WWE: 10 Best Opening PPV Matches Ever 4

4. Money In The Bank Ladder Match Won By Daniel Bryan @ Money In the Bank 2011

Here’s a listing of the competitors in the match: Sin Cara, Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Justin Gabriel, Cody Rhodes, Heath Slater, Daniel Bryan & Kane. Heath Slater? Yeah that’s right, he was in it too. It was a mix of six guys who weren’t main event level performers along with Kane and Sheamus, both of whom had been to the top before.
Bryan was really gaining momentum as a guy capable of putting together great matches with everybody and the fans loved him for it, and though he didn’t come into the match as a strong favorite, it was believable that he could win it. There was a huge spot as a ladder was bridged between the ring apron and announce table. Sheamus took advantage of the situation by giving Sin Cara a Powerbomb off the ring apron that sent him crashing through a table. It looked incredibly painful – probably because it was.
The last two guys battling for the contract were Bryan and Barrett. They didn’t do anything overly elaborate for the finish other than Bryan kicking him repeatedly to knock him down, and when Barrett dropped, Bryan climbed up to grab the briefcase. It was one of those surprise finishes that online fans absolutely loved because it meant that WWE management believed in Bryan the way that we did.
What stands out about the match was that it was one of the longer MITB matches because it went around 25 minutes. That’s significant because them to work at a more realistic pace instead of rushing it all the time like we see in MITB matches once in a while.