WWE Money in the Bank: Breaking Down the Build-Up (Part 7 of 8)

After last week's reinstatement of CM Punk, will Alberto Del Rio hold any grudges about losing the No. 1 Contender spot he just claimed? Will the Big Show have anything to say about Mark Henry the week before Money in the Bank? And what about our MITB ladder match competitors? And let's not forget about the Cena vs. CM Punk title match that has all of sports entertainment buzzing.

It's go time.

Let's break the card down match-by-match and see where we're at after the last Raw before the show.

1. John Cena vs. CM Punk

Cena won a handicap match against David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty, scoring the pinfall on McGillicutty. Punk was not in action tonight, though he did carry a lot of weight regarding the build-up through a couple of crazy promos that opened and closed the show.

While I won't recap the entirety of what he said, I will say that Punk was able to get the crowd cheering for him, booing Cena at one point, and getting them to chant both "we want ice cream" as well as "Colt Cabana." When a man can get a crowd to cheer for a name that maybe 30 percent of those at wrestling shows know, you know you've got an asset there.

Vince McMahon and Punk had their contract negotiation, and eventually McMahon signed it. Cena then came out and cut a promo that began with some uncharacteristic bashing of Vince, followed by a shot at the Rock before he entered an argument that Punk had lost sight of what he wanted.

Punk talked about how Cena is not the underdog anymore; that he's become what he hates. Then, Cena took a swing at Punk and hit him. Punk rolled out of the ring and moved to the ramp where he took out his contract and tore it up.

My Take: Honestly, I could not tell you which way this title match will go. If Cena wins, it could lead to some dissension: a happy Vince, an angry Cena, and a locker room that looks down on John Cena. It could be the start of a heel turn for him. On the other hand, a victory for Punk would do him justice for everything he's done in the past three weeks.

Then there's the case of the MITB winner. Will whoever gets it cash it in on the same night? Could the Chairman order that the case be cashed in to prevent the belt from leaving? I'm very interested to see where this goes, and almost more interested for the match. I'm fairly sure that Punk will not let Cena give him a bad one.

My only problem right now is the booking of Cena. He fought in a handicap 2-on-1 match against the current Tag-Team Champions and beat them. That does one of two things: it either makes Cena look superhuman and assures that he'll have no problem with Punk, or it makes Otunga and McGillicutty look absolutely worthless in their defeat.

There was no point to the match, really. It could have just as easily been a match against Mason Ryan, had the same outcome, and it wouldn't have affected anyone's standing and still put Cena over. And since when did the GM turn against Cena like that? Unless CM Punk is the General Manager... GM Punk?

The hype for this match has been huge over the past three weeks, and hopefully, the match won't disappoint.

2. Raw MITB Ladder Match: Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston vs. R-Truth vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Alex Riley vs. Miz vs. Rey Mysterio

We saw six of the competitors in action tonight (Alberto Del Rio was not in the match and Rey Mysterio was missing) as Bourne, Kingston and Riley teamed up against Swagger, Truth, and Miz. The end came when Alex Riley hit Swagger with his finisher and pinned him.

After the bell, things broke down, with Superstars hitting each other left and right. Just as Bourne went for the Shooting Star Press, Del Rio interfered and leveled everyone with the ladder before standing alone in the middle of the ring.

My Take: It was a pretty good match and featured some good action from the competitors. We got to hear from everyone but Rey Mysterio, and Alberto Del Rio looked strong in his destruction. Look for him to be big in the match.

Del Rio's still my pick to win it, though Miz and Riley are close seconds. But there is also the fact that if you look at the field, everyone has a specific opponent: Miz and Riley, Del Rio and Mysterio, and Swagger and Bourne. This leaves Kofi Kingston and R-Truth by themselves.

Could each duo take each other out and leave these two men standing? And if so, who would take the prize between these two? It would be good for Kofi to get another Main Event chance, while it keeps R-Truth's conspiracy theory in check.

3. Kelly Kelly vs. Brie Bella

Kelly Kelly beat Melina before the Bella Twins came into the ring and mocked her. Kelly Kelly went at the twins, who had the upper hand thanks to the numbers. Eve ran in and helped her out, but Bella No. 1 slammed down Eve for going after Bella No. 2.

My Take: Honestly, there isn't anything here but a title match at MITB. There's no suspense, no drama, and no real reason to be interested. Brie doesn't like Kelly, and vice-versa. I see Kelly Kelly retaining.

If they had done something like this the week after Capitol Punishment, I might be interested, but it's too little loo late right now.

4. Big Show vs. Mark Henry

Big Show was in a handicap match against Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler that ended as a double count-out. Big Show took Drew out by the WWE logo on the stage and threw him around before Mark Henry shoulder-charged into them and all three spilled off the stage.

My Take: They've done a great job of making Mark Henry look dangerous, and he's actually become entertaining to watch. I think these two are capable of putting on a great feud, but it all comes down to how these two men perform together in the ring.

Since they're both the big brawler type, there's a high probability that this match will be a slow, plodding affair, so the intensity has to be there. Luckily, these two haven't really been seen together for more than five minutes at a time each show, so the match will seem "new" considering that fact. I see Henry taking this one.

I'm going to skip Orton and Christian, as well as the Smackdown MITB ladder match since nothing happened tonight regarding them.

Final Thoughts

The card for Money in the Bank shows a lot of potential. The Raw MITB match shouldn't disappoint, and John Cena versus CM Punk should prove to be a truly engaging match that will put us on the edge, even after that final bell has run and we wait to see if anyone cashes in.

The Divas match is forgettable as of right now, and Big Show versus Mark Henry still has a show left before MITB. What kinds of developments will happen then? And what will become of our Smackdown Main Event match? All this and more in just four days!

T-minus one and counting...