WWE Money in the Bank preview

The 2011 WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view opens up with the normal WWE intro before going into a video package for tonight’s main event and CM Punk talking about leaving the company after tonight.

We’re live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois as the pyro goes off. Ladders are setup around the ring as Michael Cole welcomes us to the second ever Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Cole is joined by Booker T and Jerry Lawler.

SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Sin Cara vs. Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel vs. Sheamus vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Heath Slater vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

We go to the ring for tonight’s opener and out first comes Sin Cara followed by Wade Barrett. Ladders and armored trucks are setup on the entrance-way. Out next comes Justin Gabriel with his new theme music. Sheamus is out next followed by Cody Rhodes. Heath Slater is out next with his new theme music. Daniel Bryan is out next and finally Kane makes his way out.

The bell rings and everyone goes at it. Barrett and Cody, Kane and Gabriel, Sheamus and Sin Cara. Sheamus throws Cara out and stomps on Bryan until he goes to the floor. It comes down to Sheamus, Barrett and Kane in the irng. They both attack Kane but he double clotheslines them twice, the second sending them out to the floor. Kane leaves the ring and brings a ladder in. Daniel Bryan dropkicks the ladder into Kane, sending him back into the fan barrier. Bryan picks up the ladder but Slater and Gabriel kick it into him. Sin Cara comes over but they knock him down on the floor with the ladder. Slater pulls Gabriel to the floor and brings the ladder in.

This is the match that has the wrestling world buzzing. Punk has said that he is leaving WWE after this event, and I believe that to be true, although I don’t think he’ll be gone for very long. There’s no doubt that Punk will be heavily cheered tonight in his hometown of Chicago, and my guess is that he’ll be a babyface when he makes his inevitable return to WWE. There are a number of intriguing scenarios as to how this plays out tonight, the most shocking of which would be for Cena to turn heel and defeat Punk with the help of WWE chairman Vince McMahon. Another jaw-dropper would be Triple H (you know, Vince’s “doofus son-in-law”) screwing over Punk and costing him the title. I don’t think either of those will happen, though. From the moment McMahon said that Cena would be fired if Punk left with the championship (rather than saying Cena would be fired if he lost), I figured Punk was going to win the title and then immediately lose it to the winner of the Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match. I still think that’s what’s going to happen, although I wonder if WWE might go with something else just because so many people are expecting it. Here’s how I see it going down: Punk defeats Cena when McMahon’s interference (which Cena wanted no part of) backfires. Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match winner Alberto Del Rio then cashes in the briefcase and beats Punk for the title, thanks to an assist from McMahon. That sets up Del Rio vs. Cena at SummerSlam and for Punk to return somewhere down the line as a huge anti-establishment babyface.

The stipulation is that Orton will lose the title if he’s disqualified or if there is “referee incompetence.” When Christian dropped the title to Orton back in May, I predicted that Christian would turn heel and eventually regain the championship. Well, I was half right. I’m no longer convinced that Christian is getting the belt back. Although the deck seems to be stacked against the champion tonight, I expect Orton to retain the title and move on to another challenger.

Gabriel stops Slater from climbing but Bryan stops him. Cody comes over and goes to climb the ladder but Sheamus stops him. Sheamus goes for his finisher but Cody slides out. Cody drops Slater but Sheamus takes out Cody and Bryan with clotheslines. Sheamus sets a ladder up in the corner but Kane grabs he and Cody for chokeslams. Kane ends up pushing them over the ropes to the floor. Barrett comes in and beats Kane down in the corner. Barrett gets countered and Kane whips him into the ladder face first. Kane throws the ladder to the floor and it takes out Sheamus and Cody. Slater goes at it with Kane but gets hit with a big sideslam. Kane climbs to the top but Sin Cara kicks him in the head, sending him to the floor. Gabriel kicks Cara out to the floor. Bryan and Gabriel go at it until Bryan leaps through the ropes and lands on the other Superstars on the floor. Gabriel runs the ropes and leaps over, landing on Kane. Slater corkscrews over the top and lands on Cody. Sin Cara leaps to the top rope and lands outside on Sheamus. Everybody is down everywhere.

Cara and Gabriel go at it in the ring now. Cara takes out Slater and drops Gabriel with a springboard back elbow. Cara takes Gabriel out of the ring with a scissors and then kicks Daniel Bryan while he’s on the top. Cara climbs up to the top rope with Bryan and hits his big finisher. Cara goes outside and brings a ladder into the ring but Barrett stops him with a big boot. Barrett sets a ladder up as a bridge between the ring and the Spanish announcers table. Barrett scoops up Cara but he slides out. Barrett charges but Cara moves and he hits the ringpost. Cara goes in the ring but Sheamus lays him out with a Brogue kick. Sheamus picks up Cara on the apron and powerbombs him through the ladder that’s bridged between the ring and the announce table. Cara crashes through the ladder, breaking it in half. Cara starts shaking on the floor as officials check on him.

Tonight will be Del Rio’s night, as he'll capture the briefcase and then go on to achieve his destiny of becoming WWE champion. This match figures to blow away the Smackdown MITB contest.