The final installment of Friday Night SmackDown (WWE programming period) before WrestleMania featured a SmackDown vs. RAW 10-man tag match showcasing all the Money in the Bank Qualifiers.
Dolph Ziggler earned his shot for Money in the Bank by pinning R-Truth in a Triple Threat Match against the now-#1 contenders for ShoMiz's Unified Tag Team Titles.
As far as ability is concerned, Ziggler is in great physical shape and has gone toe to toe with the likes of Rey Mysterio and John Morrison during his I-C pursuit. He also scored a victory over Shelton Benjamin on WWE Superstars a few weeks ago.
Now, does Dolph Ziggler have the advantage to win this year's MitB? Not necessarily. Dolph is quick to anger and applies slow moving submissions. In a ladder match, one must make quick decisions in an instant.
Can the 10th Qualifier from RAW, Kofi Kingston, provide the victory? Kofi Kingston, who captured the I-C title from current World Champion, Chris Jericho, at Night of Champions 2008, has provided the wherewithal to be a champion; especially when capturing the World Tag Team Titles with C.M. Punk, and then the United States Title from MVP during 2008-2009.
Kofi earned this opportunity by defeating Vladimir Kozlov, which just last year was the man Shawn Michaels defeated to earn his first attempt to end the Undertaker's Streak. Around Bragging Rights 2009, Kofi entered a feud with Randy Orton and provided some memorable moments, including the Boom Drop at MSG.
If anyone has a chip on their shoulder to win this match, it would be Kofi Kingston. Plus, a MitB win would definitely complete the push that WWE seems to have aborted back at the TLC pay-per-view.
Matt Hardy and Jack Swagger are tagged in.
As Matt Striker mentioned, there is no one who has more to prove in this match than Matt Hardy. The elder brother Hardy, along with younger brother Jeff, entered WrestleMania together in 2000 against Edge and Christian, and The Dudley Boys (Team 3D) in a death defying Triangle Ladder Match (the prelude to TLC matches). Since that day, Matt has captured the Cruiserweight, United States, ECW, and multiple Tag Titles, but has never grasped that brass ring. Known as the better of the two when it comes to wrestling, Matt has always been outdone by his brother when it came to World Titles. It has been Matt's dream to one day Headline WrestleMania, and though he has won 2 singles matches at 'Mania, he has yet to become a Champion.Will Matt Hardy win? For all the Mattitude Followers out there, there would be nothing more heart warming than Matt reaching the apex of his 10 year long journey than to have a World Title opportunity. But his recent matches since ending his feud with Jeff has been below sub par. Matt Hardy has been jobbing to guys like Dolph Ziggler and The Hart Dynasty for a while. In all reality, Matt Hardy has let himself go and is not the competitor that he was 5 years ago, delivering compelling matches against Edge, and one indie match against AJ Styles.
Jack Swagger was at the height of his WWE career in ECW, capturing the ECW title within four months against Matt Hardy. He earned the opportunity to compete in MitB in a squash match against Santino Marella. But the likely hood of Swagger winning is not likely at all.
Personally one of my favorites to win the match, will not because WWE caters more to entertainers that don't necessarily have a lisp. Recruited to the WWE by Gerry Brisco and J.R., the 2x All-American from Oklahoma doesn't need to win this match, but he needs a push.
Matt Hardy tags in Shelton Benjamin.
Shelton Benjamin earned his shot in MitB by defeating the only 2-time MitB winner, C.M. Punk. So thanks to Shelton (and Rey Mysterio's distraction), there will indeed be a new Mr. MitB at this year's WrestleMania.
Knowing ladders very well, Shelton will be competing in his 5th MitB ladder match. He is another veteran to the WWE who has never held a World Title. Yet, he has captured the World Tag Team, Intercontinental, and United States Titles throughout the years.
The only momentum that Shelton has gained was a win over Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown, which was followed by a loss in the following episode of WWE Superstars. Yet, during the 10 Man Tag, Shelton proved his resilience against Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne, and MVP during a single tag.
Jack Swagger reluctantly tags in Evan Bourne.
Evan Bourne gained entry by defeating William Regal in what was believed to be the 8th and final Qualifying Match. Evan Bourne had scored impressive victories during his debut on ECW that culminated to a title shot against Matt Hardy. Bourne came up short and was later drafted to RAW.
Does Bourne's Style Benefit him in a ladder match? No. Just like every high flyer in the history of professional wrestling, Bourne will be looking to create as much spots as possible to get onto the WrestleMania highlight reel.
