| Money in the Bank | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringDean Ambrose | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Date | June 14, 2015 | ||
| City | Columbus, Ohio | ||
| Venue | Nationwide Arena | ||
| Attendance | 15,277[1] | ||
| Buy rate | 57,000[2](excludingWWE Network views) | ||
| WWE event chronology | |||
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| Money in the Bank chronology | |||
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The 2015Money in the Bank was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) andlivestreamingevent produced byWWE. It was the sixth annualMoney in the Bank and took place on June 14, 2015, at theNationwide Arena inColumbus, Ohio. It was the first WWE pay-per-view event that was held in Columbus sinceBad Blood in June 2004. Money in the Bank was available for free to new subscribers as part of a free-trial to WWE's streaming service, theWWE Network, in over 140 countries.
Seven matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. The titularladder match for the Money in the Bank contract was won bySheamus. In the main event,Seth Rollins retained theWWE World Heavyweight Championship in aladder match againstDean Ambrose. In other prominent matches,WWE United States ChampionJohn Cena defeatedNXT ChampionKevin Owens in a non-title match, andThe Prime Time Players (Darren Young andTitus O'Neil) defeatedThe New Day (Big E andXavier Woods) to win theWWE Tag Team Championship.
The event had 57,000 buys (excluding WWE Network views), down from the previous year's 122,000 buys.
Money in the Bank is an annualprofessional wrestlingevent produced byWWE since 2010, generally held between June and 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.[3] For 2015, the winner received a contract for aWWE World Heavyweight Championship match.[4] The 2015 event was the sixth Money in the Bank and it took place on June 14, 2015, at theNationwide Arena inColumbus, Ohio. The event aired onpay-per-view (PPV) worldwide and waslivestreamed on theWWE Network.[5] It was also the first WWE pay-per-view event that was held in Columbus sinceBad Blood in June 2004. To promote the WWE Network, Money in the Bank was available for free to new subscribers in over 140 countries.[6]
The event comprised seven matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers,[7][8] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows,Raw andSmackDown.
AfterKevin Owens defeatedJohn Cena atElimination Chamber, a rematch was scheduled for Money in the Bank.[9]
At Elimination Chamber,Dolph Ziggler,Neville,Roman Reigns,Randy Orton,Kofi Kingston, andSheamus were revealed as the contestants in theMoney in the Bank ladder match, in which the winner wins a contract for aWWE World Heavyweight Championship match at any time within the next year.[9] On the June 4 episode ofSmackDown,Kane was added to the match.[10]
Also at Elimination Chamber,Dean Ambrose defeated WWE World Heavyweight ChampionSeth Rollins by disqualification. Though Rollins remained champion, Ambrose took the title belt with him.[9] On the June 1 episode ofRaw, Roman Reigns, speaking on Ambrose's behalf, challenged Rollins to aladder match for the title at Money in the Bank, which Rollins accepted.[11]
On the June 4 episode ofSmackDown,The Prime Time Players (Darren Young andTitus O'Neil) won atriple threat tag team match to become the #1 contenders to faceThe New Day (Big E,Xavier Woods, andKofi Kingston) for theWWE Tag Team Championship at the event.[10]
At Elimination Chamber,Ryback captured the vacantIntercontinental Championship in anElimination Chamber match.[9] On the June 1 episode ofRaw, before Ryback was scheduled to defend the title againstThe Miz,Big Show attacked Miz and confronted Ryback.[11] On June 8, Ryback was scheduled to defend the title against Big Show at the event.[12]
On the June 1 episode ofRaw,Nikki Bella retained theDivas Championship againstPaige afterBrie Bella switched with Nikki during the match and pinned Paige.[11] On June 8, a rematch was scheduled for Money In The Bank.[12]
At Elimination Chamber,R-Truth eliminatedKing Barrett during theElimination Chamber match for the Intercontinental Championship.[9] On the June 8 episode ofRaw, a match between Truth and Barrett was set for the Money In The Bank preshow.[13]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Englishcommentators | Michael Cole |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Marcelo Rodriguez | |
| Backstageinterviewer | Renee Young |
| Ring announcers | Lilian Garcia |
| JoJo | |
| Referees | Charles Robinson |
| Mike Chioda | |
| Jason Ayers | |
| Darrick Moore | |
| Rod Zapata | |
| Pre-show panel | Renee Young |
| Booker T | |
| Corey Graves | |
| Byron Saxton |
On the Money in the Bank Kickoff pre-show, R-Truth faced King Barrett. R-Truth pinned Barrett with aschoolboy to win the match.[14]
The actual pay-per-view opened with the roster at the entrance stage for a 10-bell salute toDusty Rhodes, who died before the event.[15][16]
The first match was the Money in the Bank ladder match involving Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler (withLana), Neville, Kofi Kingston, and Kane. Near the climax of the match, it seemed that Reigns was going to claim the briefcase untilBray Wyatt emerged and attacked him, preventing him from retrieving the briefcase. The end of the match saw Sheamus throwing Neville off the ladder and retrieving the briefcase thus winning the match.[16]
