WWE Money in the Bank: Streaks and Trends That Continued at the PPV

Many people predicted the winners of the matches at WWE Money In The Bank, yet the pay-per-view continued with the trend of uninspiring cards producing interesting wrestling matches.

Underneath the action other interesting tendencies remained that showed the WWE's general approach to booking events.

Here are the most significant streaks and trends that continued through Money In The Bank:  

• Daniel Bryan became the first wrestler in WWE history to lose five consecutive PPV matches with major titles on the line.

• Bryan is also the first wrestler to have been given so many consecutive opportunities without winning somewhere in the sequence.

• Chris Jericho is also on an impressive losing streak, having lost in every pay-per-view match that he has competed in this year. Jericho missed No Way Out due to suspension.

• Sheamus and CM Punk have been far more successful, having been victorious at every pay-per-view that they have been in. Punk is one win ahead of Sheamus, as the Irishman did not appear at the Elimination Chamber PPV.

• At an official length of 27 minutes and 42 seconds, Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk was the sixth-longest pay-per-view match of the year and the longest pay-per-view match post-WrestleMania.

• John Cena became the seventh winner of a Money In The Bank match who was competing in the match for the first time. This means that there have been more first-time winners in Money In The Bank history than winners with previous experience.

• This is also the first time that John Cena has ever won at Money In The Bank. Cena lost to Punk in 2011 and Sheamus in 2010.

• This was the seventh consecutive pay-per-view that the WWE- or world-heavyweight-championship match did not end the card. The last time a major championship ended a pay-per-view was at Tables, Ladders and Chairs in December 2011.

• The tag-team championship and United States championship have been defended on pay-per-view only once this year (and once each on pre-shows).

• The intercontinental championship has been defended on four occasions during 2012.

• The 95 minutes of in-ring action produced at Money In The Bank was very close to the mean amount of action produced by all pay-per-views this year.

Analysis Of These Streaks and Trends

Daniel Bryan's losing streak of five pay-per-view main events is a strong indication that the WWE is either lacking main-event caliber talent or that it is protecting its best young heels until after the 1,000th show passes (as the company appears to want all face champions for that event).

The idea that the WWE is keeping some of its stronger heels in reserve is also supported by the winning streaks that both Punk and Sheamus are on and the fact that the minor titles have been defended so infrequently.

The one title that has been defended multiple times is the intercontinental championship, which has been with Cody Rhodes, who is a heel, for much of the year.

Look out for a real heel revival right across the board from the 1,001st episode of Raw.

The other major trend is the uncertainty around CM Punk's ability to sell pay-per-views.

There is no doubt that the WWE trusts him as an in-ring performer, as it gave him and Daniel Bryan such a long match.

The only matches that have been longer this year are the Royal Rumble, both Elimination Chamber matches, Undertaker verses Triple H and John Cena verses The Rock.

These could all be designated special-attraction matches, so Punk verses Bryan could be considered the longest storyline-driven match of the year.

Yet Punk has failed to headline a show all year.

That role has been given to John Cena despite the fact Cena had not been in the title hunt until going after the Money In The Bank contract.

This is a trend that will be continuously monitored over the coming months.