WWE's Money in the Bank 2016 lasted for 3 hours 23 minutes and 52 seconds (3h 23m 52s). Here is a breakdown of the timing for every single second of the show, in chronological order.
The matches are in bold. The "pre-match" segments include video packages, entrances, ring introductions, and any verbal promos that occur right before a match officially begins. The "post-match" segments include any celebrations, replays, angles, attacks, or promos that occur right after a match is finished.
Start | End | Description | Duration |
0m 00s | 0m 21s | Then, Now, Forever | 0m 21s |
0m 21s | 3m 07s | Video hyping Money in the Bank 2016 | 2m 46s |
3m 07s | 3m 54s | Opening pyro; Cole welcomes you | 0m 47s |
3m 54s | 13m 31s | Pre-match for Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way | 9m 37s |
13m 31s | 25m 13s | Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way | 11m 42s |
25m 13s | 26m 50s | Post-match for Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way | 1m 37s |
26m 50s | 31m 00s | Backstage with Owens, Del Rio, and Jericho | 4m 10s |
31m 00s | 31m 15s | Cole talks about Las Vegas | 0m 15s |
31m 15s | 33m 35s | Pre-match for Ziggler vs Corbin | 2m 20s |
33m 35s | 45m 58s | Ziggler vs Corbin | 12m 23s |
45m 58s | 47m 09s | Post-match for Ziggler vs Corbin | 1m 11s |
47m 09s | 47m 27s | Backstage glance at Rollins | 0m 18s |
47m 27s | 47m 43s | Commercial for Gold Bond | 0m 16s |
47m 43s | 51m 22s | Pre-match for Charlotte and Dana vs Becky and Natalya | 3m 39s |
51m 22s | 58m 22s | Charlotte and Dana vs Becky and Natalya | 7m 00s |
58m 22s | 1h 01m 23s | Post-match for Charlotte and Dana vs Becky and Natalya | 3m 01s |
1h 01m 23s | 1h 01m 57s | Hype for Austin's podcast with Styles | 0m 34s |
1h 01m 57s | 1h 03m 35s | Backstage Ambrose interview | 1m 38s |
1h 03m 35s | 1h 06m 42s | Pre-match for Apollo vs Sheamus | 3m 07s |
1h 06m 42s | 1h 15m 19s | Apollo vs Sheamus | 8m 37s |
1h 15m 19s | 1h 16m 40s | Post-match for Apollo vs Sheamus | 1m 21s |
1h 16m 40s | 1h 16m 57s | Backstage glance at Reigns | 0m 17s |
1h 16m 57s | 1h 17m 48s | Commercial for Battleground 2016 | 0m 51s |
1h 17m 48s | 1h 27m 04s | Pre-match for Cena vs Styles | 9m 16s |
1h 27m 04s | 1h 51m 15s | Cena vs Styles | 24m 11s |
1h 51m 15s | 1h 53m 30s | Post-match for Cena vs Styles | 2m 15s |
1h 53m 30s | 1h 53m 41s | Commercial for Gold Bond | 0m 11s |
1h 53m 41s | 1h 54m 22s | Commercial for Swerved | 0m 41s |
1h 54m 22s | 1h 54m 57s | Filler commentary | 0m 35s |
1h 54m 57s | 2h 02m 43s | Pre-match for Money in the Bank Ladder Match | 7m 46s |
2h 02m 43s | 2h 24m 21s | Money in the Bank Ladder Match | 21m 38s |
2h 24m 21s | 2h 26m 31s | Post-match for Money in the Bank Ladder Match | 2m 10s |
2h 26m 31s | 2h 27m 02s | Commercial for SummerSlam 2016 | 0m 31s |
2h 27m 02s | 2h 28m 30s | Kickoff panel discussion | 1m 28s |
2h 28m 30s | 2h 29m 39s | Video recap of pre-show | 1m 09s |
2h 29m 39s | 2h 31m 50s | Pre-match for Rusev vs Titus | 2m 11s |
2h 31m 50s | 2h 40m 03s | Rusev vs Titus | 8m 13s |
2h 40m 03s | 2h 41m 35s | Post-match for Rusev vs Titus | 1m 32s |
2h 41m 35s | 2h 42m 56s | Hype for WWE Network | 1m 21s |
2h 42m 56s | 2h 43m 12s | Cole talks about Las Vegas | 0m 16s |
2h 43m 12s | 2h 53m 09s | Pre-match for Reigns vs Rollins | 9m 57s |
2h 53m 09s | 3h 19m 09s | Reigns vs Rollins | 26m 00s |
3h 19m 09s | 3h 20m 02s | Post-match for Reigns vs Rollins | 0m 53s |
3h 20m 02s | 3h 21m 01s | Pre-match for Rollins vs Ambrose | 0m 59s |
3h 21m 01s | 3h 21m 09s | Rollins vs Ambrose | 0m 08s |
3h 21m 09s | 3h 23m 52s | Post-match for Rollins vs Ambrose | 2m 43s |
Match Times
The 9 matches combined for a total time of 1h 59m 52s. This means that 58.8% of the show was devoted to bell-to-bell action. This is the 8th highest percentage in this category out of the 43 WWE events in my data set, which begins with Royal Rumble 2013.
