WWE Money in the Bank 2016: Power Ranking Every Match of Epic Show
On paper, WWE Money in the Bank 2016 looked like one of the greatest events in recent memory.
With a hugely personal main event for the top prize in the sport, a dream match fans never imagined they would witness and a chaotic ladder match headlining the card, it appeared to be an early-summer equivalent of WrestleMania.
However, the midcard was woefully underdeveloped, and there were far too many Superstars involved who fans did not care about. That would make it an uphill climb for the show to reach the "greatest Money in the Bank ever" tagline that WWE tacked onto it, but the men and women of Vince McMahon's traveling circus damn sure tried anyway.
Some were successful; others were not.
The three main events delivered, ensuring a crowd-pleasing show. There was a massive surprise to close out the broadcast, providing fans with that encouraging moment that often clouds their judgment.
What preceded those matches, though, was a hodgepodge of good, mediocre and just plain awful wrestling that dragged the show down from the upper echelon of Money in the Bank royalty.
Where did those matches rank in relation to the main events in terms of overall match quality, booking, crowd participation and importance to ongoing WWE storylines?
Let's take a look at all 10 of Sunday's battles, ranked in order from worst to best.
10. The Golden Truth vs. Breezango
1 of 10
There was a lot to despise about the awful comedy storyline involving The Golden Truth and Breezango, including the match that unfolded on Sunday's pre-show.
The sunburn makeup was cheesy, the peeling effect was gross and the match itself would have been out of place on Monday nights, let alone an actual pay-per-view.
It was bad, but that does not mean it did not have its charms. The worst match of the broadcast, it did feature some solid psychology from all involved.
Goldust and R-Truth targeted the sunburn of their opponents, slapping at it and rendering the heels helpless. Sure, it was a ridiculous way to seize control of a match—stupid even—but it was psychology nonetheless.
The babyfaces won their first match as a team, and Mauro Ranallo did a better job of selling it as a big deal than WWE Creative had done in pairing the Superstars up over the last six months.
9. The Lucha Dragons vs. The Dudley Boyz
2 of 10
The Dudley Boyz vs. The Lucha Dragons was added to the card's pre-show at the last second without any rhyme or reason.
It should be of no real surprise, then, that the crowd was fairly uninterested in the contest, barring a few high spots from the babyface luchadores. The double tope con hilo onto Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley elicited a Game of Thrones reference from Mauro Ranallo on commentary, one of the bright spots of an otherwise standard tag bout.
The babyfaces won, though it was Sin Cara picking up the pinfall victory and not the former United States champion, Kalisto, and all was right with the world.
Unless you are a Dudley Boyz fan patiently waiting for them to win their first WWE pay-per-view match since One Night Stand 2005.
8. United States Championship Match: Titus O'Neil vs. Rusev
3 of 10
The United States Championship match had zero story behind it, a No. 1 contender who did not belong in the same ring as the champion and fans more interested in checking the Cleveland Cavaliers-Golden State Warriors score on their phones than paying attention.
Despite some decent heavyweight action from titleholder Rusev and challenger Titus O'Neil, the match had the unenviable task of being sandwiched between the Money in the Bank ladder match and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship bout. It was in the death slot, and no displays of athleticism from The Bulgarian Brute or inspirational comebacks from O'Neil would change the apathy that greeted the match.
Rusev looked like a world-beater, which he should at this point, but not once did it ever seem like O'Neil was about to dethrone his opponent. Instead, he looked like the undercard act that he is, a guy lucky enough to be in the spot but never considered an imminent danger to his credible opponent.
The fact that he tapped out clean to the Accolade, with his sons in the front row, made his inclusion in the one-sided ass-kicking on Father's Day that much more curious.
7. Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus
4 of 10
One of the glaring issues with the Money in the Bank card was the fact that the undercard was so underdeveloped, and no match better represented that weakness than Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus, which began when The Celtic Warrior attacked Crews backstage the night after Extreme Rules.
It never evolved past that point, with Crews only mentioning that he will not be bullied.
There was no build or story substance, and the result was an ice-cold crowd come match time.
Crews and Sheamus worked a slow match, lacking the energy that one would expect from them. For all of Sheamus' character flaws, there has never been any doubt about his abilities between the ropes. On Sunday, though, he looked lethargic as he battled the NXT breakout star.
As for Crews, he looked every bit the nervous young competitor working his first pay-per-view. Sure, he dazzled with his athleticism, but his in-ring charisma continued to be nonexistent. The crowd greeted the match with apathy, and Crews' victory did nothing to help elevate his star in the slightest.
6. Becky Lynch and Natalya vs. Charlotte and Dana Brooke
5 of 10
There was nothing about the women's tag team match pitting Natalya and Becky Lynch against Charlotte and Dana Brooke that suggests it deserved to be on pay-per-view. In fact, it probably would have made for an underwhelming television match.
That is through no fault of the performers, though. Instead, it was a combination of a lack of time and a tiresome story fans have been watching for months.
