Tonight, the MITB pay-per-view takes an interesting twist; in the WWE Championship MITB match, we have 4 former champions in Kane, Jericho, Big Show, and John Cena vying for a shot at the case.
One of them will earn a guaranteed title match against either CM Punk or Daniel Bryan, both who seem just as immersed in the WWE Title as they are in AJ's tangled, crazy web of love. Will either man truly come out as champion, or are they both just two flies that have entered AJ's parlor?
Then we have the World Heavyweight Championship MITB, with only two former world champions, a cobra, a Hart-y competitor, a Far East beast, a masked luchador, a rookie with a veritable vernacular, and Cody Rhodes.
The winner will face either the pure Irish brute of a World Champion Sheamus or the man of wealth, class, and a renewed vigor and anger that has not been seen in some time, Alberto Del Rio.
WWE.COM Pre-Show Match: WWE Tag Team Championship
Kofi Kingston & R-Truth (c) v. Hunico & Camacho
The Kingston-Truth team we can't seem to find a solid nickname for going up against the former Sin Cara Negro and his heavy Camacho. Putting aside the fact that the Prime Time Players's #1 contendership apparently doesn't mean they get the first shot, it should be an interesting bout as Hunico has shown remarkable progress in the ring as seen on WWE Superstars. However, O'Neil & Young are waiting in the wings, and this is more or less a match to get the crowd's engine running, so it's a no-brainer.
Winner: Kingston & Truth
World Heavyweight Championship MITB Ladder Match
Tyson Kidd v. Christian v. Damien Sandow v. Santino v. Cody Rhodes v. Dolph Ziggler v. Tensai v. Sin Cara
Well, isn't this the eclectic bunch of Superstars: Two former world champions, two current mid-card champions, four men who've never been in MITB, and one man who'd rather try climbing a ladder than going through one again (We're looking at you, Sin Cara). Weeding out the non-winners isn't much of a problem here.
Sandow's too fresh and new in the WWE that anyone would believe him to win MITB, let alone cash it in. Sin Cara's been fluctuating since returning from his "Wellness" vacay. Tensai's stock has all but plummeted since his loss to Cena earlier this year, and that's only been compounded by his recent loss to Tyson Kidd.
Kidd himself is going all out to make an impact, but it may end up being a Shelton Benjamin-like impact: Flashy, spectacular and high-risk, but nothing to show for it at the end of the night. Christian is and can become immersed in the World Title picture with the snap of a finger, so he doesn't need it. While Santino would be a fun, interesting pick to win, it's also not all that believable.
That leaves Cody Rhodes, who got in on a second chance he wanted and got, and Dolph Ziggler, who's been getting more and more reactions (many positive) as he hangs around the World Title picture. Both have been clamoring to become World Champion this year and making great strides towards doing so. However, Ziggler's repeated losses to Sheamus leave me doubtful he could capitalize, even with a cash-in, so...
Winner: Cody Rhodes
World Heavyweight Title Match
Sheamus (c) v. Alberto Del Rio
So Del Rio finally has the title shot he forfeited at "Over The Limit", and he's gone to great lengths to show that it's not to going be a cakewalk as some fans may assume it will be for the "Brogue Kick Hooligan" of a World Champion.
Slamming a car hood on Sheamus' head, cranking his Cross-Arm Breaker as Sheamus hung off the metal stage; Del Rio has shown a vicious and brutal side we have not really seen since his feud with Rey Mysterio at the start of his WWE career. He has matched Sheamus's fiery temper with his own and looks to "fight fire with fire" to fulfill his original destiny of becoming a World Heavyweight Champion.
However, we have seen that it takes a lot to keep Sheamus down, and all of Alberto's riches and fiery temperament may not be enough to quell the furious, flame-headed warrior.
Winner: Sheamus
WWE Championship MITB Ladder Match
Big Show v. Kane v. John Cena v. Chris Jericho
I'll admit, they made an interesting twist with this MITB match as it only features former WWE Champions; however, that's where the interesting points end. Kane's recently come of the AJ-Punk-Bryan debacle on the bottom of the proverbial totem pole and looks like even less of a threat than when he returned at the beginning of the year. While Jericho has indeed never won a briefcase in the match of his own creation, one possibility is him facing Punk, a feud that has run its course, and while he and Bryan would make for an interesting rivalry, I'd rather see them team up more.
So (sigh) it comes down to Big Show and Cena; John has promised to stop the renewed rampage of the giant and take the briefcase for himself, meaning a potential SummerSlam rematch with Punk or a feud with Bryan that harkens back to the now rarely-mentioned NXT Invasion to see who is truly the "better" man. Big Show's recent bout of unstoppable rage leads me to wonder, however, if a match between a more motivated Show and Punk might not be as bad an idea as it was the last time they faced off...
However...
Considering that the match is open to any and all former WWE Champions, we may see an unexpected, unannounced name come in and snatch the briefcase. It could be someone with some West Coast Pop, the most recent of WWE's "The Few and The Proud", A Great One in his quest for WWE gold, or even...
Winner: Big Sho...BROOOOCKKKK LESNAR!!!
WWE Championship Match
CM Punk (c) v. Daniel Bryan
(AJ is the Special Referee)
This has been a very hot and cold feud; the matches Punk and Bryan have put on have been nothing short of spectacular, as can be expected from the two ROH graduates. The cute-as-a-button, but crazy-as-a-nut AJ has even perked my interest and had me intrigued to a certain point, as we have not seen a woman so deeply entrenched in a wrestling main event since the days of Awesome Kong and Gail Kim in TNA.
However, the focus has turned from AJ simply screwing with either man's mind as the Special Ref for the WWE Title match into a torrid affair for her demented affections. I feel she's become overexposed and I hate to say this, but I hope the Bryan-Punk feud resolves sooner than later so the mess with AJ can be sorted out.
That's not the only spanner in the works here; if my prediction comes to pass in the WWE Championship MITB match, it would not at all shock me to see Lesnar come out and capitalize on either man.
(No Cash-In) Winner: CM Punk
(Cash-In) Winner: Brock Lesnar
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