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

With the RAW matches said and done for, we still have the matter of finalizing three matches. What will Christian have to say to Orton before Money in the Bank? Will Big Show have anything to say about Mark Henry's attack on Monday? And what about our ladder match?

All this and more on Friday Night SmackDown.

Like my last article, I'm going to look at each match and see what happened regarding them.

1. Randy Orton vs. Christian

Randy Orton cut a promo in-ring opening the show. He was asked by Josh Matthews about his "anger management issues" and if he'll be able to keep himself from being disqualified. Orton replied that he would not be disqualified and that it was a ploy by Christian to get his Championship before Christian interrupted.

He said that he didn't want to beat Orton by DQ; he just wanted to go out and put on a classic match. He then bought Randy Orton a picture of Christian standing over Orton with the title.

Orton replied that he expects more from Christian to rile him up, and then Christian begins bashing Bob Orton. He said that there are two wings for the Hall of Fame: one for the stars and one for the jokers.

Orton then called Christian to the ring, saying he can't hear him and would like Christian to come down to the ring to repeat what he just said. Orton insulted Christian and his five-day title reign before his music hit.

Later on, Orton had a match against Kane, where Christian made an appearance at the ramp. The distraction was enough to make Orton lose by count-out. Orton then took out Kane before getting speared out by Christian. He chased Christian out of the ring before taking a chair to Kane.

My Take: It seems that Orton has the momentum going him in his favor. While losing his match, Christian didn't fight, so he doesn't really have a push behind him. Christian did spear Orton and get some offense in, but he was ultimately chased out of the ring by Orton with the chair that Christian brought in the ring in the first place.

Christian could take the match at MITB, but right now, Orton seems the favorite to win. Of course, there is the clause that is Orton is disqualified, Christian automatically becomes the new WWE Heavyweight Champion. I wouldn't doubt that that matter arises on Sunday.

2. Big Show vs. Mark Henry

There was no match, but the two did cut a promo in the ring. Teddy Long called them both out to the ring for an open forum, where Mark Henry told Big Show that "bigger isn't better... better is better." Big Show called Mark Henry to the ring before Teddy Long stepped in and told them to save it for Sunday. 

My Take: These two men haven't officially fought since back in June, so the build-up has been big. Hopefully, they play up the tension and animosity between the two of these men and they go at it fast and furious.

As I've been saying, the action has to be pretty high as the match will not have a fast pace to it. After seeing the two of them the past week, I think they're capable of it.

3. SmackDown Ladder Match (Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Sheamus vs. Sin Cara vs. Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater vs. Kane)

Daniel Bryan had a match against Rhodes which Rhodes won with a Beautiful Disaster.

Sin Cara and Sheamus went at it with Wade Barrett at commentary. Sin Cara won after countering Sheamus' high cross. Barrett then jumped into the ring post-match and hit Sheamus with a big boot and Wasteland.

Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel had a match together, and before the match Slater more or less cut ties with Gabriel and ended their tag-team. Gabriel ended up winning the match after hitting the 450 Splash.

As mentioned above, Kane fought Randy Orton and won by count-out before getting beaten down by Orton.

My Take: I found it a bit strange that they broke Slater and Gabriel up before MITB. I thought it would be a good time to have some dissension at the event which would lead to a break-up the next night, but whatever. It's clear that Gabriel has gotten over while Slater is still behind.

Bryan and Rhodes looked great in their match, and Rhodes taking the win really gives him a push going into MITB. The same can't be said for Sheamus, who despite looking good didn't pick up the win and was beaten by Barrett after the match.

Kane also came off weak thanks to Orton's beat-down. It seems that Barrett could be the new favorite for me, though Rhodes and Sheamus are still high in the running.

Miscellaneous

Ezekiel Jackson has an Intercontinental Championship match against Ted DiBiase. The end came when DiBiase was put into the torture rack after two failed Dream Street attempts. It's nice to see Ted getting a little push, even if took the loss.

Kelly Kelly had a squash match against Rosa Mendez. After what happened between Kelly Kelly and the Bellas last week on RAW, it gives her some momentum going into MITB.

Final Thoughts

Overall, MITB is looking very good. The SmackDown main event holds promise, and this is the ladder match to watch in my opinion.After a Capitol Punishment bomb, it seems that WWE has a well-hyped PPV. Despite some early skepticism on my part about the ladder matches, I'm pretty excited for Sunday.

I guess that's about all that's to be said. The lines are drawn, and the battle is only a day away. What are your thoughts on the matches? Let me know below!