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Pro Wrestling

Thoughts on Wrestlemania 31

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Sunday we saw a plethora of a Wrestlemania moments including Triple H defeating Sting, The Undertaker’s redemption, and Seth Rollins make history by being the first Money in the Bank winner to not only cash in his contract at the show of shows, but during the championship match as well.

Long story short, pretty much all of the right people won with the exception of Sting. While the match itself was alright for two legendary competitors, there were too many theatrics involved with the finish (and the entrances to boot) and this tainted Sting vs. Triple H instead of it being the clinic it could have been. With all this buildup, Sting should have received the victory but it was not to be by way of the sledgehammer.

The Undertaker’s victory over Bray Wyatt was one of his better ‘Mania matches due to the innate psychology that the match was built around. The exorcist/sit up spot was something fans must have been dreaming about for some time as there were definitely chills up the spines of those watching.

Daniel Bryan is going to boost the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship and deserved the win. The headbutt war with Dolph Ziggler was questionable and probably looked better on paper, but overall it was a very good ladder match. All competitors did a great job especially Luke Harper and Dean Ambrose who put their bodies on the line.

Paige and AJ winning without any issues between the two was good but it was interesting that there was no animosity involved in the match.

Like Bryan with the Intercontinental Championship, John Cena is going to boost the United States Championship like never before. Cena’s “Rocky Balboa” got the story book ending against Rusev’s “Ivan Drago” which was much needed and doesn’t taint the Bulgarian Brute at all. We’ll just have to see how his character is handled from here on to see where he goes but the man can work. His omega-Russian entrance was one of the highlights of the night.

The Rock and Triple H’s segment started off well but dragged for far too long. After awhile it became obvious that they were waiting for Santa Clara to get darker for The Undertaker’s arrival. If you’re watching on the network it’s best to just skip to the end where Ronda Rousey gets involved. This should have been saved for Raw with a match or two being inserted in its place.

Who chooses Wrestlemania’s musical guests and why do they have them perform at all? It’s clear that WWE’s demographic does not care when there is minimal participation in the act and maximum participation at the concession stands and/or restrooms.

Big Show wining the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal was surprising from a storyline standpoint but not from a logical one. Show is after all, a giant and it would have been a shame if he didn’t win one of these. Miz vs. Mizdow is still happening and that’s all anybody wanted out of this match anyway.

Randy Orton’s victory over Seth Rollins moves the feud nicely especially with the events that unfolded later on. WWE is striking this feud while the iron is still hot with greater stakes and kudos to them. Check the height on that RKO again, Rollin’s must be at least eight feet in the air before he hits the mat for the three count.

Last but not least Brock Lesnar looked as dominant as ever and Roman Reigns looked decent as well. This was the most believable match WWE could have had with the outcome being the only realistic scenario to get the title off the champion. Reign’s comeback was a nice touch and Lesnar’s bloodshed is proof that WWE needs more of it (but not too much) in there product. Save the non-PG stuff for the Pay-Per-Views and it’ll be all right. Rollins is already going to be one of the best heel champions ala Ric Flair’s weasel tactics.

We can’t wait for next year.

Pro Wrestling

Wrestlemania 31 Predictions

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Tonight in Santa Clara, California’s Levy’s Stadium WWE will answer all of the questions that have been building in the minds of the WWE Universe for nearly a year at Wrestlemania 31.

Will Roman Reigns begin his first World Heavyweight Championship reign upon conquering Brock Lesnar?

Will Bray Wyatt defeat a broken Undertaker to become the new face of fear?

Will Sting dethrone Triple H?

Will John Cena break Rusev’s undefeated streak and become the United States Champion once again?

When is Seth Rollins going to cash in his Money in the Bank contract?

Here’s what we think might occur on the grandest stage of them all.

