WWE Money in the Bank 2015 review

With several years of action-packed shows to follow the sixth annual Money in the Bank show faced a tough job this year. It had a good frame of matches to work with in Cena v Owens II, the latest Ambrose v Rollins match and, of course, the Money in the Bank match itself, but it also had Ryback v Big Show and a pre-show which saw R-Truth defeat King Wade Bad News Barrett I. Was it any good? The answer, pleasantly, was a resounding yes.

The main card kicked off with a ten bell salute to 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes. His music played afterwards. The audience and some of the wrestlers clapped along. Vince was amongst those who joined in. Randy Orton was amongst those who did not.

That was followed by the typically great video package recapping the build to the highlighted matches. In this case that meant Ambrose v Rollins, Cena v Owens and the Money in the Bank match. The latter kicked off the show. Which surprised me. With there being only one Bank match, and it being guaranteed to be a highlight of the show, I would have thought it would be saved for closer to the top of the card. Then again there was also a ladder match going on last, so spacing them out did make sense.

Randy Orton and Neville both got loud cheers when they entered. Kane got half-hearted boos. Dolph Ziggler got a monster pop, which got even more monstrous when people noticed Lana was present to give him a good luck kiss. Kofi Kingston got huge boos when he skipped to the ring. Sheamus was booed too, but not as much (yeah, New Day has more heat than Shaymo). Roman Reigns, naturally out last, got a mostly positive reaction. The writing team have done a good job turning him around.

The lads.

The match started with everyone except Kofi pairing off and the New Dayer taking the chance to try and sneak up a ladder to grab the case. The rest of the field turned against him, throwing him out of the ring before slipping into a standard issue brawling segment. Sheamus came out of that on top after going wild with a ladder. He was phased out of the match a few minutes later to make way for an all too short exchange between Kofi and Neville, the highlight of which was Nev hitting a monkey flip only for Kingston to land upright and immediately start climbing a ladder.

Reigns put a stop to Neville v Kingston, power bombing Kingston onto a ladder and Neville onto Kofi. The crowd, it's worth noting, ate this up. Kane put a stop to Reigns' attempted briefcase grab with a choke slam before taking an RKO from 'The Viper'. Kofi returned to stop Orty climbing the ladder and took an RKO too. Neville then springboarded back into the ring, over Orton, and shot up the ladder. He was yanked off the ladder and took a mid-air RKO, easily the best of the three.

Sheamus reappeared to halt another Orton attempt. 'The Apex Predator' put up a fight before being thrown head first into a ladder and smashed with a Brogue kick. Ziggler cut Sheamus off at the top of the ladder to a big reaction from the crowd. They traded punches and lunges at the wildly swinging case before 'The Show Off' slipped around behind Sheamus and took him off the ladder with a Zig Zag. Neville popped up to hit Sheamus with a Red Arrow immediately afterwards. It didn't realy make sense as far as winning the match went but it did at least please the crowd.

After selling his own move for a bit (ala Rob Van Dam and the Five Star frog splash) Nev dragged himself up the ladder for a punch exchange with Ziggler. 'The New Sensation' got the best of that when he smacked Ziggler's head into the top of the ladder and sent him falling to the mat. Before he could grab the briefcase Kane wandered back into the ring and grabbed him for a choke slam. Ziggler made the save with a crisp super kick. Ziggler and Nev took hold of a ladder and tried to batter Kane with it but he knocked them to the ground and then baseball slid the ladder into the pair on the outside.

Kane wasn't alone in the ring for long. Reigns returned to smack him with a Superman punch then did his tope onto everyone at ringside. This was the cue for Big E and Xavier Woods to sprint to ringside and throw Kofi back into the ring. Selling like mad, Kofi crawled up the ladder as Woods and E smacked the mat (triggering a "New, Day sucks!" chant). Reigns shot into view from the right of the screen to hit the interfering heels with his running drop kick in a great spot.

We're all interested in Wyatt v Reigns, right?

In the ring Kofi kicked at Reignsa few times before getting plucked off the ladder and power bombed onto a gaggle of lads outside the ring. Orton appeared and tried an RKO (outta nowhere edition) only to be dropped with a spear. The path was clear for Reigns. He started climbing the ladder before the lights went out. When they came back on seconds later Bray Wyatt was in the ring. He shook the ladder, grabbed Reigns, and hit him with Sister Abigail before disappearing.