Would Bourne make a great MitB winner? Absolutely not. Evan has no fortitude to stand up to the likes of Sheamus, what would make anyone believe that he could main event?
Evan Bourne tags in MVP.
Montel Vontavious Porter, once hated in the WWE has now become a favorite among fans and to win this years MitB. At WrestleMania 23, MVP defeated the late-Chris Benoit for the United States Title. If anyone can create a WrestleMania moment, it's MVP.
However, with consecutive losses to The Miz for the U.S. Title during the start of 2010, will MVP have enough momentum to win MitB?
MVP tags back out to Evan Bourne.
Shelton finally tags in to Kane.
The only former World Champion within the mist of this year's MitB is Kane. His plans to face Undertaker for the World's Title was thwarted several times by Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho.Kane earned his spot in this year's MitB by granting Drew McIntyre his first* loss, just 5 days removed of failing to best McIntyre for the Intercontinental Title at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
Obviously the tallest man in the MitB may have the advantage. His advantage lies in the fact that he doesn't care about creating spots. He is like a bulldozer, crush everyone in the way.
Kane tags in Matt Hardy who shortly tags in Dolph Ziggler.
Bourne escapes and tags in Christian.
The odds on favorite to win this year's MitB, Christian is riding a wave of momentum that the peeps are more than happy about. A veteran of ladder matches, Christian had an impressive run as the ECW Champion and defended it against the likes of Jack Swagger, Tommy Dreamer, William Regal, Ezekiel Jackson, Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder, and most impressively against Shelton Benjamin.
Since returning to WWE, questions of whether Christian could still perform in a ladder match were answered at the TLC ppv when he defended the title in a show stealer Ladder match against Shelton Benjamin.
Now the question remains is if Captain Charisma can be called Mr. Money in the Bank?
Drew interfered with the potential 3-count.
Drew McIntyre is scorned by the other 9 members of the MitB Qualifiers because of the nepotism of Mr. McMahon. *Drew lost his first match against Kane but it was expunged by McMahon. Therefore, Drew was granted another shot at MitB against Matt Hardy. But Matt Hardy won that match which granted Drew his 2nd first loss, until McMahon erased that from the books. Drew's third and final shot at MitB was against a local wrestler who may never be heard from again, which was basically McMahon gift wrapping Drew a spot.According to the realm of WWE and McMahon, Drew's official first lost was dished out by The Undertaker last week. Seeing as Drew has already qualified to compete at 'Mania, and the fact that it is The Undertaker, that loss remained in the record books.
Drew's interference between Christian and Dolph Ziggler caused an outbreak of all the other competitors to run rampant in the ring. But none more impressive than Kane, who delivered a double choke slam to Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston.
Match's End.
The match ended with Christian delivering the Killswitch to Dolph Ziggler, however, McIntyre had tagged himself in and quickly executed the Future Shock DDT to win the match for Team SmackDown.
Drew then placed a ladder in the ring as a foreshadowing of things to come, but Kofi, Swagger, MVP, Bourne, Christian, Shelton, Kane, Dolph, and Matt reentered the ring to knock McIntyre off the ladder (from a safe height).
In all honesty, Matt Hardy and Jack Swagger would make great Money in the Bank winners, but the three main picks comes down to Christian, MVP, and Kofi Kingston.
Matt Hardy and MVP teaming up brings back memories of when they were the WWE Tag Team Champions back in 2007. Certainly things have changed over the years as MVP (fan favorite) is now friends with Matt.
Possibly the most idiotic move on WWE's part to team John Morrison and R-Truth to take on the Unified Tag Team Champions. Albeit, Morrison and Truth are rising stars but they do not belong in a tag team match.
Teddy Long issued this main-event match to symbolize Drew McIntyre's "undefeated" streak against Undertaker who has a real Undefeated Streak. Knowing full well that McIntyre indeed lost to both Kane and Matt Hardy, Long felt it prudent to teach McIntyre what a real Undefeated streak meant.
In the second encounter between Dolph Ziggler and Shelton Benjamin, Ziggler's sleeper hold rendered Shelton Benjamin unconscious. After a failed Zig zag appeared to forshadow another loss, Ziggler lached on the devastating sleeper and body scissors to drag Benjamin to the canvas. Matt Striker has always stated that Ziggler has executed the sleeper to perfection, now Ziggler can back it up.