Fatal Four Way for the Tag Team Championships – Cesaro and Tyson Kidd (c) vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos: Cesaro and Kidd have become the unlikely duo to hold gold lately and deserve a strong run to finally break through the glass ceiling. However, The Usos are looking to regain their titles as well. The New Day and Los Matadores are clearly the filler teams and unfortunately round out the Tag Team division for the most part. Since The Usos’s father Rikishi is being inducted into this years WWE Hall of Fame Class, it is a pretty safe bet that they will get the Wrestlemania “feel good” moment; thus retaining their Tag Team Championships.

Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match – “Bad News” Barrett (c) vs. R-Truth vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper vs. Stardust: Every man, woman and child in the WWE Universe is rooting for Bryan to walk out of Wrestlemania with gold, but it is probably not what is going to happen. With so many competitors, WWE is sure to throw a swerve in this match. Stardust will be the dark horse victor, becoming the new Intercontinental Champion to raise the stakes in his continuing feud with Golddust.

Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton: This is a match that has been building for quite some time. Rollins and Orton will tear down the house in a solid 20 minute match. Orton will get the upper hand many times, but due to outside interference from Rollin’s Authority buddies, The Viper is going to get Curb Stomped into oblivion.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal: There are a bunch of neat mini-feuds bubbling in this cauldron of a match with The Miz vs. Mizdow being the proverbial nail sticking out the most. Our money is on either The Miz or Ryback.

Divas Tag Team Match – AJ Lee and Paige vs. The Bella Twins: While AJ and Paige have become “frienemies” again, the magic is going to have to end sometime due to the common goal of taking the Divas Championship from Nikki Bella’s waist. This match should be a Fatal Four Way for the Divas Championship, but unfortunately it isn’t. The Bellas will win due to their chemistry defeating Lee and Paige’s dissension.

United States Championship Match – Rusev (c) vs. John Cena: Rusev will be pushed to the limit, but he will not be enough for Cena in WWE’s retelling of “Rocky IV”. Cena will emerge victorious, bringing the United States Championship back to the good ol’ U. S. of A.

Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker: Wyatt and ‘Taker will tell a great story in the ring. This tale of redemption needs The Undertaker to come out on top, avenge his broken Wrestlemania streak and hopefully face Sting in what should be their swansong at Wrestlemania 32.

Sting vs. Triple H: This should have happened years ago but the fact that we are getting it at all is well worth the wait. The match will be slowly paced, but will be a highlight in both men’s storied careers. The Vigilante Sting will come out on top before challenging The Undertaker the following night on Raw.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match – Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns: It all seemed like WWE was going forward with the “original plan” and have Reigns slay Paul Heyman’s beast, but that all changed Wednesday when Lesnar announced that he had signed a multi-year deal with WWE. Now that it is confirmed that Lesnar will stay with his current employer, does that mean that he will be adding Reigns’ list to his World Heavyweight Championship reign of terror? It will be interesting to see where this goes, but we feel that it’s now or never for Reigns to shine and Vince McMahon knows that. This is why we feel that the “original plan” will stick and Reigns will walk out of Wrestlemania as the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion with Rollins waiting in the wings to unsuccessfully cash in his Money in the Bank contract.

Pro Wrestling

WWE Fastlane Predictions

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In lieu of the traditional “Elimination Chamber” pay-per-view, WWE has decided to change the game this year with a new event titled “WWE Fastlane.” While fans will not get an Elimination Chamber match this February, they will get what looks to be a stacked card for the inaugural event on the Road to Wrestlemania. Here are our predictions for each match.

Intercontinental Championship Match: Wade Barrett (c) vs. Dean Ambrose – This looks exciting. The feud has been built up in an old school way centering more around promos and less around beat downs. The psychology of the match should be fun and the ability of both men is going to make it awesome. Ambrose is better when he’s on the chase (and we’d like a long term program between these two) and that’s why we believe Barrett is keeping his title.

Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd – Another match that could be promising with enough time. Kidd is finally on a pay-per-view again and Cesaro can work well with anyone. While the Usos have the gold, there is also the sub angle involving Jimmy and Kidd’s significant others – Naomi and Nattie. Expect the ladies to get into a scuffle, leading to the Usos retaining.

