WWE Money in the Bank 2013
July 14, 2013
Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, PA
stream at http://www.whsport.net
CARD
WWE Championship
John Cena (c) VS. Mark Henry
Heavyweight Championship of the World
Alberto del Rio (c) VS. Dolph Ziggler
Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match
Winner may challenge the WWE Champion at their discretion up to and including July 14, 2014.
CM Punk VS. Rob Van Dam VS. Daniel Bryan VS. Randy Orton VS. Christian VS. Mystery Guy VS. Sheamus
Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match
Winner may challenge the World Heavyweight Champion at their discretion up to and including July 14, 2014.
Dean Ambrose VS. Damien Sandow VS. Fandango VS. Cody Rhodes VS. Jack Swagger VS. Wade Barrett VS. Antonio Cesaro
Chris Jericho VS. The Ryback
WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship
Curtis Axel VS. The Miz
WWE Divas' Championship
AJ Lee (c) VS. Kaitlyn
DARK MAIN EVENT: WWE Tag Team Championship
The SHIELD [Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins] VS. The Usos [Jimmy & Jey]
Money in the Bank: Who can most benefit from victories?
All face and all heel matches add new dimension to predicting winners, RVD and Barrett stand out
COVER STORY by Wade Keller
Top happenings at Sunday’s Money in the Bank, unlike some PPVs, won’t be forgotten quickly. Two wrestlers will walk away from the event with a briefcase that will be a central part of their characters’ journey for however long it is before they cash it in for a title shot. Who stands to benefit the most, though? And who is the right person in each match to walk
away with the briefcase?
In the “All-Stars” ladder match, Rob Van Dam makes his return. A win for him would give him a sense of purpose right away and perhaps accelerate him into a possible main event program should he cash in and win the WWE Title. Every wrestler in the “All-Star” MITB match is a babyface, so while normal you’d predict a heel to win since WWE Champ John Cena is a babyface, in this case that doesn’t help narrow down the field. Of course, the winner could turn heel after winning. That’s where RVD might come in.
RVD has a known connection to Paul Heyman, so while RVD could end up feuding with Curtis Axel, it’s also possible RVD would join Heyman. RVD is, of course, already a “Heyman Guy.” Fans want to cheer RVD, and his flashy style is a better match with a babyface than a heel. At age 42, RVD is slowing down and can’t do the flashy moves with as much finesse and grace as he once did. Rather than pale in comparison to his former self, he could relieve that pressure and work a different style, spiting the fans in the process. A fresh RVD hot off of a heel turn could be a PPV worthy opponent for Cena in coming months. RVD’s popular with fans isn’t a reason to avoid turning him; instead, the more hot you are as a babyface, the stronger the feeling of betrayal when you turn. The key is to be sure you can also be an effective heel rather than still getting cheered or have fans just lose interest in you entirely. I think RVD could pull off being a believable heel very well in 2013.
C.M. Punk could win, but it would almost seem like a step down for him. Instead, RVD could be the one who actually eliminates Punk, and have that be the way Heyman gets his revenge on Punk for splitting with him. Daniel Bryan seems like the safe pick, especially since they focused on him at the end of Raw holding up the briefcase on top of the ladder. There has been real talk behind the scenes
of a Cena vs. Bryan PPV match,now perhaps at SummerSlam. Does Bryan winning the MITB help make that happen? Would Bryan use the briefcase to challenge Cena to a scheduled match rather than doing the cowardly (non-babyface) method of going for a win when he’s vulnerable?
Speaking of which, Randy Orton said on Raw he’d happily attack Cena when he’s down, implying that if he wins MITB on Sunday, and then Cena beats Henry but is badly hurt in the process, he’d have no problem cashing in and winning the WWE Title. I don’t expect Cena to lose his title between now and WrestleMania 30, but I could see Orton winning the MITB as a way to get him back into the title mix and perhaps turn heel, which seems to be just a matter of time, right?
Sheamus, Christian, and Kane are the least likely to win, and Kane may not even make it to the match since they’re selling the beating he took from the Wyatt Family on Raw. So that leaves a wildcard replacement for Kane as a possible winner, too.
As for the other MITB match featuring the non-All-Stars (essentially mid-card heels), Wade Barrett could benefit the most from a win because he could actually be a believable heel champion.
Nobody believes Fandango, Cody Rhodes, or Damien Sandow would cash in and actually win. One of the keys to the MITB working is that the winner is a believable threat to be champion. Antonio Cesaro, Jack Swagger, and Dean Ambrose barely qualify, either, which makes Barrett the likely favorite.
Ambrose comes in at no. 2, and Swagger comes in at no. 3. Since they’re all heels, before they cash in, you’d expect Alberto Del Rio to likely lose to Ziggler first, which could be as soon as Sunday’s PPV event.
