and Losers from Money in the Bank

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While the hype around this year’s event was much less than it was when CM Punk was holding the WWE hostage in 2011, the Money in the Bank pay-per-view is always one of the best shows of the year.

There is just something about ladder matches that gets the WWE Universe excited.

As great as the event was, there were some very clear winners and a few even clearer losers coming out of the event. With RAW’s 1,000th episode July 23 and SummerSlam in August, it became obvious that the WWE was positioning itself for those events.

Anytime Vince McMahon and the shot-callers in the WWE get into this holding pattern style of booking, the biggest losers are always the fans. Thank goodness we had the ladders to hold us over.

All of the following stars were either the biggest winners of the night or the losers that walked away with nothing.

 

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Winner: The Miz

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After leaving wrestling behind while filming The Marine 3, The Miz made his triumphant return to the WWE with his late entry into the RAW Money in the Bank match.

While he did not win, The Miz proved he still has it on the mic and his in-ring work even looked better than it did when he left. If the company gets back a better version of The Miz, the WWE Universe should expect a heavy push for the former champion.

The Mizfits in the audience are happy to get their star back in the fold, but WWE is genuinely excited to have the star’s versatility back. While The Miz will never be mistaken for a great technical wrestler, his ability to play a face and a heel well makes him the ultimate weapon.

Loser: AJ

Despite being at the center of one of the best rivalries we have seen in wrestling over the last 10 years, the fact that AJ played almost no role in the outcome of the CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan WWE championship match was the wrong way for the company to go.

There was no doubt that AJ had become the most intriguing part of the actual storyline between the two combatants, but the fact that she played no real role in how the match ended and wasn’t even out there for the majority of the match takes away from the storyline.

While the WWE Universe did get to see an amazing hardcore match between Bryan and Punk, this did nothing for the evolution of the story.

If anything, this ending gave credence to the possibility of this feud being over.

Winner: John Cena

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When John Cena sat at the top of the world’s biggest ladder with the Money in the Bank briefcase, most of the WWE Universe was not surprised; the company had been foreshadowing the win for weeks.

As much as fans were expecting it, the actual win proves that the WWE is likely doing everything it can to capture the excitement of last year’s SummerSlam by pitting CM Punk against Cena.

Many of the fans hate the fact that Cena won the briefcase, but it was something that had to happen eventually. The man is the face of the WWE, and allowing him to win only adds validity to the match.

It’s a good thing for the company that Cena won, no matter what the IWC says.

Loser: Daniel Bryan

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As great as the match between Daniel Bryan and CM Punk was—I have it as a serious match-of-the-year candidate—the loss for the challenger may be the last we see of this feud.

While Punk likely will face John Cena moving forward in what should be the company’s marquee story, there are serious questions about what Bryan’s future holds.

Despite putting on great matches every time he hits the ring and being more over than anyone could have ever dreamed, Bryan continues to lose on the big stages. As much as they need to put Punk over, they need to return the favor from time to time to keep the competitive balance.

The WWE needs to move Bryan to another feud or let him win a title soon. As strong as he looked in his Money in the Bank match, the fans must realize how great he is again by watching him win gold.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

While wrestling fans across the world have never found common ground before, it’s safe to say that the majority love Dolph Ziggler and what he has been doing over the past year.

The huge win at Money in the Bank for Zig-Zag proves that the WWE feels he is ready for the big time. The star may hold the briefcase for a while to build the allure that surrounds it, but this is the main-event bump fans everywhere believed he deserved.

Not only has Ziggler’s mic work reached top-tier level, but also his in-ring work is second to only Daniel Bryan, and his appearance is reminiscent of what a child of Shawn Michaels and Curt Hennig would look like.

With all the arrows pointing in the right direction, this is Dolph’s time to shine.