Sheamus pulled himself back into the ring and clambered up the ladder. Neville sprinted to the top to try and stop 'The Celtic Warrior'. He put up a good fight but couldn't combat a fearsome eye gouge from Shaymo. That sent him off the ladder, leaving Sheamus free to grab hold of the briefcase to become the new 'Mr Money in the Bank'.

Naturally Jerry Lawler and Maggle Cole reacted to this as though it was the most sickening thing ever, even though Sheamus hadn't done anything wrong. Lawler even went so far as to say that Sheamus has taken the WWE championship out of Reigns' hands. It's comments like that that cause some people to give Reigns such a tough time.

Backstage Paige talked to Renee Young about being disappointed that no other Divas had offered support to help her bring down the Bella twins "empire". She said she'd win the belt to bring about change in the Divas division. Basically the feud is about Nikki and Paige both wanting change in the Divas division but not being able to agree on the form that change should take. They're basically Magneto and Professor X.

While the match didn't reach the heights of Banks versus Lynch it was better than the average Divas match. The pair broke out super kicks, spinebusters and an Alabama slam before Paige locked in the STF (the significance of which seemed to be completely lost on the crowd and the commentary team). They used their signature moves to good effect too: Nikki escaped a PTO and went for the Rack Attack, only for Paige to wiggle free and hit the Ram-Paige for a convincing near fall.

The Bella twins: masters of heel shenanigans.

Nikki would cheat to win. Brie and Nikki switched places (Brie had probably been hiding under the since the lights went out for Wyatt) and Brie went for a small package. Paige reversed it and got a three count, being announced as the winner and new champion. Brie grabbed the referee and revealed that she wasn't Nikki, proving this was the case by pulling padding from her bra (an amusing touch). Instead of disqualifying Nikki for outside interference the ref simply watched as Nikki ran back into the ring and blasted Paige with a Rack Attack then counted the three for her.

Before the Intercontinental title match The Miz came out to talk about how he'd transcended Ohio (the state the show was being held in) and deserved a title shot. The promo wasn't bad but Miz did a horrible job of linking his two points. The match was better. 'The Big Guy' immediately ploughed through Big Show with a spinebuster and the meathook clothesline before clotheslining him out of the ring. There he was distracted by Miz sitting at commentary, allowing Show to jump him when he got back into the ring and gain the advantage.

Ryback gradually worked up steam with a Fujiwara armbar and a suplex before Miz slid into the ring and jabbed at both guys with some weak punches and swaggered backstage. So Ryback's first title defence ever ended in a DQ in favour of Big Show. This was a disappointment. The match had been far better than I'd expected until Miz involved himself. Presumably they'll get to give us a more conclusion in a triple threat match at Battleground.

Looks like he's learned not to take this on his elbows...

John Cena versus Kevin Owens was preceded by a nice video package showing some of the many highlights of the interactions between the pair over the last few weeks. The match was good too, perhaps a smidge better than their rightly praised first encounter from Elimination Chamber. Sadly, it had the wrong result. Cena went over with the third AA of the match. While Owens got to survive the STF, an electric chair drop, two AAs (the first of which Cena did a solid job of selling by arguing with the referee), a snap sunset bomb and hit Cena with the cannonball, a super kick, the package piledriver (safety edition), the double jump moonsault, a second rope fisherman buster, and Cena's own shoulder tackles, belly-to-back and Five Knuckle Shuffle the fact that he lost was still saddening. A win could have done so much to elevate him and make him look like a dominant and unstoppable force. He didn't look weak in defeat but a win would have been far more beneficial both for this feud and in the long term.

After the match Cena gave Owens an off-mic pep talk, handed him the championship belt and offered a handshake. Owens accepted before kicking Cena in the stomach. Cena fell to the mat and rolled out of the ring (because he doesn't know how to make sequences like this look natural) and Owens followed him out to hit an apron bomb. He walked backstage laughing like Cesar Romero's Joker a the announers talked in Serious Voices™ about how Owens had gone too far. It currently looks like this rivalry will run through SummerSlam.

