| Money in the Bank | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringAlberto Del Rio in a style of a magazine cover | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Date | July 15, 2012 | ||
| City | Phoenix, Arizona | ||
| Venue | US Airways Center | ||
| Attendance | 9,000[1] | ||
| Buy rate | 206,000 | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Money in the Bank chronology | |||
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The 2012Money in the Bank was the third annualMoney in the Bankprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWWE. The event took place on July 15, 2012, at theUS Airways Center inPhoenix, Arizona. It was the first Money in the Bank event held following the discontinuation of the firstbrand extension in August 2011. The event had 188,000 buys, slightly down on the2011 Money in the Bank figure of 195,000 buys.
Eight matches were contested at the event, with one match on the pre-show, which featuredWWE Tag Team ChampionsKofi Kingston andR-Truth facedCamacho andHunico in a non-title match; this would be Camacho's only appearance at the event until2024. In the main event,John Cena won theMoney in the Bank ladder match for aWWE Championship match contract, while in the opening bout,Dolph Ziggler won the other Money in the Bank ladder match for aWorld Heavyweight Championship match contract. In other prominent matches,Sheamus defeatedAlberto Del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship andCM Punk defeatedDaniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship in ano disqualification match withAJ Lee as thespecial guest referee.
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Money in the Bank is an annualprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWWE since 2010, held in July. Theconcept of the event comes from WWE's establishedMoney in the Bank ladder match, in which multiple wrestlers useladders 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.[2] For 2012, two Money in the Bank ladder matches occurred; one granted a contract for aWWE Championship match while the other contained aWorld Heavyweight Championship match contract. The 2012 event was the third Money in the Bank and the first since the end of the firstbrand split in August 2011.[3] It took place on July 15, 2012, at theUS Airways Center inPhoenix, Arizona.[4]
Money in the Bank featured sevenprofessional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds or andstorylines that played out on WWE's weekly television shows,Raw andSmackDown. Wrestlers portrayedvillains orheroes as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[5][6]
On the June 25 episode ofRaw,Vickie Guerrero announced that only previous WWE Champions may participate in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match for the WWE Championship contract. The four participants announced wereKane,Chris Jericho,Big Show, andJohn Cena. Earlier, during the pay-per-view,The Miz would return from filming The Marine 3: Homefront and announced that he would insert himself in the match.
On the June 29 episode ofSmackDown, qualifying matches were held for the Money in the Bank ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship contract. In those matches,Damien Sandow defeatedZack Ryder,Tyson Kidd defeatedJack Swagger,Santino Marella andChristian defeatedCody Rhodes andDavid Otunga in atag team match, andTensai defeatedJustin Gabriel. On the July 3 "Great American Bash" edition ofSmackDown, Rhodes defeated Christian andDolph Ziggler defeatedAlex Riley in two additional qualifying matches. The final qualifying match took place on the July 9 episode ofRaw in whichSin Cara defeatedHeath Slater.
In addition, there was a rivalry involvingCM Punk andDaniel Bryan for Punk's WWE Championship. In his reign as WWE Champion, he had successfully defended his title against several contenders, and had defeated Bryan in several pay-per-views, the last one also involving Kane. At the same time, Bryan's ex-girlfriendAJ had taken a liking towards Punk and Kane and had also rekindled her interest in Bryan, but Punk and Kane believed that she was unstable due to Bryan breaking up with AJ. FollowingNo Way Out, Bryan defeated Punk and Kane to earn his rematch against Punk at Money in the Bank. Weeks later, AJ was named special guest referee. Right before the pay-per-view began, WWE.com posted that theno disqualification stipulation was added.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| EnglishCommentators | Michael Cole |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| Booker T | |
| Spanish Commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Marcelo Rodriguez | |
| Backstageinterviewer | Josh Mathews |
| Matt Striker | |
| Ring announcers | Lilian Garcia |
| Justin Roberts | |
| Referees | Mike Chioda |
| Rod Zapata | |
| John Cone | |
| Marc Harris | |
| AJ Lee(Punk vs. Bryan) | |
| Chad Patton |
On the pre-show,WWE Tag Team ChampionsKofi Kingston andR-Truth facedCamacho andHunico in a non-title match. In the end, Kingston performed Trouble in Paradise on Hunico and R-Truth performed Little Jimmy on Camacho to win the match.[7]
The actual pay-per-view opened with the Money in the Bank ladder match for a World Heavyweight Championship contract involving Damien Sandow, Tensai,Intercontinental Champion Christian,United States Champion Santino Marella, Tyson Kidd, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, and Sin Cara. In the end, Christian attempted to retrieve the briefcase, but Ziggler struck Christian with a ladder, causing Christian to fall off the ladder, and retrieved the briefcase.[7]
Then, The Miz returned and announced his entry in the WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match.[7]
Next,Sheamus defended the World Heavyweight Championship againstAlberto Del Rio. During the match, Del Rio repeatedly targeted Sheamus' left shoulder after Sheamus collided with the ring post. In the end, Sheamus was able to executeWhite Noise and aBrogue Kick to retain the title. After the match, Del Rio and his ring announcerRicardo Rodriguez attacked Sheamus. Dolph Ziggler, who won the Money In The Bank earlier that night, attempted to cash it in until a distraction by Del Rio. Sheamus would give Ziggler a Brogue Kick and leave with the World Heavyweight Championship, as the match never got started.[7]
