WWE Money in the Bank 2011 Primer: Predictions of Punk vs. Cena and More

As you may know by now, WWE’s much anticipated Money in the Bank pay-per-view emanates from Chicago.

As an exception to the general rule of most non-WrestleMania pay-per-views being rendered meaningless, WWE’s first pay-per-view of the summer, which will be held in the Second City, looks to be far from second rate.

Like the final Harry Potter movie, the most compelling storyline of the year in pro wrestling will pay off in what should be an epic three hours of entertainment.

CM Punk will attempt to leave his hometown of Chicago with the WWE Championship without getting screwed, or Money in the Bank'd, but it is highly likely that WWE's hottest gimmick match will eventually spell doom for WWE's hottest superstar going.

Themes to watch for...

Emotion. Emotion will play a huge role in a pay-per-view that could see two future first-time world champions crowned along with the hometown hero rising up and unseating the establishment (at least temporarily)

The Money in the Bank match is a formidable draw in and of itself, but the headlining Cena-Punk main event will carry the brunt of the emotional connection as WWE has done a masterful job building up CM Punk's departure angle on the strength of strong mic work from both Punk and Cena.

Colt Cabana. WWE, namely CM Punk, has already given the ROH star and Punk’s real-life friend, an uncanny amount of on-screen shout-out love.

With Colt in attendance, expect WWE to at least show him on camera with Michael Cole taking the opportunity to make a joke about how he's from the indies so nobody knows who he is.

Vince McMahon. McMahon will figure to get involved in the Cena-Punk storyline somehow as he seems to be on the verge of returning as a full-time character with WWE's top stars bolting left and right (so much for the youth movement). Let's just hope we don't get another Montreal screw job angle out of all this.

Check cashing. With two Money in the Bank winners being crowned in one night, it would be hurtful to the prestige of the almost-holy grail to have two WWE superstars walk around with mock lunch pales.

Expect at least one Money in the Bank briefcase to be cashed in that night in order to avoid subsequent dilution of the Mr. Money in the Bank moniker, especially with all signs pointing to Alberto Del Rio winning and saving John Cena's job by cashing in the briefcase against Punk.

The anti-Cena contingent. Chicago crowds have been known to hurl "F-U Cena" chants at the WWE Champion, and while their hostility towards Cena may be a bit more PG this time around, don't expect their passion to suffer from it.

No matter how much energy may be sucked out of the Allstate Arena from two high flying Money in the Bank matches, what will be a hot Chicago crowd will be ready to boo Cena out of the WWE.

The only person who will be more prepared for Chicago’s trademark hostility, is John Cena himself.

The Rock. Dwayne has certainly chosen an optimal time to respond to Cena's criticisms of him, and with CM Punk seemingly on his way out of the WWE, WWE likely panicked and decided to reach out to the Rock so he could shoot an angle with Cena (likely to commence at Survivor Series) in order to keep Cena's character compelling moving forwards.

Expect the Rock to be specifically mentioned during the Money in the Bank broadcast, with possible subtle teases of his imminent return.

Predictions

Diva’s Championship - Kelly Kelly over Brie Bella. The Bellas have been getting a lot of heat on themselves leading up to Money in the Bank, so expect Kelly Kelly to give them their comeuppance. To make things interesting, during the obligatory post-match beat down from the Bellas, maybe Randy Orton could make the save before calling a truce.

Mark Henry over the Big Show. Although Mark Henry has been quite resurgent over the past several weeks, a match with the Big Show is far from a climactic payoff. After minutes of plodding around and subpar brawling, I see Henry continuing his momentum by beating Big Show, likely without pinning him.

World Championship - Randy Orton over Christian. Months ago, the common defense mechanism to combat outrage over Christian dropping the World Championship just five days after he won it was "wait and see where it goes."

Well, it has gone, and by "it" I mean Christian’s half-assed heel turn followed by an unceremonious World title loss. If WWE really wants to screw with Christian fans, they'll have him beat Orton only for the SmackDown MITB winner to cash it in.

The feat would make Christian the first WWE Superstar in history to enjoy two World Title reigns in a combined five days.

Sheamus wins SmackDown MITB. Sheamus has shared, and on some fronts stolen, the main event spotlight with Christian leading up to Orton-Christian IV.

With the field looking like the SmackDown superstars are competing for the Intercontinental Money in the Bank, Sheamus sticks out like a sore thumb as the clear-cut favorite.

Alberto Del Rio wins the RAW Money in the Bank. Del Rio's Money in the Bank win would make him just the second WWE Superstar in history to win both the Money in the Bank briefcase as well as the Royal Rumble, joining Edge.

The stage seems to be set for Del Rio to win as nobody else winning would really make sense at this point. This could be one of those instances where the powers that be call an audible because Del Rio winning is too predictable.

While such a last-minute change has become second nature to Del Rio, all signs point to Del Rio realizing his destiny on Sunday night.

WWE Championship - CM Punk over John Cena. WWE is going to want to send the fans home happy, so CM Punk beating Chicago will create that feel-good pop for the All State Arena before Punk is likely "Christianed" out of his first-ever WWE Championship win.

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