WWE Money in the Bank 2012 Results: Terrific PPV Provides Plenty of Excitement

Thank goodness for ladders.

Oh, and thank goodness for Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, too. 

After two highly questionable Pay-Per-Views, the WWE, with the help of plenty of ladders, Bryan and Punk, provided the fans with an impressive Money in the Bank event. 

The excitement really got started during the eight-way ladder match for a shot at world heavyweight champion Sheamus, who retained his belt against Alberto Del Rio. 

Dolph Ziggler eventually came out on top, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Christian and Tyson Kidd were both brilliant in defeat, Cody Rhodes provided some very good moments and even the lesser guys like Tensai and Damien Sandow gave us some solid action.

It's sometimes hard to make an eight-man match flow, but the wrestlers took their turns in the ring and atop the ladder, working brilliantly together in order to create a fantastic match.

I wasn't all that excited for this one coming in, but Ziggler and company proved me wrong.

Next up was Bryan and Punk. You always know these two are going to provide an instant classic, but with AJ as the guest referee, I felt she would get in the way.

The Geek Goddess got involved a little bit, but didn't get in the way, and that was important. In fact, after getting injured, she spent a large portion in the locker room before finally coming back out. I guess she just didn't want to work the entire 27-minute match, but I digress.

Back to Bryan and Punk, who once again stole the show. They are normally brilliant, but in a match where disqualification was impossible, they got a chance to be even better. 

I said this following Over the Limit, but after Punk pinned Bryan immediately after they both went through a table from the top rope, this is a good candidate for Match of the Year. 

Having a match like this one—and not even having it as the main event—goes a long way in making sure a pay-per-view is worth the money.

Finally, after a few time-wasters, up came the five-way ladder match for the WWE Championship contract. 

It didn't have as much high-flying as the other ladder match, but that was to be expected with Big Show and Kane a part of the festivities. 

Nonetheless, Miz's late entry brought some important athleticism while Jericho also provided some big moments.

In the end, John Cena predictably came away with the victory, but everyone did their job and this was a match that ended up exceeding my expectations.

The one thing I didn't like about Money in the Bank was the fact that R-Truth and Kofi Kingston were relegated to the preshow, something they clearly didn't deserve.

But when that is the one flaw in an otherwise outstanding Pay-Per-View event, it's hard to be upset.

Follow @t_keen