Last week, Edge competed in one of the most impressive main-events to date on SmackDown, against The Miz. Holding a victory over one-half of the Unified Tag Team Champions, it is only a matter of time before the other-half pays a visit. Most people just assume that it is a tag team thing, collect victories over the dominating tag team and you gain momentum. But there is a significance of Edge taking on The Big Show.
Unlike his Festus in-ring gimmick, Luke Gallows is a competent wrestler. His match against Mysterio was top-notch to what he brings to the Straightedge Society. Despite losing the match, Gallows forcibly latched onto Mysterio and flung him to the turnbuckle. He would then ground Mysterio with a chin lock, evade a crossbody with a throw-a-way slam, and power out of Rey's Dragon Sleeper by inching his body towards the ropes. 
The World's Largest Athlete has claimed many a victory with the Kayo punch, but Edge has vowed to spear his way to his 10th World Title reign. The last time these two confronted was during last year's WrestleMania, in a Triple-Threat Match in which Edge was the defending champion. But with the passing of a year comes new rivalries. 
The RAW following the hellacious Elimination Chamber, Chris Jericho celebrated his World Heavyweight Title win only to be speared again by Edge, who announced Chris as his WrestleMania opponent. Enraged, Jericho vowed that he would never be speared again.
Luck is back on Michelle McCool's side as she once again captured the Women's Championship, making her a four-time female champion. However, the incidents factoring around her title win is controversal at best.
The Miz arrived on SmackDown because he doesn't have a match for WrestleMania. He demanded that Teddy Long find a tag team to defend the Unified Tag Team Titles against, but instead, Teddy scheduled Miz into the main-event against Edge.
This year's Royal Rumble was one of the most star studded Rumbles ever; and a large part is due to Santino's absence. Last year, Santino Marella was not only in the Rumble, but broke The Warlord's record of the shortest time in a Royal Rumble Match. Jack Swagger, who took out Santino Marella for embarrassing him in the All-American-American Challenges, should not be disdained, but he should be praised for helping make the Rumble what it was.
Chris Jericho's dream of winning the Rumble and headlining WrestleMania was taken away by a returning Edge. The words, "I Have NOTHINHG!" echoed throughout the FedExForum arena. There is no one better in the WWE, I feel, that can deliver on a promo with such life, passion, and hatred. You may beg to differ. You may have a list of people that can who are still with the company. I ask you, when was the last time they cut such a promo?
Who to pick in a match where you have the big red monster, the chosen Scotsman, and the Guru of Greatness? Well in order to determine that let us break it down.
C.M. Punk has lately come off as an anti-Christ figure. Not saying that Punk is a demon, but he twists the words of Jesus to maintain his ego. He preached to his society, "There is no you, without me." Shouldn't that saying go the other way around, methinks?
Perky little Mickie James is complacent with being the new Women's Champion for a fifth time. With months of intense humiliation by the hands of Lay-Cool, the worst is yet to come in the form of The Glamazon.
Since Bragging Rights, Batista has been coasting through the WWE filled with greed and anger. Last week, Batista had multiple opportunities to put away his opponent to become the #1 contender, but, instead, he chose to taunt his former friend, Rey Mysterio, as the clocked ticked away in the Beat the Clock Challenge. Since Batista interfered with Rey Mysterio World Heavyweight Title Match against The Undertaker, Mysterio cost Batista his shot at the Undertaker by pulling the referee out of the ring, thus, expiring the time. Both Batista and Rey Mysterio, thanks to the official consultant of SmackDown Vickie Guerrero, will go one-on-one to determine the #1 contender.
JoMo-McIntyre, Best Feud. Last week on WWE Superstars, John Morrison issued his championship rematch against Drew McIntyre for January 1st. Drew McIntyre, since coming to the WWE, has not lost a single match, and captured the I-C strap on his first try, would John Morrison be able to grant "The Chosen One" his first loss? John Morrison, no doubt, has been more aggressive as of late, and has shown more passion than in his whole wrestling career. He struck with everything he had, even an innovative standing moonsault kick on the barricades; but his "party" would end as he hung upside down, after getting his leg caught in the ropes. The referee admonished McIntyre for taking advantage of Morrison's predicament, but Morrison was able to pull himself together to connect with the Flying Chuck. McIntyre, unfortunate for Morrison, was able to withstand any offensive strike thrown his way, but it was due to Morrison's aggressive nature that cost the former champ the match. Morrison failing to listen to the ref when urged to back away from the corner, accidentally knocked down the referee with the assist from McIntyre. Despite losing the match via DQ, Morrison met up with McIntyre up the ramp to deliver much needed punishment. It was an after match brawl altercation that saw a fleet of referees prying apart these two superstars.
