World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is all set to pop off with its Money in the Bank event tonight (Sun., July 15, 2012) from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, at 8 p.m. ET, live on pay-per-view.
CagesideSeats.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, match-by-match coverage of Money in the Bank below, beginning with the first match of the evening and right on through to the main event.
Tonight's show will feature a main event pitting CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE championship with AJ as special guest referee. The world heavyweight title will also be up for grabs as Sheamus puts it on the line in a singles match against Alberto Del Rio.
The big draws for this event, though, are the two Money in the Bank (MITB) Ladder matches. The Raw brand/WWE championship MITB Ladder match features John Cena vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Big Show. The Smackdown/World heavyweight championship MITB Ladder match features Christian vs. Santino Marella vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Tensai vs. Sin Cara vs. Damien Sandow.
All that and more.
So kick your shoes off, relax, and enjoy all the action with your favorite pro wrestling website. And remember to keep refreshing!
Full results and match coverage after the jump.
WWE MONEY IN THE BANK 2012 QUICK RESULTS
CM Punk def. Daniel Bryan
Sheamus def. Alberto Del Rio
John Cena wins Raw/WWE championship MITB Ladder match
Dolph Ziggler wins Smackdown/World heavyweight championship MITB Ladder match
Primo and Epico def. Primetime Players
Ryback def. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks
Layla, Kaityln, Tamina def. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Eve Torres
Kofi Kingston and R-Truth def. Hunico and Camacho
Geno here.
The tag champions retained on the pre-show.
Pay-per-view broadcast is live. Let's do this, Cagesiders.
And we shall start with what is probably going to be the best match on the card.
Smackdown/World heavyweight championship MITB Ladder match
The participants -- Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, Christian, Tensai, Sin Cara, Damien Sandow, Santino Marella, Tyson Kidd
This thing is going to get crazy, so instead of straight up blow-by-blow, I'll just try to get to the high spots.
Tensai starts destroying Kidd, in keeping with their story, and does so by setting up a ladder in the corner between the ropes and catapulting Kidd's face up into it. Crowd is super hot for all this.
Tensai gets a splash on Christian and sets up for another but Kidd and Christian double team to send him out with a ladder lariat.
Oh, yeah.
Santino comes in to go up the ladder but is stopped by Damien Sandow, who sends him out and goes up himself. That just leads to a dropkick from Ziggler. Now he's out. Rhodes runs in and sends Ziggler into the set up ladder under the briefcase. Ziggler reverses him and returns the favor.
Sin Cara in and Rhodes elevates him way up in the air for a dropkick on Ziggler. He comes back with a hurricanrana on Rhodes, who sells like he's really hurt.
Holy shit. Ziggler and Cara went up top and got tangled up looking for what, I do not know. That looked like a botch and a bad one that could have seriously hurt someone. It doesn't look like anyone is injured, though.
They show the replay and it doesn't look as bad as it did at first but man, that was ugly.
Christian comes off the top and ends up landing on a ladder in the ring. He's out now. Choas ensues and Kidd ends up going up while Tensai isn't looking but gets picked up. They both end up on the outside after Kidd sends Tensai over the top rope.
Sandow in now and he's heading up the ladder. Cara stops him but gets taken out and Sandow goes back up. Now it's Christian who comes in and tries to go over Sandow but ends up on his back with a vicious bump from the middle rung.
Christian recovers and looks for a spear onto a ladder set up in the corner but Sandow countered. He ended up taking on just a short time later, though.
Christian goes out and now it's Rhodes and Ziggler back in. They end up met by Tensai, who goes up and looks like he's going to make it. Then Santino grabs him while Sin Cara runs up the other side. Christian and Santino grab a ladder and take him out.
Marella busts out the Cobra and far too much emphasis is being put on it. He ends up sending Sandow off from the top with it. That just gives Rhodes enough time to come in with a drop kick.
He's cleaning house now and has been left alone in the ring to get set up again.
Vickie Guerrero gets in and stops Rhodes long enough to give Ziggler the chance to hit the Zig Zag. He goes up the ladder and almost has it but Christian goes hauling ass to the top to stop him.