After a Total Divas ad Renee Young informed us Cena was being tended to by the medical team (something tells me he'll be fine). She then introduced Dean Ambrose, still in possession of Seth Rollins' WWE championship belt. Ambrose did a nice job of reminding us of his year-long problems with The Authority and explaining why he's keeping hold of the title belt. It didn't make me believe he'd leave the show a winner but it was a good bit of character work.

After a touching Dusty Rhodes tribute video Big E and Xavier Woods clapped down to the ring for a pre-match promo. They said Kofi had had the Money in the Bank match stole from him then talked about an Ohioan sports team that I've never heard of being cheaters. They ended by clapping and trying to start a "New, Day rocks!" chant. They fans chanted sucks instead causing Xavier to snap. Big E calmed him down.

Tag titles equal... millions of dollars!

This was a basic tag match which benefited greatly from the heat of New Day. Darren Young was isolated by the champs from the start. He made a single tag out to Titus then got wiped out by Big E's spear off the apron. That was a mistake from Big E: it left Xavier alone with Titus. He took a Sky High and was pinned within seconds. I'm disappointed New Day lost the tag gold because all three have been doing some of the best work of their careers in the group. It's nice to see the PTPs get a long overdue tag title win though.

The main event was preceded by a kick-off segment. They discussed the Money in the Bank match, the tag title match and Owens v Cena and made some main event predictions before throwing to a recap of Wyatt costing Reigns the briefcase. It was filler of the highest order.

More enjoyable filler followed in the form of Rollins being confronted by The Authority. Kane and J&J sniggered about how S-Roll was all alone. Stephanie piled on the pressure by talking about how the future of the company wrested on his shoulders. Triple H reminded him that going it alone in a ladder match was what Seth had wanted then barked at him to "show them" that he could do it. This version of the Triple H character, the guy who gives pep talks to his heel chosen few, is great.

The never-ending feud.

This was another enjoyable entry in the Ambrose-Rollins series. With over half an hour to play with they started out slow and built up to their more dramatic spots. They also took the unusual, but welcome, decision to have Rollins targeting Ambrose's legs. You don't get that in ladder matches despite it being a logical story to tell.

Rollins kicked his gameplan off when he crushed Ambrose's leg in a ladder. From there he smacked it with a chair and applied a ring post figure four before stomping away back in the ring and slapping on a traditional figure four. Ambrose punched his way free but would soon be hung up in a tree of woe with Rollins taking a chair to his knees.

Ambrose would return to his feet within a few minutes to lob a chair at Rollins' head and clothesline him off the top rope. Ambrose took a spill out of the ring, avoided a ladder that was chucked at his head, then got back into the ring to hit his rebound lariat (countered with an enziguri on the first attempt but hit on the second). He went for Dirty Deeds but Rollins escaped and ran into the crowd, triggering a brief chase-brawl sequence.

When they got back to ringside Rollins set up a ladder and took a back drop from the ring on to it. It was a nasty fall and something that shouldn't really be necessary. It was a good addition to the match though, and will make a fine addition to future Rollins highlight packages.

They brawled some more. Ambrose hit a Dirty Deeds on the Spanish announce table. Rollins grabbed a monitor an bashed Ambrose in the leg with it as he was close to the title belt. Ambrose got Pedigreed. Rollins got pulled from the ladder and thrown out of the ring but grabbed 'The Lunatic Fringe' before he could make it up the ladder. He then hit the running power bomb into the ladder and the barricade before hitting a slightly more traditional power bomb onto a pile of chairs. After dropping a ladder and some more chairs on top of Ambrose 'The Future' rolled back into the ring and clambered up a ladder.

Ambrose got back into the ring and pulled himself up the ladder. Both got their hands on the title and struggled back and forth. They fell and the belt came with them. When they hit the mat it was Rollins who had possession of the strap. His music hit and Cole referenced a football rule to explain why he'd retained.

Rollins wins lol.

Triple H came out to celebrate with his top guy as Ambrose sat in the ring looking sad. Jojo wandered out and asked him if there was anything he wanted to say. Rollins said he told us so and that nobody could hang with him. And on that note the show went off the air.

