Straight to the Top: MITB Anthology Blu Ray Review - Disc 1
I bought this for a very good price, and I'd rather do this than the Batista set right now, but I'll get to that later on in the week.
Money in the Bank is easily one of the best wrestling creations of the 21st Century, as it revitalised the Ladder match concept and made a great way of making new stars. It's still one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the year, as well as it's own PPV which seems to be more popular than most other PPVs, including some of the Big Four. This Blu Ray gives us every MITB match so far, and almost every cash-in (Sandow's and Orton's came a little later after the set was released). So how does it all look in one place? Let's find out.
Miz is the host, and we even get to see Jericho's proposal for the match on Raw.
Kane vs Chris Benoit vs Edge vs Christian vs Shelton Benjamin vs Chris Jericho
From Wrestlemania 21. The saying goes that the original is always the best, and this case, it's totally true. No MITB match has been able to beat this, and it might even be the best Ladder match of the 21st Century. It's tied with the HBK/Jericho match for me anyway. Of course some Benoit commentary has been edited out which is completely understandable. An amazing match with some very memorable spots, including Shelton running up a ladder and knocking Y2J off another ladder. They even managed some psychology with the work on Benoit's arm. Awesome match that needs to be seen. Although you'd be better off watching another version due to all the edits. ****3/4
Matt Hardy vs Shelton Benjamin vs Finlay vs Bobby Lashley vs Rob Van Dam vs Ric Flair
From Wrestlemania 22. It's hard to follow up a classic, but this one did very well with that. Shelton Benjamin once again stole the whole match, and RVD's offense made things very entertaining. Bobby Lashley didn't bring much to the match except for some crappy climbing, but he took his big powerbomb like a champ. Everyone performed well here, and major props to Flair for getting in there with the younger guys. All in all a great match and the fans were happy with RVD winning. ***3/4
Mr Kennedy vs Edge vs Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy vs CM Punk vs King Booker vs Finlay
From Wrestlemania 23. Looking back at this one today, it featured a ton of talent, including many former World Champs, and two hall of famers in Edge and Booker. Poor Kennedy remains the only guy never to have his shot at a World Title with his briefcase, as Edge would win it off of him in a match on Raw. This has always been one of my favourite MITB matches as it's a ton of fun from start to finish and features some great spots, like Jeff's huge leap off of a ladder onto Edge outside the ring. Orton's RKO to Punk off a ladder was pretty awesome too. A fantastic ladder match overall. ****
CM Punk vs Chris Jericho vs MVP vs John Morrison vs Shelton Benjamin vs Carlito vs Mr Kennedy
From Wrestlemania 24. Also the first HD match of the set. One of the better MITB matches in history here. It's a total spotfest, but it's just so much fun to watch. I thought only having two faces was a bad idea, but the most recent World Title MITB match had nothing but heels! An awesome match and just about everyone had something to bring to it. The Matt Hardy interference was very well done too and got a huge pop from the live crowd. Some other great spots include Morrison's moonsault with a ladder, a combined sunset flip and superplex, the return of the liontamer on a ladder, and Benjamin being thrown out the ring and onto a ladder, just to mention a few. Punk deserved the big win, and even if his first reign wasn't that good, he'd still have his day in the sun. I think I'm gonna have to give it a higher rating, as I've seen it so many times and it still amazes me everytime. Love it. ****1/2
CM Punk vs Kane vs Christian vs Shelton Benjamin vs Finlay vs Mark Henry vs MVP vs Kofi Kingston
From Wrestlemania 25. I never watched the live version of this, so I didn't see the botches that people complain about when talking about this match, as they have obviously been edited out. Also why was Mark Henry here? I love the guy but there was no way that he would make this match any better, except for his awesome world's strongest slam to Kingston. Even with that stuff in mind, this was still a very exciting match to watch thanks to spots like Benjamin's senton off a ladder and some great athleticism from Kofi. It's quite a historical match too as it was the first time someone had won it twice, nevermind back to back. Punk wins it to start him on the road to his awesome heel turn a few months later. Great match. ***1/2
Kofi Kingston vs MVP vs Shelton Benjamin vs Kane vs Jack Swagger vs Dolph Ziggler vs Matt Hardy vs Evan Bourne vs Christian vs Drew McIntyre
From Wrestlemania 26. Ten guys looked like way too much to have in this match, but I think they handled it pretty well, and it makes the match that little bit more unpredictable. This is the last MITB match to take place at Wrestlemania and out of every MITB there's ever been, I'd say this might be worst of all of them, but that just shows how great the MITB concept is, because even though it may be the worst, it's still a ton of fun to watch. Swagger turned out to be a bad decision for the winner, but at least they gave him a shot. There are a few great spots here like Bourne's shooting star press from the ladder, and Kofi's stilts made from ladder parts. The latter is particularly innovative. Great stuff. ***1/2
Kofi Kingston vs Dolph Ziggler vs Christian vs Cody Rhodes vs Matt Hardy vs Drew McIntyre vs Kane vs Big Show
From Money in the Bank 2010. Here we have the first MITB match not to take place at a Mania, and this was a great match to start the new tradition with. A hell of a lot of talented guys in this one. I loved that Show had to have his own reinforced ladder because the ordinary ones were too weak for him. His ladder looks awesome and should definitely be used more often. It's probably safer to use than the other ladders too. I also loved Kofi's boom drop off the ladder to Drew who was on the announcer's table. Kane was a good choice for the winner as he had the biggest storyline on Smackdown as he hunted for Undertaker's attacker, and he managed to keep the Title until December so that's pretty impressive. Kane's also the only guy to cash in on the same night he won the briefcase. Great ladder match overall. ****
Randy Orton vs Edge vs The Miz vs Chris Jericho vs Evan Bourne vs John Morrison vs Mark Henry vs Ted Dibiase
From Money in the Bank 2010. Now this was a hard match to predict. Aside from Mark Henry and Ted Dibiase, everyone looked to have a winning chance. At the time, I personally had my money on Evan Bourne, but look how that turned out for the poor guy. I think this match proved that you could have two of these matches in one night without it becoming stale, mostly because it's a hard match to screw up entertainment-wise. This one wasn't as spot-heavy like most of the other matches, but this was still a highly enjoyable match, mainly thanks to the great talent in the ring. The Miz grabs the briefcase to help set up a boring Mania main event. Awesome match. ****
Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan vs Wade Barrett vs Kane vs Cody Rhodes vs Heath Slater vs Justin Gabriel vs Sin Cara
From Money in the Bank 2011. Yes this match had the honour of opening up one of the greatest shows of all time, and boy did it do a great job of that. Looking back now, it seems strange to think that it was almost impossible that Daniel Bryan would win the thing. I was personally rooting for him to win, but in the back of my head I was almost positive that Sheamus or Wade Barrett would win it. Needless to say, I did mark out like a kid when Bryan won, and it still gives me goosebumps today. Anyway the entire match was awesome, the spots were well done, and it was never boring at all. Exciting all the way through and one of the better MITB matches. ****1/4
Well this has been an awesome set so far, and I think the average match rating is around four star which is incredible. I can't wait to get started on Disc 2. Stay tuned for part 2!
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