Now here comes Kidd. Sandow shows up. Kidd goes flying from one ladder to the other to slam Ziggler down and that was ugly as hell. Big spot that looked like it hurt bad.
It's just a big clusterfuck of ladders in there now.
Tensai sets up a ladder between the ring and the announce table. Tensai then powerbombs him on to it. Holy shit. Ziggler runs in and he gets tossed like a rag doll over the table and onto the announce chairs. That looked insane.
Rhodes and Kidd in the ring rushing to get the case. They battle at the top while Christian and Santino are at the bottom.
OH MY GOD, KIDD GOES FACE FIRST OFF THE TOP!!
HOLY SHIT, CHRISTIAN WITH A SPEAR OFF THE TOP OF ONE LADDER TO ANOTHER!!!
Ziggler climbs over one ladder with Tensai still laid out over it. In the ring, Christian and Santino are slowly working their way up the ladder. Christian pops Marella and Christian is alone at the top of the ladder. Ziggler pops up and sends him off.
DOLPH!
DOLPH!
DOLPH!
HE GRABS THE BRIEFCASE!! ZIGGLER WINS! ZIGGLER WINS! ZIGGLER WINS!
Dolph Ziggler wins Smackdown/World heavyweight championship MITB Ladder match
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Backstage for an interview with Sheamus.
Josh Matthews starts asking about Ziggler winning the briefcase and Sheamus cuts him off, saying he's not looking forward to the future. He's only got tonight to worry about.
He goes into talking about Alberto Del Rio being a coward and using his pretty cars to attack Sheamus with. He continues the theme by saying he doesn't need a fancy car because he's already got the one ornament he needs, which is the world heavyweight championship.
Del Rio is also going to end up in the scrap heap.
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Justin Roberts introduces the returning Miz.
"Miss me?" The crowd actually cheers him, too. A brief "this is awesome" chant breaks out. Miz admits to being off filming a movie and calls himself a bona fide movie star now.
Ha.
He continues by saying he was treated better on the movie set than he was in WWE, when he kept getting overlooked.
But now he's back to announce that he's entering the Raw/WWE championship MITB Ladder match. I guess because he just has the right to come out and say he's in a match and that makes it so.
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The world heavyweight title match is up next.
Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio -- ADR taps his arm repeatedly while the referee checks him and Sheamus before the match starts. I think he's saying he's going to submit the champ with a Cross Armbreaker, you guys.
They tie up to start and Sheamus gets the better of it, sending Del Rio out of the ring after a break and right hand. ADR takes his time to recover and get back in.
His trunks and boots and colored gold, like his skin, and that diaper is looking particularly offensive tonight.
Once again, they tie up and Sheamus goes into his routine of losing his cool and bludgeoning Del Rio. In fact, the referee is forced to warn him, which gives ADR time to finally get some offense in. It doesn't last long, as Sheamus counters and covers for two.
Crowd is mostly dead to this point.
Del Rio sends Sheamus into the corner but runs into an elbow. Sheamus with a knee and a cover that gets two. More knees and another cover that gets two again.
Pretty slow pace with not much rolling so far. Sheamus sends Del Rio into the ropes and ducks down but gets hit with a kick to stand him up and a dropkick to send him down to his back. Sheamus hardly sells and hits a suplex before going up to the top rope for a shoulder block that Cole tells us is called the "battering ram" when Sheamus does it.
Okay.
Ricardo Rodriguez with a distraction that allows Del Rio to hit a head kick on Sheamus on the apron. He dies to the outside where Del Rio comes out and sends him into the steel steps. Sheamus, as averse to selling as it gets, kicks at Del Rio's legs while acting hurt.
Man, that's just bad form.
Del Rio off the top with another kick and a near fall but once again, Sheamus comes back like he's not worried at all. Del Rio counters into working the arm again but the pinfall here gets less than a one count.
