The Date: 18 June 2010
The Venue: Sprint Center; Kansas City, Missouri
The Commentary: Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler, and Matt Striker
The Referees: Mike Chioda, John Cone, et al
The Stakes: Two eight-man ladder matches for a chance to cash-in on a World Heavyweight Championship or a WWE Championship at any time within a year

The Build-Up:
Thanks to their uncontested dominance of the wrestling landscape, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has been at the forefront of creativity with their celebrated Superstars, pay-per-views, and memorable matches. Since 1993, Superstars could earn a first-class ticket to a World Championship match at WrestleMania by winning the annual thirty-man Royal Rumble match, and fans had been enamoured by ladder matches and their exciting variants, but it was long-time veteran “Y2J” Chris Jericho who conceived of combining these concepts with the “Money in the Bank” ladder match. Debuting at WrestleMania 21, this multi-man ladder match (which saw the winner retrieve a briefcase to cash in for a championship match anywhere, anytime) became an annual fixture of the Showcase of the Immortals until 2010, where it not only featured on the WrestleMania XXVI card but also got its own self-titled event. By this point, WWE had split their rosters into two brands and, rather than mix Raw and SmackDown! competitors together in a single eight-man Money in the Bank ladder match, each brand got their own match at this inaugural Money in the Bank pay-per-view. 2010 was quite the tumultuous year for the WWE: their ill-fated revival of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) gave way to the first questionable season of NXT, leading to the doomed Nexus stable, and the company was full of highs and lows as Superstars left, returned, and won and lost championships. Most of the drama heading into these matches was found on Raw; initially, R-Truth was supposed to take part in the Raw match but an attack from the Miz saw him unable to compete and replaced with Mark Henry. Over on SmackDown!, two matches were held to determine the final two men in the other match, with the “Chosen One” Drew McIntyre earning a spot by pinning fellow competitor (and reigning Intercontinental Champion) Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler (who was being given preferential treatment by SmackDown!’s General Manager, Vicki Guerrero) overcoming Montel Vontavious Portal/MVP and Chavo Guerrero in a triple threat match to get added to the match.

The Review:
I have to say that as exciting as the prospect of the Money in the Bank ladder match is, I’ve never been a fan of it having its own pay-per-view; I get why it does, since it’s basically akin to the Royal Rumble match, but it seems like overkill. But nothing’s more overkill than hosting two Money in the Bank ladder matches on the same event on the same night! To me, I think it would have made more sense and kept the match from growing stale to just have four to six men from each brand compete in one big, longer match for the briefcase, especially later down the line when the brand-specific rule for the Money in the Bank contract got waved. Still, it is what it is, and we can’t change it now and, at this first-ever Money in the Bank pay-per-view, the SmackDown! contest kicked things off. This match for a World Heavyweight Championship opportunity featured then-Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Christian (who Michael Cole pegged as his favourite due to his previous experiences with the match), “Dashing” Cody Rhodes, Matt Hardy (who Matt Striker called the “sentimental favourite”), Drew McIntyre, Kane (who’d been driven into a psychotic frenzy after his brother, the Undertaker, was taken out by an unknown attacker), and, incredibly, the Big Show! Although the competitors waited patiently until the bell rang to get into it, the six smaller men immediately targeted the two giants once the match got underway. The long-time rivals and former Tag Team Champions soon swatted away their attackers, though, and even worked together to slap down Cody when he tried to make a climb for the briefcase amidst the chaos, only to inevitably come to blows. After knocking Kane down with a big shoulder block and clearing the ring, the Big Show tried to climb the ladder only for the rungs to break under his weight! Exasperated, he fought off the other competitors and tossed the ladder right in Kane’s face before the others got on the same page long enough to gang up on him and temporarily take him out of the equation by running him into the ring steps.

It was Drew McIntyre who came out on top of the predictable melee that followed. He booted and smacked down each man with ease, catapulted Christian face-first into a ladder, but took so long setting the ladder up in the ring that Matt Hardy was able to bash him in the spine and gut with another ladder. Matt then made the first significant climb up the ladder, only to be intercepted by old rival Christian. Matt returned the favour soon after and the two ended up brawling out of the ring, leaving Cody and Kofi to fight over the ladder. After bashing Cody’s face off the ladder, Kofi tried to go for the briefcase, but Dolph Ziggler intercepted him, clambered to the top, and was just seconds away from unhooking the briefcase when Christian interrupted him. The two exchanged blows at the top of the ladder but it was Ziggler who took the big fall to the canvas. There was a bit of a botch afterwards as Matt toppled the ladder and it seemed like Christian was supposed to spill out of the ring and onto the Big Show, but the positioning was off so he simply dropped to the ring and a slugfest broke out between the two, Cody, and Kofi to try and cover for it. Matt and Christian then worked together to counter an attempted double Chokeslam from Kane into a double DDT and then crushed him between two ladders before getting back into it in an exchange that saw Christian counter Matt’s Twist of Fate into a flapjack onto a ladder and then being crushed underfoot. Christian’s next attempt to climb the ladder saw that planned spot finally come to fruition as Cody toppled the ladder and Christian went flying into the Big Show on the outside. Cody, Kofi, and Matt then worked together to subdue Kane with a finisher-fest before McIntyre reinserted himself into the match by pushing Matt and Cody off the ladder and ramming both (and Ziggler) shoulder-first into the ring post, but it was Kane’s timely intervention that kept him from climbing. A baseball slide into a ladder ended Kane’s brief rampage; Kofi then resumed his recent rivalry with McIntyre by laying him out over the announce table with a Trouble in Paradise and then crushing the Sinister Scotsman through the table with a Boom Drop off a ladder!