Goldust vs. Stardust – A normal match that should have been given more time to blossom into a fireball for ‘Mania rather than rushed for Fastlane. In the time they are given, the Rhodes brothers will put on a clinic; but they probably won’t be given the minimum 20 minutes they deserve. Hopefully this will be part of a series of matches, with Stardust’s arm raised at the end of their first cosmic clash.

Ryback, Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane, Big Show and Seth Rollins – Expect a few high spots from Rollins and Ziggler to get this Chevy where it has to go, but for the most part this will be a standard Six Man Tag that we will see again on Raw or Smackdown at some point in the near future. It’ll be good, but The Authority will prevail following a dirty finish involving J&J Security.

United States Championship Match: Rusev (c) vs. John Cena – If this what Rusev has been built up for in the year he has been on the main roster, he can’t lose now. Rusev must crush Cena at Fastlane for his legacy to mean anything in the near future. The two should have a somewhat lengthy feud, but if the Russian sympathizer is finally going to be pinned or submitted by Cena, it has to be at Wrestlemania. Judging by the booking of Cena in these angles, the match will either end in a disqualification or Rusev will play dirty for a victory. We’re expecting the former with Rusev going postal on the Cenation leader.

Divas Championship Match: Nikki Bella (c) w/Brie Bella vs. Paige – Paige desperately needs to regain and continue to re-shape the Divas division, but not just yet. Nikki Bella is playing the mean girl role well and can put on a good match to boot. The five to 10 minutes we see will be decent with Nikki coming out with the win. Paige needs the big win at ‘Mania for this feud to get the payoff the Divas angles rarely see.

No. 1 Contendership for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan – This is for all the marbles. We’re going to see some highlights in these men’s careers in this one. It’s also the one that’s too close to call. Will WWE go with what has been rumored as “the original plan” or will the WWE Universe’s voice be acknowledged for the second year in a row? The angle alone has quelled a lot of the backlash from the Royal Rumble (we personally love that it’s been explored) and for the WWE to address the situation so well makes us not mind which way this could go. It would be great to see Bryan go all the way again, but Reigns will probably meet WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at the Granddaddy of ’em All.

Podcast, Pro Wrestling

Bonesaw Podcast Ep 1: Chris and Frank Shoot on Royal Rumble 2015

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We finally did it guys. Thanks for all your support so far and the support you will continue to give in the future. For our first episode I’m joined by my friend and former college buddy Frank Lucci where we let the fur fly as we express our thoughts on this year’s Royal Rumble event. Frank and I discuss what we liked, disliked, a WWE/Jetsons crossover and more. Our band of the week GZR is featured as well so sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Pro Wrestling

WWE Royal Rumble 2015 Thoughts

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Tonight from WWE Headquarters in Stamford, CT; Booker T and Michael Cole agreed last night’s Royal Rumble was a night to remember.

While the above statement is true, the annual event in question will be remembered – but for the wrong reasons.

Wrestlemania season is supposed to start with a bang. New stars receive fresh starts with memorable moments and old ones get to bask in their nostalgic glory if only for a moment.

Instead for the second year in a row, the WWE Universe was not happy with their order both figuratively and literally.

While the Royal Rumble match itself did have its moments (such as Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Diamond Dallas Page making  returns that popped the crowd), the contest was booked very predictably with very little direction other than to highlight its winner Roman Reigns.

The contest started out well with surprise appearances, some nice feud teasing and immense potential. The Wyatts brawled with each other, Bray dominated the match and DDP dropped the Diamond Cutter like a man on fire. Daniel Bryan, the obvious fan favorite made his way to the ring at number 10 and immediately started hanging and banging with the best of them.

For about 10 minutes before he was unceremoniously eliminated.

That took the air out of the building faster than the New England Patriots.

Shortly after Reigns entered and the rest of the match was booed worse than last year.

WWE pulled all the stops to reverse the fans polarity, even having The Rock do a run-in to aid his real-life cousin Reigns, but even that was rejected.

