John Cena and Dolph Ziggler stand tall at WWE "Money In The Bank"

photo courtesy: wwe.com

The WWE pay per view cameras rolled into Arizona for the "Money In The Bank" event. This particular event has produced some shocks and surprises through the years, and Sunday night's showcase was no different.

Prior to the live pay per view, there was a special pre-show match for the WWE Tag Team Titles. Kofi Kingston and R-Truth picked up a win over Hunico and Camacho, with R-Truth picking up the pinfall victory.

The opening contest at "Money In The Bank" was the first of two signature matches, as the SmackDown guys were in line to compete. The winner of the match would become the #1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. Vickie Guerrero even tried to get involved, but was verbally ejected by Cody Rhodes. In the end, it was Dolph Ziggler who outlasted Rhodes, Santino Marella, Damien Sandow, Tyson Kidd, Christian, Tensai, and Sin Cara to earn his shot at the title.

To the surprise of many in attendance, fans witnessed the return of former WWE Champion The Miz. After being gone for the last couple of months, The Miz told everyone he had been away filming a movie but had returned to reclaim his WWE Title. He then said he would be entering the Raw Money In The Bank match later in the evening.

The second match featured the World Heavyweight Championship, as Sheamus defended against Alberto Del Rio. These two went back and forth throughout the match, as fans saw a more vicious side to Del Rio throughout the match. After a brutal contest, Sheamus retained the World Title with a win over the Mexican aristocrat.

AW came out to introduce his tag team of Titus O'Neil and Darren Young, as they faced Primo and Epico. Kofi Kingston and R-Truth came out for commentary during the match. Titus and Darren controlled much of the match, but it their arrogance cost them when Primo picked up a surprise rollup for the win.

Earlier in the day, WWE sent out a mobile text alert saying the WWE Championship Match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan had been changed to a No-DQ match. The special referee would still be AJ Lee, who both men had been feuding over in recent weeks. These two wasted no time in tearing into each other. At one point, AJ got caught up in the action and was knocked off the apron. She had to be helped to the back, but the match continued.

This match saw a lot of brutal activity, as both men used the No-DQ clause to their advantage. AJ returned to the match midway through, and had people wondering how she would call the remaineder of the match. In the end, she would call it in Punk's favor after Punk hit a devastating backdrop from the top rope through a table. Punk celebrated the pinfall victory with the title, while AJ looked on.

Up next was a special added match, as the monster known as Ryback faced off against Curt Hawkins and Tyler Rex in a handicap match. For the first time since Ryback returned to WWE, he found himself on the defensive end as Hawkins and Rex actually maintained a little bit of control early in the match. But moments later, Ryback was back in control and was the only man standing. He dispatched Hawkins from the ring and then overpowered Rex for the win. Ryback remains undefeated since his return.

The WWE Divas took stage next with a 6-Diva tag team match. Divas Champion Layla teamed up with Houston native Kaitlyn, and Tamina Snuka to face the team of Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and Eve Torres. Layla picked up the win for her team in what was a fairly quick match.

After all that, it was time for the Raw Money In The Bank Match. Chris Jericho, the man who came up with the MITB idea, was set to face Kane, The Big Show, John Cena, and the returning Miz. The winner would receive a shot at the WWE Championship anytime in the coming year. After ladders got broken and bodies were left everywhere, it was John Cena that stood tall as the winner of the match. Cena and Big Show were atop the ladder, when Cena bounced the MITB briefcase off Show's head. Cena grabbed the briefcase and celebrated as the winner.

source: examiner.com

CM Punk Beats Daniel Bryan at Money in the Bank 2012 and What It Means

photo courtesy: wwe.com

The look is all you have to remember.

As Daniel Bryan lay on the table and CM punk grabbed the WWE title from A.J. Lee, all you could see is the look on the face of the little one.

Was she mad? Was she sad? Was she confused?

The win by CM Punk did a few things for the WWE, which also included surprising the hell out of me and many of the WWE Universe. This was a golden moment for Punk to drop the title and change the course of the WWE heading into the summer months and SummerSlam.

With so much riding on this match, it means the feud between the current WWE Champion, Punk and Daniel Bryan is not over and it would seem the triangle between the two wrestlers and Lee will continue.

What is in store for both men in the next few weeks remains to be seen, but it can only spell suspense and possible surprise.

While we have talked over the last few months how the “black widow” of the WWE has become the most influential person in the company, and maybe the most devious diva of all time, it also shows that with a splash through a table and a win, all her momentum crashed.

In a very big way, the fact Punk did not acknowledge Lee after the win should be part of the storyline moving forward and possibly leading to a reconciliation between Bryan and Lee.

But the biggest soap opera in wrestling history has not been solved as of yet. It will also be interesting to see if Lee enlists another wrestler to come to her aid (like Kane or someone else) or can she continue to play mind games with these two wrestlers.

This match, which is the best match I have seen all year so far, was not about Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. The title was secondary as well. This was about A.J. Lee—plain and simple. The mind and mystery of Lee was what made this PPV the one to watch.

And now that John Cena won the Money in the Bank WWE title Ladder Match, we have more questions to answer. Does this become another part of Lee’s twisted mind game?

source: bleacherreport.com