I was impressed with Money in the Bank. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it is what it means for the future. We know that Reigns' inevitable world title win has been postponed again thanks to a new issue he has with Bray Wyatt. It's tough to imagine Money in the Bank holder Sheamus interacting with WWE champion Seth Rollins, which likely means he'll be the man to feud with Reigns once Reigns is champion.

The main attractions were the WWE title match, the Money in the Bank match, and the Cena v Owens rematch. All got plenty of time to tell satisfying stories and packed a bunch of stuff in. Of the less important matches only Big Show v Ryback (and R-Truth v Barrett if you want to include it as an official part of the card, which I don't) felt disappointing. The tag title match was saved by New Day's heat and the Prime Time Players getting the tag title victory they should have had a couple of years ago. Nikki v Paige was a good match and although it had a screwy finish it did at least make sense. It didn't quite hit the heights of Elimination Chamber, but I suspect that's mostly because expectations weren't as high for EC. Overall this was another very good show from WWE.

***

Results summary:

Sheamus won Money in the Bank
Nikki Bella defeated Paige to retain the Divas championship
Big Show defeated Ryback by disqualification
John Cena defeated Kevin Owens
The Prime Time Players defeated New Day to win the tag team championship
Seth Rollins defeated Dean Ambrose to retain the WWE championship

WWE Money in the Bank 2015 preview

It's been ten years since the first Money in the Bank match took place at WrestleMania 21. Since then it has become WWE's top stunt match and a reliable star-making tool. It's also broken away from WrestleMania to get its own annual show, which is routinely one of the most exciting and eventful pay-per-views of the year.

What's nice about the Money in the Bank show is that it's far enough removed from WrestleMania for the writing team to have moved beyond reruns and be offering something new, generally making the card feel fresh and vibrant. It can usually be taken as an attempt to do something new and get things in place for SummerSlam. Free of the pressures of building towards a fast-approaching 'Mania, or paying it off, Money in the Bank is perfectly placed to be experimental and interesting.

That said there are numerous rematches this year but the big two, Owens v Cena and Ambrose v Rollins, are only rematches because of the last minute addition of Elimination Chamber to the special event line-up. Had that not happened both of those matches would be much fresher. Brand new in the case of Owens v Cena.

The Money in the Bank ladder match itself helps too, of course. It's a match so busy that it almost always features something memorable as everyone tries to cram in some new, death-defying spot or insane bump. As it generally features many of WWE's top names, and is a key part of the show's appeal, the layout of the match and it's bigger spots get a lot of attention. Those same big names get people invested. As does the prize: a WWE world title shot anytime, anywhere during the following year. The briefcase has been built up so well over the last decade that winning it means something. People know that and react as though winning the briefcase means something. Because it does.

This year's show will feature two ladder matches, one for the title match-bestowing briefcase and one for the WWE world heavyweight championship. The latter will feature Seth Rollins defending against Dean Ambrose. It's come about because just over a week ago Ambrose pinned Rollins to win the WWE championship at the Elimination Chamber show, only to have the title cruelly snatched away from him after the match's original referee altered the decision and disqualified Rollins for assaulting him. Ambrose kept the win but lost the prize.

'The Lunatic Fringe' earned another shot at Rollins via some Steve Austin lite jiggery pokery the next evening on RAW. The match was given the ladder stip because Rollins and Ambrose haven't done one yet and it's the traditional WWE method of sorting out title disputes of above average complexity. Ambrose being in possession of the title belt while Rolins is recognised as champ qualifies as above average complexity by wrestling standards.

I'll say the same thing about this match as I do about every Rollins v Ambrose match: it will be really good because Ambrose and Rollins don't have bad matches against one another. I imagine they'll do some interesting stuff with the ladder gimmick, even though we've seen it so many times before that being genuinely innovative is nigh on impossible. I'll be very surprised if Rollins doesn't leave with the title. He has a rematch with Brock Lesnar waiting for him some time in the next few months. It could be a non-title match but I don't think it will be. We've also yet to see him defend the gold against Roman Reigns.

There's also the fact that nobody seems to know what to do with Dean Ambrose. He's immensely popular, despite being given little to do for months on end, but nobody seems to know where to slot him on the card in the long run. I can sympathise with this: I love a bit of fantasy booking but I haven't got a clue what to suggest for Ambrose beyond having him be the vaguely rebellious character he already is. The thing is that I'm not paid to come up with things for wrestlers to do and the writing team is. Right now I think the best we can hope for regarding Ambrose is a commitment to properly building towards either a Rollins v Reigns v Ambrose triple threat or a Shield reunion. Both will happen at some point but I don't think Ambrose will do anything meaningful beforehand.

