Money in the Bank 2010

Money in the Bank was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on July 18, 2010 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The concept of the event was based around the Money in the Bank ladder match, with two matches held at the event for the Raw and SmackDown brands respectively. Eight matches took place.
This event received 165,000 buys, down on the 228,000 buys that Judgment Day 2009 received. A second Money in the Bank event is scheduled to take place on July 17, 2011 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
==Background==
Money in the Bank featured professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that played out on World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they follow a series of events that build tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.
At Fatal 4-Way, it was announced that the Money in the Bank event would be based around the Money in the Bank ladder match. On the June 25 episode of SmackDown, it was announced that two Money in the Bank ladder matches will be held at the event for the Raw and SmackDown brands respectively, with the winners of the respective matches given a title match for the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship respectively at a time of their choosing within the next 12 months. Three days later, all eight competitors for the Raw brand's match were announced by Raw guest host Rob Zombie. The eight competitors would be Randy Orton, The Miz, R-Truth, Chris Jericho, Evan Bourne, Ted DiBiase, John Morrison and Edge. On June 30, WWE announced six of the competitors for the SmackDown brand's match through its official website: Matt Hardy, Kane, Cody Rhodes, Christian, Kofi Kingston and The Big Show. On the July 5 episode of Raw, The Miz attacked R-Truth and injured him, taking him out of the Money in the Bank match. On the July 12 episode of Raw, Mark Henry was announced as R-Truth's replacement. On the July 9 episode of SmackDown, Dolph Ziggler defeated Montel Vontavious Porter and Chavo Guerrero in a Triple Threat Match to qualify for SmackDown's ladder match. On the same night, Drew McIntyre earned the final spot by pinning Kofi Kingston.
The main rivalry from the SmackDown brand heading into the Money in the Bank event was between the defending champion Rey Mysterio and Jack Swagger for the World Heavyweight Championship. Mysterio replaced The Undertaker, who was found in a vegetative state by his brother Kane, in the Fatal Four-Way match at the Fatal 4-Way event by winning a battle royal. Before the pay-per-view, Mysterio managed to pick up a non-title victory over Swagger. At the event, Mysterio once again pinned Swagger in SmackDown's Fatal Four-Way match which also involved CM Punk and The Big Show to become a two-time World Heavyweight Champion. On the June 25 episode of SmackDown, Swagger announced that he would get his rematch at the Money in the Bank event.
The main rivalry from the Raw brand heading into Money in the Bank was between the defending champion Sheamus and John Cena for the WWE Championship. Sheamus won the title at the Fatal 4-Way event following interference from seven of the contestants from the first season of WWE NXT, collectively known as "The Nexus". The next night on Raw, John Cena invoked his rematch clause, but The Nexus interrupted the match. The following week on Raw, due to the previous match's result being inconclusive, Raw's anonymous General Manager announced a Steel Cage match between Sheamus and Cena to ensure that no outside interference would take place during the match.
The Divas rivalry from the Raw brand heading into Money in the Bank was between Alicia Fox and Eve Torres over the WWE Divas Championship. Fox defeated entering champion Eve, Maryse, and Gail Kim to capture the Divas Championship at the Fatal 4-Way event. On the July 5 edition of Raw, the evil Fox retained her title against Eve after she feigned an ankle injury. However, due to Fox's deceptive methods in retaining the title, Eve was granted a rematch for the Divas Championship by Raw's anonymous General Manager; which was announced to take place at the Money in the Bank event.
The Divas rivalry from the SmackDown brand heading into Money in the Bank was between Layla and Kelly Kelly over the WWE Women's Championship. On the May 14 edition of SmackDown, Layla pinned previous champion Beth Phoenix in a handicap match alongside Michelle McCool to capture the Women's Championship thus becoming the first woman of British descent to win a championship. Team LayCool (McCool and Layla's alliance name) physically carried two belts and called themselves co-Women's Champions (as by their logic, the championship was won in a handicap match). Kelly later formed an alliance with Tiffany to counteract LayCool and they called themselves The Blondetourage. Kelly later defeated McCool in a non-title match with Tiffany's help and as a result was named the number one contender for the Women's Championship. It was later announced that Kelly was granted a match for the Women's Championship against Layla at Money in the Bank. On the July 9 edition of SmackDown, as Kelly was being interviewed by Josh Matthews backstage, Layla interrupted and claimed that the only way Kelly could beat her was if she passed out from her bad smell (referring to her as "Smelly Kelly" as LayCool would do). Kelly shoved Layla but was attacked from behind by McCool and the two double teamed Kelly until Tiffany made the save.
==Aftermath==
The next night on Raw, Edge, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton faced off in a Triple Threat match, where the winner would face Sheamus at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship. Orton won the match, and therefore earned the right to face Sheamus at SummerSlam for the WWE title. Orton would win the match by Disqualification but not the title.
On the following episode of SmackDown, Rey Mysterio (whose rematch clause was ignored) and Jack Swagger faced each other in a first to two falls match to see who would face Kane at SummerSlam. Mysterio defeated Swagger, allowing him to face Kane once more in a rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship. Mysterio was unsuccessful at the event however.
===Reception===
Rob McNichol of The Sun stated it was a "gripping night of grappling action", calling both ladder matches outstanding. McNichol also praised the World Heavyweight Championship match, saying it demonstrated "WWE storytelling in a very good light". He also described the Women's Championship match as "overbooked and poorly executed contest – the worst of the evening". The WWE Championship match was negatively received by McNichol as well, complaining that it was "forgettable, and oftentimes very slow". Overall, McNichol said it was a very entertaining night of action and gave the event a score of 8 out of 10.
SLAM! Wrestling's Andy McNamara rated both Money in the Bank ladder matches a 4 out of 5, the WWE Championship match a 3 out of 5, and the World Heavyweight Championship match a 3.5 out of 5.
==Results==
;
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*Dark Match: Santino Marella defeated William Regal
*Kane defeated Big Show, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Christian, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre in a SmackDown 8-Man Money in the Bank ladder match (27:18)
*Alicia Fox (c) defeated Eve Torres to retain the WWE Divas Championship (5:54)
*The Hart Dynasty (David Hart Smith & Tyson Kidd) (c) defeated The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) to retain the WWE Unified Tag Team Championship (5:23)
*Rey Mysterio (c) defeated Jack Swagger to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (10:43)
*Kane defeated Rey Mysterio (c) to win the World Heavyweight Championship (0:54)
*Layla (c) defeated Kelly Kelly to retain the WWE Women's Championship (3:59)
*The Miz defeated Edge, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Evan Bourne, Ted DiBiase, John Morrison, Mark Henry in a RAW 8-Man Money in the Bank ladder match (20:26)
*Sheamus (c) defeated John Cena in a Steel Cage match to retain the WWE Championship (23:05)
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Jerry Lawler
*Michael Cole
*Matt Striker
;Interviewers
*Josh Mathews	
;Ring announcer
*Justin Roberts
*Tony Chimel
;Referees
*Mike Chioda
*Charles Robinson
*Jack Doan
==See also==
*List of WWE pay-per-view events
*World Wrestling Entertainment/Event history
*Money in the Bank
==DVD release==
* Money in the Bank 2010
==External links==
* Money in the Bank 2010 Official Website
* Money in the Bank 2010 at CAGEMATCH.net
* Money in the Bank 2010 at Online World of Wrestling
* Money in the Bank 2010 on WWE Network
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
Category:2010 pay-per-view events
Category:Money in the Bank (PPV)
Category:Events with Steel Cage matches