Smark Out Moment

The booking for WWE's Money in the Bank 2014 pay-per-view event has been erratic to say the least. Originally, it was going to be the first time in years where there was only one ladder match for a title shot to accompany Daniel Bryan versus Kane in a buried alive match. That changed to a stretcher match, which then was eradicated completely and replaced with a ladder match for the title. Now, it appears as though we're getting two ladder matches, with one being for the title and one being for a title shot. As crazy as it is, we decided that the special feature gimmick for this week was going to make things even more complicated with another edition of FANTASY BOOKING for the event. What would you have done for this event, if given the powers to dictate the lineup of matches?


Here are the rules:

1) You need to justify your choices within a reasonable mindset of what WWE has in store. Just because someone is a favorite of yours does not mean WWE would be pushing them to the title in any realistic fashion Your choices must be based on the events that transpired at Payback, which is the furthest point back that you can go. Thus, there is no justification to say that in the short few weeks leading up to Money in the Bank, there would be a total change of perception and Heath Slater would be in line to win the world title.

2) No imaginary time skips, roster additions, or comebacks. Shawn Michaels has said he's not wrestling another match, so don't book him in a match. Mr. Perfect has passed away, so he can't wrestle Curtis Axel. You can't just add a bunch of ROH guys to the roster and then book them on the card.

3) No CM Punk. By this point, it's pretty clear that WWE isn't just waiting for him to return from injury or anything. Sorry, but you have to assume that he's no longer a part of the roster.

4) Take into account timing. It's impossible for WWE to give 45 minutes to every match if you book a card that has 20 matches on it.



Most of the pre-show would be the typical setup. It would be cool to see a panel consisting of Edge, Chris Jericho, and maybe Scott Hall considering his ladder match history, but more than likely, we'd end up with Booker T, Alex Riley and Sgt. Slaughter or something.

1. Adam Rose vs. Heath Slater

Slater's now a one man show again, but he'd be gloating that the party will still go on. This leads to Adam Rose's party interrupting to show what a real party is. Quick storytelling for a simple, throwaway feud for the next couple of weeks. It all starts here with a generic pre-show match that sees Adam Rose get the win and people celebrating.


2. [Midcard Money in the Bank Ladder Match]: Sheamus (c) vs. Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Damien Sandow vs. Big E vs. Titus O'Neil vs. Sin Cara vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Fandango

This match is by far the biggest change that I would make to the scenery of WWE. Bad News Barrett and Sheamus looked like they were going to possibly crossover and feud, and we've been hearing about a possible unification for a while. I'd finally put that plan into action. My idea also adds into it something else that I've been fond of: a second briefcase that you can use for the midcard title(s). Next year in 2015, they would add a tag team one as well, but now is not the time for that.

Triple H would announce that with the vacancy of the world title, the Intercontinental and United States Championship would have to step up. However, he's no longer confident that these champions know what they're doing in WWE anymore. After unifying the world title and making sure that only the truly worthy are able to win it (now that their chances have been reduced in half), he's not sure if EITHER of Bad News Barrett and Sheamus are worthy champions. Both of them are placed in this match despite already holding the titles and they are joined by several other competitors.

The winner would be Bad News Barrett, who would challenge Sheamus at Battleground and unify the titles, getting rid of the United States one and just keeping the Intercontinental belt. That's right...no 2-belt system, because that's ridiculous to do after a unification.

3. Stardust & Goldust vs. Curtis Axel & Ryback

Stardust must have been in the plans for a while, and I'm not changing that. The only thing I would have changed is that the reveal would have happened at the pay-per-view and not on Raw.

4. Rusev vs. Rob Van Dam

Although this is not something I'm fond of, I'm sure WWE would force a Rusev squash upon me as a member of the creative team, so I would just sacrifice Rob Van Dam for a bathroom break.


5. [Tag Team Championship]: The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family

No need to elaborate here. WWE is already doing it.

6. Bo Dallas vs. Santino Marella

These two could have a good feud between their ridiculous characters.

7. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

They serve no purpose being in the midcard ladder match and not being focal points. They also serve no purpose being in the world title match without being the winners. Hence, these two just have a grudge match and the victor is Seth Rollins.


8. Divas Championship: Paige (c) vs. Emma

Nobody is interesting in the Divas division right now. Paige is wrestling pointless matches that people could not care less about. So why bother putting her against someone like Cameron or another Alicia Fox match if they can just put Emma in there, fulfill the same philosophy, and at least try to get them to do what they did at NXT Arrival?

9. [WWE World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match]: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro vs. The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Kane vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton

Similar to what they're doing now, but with the playing field switched up a bit by adding in Miz and Kane instead of Sheamus. Ideally, I'd put Ziggler in here instead of Del Rio, but that would be a tough sell for WWE, since they seem to (for some reason) value Del Rio over him. The win would either go to Cesaro or Roman Reigns, depending upon what future storylines WWE would like to do. My choice? Roman Reigns is the better fit, since Cesaro has lost a lot of steam and I'd rather see him turn face before winning the title. I'm also much more interested in Cesaro facing Brock Lesnar next year rather than at SummerSlam, as I'd like to see Lesnar destroy someone at SummerSlam (primary candidate would be Sheamus). Reigns can feud with Orton, Rollins, Kane, and so on. It deviates from my usual method of making sure someone has a midcard title reign before they win the world title, but in certain circumstances, you just have to go with the flow.