In other title matches the Prime Time Players will challenge New Day for the tag team championship, Big Show will change Ryback for the Intercontinental championship, and Paige will challenge Nikki Bella for the Divas championship. Darren Young and Titus O'Neil were booked very strongly in the tag team Chamber match last month, designed to set them up as credible challengers here. I don't think they'll win but I do like the fact that WWE are finally doing something with them and offering a division that doesn't just consist of two teams feuding over the titles and a bunch of others having meaningless matches. This should be enjoyable (I'm particularly interested in a Big E v Titus stretch) with the PTPs losing following New Day shenanigans. It's the Lucha Dragons we should be looking at as the men who'll relieve Big E and co of the gold.

I have little interest in Big Show versus Ryback. Extreme Rules demonstrated that Show can participate in worthwhile matches when enough planning goes into them, but his opponent there was Reigns and I think there was a sense of urgency to elevate him that isn't felt with 'The Big Guy'. I expect Ryback to win but I don't think this match will do him the favours Reigns' match with 'The Giant' did.

The Divas title match is a peculiarity. Last month both women were faces. The night after Elimination Chamber Nikki and Brie switched places during Nikki's title defence against Paige, allowing the fresh Brie to get the win on her not-really-identical-anymore sister's behalf. That was a distinctly heelish move, odd considering Nikki had only officially become a face less than two months earlier. It's an example of how little thought goes into the main roster's women's division, as is the fact that we're getting the fourth Nikki and Paige meeting at a special event in the last six months.  

I think we could be due a title change. That Michael Cole has been harping on about the length of her reign recently makes it seem as though they're positioning her (or trying to) as a dominant champion, the implication being that whoever defeats her for the title will have really achieved something. I could be wrong though. It could just as easily be a new trend that's going to continue throughout Nikki's record-setting title reign.

Speaking of big achievements, Money in the Bank will play host to a Cena v Owens rematch. They stole the show at Elimination Chamber. With two ladders matches on the this show it'll be harder for them to do that here. They'll also be hampered by raised expectations. As long as they hit the same blend of punch exchanges, big moves, and kick outs I'll be happy. It's not to everyone's tastes but it satisfies mine.

The right outcome (and it most certainly would be the right outcome) would be an Owens victory. It would make it clear that the newcomer has the veteran's number and that the outcome of their first meeting wasn't a fluke. Nothing about it would weaken Cena. It would take something far more drastic to lower his standing after his decade on top of the company than simply losing back-to-back matches to a (well-introduced) newcomer. It would boost Owens' standing. As he's the NXT champion it would probably do NXT some good too.

Sadly every Cena rivalry of the past tells us that Owens will lose. Just look at what happened with Rusev. Cena lost the first match in the series then went on to defeat 'The Bulgarian Brute' three shows in a row. Rusev, previously unpinned and unsubmitted, had his momentum crushed with his prolonged interaction with Cena. Owens has less momentum to lose, but a loss would still harm him. He'd become just another guy who lost to Cena after getting lucky one time. There's something to be said for feuds where one guy always wins. Cena desperately needs a feud like that like that. Handled right it could stretch for years, on and off, without ever becoming boring.

Finally there's the Money in the Bank ladder match. The official entrants right now are Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, Adrian Neville, Sheamus, Kane, Kofi Kingston and so-called 'Big Dog' Roman Reigns. Kane aside this is a nice blend of talent, mixing established names with guys who can make this sort of match work and guys who could make convincing winners. Orton can never be completely written off in a situation like this. Sheamus and Ziggler are both in a position where they could get a surprise win. Roman Reigns is the obvious favourite. That's half the guys in the match that could theoretically win. Two of the other three should do something memorable in the match.