For the love of God the fans were chanting for Rusev, a man whose character is a Russian sympathizer on American programming.

The saving grace of Royal Rumble was the Triple Threat World Heavyweight Championship between Seth Rollins, John Cena, and  Brock Lesnar – who defended his championship in one of the best matches of each combatants careers.

Rollins’ ability is incredible as he demonstrated why he is the future, utilizing the psychology and dimensions of the match to his advantage.

Lesnar also played the odd man out to a “t,” double teaming his opponents and watching his back while laying waste to them at opportune times.

Cena also hit every aspect of the hero, but not in the force-fed way he usually is portrayed. This time around, it was believable and told a great story. Hats off to the three of them with hopes of this angle continuing in the near future.

The New Day vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd with Adam Rose was a decent warm up with a lot of very high spots. The finish was exciting as Cesaro and Kidd got the surprise win with great old-school heel tactics. Please give these men a shot at the titles.

Speaking of titles, The Usos worked another exciting match against The Miz and Mizdow for the Tag Team Championships. A lot of fun, but we’ve seen this already. The Usos need a new team to feud with.

Speaking of new teams, The Ascension defeated the New Age Outlaws in a quick match that unfortunately did nothing for either team. While it’s always nice to see The Outlaws, The Ascension were treated like toys on the previous Raw when the Outlaws and a slew of non-active wrestlers manhandled them in addition to their horrendous debut last month and childish promos. Hopefully these guys can be salvaged.

Speaking of things that can be salvaged (this is the last time, scout’s honor), The Divas tag match was much better than expected. The Bellas looked strong, but Paige and Natalya didn’t look like pushovers either. Paige was mostly left out of the match minus some quick action and a non-PG cover on Brie Bella, but this could be the seed for Paige vs. Nikki Bella for the Divas Championship.

Despite a major hiccup in the Rumble itself, the 2015 Royal Rumble event was OK; but just OK and that is a problem.

While we did have a few good matches, fun moments, and a show-stopping Championship bout, we got a lackluster main event that flopped on all cylinders. The issue with the Rumble was not who won, but how he won. When Big Show and Kane began literally dumping key players like Ziggler, Ambrose and Wyatt over the top rope without said key players even trying to fight back, there was no drama, and therefore no reason to continue watching. No drama equals no entertainment, and when your audience is not entertained, they don’t care about the product.

Pro Wrestling

WWE Royal Rumble 2015 Predictions

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Another WWE calendar has come and gone and it’s time to start ‘Mania season off with a bang at this years Royal  Rumble installment. 30 men will enter, one man will leave with a Wrestlemania opportunity upon his victory in the rumble match but for the heck of it, here is what we’d like to think would happen in the 2015 Royal Rumble event.

Kickoff Match: The New Day vs. Cesaro, Tyson Kidd and Adam Rose – Even though the unlikely trio of Cesaro, Kidd and Rose have had their way with The New Day over the past few weeks, Despite Cesaro and Kidd being a newly formed team, The New Day is the stable that WWE is pushing so for that reason alone they will be the victors with an entertaining match to boot.

The New Age Outlaws vs.The Ascension – As is above will be so below.  The Outlaws are a classic tag team frozen in time. They have and always will be incredible to watch. Again, The Ascension is the team receiving the push so it is more than likely that the overall decision will be for Konnor and Viktor rather than The Outlaws – who are well established and have nothing left to prove.

Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs.The Miz and Mizdow – The Miz and Mizdow will invoke their re-match clause against The Usos, but it will do them no good as the obvious dissent in The Miz and Mizdows team is consistantly growing while The Usos brotherly bond remains consistent. Chances are that The Usos will retain their championships over some sort of “Miz” communication.

Paige and Natalya vs. The Bella Twins – While Paige claims she doesn’t need any assistance, Natalya begs to differ. While the two have proven their worth against Nikki Bella and her Divas Championship, Nattie’s hubby Tyson Kidd  proves to be the wild card in this feud;  often costing the woman he assists her match by hogging the spotlight. in short: there are too many variables for The Bellas to win than there are to lose.

