Money in the Bank 2016

Money in the Bank 2016 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE, which took place on June 19, 2016 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the seventh annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view.
== Production ==
=== Background ===
WWE's Money in the Bank pay-per-view event centers around a match of the same name, in which multiple wrestlers use use ladders to retrieve a briefcase hanging above the ring. The winner is guaranteed a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at a time of their choosing within the next year.
===Storylines===
On November 4, 2015, Seth Rollins was forced to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to injury. Rollins returned on May 22, 2016 at Extreme Rules, attacking champion Roman Reigns after his successful title defense against AJ Styles. Rollins was granted a title match against Reigns at Money in the Bank the next night on Raw by Shane McMahon. Meanwhile, critics wondered if WWE was "leaving money on the table" by not slotting Rollins as a babyface and Reigns as a heel, as this was the opposite of what fans wanted (fans were cheering Rollins and booing Reigns).
On the May 30 episode of Raw, John Cena returned after recovering from a shoulder injury that left him out of action for five months. AJ Styles then came out to welcome him back until Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Styles' former teammates in The Club (which had broken up the previous week on Raw) appeared looking for a fight. Cena and Styles prepared to brawl with them, until Styles attacked Cena alongside Gallows and Anderson, turning heel and reforming The Club in the process. On June 3, a match between Cena and Styles was scheduled for Money in the Bank. On the June 13 episode of Raw, Cena presented Styles with two contracts: one allowing Gallow and Anderson to be in his corner, the other banning them so they could fight uninterrupted, so Styles chose the latter.
The winner of the Money in the Bank ladder match will win a contract for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at any time within the next year. On the May 23 episode of Raw and the May 26 episode of SmackDown, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Alberto Del Rio, Sami Zayn, Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho all qualified for the match by defeating AJ Styles, The Miz, Zack Ryder, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler and Apollo Crews, respectively.
At Payback, a tag team match pitting The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) against Enzo Amore and Big Cass to determine the #1 contender for the WWE Tag Team Championship ended in a no contest after Enzo Amore suffered a legit concussion. Subsequently, the Vaudevillains challenged WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day at Extreme Rules in a losing effort. On the May 30 episode of Raw, during a rematch between The Vaudevillains and The New Day, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson attacked The New Day. The following week on Raw, The Vaudevillains defeated Enzo Amore and Big Cass by disqualification. Later in the night, Gallows and Anderson defeated The New Day. Taking an idea by Teddy Long, Stephanie McMahon scheduled the four teams in a match at Money in the Bank in a Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Tag Team Championship.
On the May 26 episode of SmackDown, after WWE United States Champion Rusev defeated Kalisto to retain the title, Titus O'Neil came out to help Kalisto when Rusev refused to break his Accolade submission. On the May 30 episode of Raw, after defeating Zack Ryder, Rusev would take the mic and start to insult the crowd, stating that he was what America should be about, declaring himself a "true American hero" and being better than everyone in the audience leading to O'Neil coming out and responding to Rusev with a right hand, sending him outside the ring and retreating to the back holding up the United States Championship. On June 8, a match between O'Neil and Rusev for the United States Championship was scheduled for Money in the Bank. On the June 13 episode of Raw, Titus O'Neil walked out for his match when Rusev attacked him on the stage and applied the Accolade. WWE officials tried to pull Rusev off of O'Neil as he would pass out to his Accolade submission and go on to taunt O'Neil with the United States Championship in his face.
At Extreme Rules, WWE Women's Champion Charlotte defeated Natalya due to distraction by Dana Brooke dressing as Ric Flair. On the May 23 episode of Raw, Charlotte turned on her father, Ric Flair, claiming he was no longer needed, and therefore aligned herself with Dana Brooke as her apprentice. On the May 26 episode of SmackDown, Natalya defeated Brooke by disqualification. On the May 30 episode of Raw, after Brooke defeated Natalya, Becky Lynch came out and help Natalya. On the June 9 episode of SmackDown, Lynch defeated Brooke. On June 13, a match pitting Charlotte and Brooke against Natalya and Lynch was scheduled for Money in the Bank.