I can't pick against Roman Reigns with this match. He's been getting The Push since the start of the year. The company held off on crowning him world champion at WrestleMania for fear of a harmful backlash from the hardcore crowd. Undeterred they continued building Reigns up with a better than it had any right to be match opposite Big Show at Extreme Rules and a strong showing in a four-way at Payback (in which it was Randy Orton who was booked to take the pin). It was too early for Reigns at 'Mania because WWE hadn't been making him look like a credible singles guy for long enough. That's no longer the case. Reigns is ready and the Money in the Bank briefcase is his route to the top.

Money in the Bank looks like an above average show, as usual. It should easily better the majority of WWE shows this year although it will have to be something special to be more enjoyable than the Elimination Chamber Network special. It has the potential to do it though, and I hope it does. Because done right Money in the Bank is one of the best wrestling concepts out there.

***

Predictions summary:

Seth Rollins to defeat Dean Ambrose
Roman Reigns to win Money in the Bank
Kevin Owens to defeat John Cena
New Day to defeat the Prime Time Players
Ryback to defeat Big Show
Paige to defeat Nikki Bella for the Divas championship

The Shield Boys do SummerSlam

I've written before that a triple threat pitting all three former members of The Shield will happen at some point. It's too obvious a match to pass up. I've previously suggested it should take place at a WrestleMania because that's WWE's biggest show and that Shield match is one of the biggest matches WWE could book. It is, in fact, one of the biggest triple threat matches that could happen anywhere in wrestling.

The way this year's Money in the Bank is set up gives WWE another option. As things stand right now Dean Ambrose will have another crack at WWE champion Seth Rollins, this time in a ladder match, and Roman Reigns will participate in the titular ladder match, earning a world title shot anytime, anywhere should he win. This would make for a very obvious lead-in to the triple threat and SummerSlam would be a nice time to promote it. There would be sufficient time to set the match up well and it would help to boost the status of the event.

With Ambrose having won his previous match against Rollins at Elimination Chamber only to have the title stripped away from him they could go with a retribution vibe at MITB. Ambrose could again overcome all the usual interference from Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury and Kane before incapacitating 'The Future' and scaling a ladder to nab the belt. That would create a feel good moment and establish that Rollins and Ambrose are closer in terms of capability than has been suggested since the Shield split.

Then Roman could come out. A heel turn would work nicely what with him and Dean having been reestablished as best buds over the last month or so but I don't think it's something WWE would do. For the most part the modern product steers clear of swerve turns (which is very much a good thing). There's also the fact that they've been diligently plugging away at making Reigns 'The Man' for months now. A turn could've worked earlier, and making him a cool heel may have helped in the long run, but it would seem off now. Progress has been made. Why undo it?

This man probably won't be leaving Money in the Bank as WWE champion.

Instead of walloping Ambrose and-or immediately cashing in Reigns could simply celebrate with 'The Lunatic Fringe', or check on him if it's been a particularly Gruelling Match™. Reigns could hold up his case, as if to say "Hey, you've got that but I've got this, mate" or he could cut a promo saying he doesn't want to be opportunistic like Rollins, he wants to give Ambrose fair warning of a cash-in, setting up a match on RAW or, more likely, the main event for Battleground or the July 4 Network special from Tokyo. Casting Reigns as a fair guy wouldn't be a bad thing.

Of course, Rollins could retain the world championship (as he probably will) and be the one confronted by Reigns. With Rollins the clear bad guy in that scenario an immediate cash-in and title win for Reigns would make sense. Especially if his pal Ambrose had just been shafted by shenanigans again. It would provide justification for his distinctly un-face-like move of an immediate cash-in. It would also allow for Reigns, having won the title, to be a #standupdude and offer Ambrose a title match at Battleground or on the Network spesh.

Ambrose v Reigns on either of those shows would make sense. It could be presented as two guys who respect each other but want to be the best and have no problem fighting to accomplish that. I think they could have a pretty good face versus face match (although it's tough to imagine a world in which a US audience wouldn't back Ambrose over Reigns, which would probably make the July 4 Tokyo show a better choice for hosting duties). Rollins could interfere or be the guest referee. Personally I like the referee idea because it was a common gimmick when I first started watching wrestling and I miss it. Not that the specifics would really matter as long as Rollins was either involved in the finish or at ringside to attack both lads immediately afterwards. Anything to get the three guys in the same place to keep them on track for a SummerSlam trippy treat.