This is ADR's big offensive surge and while Sheamus is selling for him, it's like an old Undertaker match. He's not selling so much as stopping. Meanwhile, the announcers are putting over Sheamus' grit and determination. That's verbatim.
Sheamus' first comeback attempt falls short, however, and Del Rio continues the assault. "There's no quit in Sheamus." Del Rio is also using headbutts to avoid Sheamus' comeback attempts. ADR tries a Cross Armbreaker but Sheamus avoids it.
Finally, Sheamus comes back and hits a slam. That gets a two count. He looks around pissed and tries to get Del Rio set up in the ropes for the forearm bludgeoning spot. Yep. He gets all 10.
Del Rio hit with a backbreaker back in the ring and that gets a close two. ADR with a head kick. Sheamus misses the Brogue Kick. Backcracker from Del Rio gets two and there teasing the finish big time now.
Del Rio misses a kick in the corner and Sheamus comes out to the center of the ring to hit White Noise. He's selling the arm while setting up the Brogue Kick. It connects and Del Rio goes down.
1, 2, 3, that's all she wrote.
Sheamus def. Alberto Del Rio to retain the world heavyweight championship
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After the match, Rodriguez jumps Sheamus' back and Del Rio attacks him. They put a beat down on Sheamus and here comes Ziggler!!!
Del Rio watches Dolph walk down while Sheamus is laid out. Ziggler tries to give it to the referee to cash in but Del Rio stops him at first. Dolph gives the briefcase to the referee but Sheamus hits him with the Brogue Kick and the bell never rang.
So Sheamus tosses the briefcase, takes the world title and walks off standing tall.
God. Way to have Ziggler look like a complete dork, WWE.
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Backstage interview with Bryan. He doesn't say much of anything, other than saying AJ would be his wife if it wasn't for Punk.
Not only will he win the title tonight, he'll make AJ his bride.
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Out comes Kofi Kingston and R-Truth wearing suits and the ugly tag team title belts. They're going to be on commentary for the following unannounced match.
The Primetime Players vs. Primo and Epico -- Abraham Washington still has a live mic that is picking up everything he says. Which is fun because he's eerily reminiscent of Rampage Jackson as a coach on TUF. During a pinfall attempt, A.W. simply shouted, "Kick out, dog."
I love it.
Meanwhile, chaos in the ring. Epico goes flying over the top rope and lands on top of the Players. A.W.'s advice, "Get up, fellas."
The best.
Epico comes back in and Darren Young takes control long enough to tag in Titus O'Neil. He works over Epico then Primo too. Washington asks for a round of applause for the Primetime Players and gets booed loudly. If that's how he has to get the team heat, fine.
HA. Now Young goes to the outside to continue working Epico and A.W. gets out a hair pick and starts "tightening" up Young's look. I love these guys. O'Neil with a backbreaker and a fallaway slam.
"I know he got a concussion," A.W. says. That will probably get him in trouble. His next line is calling Rosa Mendes "Taco Bell," which had the crowd laughing their ass off.
The hot tag comes and barely anyone realizes it because the match just isn't playing out that way. Primo is doing his thing in the ring, though, nearly getting a pinfall. Truth and Kingston are staying entirely too quiet on commentary.
Primo gets Young on the ropes and the babyfaces are in control. Primo with a big splash off the top but Young gets his legs up. Primo rolls him up though and gets the pin.
Primo and Epico def. Primetime Players
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After the match, A.W. says it's all good that they lost because they're still number one contenders to the tag titles.
In fact, why not go pick a fight with the champs who are ringside right now.
So they go over and talk some trash but Truth ends up throwing water in A.W.'s face, which he responds to by taking his shoes off and trying to go after Truth. Young and O'Neil stop him, though.
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Promo airs for the WWE championship match, which is a No Disqualification match now, as per earlier.
Matt Striker asks AJ, who looks incredibly hot in her referee outfit, how she's going to officiate tonight. She says just because CM Punk broke her heart in front of the entire world and made her act out in rage and slap him doesn't mean that she doesn't know what an amazing human being he is.
As for Bryan, he's her first love and there will always be a special place in her heart for him, even when they're lying through their teeth and using you to further their own career.