Next, Nikki Bella defended the WWE Divas Championship against Paige. Halfway through the match, Paige executed a"Ram-Paige" for a near-fall. As the referee was focusing on Paige, Nikki then switched places with her sister Brie (who was hiding under the ring). Paige secured aroll-up victory for the win and the championship. A surprised Paige thought that she had won until Brie revealed her face to the referee. The match was continued and Nikki executed a"Rack Attack" on Paige to score a pinfall.[16]
In the third match, Ryback defended the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Big Show. The Miz was on commentary for the match. Near the end of the match, Show executed a"Knockout Punch" on Ryback, who rolled out the ring. As Show rolled Ryback in for the pin, Miz attacked Show, causing a disqualification.[16]
After this, NXT Champion Kevin Owens wrestled WWE United States Champion John Cena. The match went back and forth with a lot of counters and finishers. Owens mocked Cena with his "you can't see me" gesture, but Cena responded with the same move. Owens executed apop-up powerbomb for a two count while Cena responded with an"Attitude Adjustment" (AA) for a two count. Cena executed another "AA" for another two count. Cena eventually executed a third AA for the decisive pin. After the match, Owenspowerbombed Cena on the ring apron and walked off.[16]
In the penultimate match, The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil and Darren Young). O'Neil won the match for his team by pinning Woods after a"Clash of the Titus" to win the titles.[16]
In the main event, Seth Rollins defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Dean Ambrose in a ladder match. Ambrose executed"Dirty Deeds" on Rollins on the Spanish announce table. The climax saw both Ambrose and Rollins jostle atop the ladders for the championship. The championship was accidentally unhooked and as Rollins and Ambrose came crashing down, it was Rollins who held onto the title, thereby winning the match and retaining the title.[16]
After retaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Seth Rollins celebrated on the following episode ofRaw by renaming it "Monday Night Rollins", before being interrupted and attacked by Dean Ambrose, forcing Rollins to retreat. Ambrose then sat on a steel chair in the ring waiting for Rollins to return, but instead ended up facing Sheamus, whom he defeated thanks to a distraction by Randy Orton. Orton attacked Sheamus after the match, leading to a feud between the two,[17] which headed into bothBattleground[18] andSummerSlam.[19] Later that night,Triple H revealed that Seth Rollins' next challenger for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Battleground would beBrock Lesnar, who returned from his suspension and his rematch clause for the title was accepted byThe Authority doing it on Rollins' behalf.[17]
After feeling humiliated following his loss to John Cena, Kevin Owens challenged Cena to a match for the WWE United States Championship at Battleground,[17] which Cena accepted on the June 22 episode ofRaw.[20]
Also onRaw,The Bella Twins (Nikki Bella and Brie Bella) defeated Paige in a 2-on-1handicap match.[17]
After the WWE Intercontinental Championship match that had ended on a disqualification, atriple threat match between Ryback, Big Show, and The Miz for the Intercontinental championship was scheduled for Battleground.[21] However, Ryback had suffered a Staph Infection on his right knee, which caused the match to be cancelled.[22] Ryback would later recover and the match was rescheduled forSummerSlam.[23]
Sheamus twice tried to cash-in his Money in the Bank contract on Seth Rollins for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match but his attempts were denied, first by Randy Orton as payback for costing him a title match by disqualification against Rollins on August 10 episode ofRaw[24] and the second by Kane after Rollins retained his title atNight of Champions.[25] However, Rollins vacated the title on November 4, after suffering multiple knee injuries at a live event inDublin,Ireland.[26] Sheamus would eventually cash-in his contract on Roman Reigns after the latter won the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship atSurvivor Series and pinned him to win the title.[27]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[14][16] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1P | R-Truth defeatedKing Barrett bypinfall | Singles match[28] | 5:40 | ||||
| 2 | Sheamus defeatedDolph Ziggler,Kane,Kofi Kingston,Neville,Randy Orton, andRoman Reigns | Money in the Bank ladder match for aWWE World Heavyweight Championship match contract[29] | 21:50 | ||||
| 3 | Nikki Bella (c) defeatedPaige bypinfall | Singles match for theWWE Divas Championship[30] | 12:14 | ||||
| 4 | Big Show defeatedRyback (c) bydisqualification | Singles match for theWWE Intercontinental Championship[31] | 5:25 | ||||
| 5 | WWE United States ChampionJohn Cena defeatedNXT ChampionKevin Owens bypinfall | Champion vs. Champion match[32] | 19:15 | ||||
| 6 | The Prime Time Players (Darren Young andTitus O'Neil) defeatedThe New Day (Big E andXavier Woods) (c) bypinfall | Tag team match for theWWE Tag Team Championship[33] | 5:48 | ||||
| 7 | Seth Rollins (c) defeatedDean Ambrose | Ladder match for theWWE World Heavyweight Championship[34] | 35:40 | ||||
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