WWE Money in the Bank: Alberto Del Rio's Victory and What It Means

WWE Money in the Bank 2011 was a great night of entertainment, and one of the highlights was the ladder match featuring Superstars from Monday Night RAW.

Pitting Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, Evan Bourne, R-Truth, Alex Riley and The Miz, against each other, the prize was a WWE Championship match, good for up to one year.

Alberto Del Rio walked away with the case, and while it is not surprising, the fact is, considering the tone of the match and how everything unfolded, it was disappointing.

Every man in the match had their own individual assortment of highlights during the course of the bout. Youthful athleticism was the name of the game for this match, as Bourne executed his Air Bourne off of a ladder as cameras flashed around the arena.

Kingston jumped from the top rope to the ladder over Swagger’s head, the veteran Mysterio and Evan each hit the hurricanrana from the ladder, everyone was at the top of their game.

Everyone, that is, except Alberto Del Rio.

Del Rio spent most of the match on his back outside the ring. As the contest progressed, it occurred to me that I was not seeing all that much of him, and knowing that everyone had picked him to win, I was becoming a little concerned over his apparent non activity.

At the end of the match, when he yanked off Mysterio’s mask and then pulled down the case, I was disgusted. Everyone in the match seemed to really pour their hearts and souls into their performances, and Del Rio just laid around until it was time to take the match home.

The ladder match is designed for high spots, a way to help create stars with high drama and exciting moves.

The men in this particular ladder match proved their ability to be true workhorses for the company, and while I did not expect Evan or Kofi to walk away with the contract, I was thinking about Daniel Bryan’s victory in the Smackdown ladder match earlier in the night.

As improbable as it seemed, I was actually pulling for either guy to climb the ladder in the end and win his opportunity at the WWE Championship. They were putting on a great show, and the fans would have exploded had one of them won.

Del Rio slid in the back door to gain the victory. While there is nothing wrong with that on one level, because he is a heel, he did seem to sit back and watch while everyone else worked to make the match as exciting as possible.

Truth is, he watched so much of it that he should have been charged for a ticket.

I understand that he is on his way up. From the moment he was introduced in WWE, it has been fairly obvious to fans that the plan is to push him to the top of the heap. By his own words, he is destined to be WWE Champion.

He does have a good look, his character is intense, hungry, and supremely confident. He has become a very good heel, and is capable of drawing some serious heat from the crowd.

When fans look at him, they see championship material. He does seem to fit the role, and it is just a matter of time now before he wins the strap.

But, in his own words, he was already the No. 1 contender to the title, so why was he even in this match? For me, it was pointless, and if John Morrison was one hundred percent healthy, the spot probably should have been his.

After all, once a guy is declared No. 1 contender, he does not lose it unless it is taken from him.

The match ended up being an excuse for Del Rio to be pushed even faster to championship gold, while the guys who provided the death defying oohs and aahs once again came up short.

Yeah, I was the guy who wrote the column that stated Evan and Kofi had virtually no chance of going over in the match. But this is one time I wished I was wrong, because at least there would be some drama on RAW Monday night, with fans tuning in to see what would happen next.

With Del Rio being the man who came out on top, there is no drama. Now that CM Punk has “walked out” with the WWE Title, it would not surprise me if Vince McMahon himself handed a new version of the belt to Del Rio on RAW.

The victory, for me, just feels cheap.

Alberto Del Rio will eventually be WWE Champion. It seems to have been the game plan for quite a while and now that he has the red briefcase, it is a foregone conclusion.

I do not dispute his skill, or his ability to carry the mantle. My only problem is that the way in which he has won the opportunity.