Rey Costs Batista 1-second. The final Beat the Clock Match featured Batista against R-Truth, which should have been a squash match in record fashion. Even Matt Striker, after CM Punk's match, asked Todd Grisham which of the following matches would be able to beat that record, that was a joke because Batista could clearly throw R-Truth like a rag doll. R-Truth's body cannot compare to Batista's physical appearance, which is so intimidating that his veins look muscular. Batista could have easily struck with a spine-buster followed by the Batista Bomb and have been done in 45 seconds; however, Batista knows that he could do that, but he decides instead to focus his attention to his former friend, and current Time-to-Beat, Rey Mysterio. Valuable seconds were wasted with Batista's over-confidence and it cost him. He struck with the Batista Bomb and went for the cover, but he was counted out because Mysterio pulled the referee out of the ring. The clock should have stopped, and the referee should have ruled Batista the obvious winner, as he was about to count 3 with 3 seconds left to spare. Rey Mysterio was believed to be the winner, but "Official Consultant" Vickie Guerrero ruled otherwise. Next week, Batista will take on Rey Mysterio, again, in a #1 Contender's Match to determine Taker's opponent for the World Heavyweight Title at the Royal Rumble.
SmackDown Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Finlay. Last week on WWE Superstars, Dolph Ziggler had an impressive win over Matt Hardy, but would he be able to take on SmackDown's resident fighting Irishman, Finlay? The commentators focused mainly on Ziggler, not giving much credit to Finlay. When they mentioned, "He's in line for gold," they were talking about Ziggler, since Finlay's career was over about four years ago. Finlay's best chance at gold was on ECW, he could have been the ECW Champion, but instead he's jobbing to the Champions of Tomorrow. I guess you do what you are asked of if you keep getting nice paychecks, but seriously, it should eat away inside of you. Dolph Ziggler won with the Zig-Zag. For two weeks straight, Ziggler has defeated two veterans from SmackDown, but with Drew McIntyre inline for Morrison's IC Title, when will he move on to the next level? Probably when he stops showboating and remains 100% focused in the match.
RAW Match: MVP vs. Jack Swagger. A match up against a former 2-time United States Champion, and a 2-time All American-American: MVP and Jack Swagger have feuded on and off again within the past six months. Jack Swagger, a former ECW Champion, is looking to capture the United States Title, which is currently held by The Miz; while MVP wouldn't mind becoming a 3-time US Champ, or capture the Unified Tag Team Titles with his partner, Mark Henry. My problem with MVP and Mark Henry becoming the Unified Tag Team Champions, is that with those titles, one is able to transcend their own brand and appear on the show of their choosing. And, as we learned from Verne Troyer, Mark Henry does not have much of a personality. MVP pretty much carries all the personality for the whole team. For this reason, MVP and WSM will never hold the gold until Henry changes his gimmick. As for Jack Swagger, he attempted to go undefeated until the end of the year, but thanks to The Miz, Swagger lost to Evan Bourne. Jack Swagger dominated all of ECW, until being defeated by Christian for the ECW Title. Then, after being drafted to RAW, I thought he was going to join forces with Randy Orton, which would have really boosted his career ten-fold, but that never happened. Then Swagger-Miz-Kofi entered a Triple Threat Match for the US Title at Hell in a Cell PPV, which clearly would give Swagger the edge, but that never happened. Jack Swagger should abandon this racial feud with MVP and move on to a heated one with Miz. Yes, I said racial feud, because they don't like each other's backgrounds. MVP grew up in a "bad" neighborhood, which got him into some trouble and did jail time. And now he's described as a bling-wearing, club-hopping, bottle-popping man that should not be a role model. Swagger, on the other hand, went to school and graduated at the top of his class. Don't get me wrong, these two are impressive athletes and always put on great matches. The aspect of this feud that I'm not too particularly found of is the fact that MVP is part of a tag team and should be focusing on that, not single matches. Hence, putting MVP on a tag team was a bad move on the part of WWE, MVP is a great singles competitor and should remain as such. Jack Swagger has got the Swag and the capability to one day become the WWE Champion. MVP lost the match because he was too focused on theatrics instead of keeping his head in the game, and a Gut-Wrench Powerbomb can also do the trick. 