"When I'm near the two of them, I don't know whether to hug them or kiss them or rip out their ... The match is next. I have to go."
She walks off, takes a deep breath, and puts the smile back on her face.
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CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan -- Bryan comes out in a trench coat instead of his YES! YES! YES! shirt. They do intros and Punk and Bryan have their time with the belt while looking into AJ's eyes. They're playing up what way she'll call this thing here.
Punk grabs a leg and knocks Bryan down. He hits a kick and they go to the outside, where Punk works a few chops. Bryan responds by whipping him into the barricade and chopping Punk a few times.
Back in the ring they go and Bryan takes control. Because it's no disqualification, AJ is basically worthless here. The commentators acknowledge as much, too. Punk and Bryan decide to beat each other up by slapping each other, punching, kicking, uppercut forearms. Punk finally gets control and hits a backbreaker.
Leg drop from the top misses. Bryan's YES! kicks don't.
Bryan covers and AJ counted it legit but only got to one.
Punk comes back with a drop kick and then hits a suicide dive. He gets on the barricade and panders to the crowd for a minute before they go brawling up the entrance way. Back in the ring and we've got our first ref bump.
Bryan hit Punk into the ropes, which sent AJ flying to the outside. Bryan takes advantage with a double axe handle and then tosses Punk into the steel steps. Bryan checks on her and the referees lead her off to the back because they apparently really need to check on her.
The replay shows she took a super soft bump. But whatever.
Meanwhile, Bryan hits the running knee on the outside and lands awkwardly on his leg. He appears to be okay, though. Bryan gets mean and tosses Punk onto the steel steps and then into the barricade on the other side. Punk reverses there, though, and sends Bryan up and over into the time keeper's area.
Then he racks Bryan on the barricade before catching his breath long enough to launch himself up and over it for a clothesline.
They take some time to recover and while they do, Punk slowly works his way over to the ring where he looks under. The crowd chants, "We want tables." So Punk brings a table out. but he never gets to use it. Bryan body slams him and gets something of his own from under the ring.
A kendo stick.
Punk runs away from it and heads inside the ring. No one ends up using it until Bryan drills him with it coming off the top rope, right to the midsection. That leads to a two count from another referee who is out here that isn't AJ.
Lame.
Dueling chants break out. Let's go Bryan, CM Punk. You know the drill.
Bryan picks up the Kendo stick and he's just beating the shit out of Punk with it. YES! with each shot. He remains in control, doing whatever he wants right now. Finally, Bryan comes off the top and Punk moves to make him miss.
Comeback time?
They exchange kicks. Punk takes control with clotheslines. He looks for a pin but gets two and then calls for the GTS. Naturally, Bryan gets out on the first attempt. On the second one, Bryan counters into a roll up but Punk kicks out at two.
A kick to the head puts the two down and resting for a minute.
Bryan gets his submission but Punk reverses out and gets the Kendo stick. He pays Bryan back for the many shots he doled out earlier in the match. Punk wants to go to the top but Bryan meets him there and hits the superplex.
AJ comes running back out now and she tells the other ref to get the hell outta dodge. The two are both laid out and selling and she smiles and starts skipping around the ring. Now she's going underneath the ring and pulling out a chair.
"YOU'RE THE REFEREE!" some random awesome guy shouts.
She stands in between the two men and they stare up at her. Bryan reaches for the chair while Punk just looks at her confused. She sets the chair down in the center of the ring and backs up to the ropes where she rests her arms on top of them and smiles.
Go fetch, doggies.
Bryan gets control of it and uses it without prejudice. He tries for the pin and AJ gets to two before Punk kicks out. Bryan gets up and pleads with her to count to three. While he's doing so, Punk rolls him up and AJ again counts fair. Again, though, she only gets to two.
Bryan looks at her and says, "This is for you, okay?" YES! kicks to Punk all the way over to the corner, where he just absolutely unloads. AJ looks concerned. Bryan backs away and sets up for the running knee but Punk comes rushing out and hits a clothesline.
