Money in the Bank (2014)

Money in the Bank (MITB) is an annual gimmick pay-per-view produced by WWE since 2010 and generally held in July; 2014 was the first to be held in June. The concept of the show comes from WWE's established Money in the Bank ladder match, in which multiple wrestlers use ladders to retrieve a briefcase hanging above the ring. The briefcase contains a contract that guarantees the winner a match for a world championship at any time within the next year. For 2014, only one MITB ladder match occurred and the winner received a contract for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, following the unification of the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December 2013. 2014 was the fifth event in the Money in the Bank chronology.[4]

The card consisted of eight matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers.[5][6] Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown.

On the June 2 episode of Raw, Alberto Del Rio qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match by defeating Dolph Ziggler. The following week, following Daniel Bryan being stripped of his WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to injury, Stephanie McMahon changed the match into a ladder match for the vacant title. The same night, Triple H placed Randy Orton into the match, while United States Champion Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett and Rob Van Dam respectively to qualify. On the June 13 episode of SmackDown, Bray Wyatt qualified for the match after defeating Dean Ambrose (with interference from Seth Rollins). On the June 16 episode of Raw, John Cena won a spot in the match by defeating Kane in a Stretcher match, and Roman Reigns qualified for the match by winning a 19-man battle royal. On the June 23 episode of Raw, Kane was added to the match by Triple H.

During the feud between John Cena and Bray Wyatt, WWE Tag Team Champions Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso inserted themselves in the rivalry alongside Cena to counteract Wyatt Family members Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. At Payback, The Usos were once again be in Cena's corner to even the odds and in the process, Cena defeated Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match to end the feud. The next night on Raw, Rowan and Harper shifted their attention to The Usos, defeating the latter in a non-title tag team match on the June 2 episode of Raw. Due to this win, they earned a match for the Tag Team Championship at the pay-per-view.

On the June 17 episode of Main Event, a Money In The Bank ladder match was added to the event, with Seth Rollins declaring himself the first participant in the match.[7] On the June 23 episode of Raw, Triple H added Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, Rob Van Dam, Kofi Kingston, and Jack Swagger to the match. Later that night (after Dean Ambrose threatened to disrupt the pay-per-view), Rollins requested Ambrose be added to the match, to which Triple H agreed. On the June 27 episode of SmackDown, Barrett suffered an injury, causing him to be removed from the match.

At Payback, after a loss to RybAxel, Cody Rhodes told his brother, Goldust, that he deserves a better partner than him. Following Payback, Goldust was unsuccessful in defeating Rybaxel with his new partners, chosen for him by Cody. On the June 16 episode of Raw, Cody debuted as his new moniker of Stardust, and began teaming with his brother to defeat the team Rybaxel. On the June 24 episode of Main Event, Rybaxel challenged Stardust and Goldust to a match at the pay-per-view, which they accepted.

On the June 17 episode of Main Event, Naomi defeated WWE Divas Champion Paige in a non-title match, setting up a title match between the two at Money In The Bank.

After Fandango had replaced his dance partner Summer Rae with Layla, Summer Rae attacked Layla on the May 19 episode of Raw. They continued to attack each other and interfere in Fandango's matches, thus setting up a match at the pay-per-view, with Fandango as the special guest referee.

Since his debut, Rusev was presented as a Russian super athlete. His manager, Lana, insulted the United States many times. This included an attack on WWE Hall of Famer Jim Duggan, known for his patriotic gimmick, who was saved by Big E. Big E and Rusev had a match at Payback, but Big E was defeated by Rusev. After the event, they continued to attack each other, setting up a rematch at the pay-per-view.

During the Money in the Bank Kickoff pre-show, Daniel Bryan came out to speak about his health and being stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The former champion led the Boston fans in an echoing "Yes!" chant and said that his recovery was going poorly and that he didn't know when he'd be back. He promised to return better than ever and to win back his title. Bo Dallas entered the ring to try to cheer Bryan up. Bryan called Dallas a "Bo-ner" then mocked his "Bo-lieve" catchphrase, telling him "Bo-leave" before leading another round of chants.

The actual pay-per-view opened with The Usos defending the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Wyatt Family's Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. In the end, Jimmy and Jey executed a double Superplex on Rowan. Jey performed a Samoan Splash on Rowan, which was followed by Jimmy performing a Samoan Splash on Rowan to retain the title.

Next, Paige defended the WWE Divas Championship against Naomi. The match ended when Paige executed a RamPaige on Naomi to retain the title.

After that, Damien Sandow wrestled Adam Rose. Rose performed a Party Foul on Sandow to win the match.

The next match was the WWE World Heavyweight Championship contract Money in the Bank ladder match involving Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. During the match, Ambrose pushed a ladder, causing Kingston to fall off the top rope onto Swagger, Ziggler and Van Dam. Van Dam executed a Rolling Thunder Senton on Rollins, who was lay on a ladder wedged in the ring corner. Swagger performed a Powerbomb off a ladder on Van Dam, which was followed by Ambrose performing a Suplex off the ladder on Rollins. Ambrose injured his shoulder, leading to him being taken backstage by medical personnel. Kingston performed a Back Body Drop on Rollins atop a ladder, causing Rollins to fall onto another ladder bridged between the ladder and the ropes. Ziggler executed a Zig Zag onto a ladder on Kingston. Ziggler attempted to retrieve the briefcase but Rollins hit Ziggler with a chair. Rollins attempted to retrieve the briefcase but Ambrose came back out and hit Rollins with the chair. Ambrose attempted to retrieve the briefcase but Kane came down to the ring and executed a Chokeslam and a Tombstone Piledriver on Ambrose. Rollins retrieved the briefcase to win the match.

Next, Gold and Stardust faced Ryback and Curtis Axel. In the end, Stardust pinned Ryback with a roll-up to win the match.

After that, Rusev wrestled Big E. Rusev forced Big E to submit to The Accolade to win the match.

In the penultimate match, Summer Rae faced Layla with Fandango as the special guest referee. Layla performed a Roundhouse Kick on Rae to win the match.

The main event was a Ladder Match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship involving Alberto Del Rio, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, John Cena, Kane, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns and United States Champion Sheamus. During the match, Cesaro and Sheamus fought atop the ladder but Wyatt pushed the ladder, causing Cesaro and Sheamus to hang onto the championship belts. Orton executed an Elevated DDT off a ladder bridged between the apron and a broadcast table on Sheamus. After everyone fought each other off, Sheamus controlled the match by performing a Diving Shoulder Block on Kane, an Irish Curse Backbreaker on Del Rio, White Noise on Orton and a Brogue Kick on Cena. After Orton and Kane removed the other participants from the ring, Reigns controlled the match by performing a Spear on Kane, Superman Punches on Orton and Sheamus, Running Front Dropkicks on Del Rio, who was draped on the bottom rope, and Wyatt, who was draped on a broadcast table, and a Spear on Cesaro. Reigns fought with Cena, ending by executing a Spear on Cena. After each men executed their finishers on the other participants, Reigns fought with Orton and attempted to retrieve the championship belts but Kane performed a Chokeslam on Reigns. Orton attempted to retrieve the championship belts but Cena executed an Attitude Adjustment on Kane and an Attitude Adjustment on Orton onto Kane. Cena retrieved the championship belts to win the match.