The characters involved were so underdeveloped that it was difficult to convince fans to buy into the action. Plus, Natalya and Charlotte have worked so many times in recent months that any anticipation to see them do it again dissipated with the third or fourth screwy finish involving Ric Flair at last month's Extreme Rules.
There was a clean pinfall finish, which was a nice change for Charlotte. Still, the only notable thing to come from Sunday's bout was Natalya's heel turn on Lynch.
5. Fatal 4-Way Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships
6 of 10
The Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Tag Team Championships kicked off Money in the Bank, and it should have been a great match. The talent was there, and the styles of the Superstars meshed well in the previous occasions in which they have shared the ring.
Yet there was something about the contest that failed to meet expectations.
One major element hampering the match was the time constraint.
Far too often, it appeared as though the eight men involved were rushing, leading to botched or messy spots. The result was a disappointing contest that never hit its flow.
All the way through the finish, the action appeared disjointed, and the psychology was nonexistent. Case in point—Kofi Kingston rolled Karl Anderson up while Luke Gallows stood two feet away, watching the whole ordeal go down but doing nothing to break up the count.
Even the Big Ending combination that wrapped up the match looked ugly compared to literally every other time Kingston and Big E have executed the maneuver.
Good enough for getting the crowd hyped for the night's action, it was still a rather disappointing bout, especially given the wealth of talent involved and the time devoted to building it up on recent television broadcasts.
4. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
7 of 10
While the idea of yet another match between Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin may not have been appealing at first, the Superstars blew their previous two pay-per-view encounters out of the water with a strong singles match that saw The Lone Wolf end the rivalry with a decisive victory.
Ziggler threw all of his trademark offense at Corbin, but for the most part, the former NXT star and Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner was able to cut him off. At one point, Ziggler launched himself off the ring steps and right into the waiting arms of Corbin, who planted him with a Deep Six on the arena floor.
The Showoff's last-gasp effort came when he countered End of Days and blasted Corbin with a superkick. Unfortunately, it was hardly enough to keep the former Arizona Cardinal down. Moments later, Corbin crotched his opponent on the ropes and finished him off with the aforementioned End of Days, picking up another win over the former heavyweight champion.
Despite the solid wrestling match, it is time for the two competitors to move on for the sake of their own futures in WWE.
3. Money in the Bank Ladder Match
8 of 10
Had it not been for the late six-man spot, the Money in the Bank ladder match may have stolen the show.
The spots were dumbed down as the Superstars opted for brutality rather than spectacle. One such spot saw Sami Zayn use a Michinoku Driver on Kevin Owens, dropping him tailbone-first on an unfolded ladder.
Cesaro took his opponents to Uppercut City and delivered two of his patented swings, dizzying Alberto Del Rio before haphazardly tossing Chris Jericho into a ladder.
As has become a trademark of ladder matches in WWE, the Superstars formed an overly complicated contraption, and the match slowed significantly in the closing moments. A clever finish, which saw Dean Ambrose grab Owens by the shirt and repeatedly bash him face-first into the rungs of the ladder before ascending to its top and grabbing hold of the Money in the Bank briefcase, helped end the contest on a high note.
There were convoluted spots, but the contest was based more on reality and common sense than some of its predecessors, and the result was a strong match in which the right man emerged victorious.
2. John Cena vs. AJ Styles
9 of 10
John Cena vs. AJ Styles was a match 15 years in the making. A legitimate dream match in a day and age where few of them exist, it was the most hotly anticipated contest on Sunday's card.
Many expected a Match of the Year candidate, and while it did not quite reach that level, the bout was still an extraordinary contest that continued Styles' hot streak here in 2016.
Cena, who had not competed in a match since last October, understandably looked rusty—so much so that Michael Cole called attention to it on commentary. Even then, he still kept up with Styles, never looking any worse than the internationally traveled Superstar.
Together, they used counters and reversals to create dramatic false finishes.
Unfortunately, what should have been a masterpiece was marred by a late and unnecessary referee bump and interference from The Club, something specifically ruled out of the match Monday night, when the two signed the contract.
Some will argue that it was an effective way to build Styles' heel persona, and that is true. At the same time, it came off as yet another hollow attempt to preserve Cena's strength, to continue his presentation as WWE's answer to Superman—as if he would have been significantly diminished if Styles beat him cleanly.
That was a major disappointment and hampered what was an otherwise beautiful display of athleticism by two greats of the pro wrestling industry.
1. WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
10 of 10
The main event pitting Roman Reigns against Seth Rollins may have been overshadowed by the dream bout between John Cena and AJ Styles, but that did not dissuade the former Shield teammates from setting out to have the best match on the card.
They did just that, steadily building an epic encounter that hit its crescendo with a missed Spear into the protective barricade and another directly into a Pedigree. Moments later, Rollins captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, dealing Reigns his first clean pinfall defeat in what felt like an eternity.
But Rollins' celebration was short-lived. Just as The Architect had done at WrestleMania 31, Dean Ambrose hit the ring and cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, pinning his former friend following a Dirty Deeds and winning the top prize in the industry.
The drama of the advertised match and surprise of the "match" that followed helped the main event of Money in the Bank earn the top spot on our countdown.
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