Here is the sorted list of match times for Money in the Bank 2016. This also includes where each match time ranks out of all 307 matches in my data set.
- 26m 00s: Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins (18th longest out of 307 matches)
- 24m 11s: John Cena vs AJ Styles (26th)
- 21m 38s: Money in the Bank Ladder Match (48th)
- 12m 23s: Dolph Ziggler vs Baron Corbin (149th)
- 11m 42s: Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way (155th)
- 8m 37s: Apollo Crews vs Sheamus (214th)
- 8m 13s: Rusev vs Titus O’Neil (224th)
- 7m 00s: Charlotte and Dana vs Natalya and Becky (253rd)
- 0m 08s: Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose (304th)
This event had a run time close to 3.5 hours in order to accommodate all 8 advertised matches on the night. Ultimately this card featured more match time than WrestleMania 29 and WrestleMania 31, both of which had a run time close to 4 hours.
Money in the Bank 2016 became the 5th pay-per-view (PPV) in my data set to include at least 3 matches that reached 20 minutes in length. The previous events that accomplished this were WrestleMania 29, Royal Rumble 2014, WrestleMania 30, and Elimination Chamber 2015.
I have the cash-in match at 0m 08s, but it could very well be 0m 09s. There is always at least a second or two margin of error in any of my listed times.
According to my numbers, Seth's championship reign lasted 2m 00s. I ran through this one several times and it seemed to last somewhere between 1m 59s and 2m 00s. So all 3 members of The Shield had a separate claim to the WWE Championship within roughly a 2m 00s time span.
Charlotte's tag match was the shortest women's match since Elimination Chamber 2015. The shortest women's match in that span lasted 9m 32s, and that occurred last month at Extreme Rules 2016. A match time of 7m 00s is a pretty big drop off from even that mark; this downward trend is not encouraging as WWE struggles to develop meaningful storylines in its women's division.
This event marked the first time that the following superstars returned to wrestling on the main card of a PPV since their match on the main card of WrestleMania 32: Kofi Kingston, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, and Becky Lynch.
This PPV was not specifically advertised as lasting more than 3 hours, but once Apollo's match and Dolph's match were added to the main card, I had a pretty strong feeling that this event needed more than 3 hours to cram in all 8 advertised matches. That's because the last time WWE squeezed in 8 matches that all lasted at least one minute onto the main card of a 3-hour PPV was TLC 2014, and that card wasn't nearly as top-heavy as Money in the Bank 2016.
Pre-match Segments
The pre-match segments combined for a total time of 48m 52s, which is 24.0% of the show. This is the 16th highest percentage in this category out of the 43 events in my data set.
Here is the sorted list of pre-match segment time for all 9 matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median pre-match segment time in my data set is 5m 03s and the average time is 5m 47s.
- 9m 57s: Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins
- 9m 37s: Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way
- 9m 16s: John Cena vs AJ Styles
- 7m 46s: Money in the Bank Ladder Match
- 3m 39s: Charlotte and Dana vs Natalya and Becky
- 3m 07s: Apollo Crews vs Sheamus
- 2m 20s: Dolph Ziggler vs Baron Corbin
- 2m 11s: Rusev vs Titus O’Neil
- 0m 59s: Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose
Three matches received the special treatment of a dedicated video package right before superstar entrances. The videos hyping Cena's match (3m 39s), the ladder match (3m 24s), and Roman's match (3m 56s) combined to take up 10m 59s of the pre-match segment time.
The pre-match segment for the tag team championship match is the longest such segment to ever kick off a PPV. The official bell to start the opening match did not ring until approximately 13m 31s after the start of the show.
This largely occurred due to the lengthy promos from New Day and Enzo and Cass, which combined to take up 5m 10s. The entrance for the Vaudevillains also lasted longer than usual in order to introduce all the ringside commentary teams.
Sheamus and Crews brawled for about 0m 10s prior to the official start of their match.