At the Extreme Rules Kickoff, Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler in a No Disqualification match after deliberately using a low blow following with the End of Days. On the May 23 episode of Raw, during an backstage interview with JoJo, Ziggler interrupted Baron Corbin, challenging him to a "technical wrestling match" for next week on Raw, to which Corbin accepted. On the May 30 episode of Raw, Corbin defeated Ziggler by disqualification after Ziggler deliberately hit Corbin with a low blow as retaliation for what happened at Extreme Rules. On June 17, their fifth encounter, pitting the two, was scheduled for Money in the Bank.
On the May 23 episode of Raw, frustration toward losing his Money in the Bank qualifying match to Sami Zayn earlier in the night, Sheamus attacked Apollo Crews during an backstage interview with Renee Young, telling Crews that he's sick of him promoting the "New Era" and that no one would replace him, leading to Crews losing his Money in the Bank qualifying match to Chris Jericho later in the show. On the June 9 episode of SmackDown, backstage watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows movie, Sheamus bragged to Zack Ryder, Goldust, R-Truth and Summer Rae about how great he was and how everyone should be waiting on him and how he is an A-list star, leading to Apollo Crews confronting Sheamus and punching him, sending Sheamus into a number of cardboard boxes behind him. On the June 13 episode of Raw, after defeating Zack Ryder, Sheamus continued to viciously attack Ryder leading to Crews coming down to help Ryder. On June 17, a match pitting the two was scheduled for Money in the Bank.
After Goldust replaced R-Truth with Fandango as his tag team partner in their match in the Team Championship #1 contender tournament on the April 14 episode of SmackDown, R-Truth found a new partner in Tyler Breeze. Following singles match victory on Raw by Breeze over Goldust and R-Truth over Fandango, the two teams faced each other on the May 12 episode of SmackDown; Tyler Breeze and R-Truth defeated Golddust and Fandango when Fandango turned on his partner. After the match, Fandango and Breeze continued to attack Goldust, who was then rescued by R-Truth. After Breezango (Breeze and Fandango) defeated The Golden Truth (Goldust and R-Truth) on the May 16 and the May 30 episode of Raw, a third match between the two teams was scheduled on June 17 for the Money in the Bank pre-show.
On June 17, a match pitting The Lucha Dragons against The Dudley Boyz was scheduled for the Money in the Bank pre-show.
==Event==
===Broadcasters===
The Money in the Bank Kickoff Show was hosted by Renee Young, with Booker T and Corey Graves as analysts. Lita returned to join the pre-show panel for the first time since WrestleMania 32, replacing Jerry Lawler due to him being suspended, while Tom Phillips conducted backstage interviews.
Michael Cole, John "Bradshaw" Layfield (main show), Mauro Ranallo (pre-show) and Byron Saxton (all matches) served as the English commentators, while the Spanish and German commentators also called the matches live at ringside. Lilian Garcia and JoJo served as ring announcers.
===Pre-Show===
During the Pre-Show, Golden Truth (Goldust and R-Truth) faced Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango). Breezango suffered from major cases of sunburn, which their opponents exploited throughout the match. The end came when Goldust executed a Final Cut on Fandango to win the match.
Later,The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) after Kalisto executed a Salida Del Sol on Bubba Ray followed by Sin Cara executing a Dragon Bomb on Bubba Ray to win the match.
===Undercard===
The actual pay-per-view opened with a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship between champions The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston, accompanied by Xavier Woods), Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows), Enzo Amore and Bi Cass and The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch). The match ended with Big E and Kingston executing the Midnight Hour on Anderson, and Kingston pinning English to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship.
The second match saw Baron Corbin defeat Dolph Ziggler. The match ended with Corbin executing the End of Days on Ziggler for the pinfall.
In the next match, WWE Women's Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke defeated Natalya and Becky Lynch. The match ended with Charlotte executing a Natural Selection on Natalya for the pinfall. After the match, Natalya attacked Lynch, turning heel.
The fourth match saw Apollo Crews defeat Sheamus. After Crews kicked out of White Noise off the Top Rope, Crews executed a Crucifix Pin on Sheamus for a pinfall.