The 2015 Royal Rumble Match – This is the meat and potatoes of the event. While it will be fun to see who enters in what order (and whatever surprises WWE has in store), our final four will see Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and either Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Rusev or Ryback. As far as the actual winner is concerned, it is a three way tie between Reigns, Bryan, and Ambrose. Ambrose is of course the wild card and the least likely of the three to win,  but it would be nice to see the WWE take a chance on the unstable young wolf. Bryan would be the safest bet to get the storybook ending he deserved last year as he seemingly has not skipped a beat in his injury related absence, but we feel like WWE will stick with what the dirt sheets have claimed to be “the original plan” and will decide Reigns your 2015 Royal Rumble winner.

Triple Threat WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins – Thank God Rollins is in this match because nobody wanted to see Lesnar vs. Cena for the third consecutive time. Not only does the inclusion of Rollins benefit the match from being another predictable “John Cena overcomes the odds story” but it also enhances the match itself with a wacky scenario: not only does Lesnar not have to get beat to lose his championship but Rollins can immediately cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase after the match itself if he chooses. If we were betting men we would say Cena wins (again), but we would not be surprised if Rollins or Lesnar walks out with gold around their waist.

Pro Wrestling

WWE TLC 2014 Thoughts

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wwe tlc 2014

As usual, WWE ended 2014 with a bang. Unfortunately, that bang was in the form of an exploding TV that cost Dean Ambrose his TLC match against Bray Wyatt.

Ambrose gave Wyatt the beating of his life, elbow dropping his opponent through a table from a ladder multiple times before finding a TV under the ring. The TV was not only plugged in, but it also gave Ambrose the idea to go for the biggest ladder he could carry. He then dropped the big elbow off that giant ladder onto Wyatt through the Spanish announcer’s table.

Dragging Wyatt into the ring, Ambrose readied to finish him off with the TV, but it was plugged in and prevented the blow. Then it exploded after Ambrose tried again. Wyatt then hit Sister Abigail and that was all she wrote.

Two things can be said of this. One: who leaves a TV under the ring? And two: there is no way any of us are to believe someone can be that stupid.

The Kickoff match was well done with Goldust and Stardust really delivering their offense and executing their heel tactics beautifully. They get better every night. The New Day predictably got the win, but the match was solid. Hats off to these teams for getting the crowd pumped up.

Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper put on the match of the night in an excellent Ladder match with Ziggler stealing the show and the Intercontinental Championship in his home city.

The Miz and Damien Mizdow had a decent encounter with the Uso’s for the Tag Team Championship with a logical DQ finish. The inclusion of Jimmy Uso’s real life wife Naomi into the storyline is interesting and will add real life situations into play if done right. Mizdow is slowly becoming a fan favorite with his antics and will hopefully get his shining moment down the road.

The Divas Championship match was also a decent match with a logical conclusion of Brie Bella’s interference and Nikki Bella taking advantage of a referee’s blind spot with a foreign object.

The Steel Stairs match between Big Show and Erick Rowan was much better than expected with good use of the stairs. This was a tough match to work but the two superstars did a great job with what they had.

Kane and Ryback’s Chairs match on the other hand, was pretty boring and predictable. Ryback was dominant, lots of chair shots and way too long.

Jack Swagger and Rusev’s United States Championship encounter also was very predictable. It’s clear that there are big plans for Rusev, but the “foreign oppressor vs. patriot” angle is getting old. We need to see more layers to the Rusev character.

Last but not least, John Cena once again overcame the odds and defeated Seth Rollins in a Tables match – securing his number one contender spot to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship yet again.

You didn’t have to watch WWE programming since SummerSlam to figure that out.

It is nice to see Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury playing the parts of Rollin’s lackey’s perfectly. These guys were the best part of the match.