After that,The Prime Time Players (Darren Young andTitus O'Neil) facedPrimo & Epico. WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth were at ringside providing commentary for the match. Primo pinned Young with aroll up for the win.[7]
In the fourth match, CM Punk defended the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan in a no disqualification match with AJ serving as the special guest referee. During the match, Punk accidentally knocked AJ down. Bryan took advantage of the situation and made it appear that he was concerned about her health when she was escorted to the back of the arena. While AJ was away, Bryan targeted Punk's ribs using a kendo stick. Punk attempted aGo To Sleep twice, but Bryan countered each time. Bryan applied asurfboard, but Punk escaped by striking Bryan with the kendo stick. AJ returned to the ring and made the second referee return backstage. She brought a chair into the ring, which Bryan struck Punk with for several near-falls. Bryan tried to coax AJ, allowing Punk toroll him up for a near-fall. Punk set the chair up in the corner and before he could send Bryan into the chair, AJ stood in the way, allowing Bryan to gain the advantage. However, as Bryan went to retrieve the kendo stick, she stood on it, allowing Punk to execute ascoop slam with the chair. Punk attempted adiving elbow drop with the chair, but missed and fell on the chair. Bryan applied theYes Lock using the kendo stick but Punk fought out and performed a GTS for a near-fall. Punk executed abacksuperplex through a table on Bryan to retain the title.[7]
Later,Ryback facedCurt Hawkins andTyler Reks in ahandicap match. Ryback executedShell Shocked on Reks to win the match.[7]
After that,Layla,Kaitlyn, andTamina Snuka facedBeth Phoenix,Natalya, andEve in asix-diva tag team match. When the referee lost control of the match, Tamina performed asuperkick on Phoenix. Layla performedThe Layout on Phoenix for the victory.[7]
The main event was the Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE Championship contract involving John Cena, Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane, and The Miz. Cena performed anAttitude Adjustment on Big Show through a broadcast table and then the other wrestlers buried Big Show under several ladders. Cena performed an Attitude Adjustment on Kane on top of The Miz, who was lying on a ladder, but Jericho struck Cena with a ladder. As Jericho was about to retrieve the briefcase, Big Show destroyed the ladder with one hand. Big Show destroyed every ladder in the ring and then retrieved a super-sized ladder. Kane and Big Show fought atop the ladder, but Big Show knocked Kane and Cena off of the ladder. Jericho struck Big Show with a chair, causing Big Show to fall. Jericho applied asleeper hold to Cena atop the ladder. After Cena fell, Jericho almost retrieved the briefcase, but The Miz climbed the other side of the ladder. Big Show climbed up the ladder and attacked Jericho and The Miz withKO Punches. Big Show attempted a KO Punch on Cena, but Cena blocked it with the briefcase and struck Big Show with it. During this, the handle of the briefcase broke off, meaning Cena won the match. Cena then knocked Big Show off the ladder.[7]
Money in the Bank received generally positive reviews. Adam Testa ofThe Baltimore Sun called the pay-per-view "Strong, if unspectacular"; they praised the WWE title match calling it a "fun ride" and that "The no disqualification stipulation really added to the contest".[8] Both Money in the Bank matches were well received. Colin Rinehart of411Mania awarded the pay-per-view a 7.8/10 calling it 'good'.[9] The WWE title match received 4.25 stars, the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match received 4 stars, and the WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match received 3.75 stars, according toDave Meltzer.[10]
On July 23, 2012, duringRaw 1000, John Cena cashed in his Money in the Bank on CM Punk by having a singles match with him, becoming only the second wrestler (Rob Van Dam being the first) to announce his intention prior to cashing in. Cena won the match via disqualification thus not winning the title after Big Show interfered. This made John Cena the first of six wrestlers (as of 2025) to officially cash in the contract and not win the championship, the others beingDamien Sandow in October 2013,[11]Baron Corbin in August 2017,[12]Braun Strowman in September 2018,[13]Austin Theory in November 2022, andDrew McIntyre in July 2024.[14] (In Theory's case, he was the first person to cash in the contract on a non-world title, that being theUnited States Championship.)[15]
Meanwhile, Dolph Ziggler attempted various times to cash in the contract following Money in the Bank including four times onSmackDown against Sheamus and Big Show when they were champions respectively and on two episodes ofRaw attempted to cash in, being thwarted by John Cena andRicardo Rodriguez respectively. Ziggler defended the briefcase twice, on the August 20 episode ofRaw toChris Jericho[16] and atTLC to Cena in a ladder match.[17] Ziggler finally cashed in the contract, defeating Alberto Del Rio on the April 8, 2013, episode ofRaw, after Del Rio had been attacked byJack Swagger.[18]
The feud between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio continued intoSummerSlam, where Sheamus "beat" Del Rio.[19] After Sheamus attacked Ricardo Rodriguez, Del Rio soughtDavid Otunga to ban the Brogue Kick. This was granted by SmackDown general managerBooker T. The ban was lifted atNight of Champions, where Sheamus won.[20]
Also, atRaw 1000, CM Punk turned heel after attackingThe Rock, who was helping John Cena fend off Big Show. At SummerSlam, Punk retained the WWE Championship against Cena and Show in a triple threat match[19] and at Night of Champions against Cena, where the match ended in a draw.[20] Punk would continue to defend the WWE Championship until the2013 Royal Rumble, where, despite interference fromThe Shield, The Rock would defeat him for it.[21]