Hey, Ambrose could just win the title and go to some sort of screwy finish in his Battleground rematch with Rollins. A deciding match could be made between the pair for SummerSlam with Reigns showing up to announce his addition via briefcase, throwing The Authority's plans into chaos and placing a strain on his friendship with Ambrose.

Whether it's through one of the convoluted scenarios above, a combination of them, or something I've not touched on, I think a Shield three-way at SummerSlam is an obvious thing to do. It's a match people would want to see and a natural main event. It would raise the profile of SummerSlam and encourage Network subscriptions, PPV buys, and ticket sales. As for Brock Lesnar? His rematch can be held off a while longer. He's not going anywhere. And the timing is perfect for Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns.

Summoning the Demon

Anyone who watched the RAW after WrestleMania (and as it was guaranteed to be one of the most eventful episodes of the year that should be most people reading this) would have seen Adrian Neville make his main roster debut. Or, more accurately, Neville make his main roster debut. He's dropped the first name between NXT and Monday Night RAW. Very probably because Vince McMahon doesn't think the name sounds tough enough.

With this call-up WWE has an ideal opportunity to set up another one in a couple of months time. Here's how...

Adrian Neville doing some weird Hawkeye pose.

Have Nev win some more showcase matches over the next couple of months. Maybe put him in a feud with a mid-card heel who's not doing much (which is most people). Someone like Stardust would be ideal, or New Day if they go bad. The idea would be to establish him as a flashy wrestler who can win so that people have reasons to care about him.

Between now and April reunite Erick Rowan and Luke Harper. Nothing fancy would be needed to achieve that. They could simply watch one another's matches from the stage for a few weeks and having little staring contests afterwards. On the RAW after Extreme Rules have one of them wrestle a match against Cesaro or Tyson Kidd. Harper would be nice because he's the better of the two but Rowan is the established face so he'd probably make more sense.

Rowan (or Harper) could beat Cesaro (or Kidd) and then Harper (or Rowan) could wander out to the ring and together the swamp-lovin' lads (decent team name right there) could beat down Kidd and Cesaro. Harper, Kidd and Cesaro are all officially designated heels by WWE but that shouldn't matter. This could just be a feud in which people cheer for whichever team they like best. That's a direction WWE should be testing more anyway.

After the standard array of singles matches between the two teams they could have a tag title match at Payback. Rowan and Harper would win. They could head into defences against the Usos (who they had good matches with last year) and the Lucha Dragons. Maybe the Prime Time Players and New Day too.

Meanwhile the disgruntled former champs could attack Neville (yeah, I got it back to him) during a match the night after Payback. It needn't be a DQ finish or anything. Neville could win a match then be attacked. By that point he'd have two months of TV exposure behind him, enough time for people to think it bad that two angry blokes are taking out their frustrations on him.

This would naturally lead to a couple of singles matches between Nev and the former tag champs. Ideally he'd lose to both Kidd and Cesaro via interference, distractions and shenanigans. These screwy finishes would give him a reason to challenge both of them to a tag match at Money in the Bank: they could interfere but he'd have someone there to watch his back. Cesaro and Kidd would accept and the Nevster would promise a mystery partner for the show.

Neville and Bálor could do a lot of good in the tag division.

Naturally this mystery partner would be Finn Bálor. Just as naturally he and Neville would win the match. This would be an ideal show-opener and would help to make Money in the Bank a memorable show. With it having become one of WWE's most important pay-per-views that's probably going to be a priority. It's also worth noting that as so many guys always get funnelled into a ladder match there'd be a good amount of time available for Cesaro, Kidd, Neville and Bálor to do something  particularly worthwhile.

From there Neville and Bálor could enter the tag division. They could win another tag bout the next night on RAW (maybe a rematch against Cesaro and Kidd) and then tell some backstage interviewer that they like teaming and that they're setting their sights on tag team gold. A win over the Usos, the closest thing WWE has to a well-established, always on top form team, at Battleground could set them up as challengers to Harper and Rowan at SummerSlam. Winning championships in their SummmerSlam debut would draw attention to the lads and allow talk of them being the future of the company to sound legitimate.

This would reinvigorate the tag division and create a platform for two new guys to make an impact in their first months on the roster. Which means it's something WWE aren't going to do.