Now he's got the chair.
He goes after Bryan before setting up the chair in the corner. When he goes to send Bryan into it, AJ gets in the way. Punk looks at her wondering and Bryan sends Punk into it.
Bryan then climbs over to get to the Kendo Stick and AJ steps on it, not letting him have it.
"She's just toying with these guys," Cole says. Indeed, Punk hits a kick just after and body slams Bryan onto a chair. Then he goes up top and looks for the flying elbow but Bryan moves and Punk lands on the chair.
Bryan takes advantage with the YES! Lock. Punk reaches for the Kendo stick but Bryan grabs it and uses it for leverage. AJ smiles on all fours asking if Punk will tap.
Punk fights out and grabs the Kendo stick. He catapults Bryan into the corner and then hits the GTS.
Punk takes a minute to cover and when he does, he only gets a two count. A legit two count. When he sits up, he's right in front of AJ. She just shakes her head at him.
So he goes out and gets the table, setting it up in the ring. Then he puts Bryan on it and hits him a few times to keep him there. Punk goes up top for the elbow again. Bryan gets up and racks him on the ropes. Punches and knees. He looks at the table and sets up for something. Oh shit.
Nope, Punk manages to get out. Oh, now he's up top with Bryan but both have their back to the table. Punk sets up for a big slam falling back and they go through the table.
Punk covers and AJ counts the three.
CM Punk def. Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE championship
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AJ grabs the belt and looks at it before Punk grabs it from her hands and celebrates on the second rope. She continues looking at him sadly while Bryan is still laid out.
Punk just celebrates more and more.
This is really starting to drag on too long with nothing happening other than Punk celebrating and AJ standing there.
Nothing happens. They go to the commercial for people not to try this at home. Wow. Okay.
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Time for some filler, as we've got an hour to go still.
Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks vs. Ryback -- The announcers start listing off weird stats like Ryback eats eight big meals a day. He also does 2,000 jumping jacks or some shit like that.
As soon as the bell rings, the Goldberg chants start.
Oh shit, Hawkins and Reks actually work smart as a team and manage to get control of the match. Reks even knocks him down with a clothesline. Ryback is selling. This is weird. And it doesn't feel right.
Ryback ends up in the corner and not only is he losing, they're just working him over at will. One count on a pinfall attempt. Hawkins and Reks tag in and out to stay fresh. Front face slam from the two of them and that only gets a one count.
Ryback makes his comeback with a slam coming off the ropes. He stops selling completely when Reks comes in and hits a few clotheslines. The bored crowd starts chanting for Goldberg again.
Powerbomb on Hawkins. Clothesline on Reks. He calls for the finish and picks Reks up to do just that. Firearm's carry, march around the ring, drop back for the Shell Shock and the win.
Ryback def. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks
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Cole literally says, "Ryback impressive again." No, Cole, he got his ass whipped the whole match and hit three power moves for the win. Cole follows, "Ryback dismantles Hawkins and Reks again."
Terrible misrepresentation of what we just watched. I guess Vince was unhappy with it and demanded Cole to act like it didn't happen the way it did.
At least a few members of the crowd were willing to get in on the "Feed me more" chants.
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Oh dear god. A six Diva tag team match coming up.
Layla, Kaitlyn, and Tamina vs. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and Eve Torres -- A match happened, it was what it was and the babyface team went over.
Layla pinned Beth for whatever that's worth.
Layla, Kaitlyn, and Tamina def. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and Eve Torres
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Main event time and to the surprise of no one, it's the match that has John Cena in it.
Raw/WWE championship MITB Ladder match
Participants -- John Cena, Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane, The Miz
It appears Miz will be the only extra addition to the match. They get started and already, it's insanity. Show battles Cena while Jericho and Kane go at it on the outside. That leaves Miz in the ring to climb up to the top and grab for the briefcase. The problem, of course, is the ladder he's using is too short.
Either way, Show hits a spear to knock both of them down. Then he picks up the ladder in the ring and drops it on top of Jericho, who he just knocked off the apron right before.
