Straight to the Top: MITB Anthology Blu Ray Review - Disc 2
Rey Mysterio vs Alberto Del Rio vs The Miz vs Evan Bourne vs R-Truth vs Alex Riley vs Jack Swagger vs Kofi Kingston
From Money in the Bank 2011. This one had the difficult task of having to follow up the amazing Smackdown ladder match, but it managed to escape it's shadow and deliver a great contest. I liked the start of the match with everyone bringing in a ladder to defend themselves with. I've got to admit that the Miz looked like a trooper coming back to the ring after what looked like a bad knee injury. Del Rio did seem like the most obvious guy to win it, but it has helped him into the main event scene in recent years, so I'd say he was a good choice. Another match with some great spots like Bourne's shooting star press off a ladder, and Del Rio taking off Mysterio's mask to win. Hell of a match. ***3/4
Dolph Ziggler vs Christian vs Tyson Kidd vs Tensai vs Cody Rhodes vs Damien Sandow vs Santino Marella vs Sin Cara
From Money in the Bank 2012. I remember at the time thinking that if either Tensai or Santino won the match, I'd go crazy with anger. Luckily that never happened. Christian and Ziggler were the clear favourites here, and Ziggler finally looked like he was heading to the top with his big win. Unfortunately that didn't work out too well for him. Tyson Kidd was impressive here, showing off his in-ring technique, and an awesome sunset powerbomb to Ziggler. Santino's fear of heights was a funny moment. An awesome ladder match overall. ****
John Cena vs Chris Jericho vs Kane vs The Big Show vs The Miz
From Money in the Bank 2012. This is the least amount of guys in a MITB match so far. The Miz was a nice surprise contestant. The match didn't look very promising on paper, but it definitely surprised everyone, as it was a pretty great ladder match. There was no way that Cena was losing here though and that did hinder the match a bit, but it was still fun. Nice to see the return of Show's huge ladder. This one wasn't filled with big spots like other MITB matches, but that's what makes it nice and unique. It's nice to see a MITB match that's filled with a little more story than the others. Overall a great match. ***3/4
Cody Rhodes vs Damien Sandow vs Dean Ambrose vs Fandango vs Wade Barrett vs Jack Swagger vs Antonio Cesaro
From Money in the Bank 2013. Poor Sandow. Looking back now, he deserved more than to just lose to an injured Cena. I'm sure he'll get their someday. Anyway this match was quite strange as everyone in it was a heel. The fans picked their own favourites like Ambrose and Rhodes. Rhodes was very impressive here and he had his face turn thanks to the finish with Sandow, and that turned out to be a great idea, as he's had a great run as a face. It was impossible to tell who was gonna win this one. I had my money on Ambrose. This reminded me a bit of TLC at Mania 17, where the interference made the match more entertaining. Exciting, fast-paced match showing off the talents of all involved. One of the better MITB matches. ****1/2
CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan vs Rob Van Dam vs Christian vs Sheamus vs Randy Orton
From Money in the Bank 2013. This was billed as an All Star MITB and it was definitely that, as everyone here has a definite star and had a good chance of winning. It also had the very highly anticipated return of RVD, and he showed absolutely no ring rust here. The clear cut favourites were both RVD and Bryan, so it was quite unexpected to see Orton pick up the win. We all know how that turned out. This match is relevant for starting the Heyman/Punk feud that had it's very high points, but also it's low points. Sheamus suffered a pretty bad leg injury that has kept him out of action for some time. Everyone in this match looked awesome, and just about all of them took some painful looking bumps. Awesome match, and almost as good as the original. ****1/2
Blu-Ray Exclusives:
I won't rate most of the cash-ins because they're not really proper matches, but I will say that they are fun to watch over and over again, and it's nice to have most of them in one place.
John Cena vs Rob Van Dam
From ECW One Night Stand 2006. Here we have the first cash-in that was announced for a full match. Well the fans absolutely loved Cena here as they gave him gifts of toilet paper and wouldn't accept his shirt because they thought themselves unworthy of it. Just kidding, I don't want to be killed in my sleep. Very good match here, that was helped by a raucious crowd, but most of it is edited out because this is a PG release. The match with the crowd reactions is ***3/4.
John Cena vs CM Punk
From Raw 1000. This marks the first time a MITB winner unsuccessfully cashed in a briefcase. This wasn't the usual awesome Punk/Cena match, due to the fact that there was barely any time left on the show, and the fact that it ended with Big SHow interfering, but it was still a pretty good match. This also led to Punk's heel turn that lasted almost a year, and set up his feud with The Rock. ***
9.5/10. Based on match quality alone, this is one of the best sets ever. It doesn't become tiring watching the same gimmick match over and over again, and the time just absolutely flies by. The Blu Ray Exclusives are a great addition too, giving us every cash in from Edge in 2006, to Dolph Ziggler in 2013. A set worth owning for sure.
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