Just as Ziggler grabbed at the briefcase, the Big Show knocked him down, drilled him with a One-Handed Chokeslam, and then took Kane out with a ladder and his massive bulk. Enraged, the Big Show shrugged off every attempt to topple him, crushed Matt and Christian with a body splash to a ladder placed over both men, and then pulled a massive, reinforced, “350lbs” ladder out from under the ring! With a supreme effort, the Big Show hefted the gigantic apparatus into the ring, but Cody smashed a step ladder into the giant’s ankle to keep him from climbing. Although Ziggler intercepted Cody with an electric chair drop, the Big Show recovered but was too hobbled to make the climb and was planted with a ridiculously impressive jumping DDT from Kofi off the ladder! Cody’s beautiful Missile Dropkick knocked Kofi from the ladder and his shitty Cross Rhodes finisher smashed the Intercontinental Champion into a ladder before Ziggler bashed the back of Cody’s head off the big ladder with a Zig-Zag, by which point the Big Show was back up and dishing out headbutts. However, Kane returned and toppled the massive ladder, spilling the Big Show to the outside where he was buried under a pile of ladders! Kane then frantically fought off Christian, Matt, Cody, and Kofi as the four scrambled up the ladder, but Kane was almost too slow to intercept Cody’s grab for the briefcase. Ziggler suddenly returned to the ring, climbed over Kane, and even slapped on his Sleeper Hold before getting his head bounced off the ladder and awkwardly being choke-shoved off the ring apron to the pile of ladders below. Kane then Chokeslammed Kofi to this same pile, rammed Cody face-first into a truck by the entrance way, and then ate a slam off the ladder courtesy of Matt and Christian. The two battled for the briefcase and took nasty spills to the canvas for their troubles; finally recovered, McIntyre seemed poised to steal the victory, but Kane intercepted him, tossed him off the ladder, and unhooked the briefcase for the win to a massive ovation! I really enjoyed the story being told with the Big Show being too big, heavy, and strong for a normal ladder but he was a bit of a slug here. There was a lot of dead air where some of the guys just vanished and not enough of a desperate scramble to take out the two big men, but some impressive physicality from Kofi, the speed and explosive intensity of McIntyre, and Kane’s righteous victory helped to pull together into a decent opening contest.

The Raw Money in the Bank ladder match was the penultimate match of the show. “The Viper” Randy Orton, The Miz (who was the reigning United States Champion, and Michael Cole’s “dark horse” pick), “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry, Ted DiBiase (who was the current Million Dollar Champion and came to the ring with Maryse, though neither really upped his charisma-less void), John Morrison, Chris Jericho (Lawler’s pick to win), Evan Bourne (fresh off that RKO), and the “Rated-R Superstar” Edge (Striker’s pick to win) were the competitors for this match and a chance at the WWE Championship. Edge immediately stirred the pot by sliding a ladder into the ring and then retreating to the outside to watch as the other guys fought over it. Mark Henry then asserted himself as the biggest, strongest guy in the ring but Bourne, far from intimidated, assaulted him in the corner and the fight spilled to the outside. Seizing his opportunity, Edge dashed inside and came within a hair of unhooking the briefcase before Orton intercepted him. Orton’s need to avenge himself against Edge saw him temporarily forget about the ladder to deliver more punishment on the outside, allowing DiBiase and Morrison to fight in the ring, but it was a cartwheel dropkick from Bourne that put a stop to Ted’s short-lived ladder-based offense. The Miz attacked Bourne from behind and tossed him from the ring before getting into a fist fight with Jericho, but Henry shut this down by blasting both guys with a ladder and damn-near breaking the Miz’s neck by crushing him between the ropes! Jericho made the big man pay with a ladder shot to the face before getting smashed into the same ladder after Bourne dodged his attack and kicked him in the back of the head. Although Bourne took Edge out with a headscissors off the ladder, this distraction allowed Orton to target the high-flier. The “Apex Predator” then planted Bourne with his Draping DDT through the ladder rungs before being smacked with a springboard kick from Morrison. After bashing his own head off a ladder, Morrison faced a double team assault from the Miz and DiBiase but recovered and caused both men to run face-first into a ladder set up in the far corner. Morrison then tried to make a climb using a ladder set just to the side of the briefcase; despite Striker’s best attempts to provide a reason behind this, it soon became clear that it was to set up a double ladder spot as Jericho climbed up a second ladder and he, Morrison, Edge, and Orton all exchanged blows and tried to grab the swinging briefcase. The payoff for this was Mark Henry standing between the ladders and toppling both over, spilling all four men out of the ring in one huge show of strength, before Bourne used another ladder to leverage a swinging springboard kick to take out Henry!