In the fifth match AJ Styles faced John Cena. During the match, both wrestlers managed to execute their respective finishers - Cena executed an Attitude Adjustment and Styles executed a Styles Clash - but in both cases the opponent kicked out at a two count. Later, Cena executed a second Attitude Adjustment on Styles but accidentally knocked down the referee. This allowed Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to interfere, executing a Magic Killer on Cena and placing Styles on top of Cena. The referee recovered and counted the pinfall, giving Styles the victory.
In the Money in the Bank Ladder match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match Contract, Dean Ambrose defeated Alberto Del Rio, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Near the end of the match, Ambrose pushed Owens onto a Ladder which was bridged between another Ladder and the Corner of the Ring. Ambrose retrieved the Briefcase to win the match.
In the seventh match, Rusev (accompanied by Lana) defended his United States Championship. Rusev retained the Title when Titus O'Neil submitted to the Accolade submission hold.
===Main Event===
In the main event Roman Reigns defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins. After a back-and-forth match, Reigns attempted to execute a Spear on Rollins through the Barricade but Rollins avoided the move, causing Reigns to collide with the barricade. Rollins attempted a Pedigree on Reigns but Reigns countered the move and executed a Spear on Rollins. However, the referee had been knocked down too, allowing Rollins to eventually kick out at two. In the end, Reigns attempted a second Spear but Rollins countered with a Pedigree on Reigns, which Reigns kicked out of at a two count. Rollins executed a second Pedigree on Reigns to win the match and the championship.
After the match, Dean Ambrose hit Rollins with the Money in the Bank briefcase and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Ambrose executed Dirty Deeds on Rollins to win the match, thus becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
== Reception ==
James Caldwell of Pro Wrestling Torch reviewed most of the event's matches, giving the Reigns-Rollins world title match 3.5 (out of 5) stars due to a "very strong second-half after a sluggish first-half with Reigns playing a heel throughout." Caldwell attributed Ambrose's title win to WWE needing to "to do something after the 2.03 TV rating on Monday" for Raw, leading to "WWE switching the belt the one clear, 100 percent, Daniel Bryan-like babyface they have at the top of the card". Two of the event's matches were jointly best rated at 3.75 stars: Cena-Styles, "three-fourths of the way to an epic match that was hyped going into the PPV" but "Cena looked rusty"; as well as the ladder match, "very good" but with a predictable ending "since everyone got their shine while Ambrose was mainly in the background during the match". The rest of the matches on the pay-per-view broadcast were rated between 2.0 and 2.5 stars: the tag title match was "a bit of a mess"; "Ziggler made [Corbin] look good"; Lynch and Natalya should have gotten a "credibility-boosting victory since they always lose to Charlotte"; Crews's win was "unconvincing", and Rusev was repeating his 2014 storyline with the U.S. title.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer deemed the first pre-show match a "nothing match" and the second pre-show match "normal". He opined that the tag title match drew the crowd into it but that the "execution was rough". Meltzer was negative on Corbin-Ziggler, which he called "too long", as the "feud has done Ziggler no favors" while "Corbin just doesn't show much of anything". The finish of Crews-Sheamus made him think "it's just the beginning between these two." The next two matches Meltzer deemed "excellent": Cena-Styles was about Styles being "the better wrestler than Cena, beating him at every turn but he couldn't finish him", while in the ladder match everyone (especially Cesaro) "took big ladder bumps but there was nothing really insane like used to be in such matches. Meltzer wrote the U.S. title match "was in the death spot" and "really had no chance with the crowd" despite Rusev and O'Neil having "worked hard in a physical match." The Reigns-Rollins match he called "flat at times because it went so long" and that Rollins was "not that over as a face" while "people just weren't into Reigns at all".
Jason Namako of Wrestleview felt that Money in the Bank was "a damn good show" with a "phenomenal ending": it featured "the resurrection of Dean Ambrose as a player in this company and it was an amazing success". That followed the Reigns-Rollins world title match, which was Namako's match of the night. Ambrose was Namako's Most Valuable Player of the night, with his "insane" ladder match featuring "tremendous effort" by all six men involved. Another notable match was the tag title match, a "super-fun opener with a real hot, frenetic pace to it". Meanwhile, Corbin-Ziggler was "solid", Crews-Sheamus was "decent", and O'Neil and Rusev "did the best they could" in the "epitome of a cool-down match". However, Namako felt the show also had negatives: the "masterful performance" by Cena and Styles was "tarnished by timid booking" with an "unneeded cheap finish" which did not "help Styles in the slightest"; while the women's match was "run-of-the-mill" and "it unfortunately looks like we are right back where we started one year ago before the 'Divas Revolution' began".
