Jim Ross wasn't ringside for the epic PPV that was WWE Money in the Bank 2011, but he was watching with great interest from the comfort of his own home. Over at his blog he discusses plenty of MITB topics, but here's what he had to say about CM Punk defeating John Cena, and leaving Chicago with the WWE Championship:
The MITB PPV was one of the better WWE PPV events that I can ever recall watching from the proverbial 'comfort of my own home.' I've been physically present for many great, WWE PPV events over the years but watching at home is a different experience for me.
Sunday night's MITB PPV delivered big time. I'm watching it again tonight.
The crowd in Chicago and likely the heat in the arena helped ascend the show. The All State Arena is a magical place when the live crowd is emotionally invested and they were Sunday night. If great matches traditionally get 5 stars this crowd deserves 6.
Unlike some UFC PPV's, I could actually hear the crowd at home and the louder that I turned up my TV the better the live event experience at home was.
CM Punk and John Cena had a scintillating main event that featured over 30 minutes of classic, old school wrestling. It took me back a generation, or so it seemed, and that match alone was worth the price of the PPV. My black hat is off to both men.
John Cena and CM Punk reminded me of why I have had a love affair with this genre since I was a boy.
It's a match like Cena vs. Punk for the WWE Title in a red hot city that facilitated me having some of the best years of my life sitting at ringside. All the elements came together including one of the most intriguing conclusions to a PPV that I can recall in a long, long time.
Punk is the WWE champion but what does his future hold as Punk's contract has now expired with WWE? What will Cena's fate be now that the Chairman has been globally embarrassed? What will the fall out be on Monday Night Raw? There's so many more questions than answers as the build to Summer Slam begins in Green Bay Monday night.
One of the most consistent issues J.R. has with the UFC is how they mic the crowd, and watching MITB tonight really highlighted the difference. WWE's Chicago crowd blew UFC's massive 55,000 seat Toronto crowd they had for UFC 129. No contest. Check out what else Ross had to say at his blog, as it's always a recommended read for me.