It was also nice to see Roman Reigns back in action as he saved the day for Cena and is moving into a nice feud with Big Show for the time being. Having said that, Reigns returning at the pay-per-view before the Royal Rumble was a mistake as he would have had a much better reaction at the Rumble en-route to victory.

Perhaps WWE is saving that reaction for the return of Daniel Bryan.

Pro Wrestling

WWE TLC 2014 Predictions

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Another year has come and gone which means Wrestlemania season is just around the corner. As is tradition, WWE will make sure 2014 goes out with a bang in this year’s installment of their annual TLC pay-per-view. Below are our predictions for the winners of each match.

The New Day vs. Goldust and Stardust (TLC Kickoff)– While the cosmic duo sets its sights on the darkening of The New Day, we at The Bonesaw feel that since The New Day has debuted very recently, it is likely that they will prevail against the brothers Dust. Expect a good back and forth with plenty of tag team twists and turns as both teams have great chemistry with their partners and deliver unique offenses. The one variable is which two members of The New Day will be doing the brawling. Our money’s on Big E and Kofi Kingston due to their more direct confrontations with Gold and Stardust.

Nikki Bella (c) vs. AJ Lee (Divas Championship Match) – A re-match for the championship that should (hopefully) last longer than their Survivor Series encounter. These two young women will make the match as interesting as they can with the time they are given but it a tough call due to the constant flip-flopping of the title. History tells us Lee will regain her championship, but we predict Bella. One thing’s for sure: sister Brie will have some involvement in the outcome.

The Miz and Damien Mizdow (c) vs. The Uso’s (WWE Tag Team Championships Match) – A tag match that will be entertaining due to The Uso’s hybrid style and Mizdow’s hilarious antics. Chances are the champions will retain, but just barely as The Uso’s will outmaneuver the self proclaimed “A-lister” and his goofy “stunt double.”

Luke Harper (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler (Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship) – Ladder matches are notorious for death-defying spots and hard hitting action. Harper and Ziggler will put their bodies on the line with an intense showing of instestinal fortitude. The two rising stars will put on a heart-stopping clinic  that will culminate in Ziggler winning back his championship.

Rusev (c) vs. Jack Swagger (United States Championship Match) –  Aside from their characters being natural enemies, Rusev and Swagger have shown great chemistry in their feud. TLC will be no different when stars, stripes and sickles clash again for the United States championship. The Bonesaw believes Rusev will again conquer the good ol’ U.S. of A. – but would enjoy seeing Swagger knock off the Bulgarian Brute as it would greatly benefit his career.

Ryback vs. Kane (Chairs Match) – The inclusion of a Chairs Match is very unnecessary in any circumstance. The feud of Ryback and Kane is probably a short placeholder that would fare better with a regular match or a no-disqualification stipulation. The match will be decent if it is not given too much time. If we see more than 10 minutes, this could turn into a stinker. It is very likely that Ryback will continue his rampage.

Erick Rowan vs. Big Show (Steel Stairs Match) – Similar to Ryback vs. Kane, this very shoehorned in match with a steel stars stipulation rather than chairs might be decent if given a short length. Fans would much rather see Rowan battle his former tag team partner Harper, but it is what it is. The Big Show is almost a lock to win this one.

Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt (Tables Ladders & Chairs Match) – This match will steal the show. It will be as violent as PG programming will allow and the in-ring psychology will tell a fantastic story. Wyatt will endure the beating of his life, but The Eater of Worlds will defeat the unstable one in order for the feud to continue. The promos alone are too good to stop this freight train now.

 John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (Tables Match) – It should be noted that should Cena lose, he also loses his no. 1 contender spot against Brock Lesnar for the WWE title. Not to Rollins, but to an unknown  challenger to be announced at a later date. Seeing as Rollins is in possession of the Money in the Bank briefcase, the match is more about a notch on his belt as he will get his championship match whenever and wherever he likes until the next Money in the Bank pay-per-view. It will be a hard fought battle and a great main event, but chances are Cena will find his can of spinach and emerge victorious yet again. Having said that, we really hope Rollins wins.