He then takes out Kane in the ring and goes to do the same to Jericho but gets hit with the Codebreaker. Miz wants in on it but he gets DDT'd. Kane with a big boot and Show goes over the top rope to the floor.
Cena is there and eager to hit Show. He picks him up for the AA and sends Show through the announce table with it. Kane piles on by dumping a ladder on him. Miz does the same and so does Jericho. They literally throw like eight ladders on him.
Jericho knocks Kane and Miz down and dumps one final ladder on top of Show. He heads into the ring and sets up a ladder to climb up while everyone else is laid out.
Miz comes in to stop him and ends up in the Liontamer. He lets it go when he sees Kane trying to get in the ring with a ladder and baseball slides into it. The crowd is chanting for Jericho with "Y2J!"
Jericho and Miz hit Kane with a vertical suplex on top of a ladder. Cena comes in and hits a few shoulder blocks before body slamming Miz on top of a ladder. Then he does the same to Jericho, only this time for more gentle.
Five Knuckle Shuffle time. Or 10 Knuckle Shuffle. Whatever.
Kane comes in and tries for a choke slam but ends up getting hit with an AA on top of Miz, who is still on the ladder.
Jericho is back up though and he hits Cena with a ladder across the chest. He takes his time with incapacitating everyone else to set up to go for the briefcase. It's at this point that Big Show finally gets back up and comes for Jericho.
He puts Jericho between a ladder and starts working him over with it. Then he just breaks it and hits Jericho over the back with one side of it. Kane comes in and gets sent out quick.
"Big Show is angry, dog," Booker T tells us.
Miz on the apron and he's sent down with a knife edge chop to the chest. Then a ladder gets thrown on top of him. He's been nothing more than a punching bag in this match, so I guess his time away didn't do him a whole lot of good.
Cena in and he gets beat up by Show as well. Instead of actually climbing up a ladder to win the match, Show throws all the ladders out of the ring. I wonder if he realizes what the point of the match is?
Uh, I guess he does because he goes under the ring and brings out a gigantic ladder that is time as big as the other ladders. Show has trouble even getting it into the ring. Either that, or he's selling it like it is but it's a big ass ladder. Not long but thick.
That's what she said.
Anyway. I guess we're supposed to be impressed by the size of the ladder enough not to think about the fact that they had to create one big enough for Show to climb. He still looks tentative going up it.
I don't blame him.
He gets up to the top and just then, Kane goes cruising up. Show teases a choke slam and so does Kane. Don't tell me they're going to fall from this high. Kane goes down.
Cena comes up and gets hit with a headbutt. Now it's Jericho and he hits Show with a chair. That gets him to climb down a few rungs. Another couple shots gets him off the ladder completely.
Jericho and Cena are left on both sides slowly climbing the ladder.
They get to the top and Cena picks up Jericho for an AA but Jericho reverses it into a sleeper hold. Cena starts climbing down as he's fading from the hold. Cena being Superman and all, he just muscles out and continues climbing up to the top. Once he gets there, he goes out with Jericho still on his back hanging on. I don't see how Jericho even gets down here without falling.
Miz comes runing up the ladder and Jericho punches him until he falls out. Cena wakes up and reaches for the briefcase but Jericho once again gets the hold. Cena falls out and Jericho is up there alone.
Jericho goes to grab it off and Miz meets him there. They both start to unhook it and they fight for it. Jericho gets up higher than Miz and he hangs on to the rope while Miz sends him off. They both let go and Miz tries for a suplex off the top of the ladder.
They battle longer and now Show is back up there. He comes up and stares at Jericho, who looks scared as hell.
WMD. Miz is knocked off onto a ladder.
Show up top and Cena quickly climbs up with him. He starts blasting Show over the head with it. While he's doing so, the briefcase comes free and Cena wins.
The briefcase actually has a dent in it from Show's head.
John Cena wins Raw/WWE championship MITB Ladder match
Naturally, they spend plenty of time with Cena celebrating with fans around the ring. He's acting as goofy as ever.
Fade to black.