Post-match Segments
The post-match segments combined for a total time of 16m 43s, which is 8.2% of the show. This is the 34th highest percentage in this category out of the 43 events in my data set.
Here is the sorted list of the post-match segment time for all 9 matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median post-match segment time in my data set is 2m 01s and the average time is 2m 31s.
- 3m 01s: Charlotte and Dana vs Natalya and Becky
- 2m 43s: Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose
- 2m 15s: John Cena vs AJ Styles
- 2m 10s: Money in the Bank Ladder Match
- 1m 37s: Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way
- 1m 32s: Rusev vs Titus O’Neil
- 1m 21s: Apollo Crews vs Sheamus
- 1m 11s: Dolph Ziggler vs Baron Corbin
- 0m 53s: Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins
The post-match segment for Roman's match bled into the pre-match segment for Ambrose's cash-in. I decided to use the point when Ambrose's music first played (while Rollins was celebrating) as the transition point between segments, and this is why the post-match segment for Roman's match is so short.
Miscellaneous Segments
That leaves about 9.0% (18m 25s) of the show for everything else. This is the 40th highest percentage in this category out of the 43 events in my data set.
Most of these miscellaneous segments are crammed into the time after one post-match segment ends and before the next pre-match segment begins. Money in the Bank 2016 included 8 different blocks of miscellaneous segments. Here is how long each block lasted, in chronological order:
- Block 1: 3m 54s (Then Now Forever; opening hype video and pyro)
- Block 2: 4m 25s (Backstage with Owens, ADR, Y2J; filler commentary)
- Block 3: 0m 34s (Backstage glance at Rollins; ad for Gold Bond)
- Block 4: 2m 12s (Hype for Austin podcast; Ambrose interview)
- Block 5: 1m 08s (Backstage glance at Roman, ad for Battleground 2016)
- Block 6: 1m 27s (Ad for Gold Bond; ad for Swerved; filler commentary)
- Block 7: 3m 08s (Ad for SummerSlam 2016; Kickoff panel; Pre-show recap)
- Block 8: 1m 37s (Hype for WWE Network; filler commentary)
Summary
Here is a listing of how much total show time was allocated for each match when you add up all 3 components: pre-match time, match time, and post-match time. This list also includes where each total time ranks among the 307 entries in my data set.
- 36m 50s: Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins (30th longest out of 307 entries)
- 35m 42s: John Cena vs AJ Styles (38th)
- 31m 34s: Money in the Bank Ladder Match (61st)
- 22m 56s: Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way (115th)
- 15m 54s: Dolph Ziggler vs Baron Corbin (200th)
- 13m 40s: Charlotte and Dana vs Natalya and Becky (226th)
- 13m 05s: Apollo Crews vs Sheamus (231st)
- 11m 56s: Rusev vs Titus O’Neil (251st)
- 3m 50s: Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose (307th)
Now here is a look at the "Match Time Percentage" for each match. For any given match, this percentage shows how the match time compares to the combined pre-match and post-match segment time. For some context, it's good to know that the median result here since 2013 is 62.9%.
(Here's an example calculation: an entry with a match time of 6m 00s, pre-match time of 3m 00s, and a post-match time of 1m 00s has a score of 60.0%, because the match time of 6m 00s is 60% of the total sum of 10m 00s for all three components.)
- 77.9%: Dolph Ziggler vs Baron Corbin
- 70.6%: Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins
- 68.9%: Rusev vs Titus O’Neil
- 68.5%: Money in the Bank Ladder Match
- 67.7%: John Cena vs AJ Styles
- 65.9%: Apollo Crews vs Sheamus
- 51.2%: Charlotte and Dana vs Natalya and Becky
- 51.0%: Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way
- 3.5%: Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose
If Roman's match and Ambrose's cash-in were merged into the same block of time, that block would have a Match Time Percentage of 64.3%.
_________________________________________
Money in the Bank 2016 had nearly identical percentages in all 4 categories as last month's Extreme Rules 2016 event. The differentiating characteristic that stands out about Money in the Bank 2016 is that it needed almost 3.5 hours in order to squeeze in more matches.
A match time percentage close to 60% with a miscellaneous percentage down at 9.0% is a welcome sight, though there are some concerns with viewer fatigue when the pre-show matches are also taken into account. The downward trend in match time for the women since WrestleMania 32 is also something worth keeping an eye on.
Final Results for Money in the Bank 2016
Match - 58.8% - 1h 59m 52s
Pre-match - 24.0% - 48m 52s
Post-match - 8.2% - 16m 43s
Miscellaneous - 9.0% - 18m 25s