Aaron Oster, writing for The Baltimore Sun, wrote that Ambrose's win of the ladder match was predictable, yet "the main event was anything but predictable". Oster attributed the television overrun of the show to two reasons: firstly viewers who were watching the Game 7 of the NBA Finals could watch the main event, and secondly "it kept fans guessing exactly when it would end". "Hypothetically, if things go as the WWE wants with Brock Lesnar returning to UFC", Oster speculated, "many more eyes than usual will be turning toward the company for the entire summer, and especially at Summerslam. To have Dean Ambrose be the champion when that is happening is a huge statement from the company that shows how much confidence that they have in him." For the other events, Oster felt it was "weird" to portray Crews as an "underdog" but that was still "better than having absolutely no direction with him." Meanwhile, "Rusev as a jerk heel, and not simply an anti-American heel, is really a fantastic thing." Oster also remarked that Golden Truth had fan support but doubted that WWE would "actually go anywhere with it."
== Aftermath ==
The day after Money in the Bank, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins wrestled on Raw for a future shot at Dean Ambrose's world title. That match ended in a double count-out, so Ambrose agreed to face both men, and Shane McMahon arranged a triple threat world title match at Battleground. On June 21, two days after Money in the Bank, Reigns was suspended for 30 days for violating WWE's Wellness Program, which uses drug testing to detect substance abuse. Pro Wrestling Torch reported that WWE knew of Reigns' violation before Money in the Bank, leading to Reigns being scripted to lose his world title at the event.
==Match Preview==
Golden Truth vs. Breezango 	Preview
The Lucha Dragons v The Dudley Boyz 	Preview
Fatal 4-Way tag team match 	Preview
Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin 	Preview
Charlotte & Dana Brooke vs. Natalya & Becky Lynch	Preview
Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus 	Preview
John Cena vs. AJ Styles 	Preview
Money in the Bank ladder match 	Preview
Rusev v Titus O’Neil 	Preview
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins 	Preview
==Results==
;
;
*Pre Show: Golden Truth (Goldust & R-Truth) defeated Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango) (5:06)
*Pre Show: The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto & Sin Cara) defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley) (8:48)
*The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) (w/ Xavier Woods) (c) defeated The Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) and Realest Guys (Enzo Amore & Big Cass) and The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch) in a Fatal 4-Way tag team match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship (11:43)
*Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler (12:24)
*Charlotte & Dana Brooke defeated Natalya & Becky Lynch (7:00)
*Apollo Crews defeated Sheamus (8:36)
*AJ Styles defeated John Cena (24:10)
*Dean Ambrose defeated Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio in a Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match contract (21:37)
*Rusev (c) (w/ Lana) defeated Titus O’Neil by submission to retain the WWE United States Championship (8:13)
*Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns (c) to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (26:00)
*Dean Ambrose cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Seth Rollins (c) to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (0:08)
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Michael Cole (PPV)
*John Bradshaw Layfield (PPV)
*Byron Saxton (Pre-show + PPV)
*Mauro Ranallo (Pre-show)
*Carsten Schaefer (German)
*Sebastian Hackl (German)
*Carlos Cabrera (Spanish)
*Marcelo Rodríguez (Spanish)
;Pre-show Panel
*Renee Young
*Booker T
*Lita
*Corey Graves	
;Ring announcer
*Lilian Garcia
*JoJo
;Interviewers
*Tom Phillips
;Referees
*Mike Chioda
*Jason Ayers
*Darrick Moore
*Rod Zapata
*John Cone
*Ryan Tran
==See Also==
*List of WWE pay-per-view events
*World Wrestling Entertainment/Event history
*Money in the Bank
*Event gallery
==DVD release==
* Money in the Bank 2016 on DVD
==External links==
* Official Website
* Pre show on WWE Network
* on WWE Network
* Money in the Bank 2016 Kickoff Show at CAGEMATCH.net
* at CAGEMATCH.net
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
Category:2016 pay-per-view events
Category:Money in the Bank (PPV)