Maryse then distracted Morrison by trying to climb the ladder, which allowed DiBiase to almost grab the briefcase before being crushed chest-first against a ladder and smashed off the barricade courtesy of Morrison. As Cole cheered him on, the Miz gave Morrison a taste of his own medicine on the outside, but Morrison fought him off and intercepted Edge’s climb by riding a toppling ladder into the ring! Edge responded by wedging Morrison between the ladder rungs and working with the Miz to crush his ribs with another ladder. Edge’s next climb was interrupted by DiBiase, who fought off Jericho and Orton and set a couple of ladders up in a strange configuration before getting drilled to the mat by Mark Henry’s World’s Strongest Slam. As Henry started to climb, Bourne, Edge, and Orton swarmed him; Bourne ended up tossed into Henry’s arms and crushed to the floor outside by a World’s Strongest Slam. A finisher-fest to Henry took him out of the match and allowed the remaining men to scramble up the ladder; DiBiase created a ladder bridge, which he smashed Miz into before Orton and Edge sent him sliding out of the ring in a nasty-looking bump to the floor outside. An RKO outta nowhere downed Edge and Jericho ended up dangling from the ladder when he traded blows with Morrison; after another RKO to Morrison, Orton got crushed by Air Bourne but Jericho sent Bourne crashing to the canvas after bashing him with the briefcase. Jericho’s desperate attempt to grab the swinging briefcase was interrupted by Edge but it was an RKO that put an end to Jericho’s title aspirations. Orton then yanked Edge off the ladder and right into the ladders stacked up in the ring (which had to hurt!) and climbed the ladder unopposed to thunderous applause. However, right as he was unhooking the briefcase, the Miz came out of nowhere, toppled the ladder, and snatched the briefcase for himself to a sea of boos and the irritating adulation of Michael Cole. While I feel the structure of this match was paced a little better and geared more towards high spots, I feel it lacked a bit of star power. DiBiase was as forgettable as ever, I can never bring myself to care about Mark Henry, and as good as Evan Bourne was, he wasn’t quite on the same level as some of the other guys. The Miz winning was the right call as he was almost universally despised and none of the other guys really needed the win, though I do wish the WWE had done more with John Morrison as the guy screamed “superstar” but never really got a decent main event run in the company. Ultimately, both matches had positives and negatives that might’ve resulted in a higher rating if it had been one big chaotic match but it’s pretty neck and neck from where I’m sitting.

The Aftermath:
Kane didn’t waste any time cashing in his Money in the Bank contract; he suddenly burst back into the arena after Rey Mysterio successfully retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Jack Swagger. Already injured from a post-match attack, the luchador stood no chance and was summarily dethroned in less than a minute. Kane would then go on to accuse Mysterio of attacking the Undertaker and the two faced off for the belt at SummerSlam, which revealed that it was actually Kane who had attacked his brother, reigniting their feud and resulting in a series of wins for Kane over the Deadman. The Miz held on to his Money in the Bank contract until November, when he successfully cashed in on Randy Orton (who had become the WWE Champion at Night of Champions). This, of course, led to an unlikely championship run for the Miz and an even more unlikely WrestleMania main event, where he infamously got seriously concussed, played second fiddle to the Rock, and defeated John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania XVII! Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston went on the feud over the Intercontinental Championship, the Big Show got into it with CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society, Chris Jericho stayed in the WWE Championship mix until taking a brief hiatus from wrestling, and Matt Hardy was also gone a few months later after the WWE’s European tour. John Morrison notoriously ended up teaming up with Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Trish Status against Dolph Ziggler, Layla, and Michelle McCool at WrestleMania XVII, Mark Henry and Evan Bourne formed a brief tag team, Ted DiBiase tried and failed to win the United States Championship, and Christian would be in Edge’s corner at WrestleMania XXVII for his successful World Heavyweight Championship defence. After this, Edge was forced to retire for a spell and Christian realised his own short-lived championship ambitions, and the Money in the Bank pay-per-views continued to be an annual occurrence following this inaugural event.

What did you think to the inaugural Money in the Bank pay-per-view? Which of the Money in the Bank ladder matches was your favourite? Do you agree that it dilutes the concept to have two or more of the matches on the same show? Were you happy that Kane and the Miz won or would you have liked to see someone else grab the briefcases? What did you think to the Big Show’s massive ladder and Evan Bourne’s athleticism? Which of the competitors was your favourite? Were there any competitors you would’ve liked to see included in these matches? What’s your favourite Money in the Bank match? Whatever your thoughts on the Money in the Bank match, share them below or leave a comment on my social media and be sure to check out my other wrestling reviews!