That was the first wwe ppv I've ordered in 12 years and I'm so glad I did. Hats off to the wwe creative team, Vince, Cena, Punk and the Chicago fans. Everything about that match was pitch perfect. Can't wait for Raw tomorrow!

i was surprised that in punks hometown people actually cheered for cena and it was the best ppv in awhile also i was surprised Danial actually won

Simply amazing match! Punk is a star!

35 minutes for the Punk- Cena match and it was worth every minute of it. The number of near falls and Vince coming in to try and pull a "Chicago Screwjob" were simply priceless. I usually don't watch the pay-per-views, but I knew I had to see this one and I'm glad I did. Finally, a storyline no one really saw coming, so where it all goes from here is anybody's guess.

I suppose Cena will be "fired" on Monday Night Raw. The Mark Henry-Big Show match was pretty good too.

I liked Punk's new shirt. It makes me want to go buy it.

Awesome match, epic crowd. I really have to hand it to both Cena and Punk -- the met actually met the incredibly high expectations.

The only downside to the whole thing was the commentary -- I don't know if it is just me, but Booker T and even Lawler were about unbearable to listen to tonight.

mitb throughts:
1.really,really,really daniel bryan wins the smackdown mitb really i just beted money on wade barette.
2.raw mitb i love alberto d. he,s telented and i love when he say my name is alberto delrio but u already know that.
3.kellykelly.i hate her matches the only diva i like is katliyne,aj,bethfenox,aliciah fox.
4.i hate cm punk he sucks the wwe doesnt needs him i wish albero d. cashed in the mitb,
5.i luv alex riley and the miz matches

Outstanding, brave, and gutsey!

CM Punk should have shouted into the camera "I shook up the world" just like Muhammad Ali.

I only caught the last 20-25 minutes or so (stupid Harry Potter...), but man, that was amazing. WWE saw they had a star in the making in Punk, and they hit a home run. Sending out Del Rio, which everybody knew was gonna happen, only to get floored immediately by Punk, was tremendous.

BIG props to John Cena, who obviously went out there to make his opponent a star, and succeeded. I've been critical of the guy for ages, but he came through big time. Both men were a little sloppy at times, but the whole thing had a big match feel that's been largely missing for ages. Wow. THIS is why we love wrestling.

Can't wait to see the rest of the show. Daniel Bryan's Mr. Money in the Bank! Who says internet fans don't matter?

EASILY the best WWE pay-per-view of the year... actually in the past few years. No real dead spots, lots of twists, high-risk moves, unexpected outcomes!

Booing Rey Mysterio = Wow + Nice!

All that was missing was the "If Cena Wins We Riot" sign

RESPONSE FROM KE: There were a couple of them.

GREAT match! This was probably the best one I've seen from the WWE in quite some time. Kudos to them.

Just a thought, but if CM Punk is not on Raw, then TNA would be wise to hype a "mystery guest" for this Thursday (why not use the WWE's program to its benefit?).

Kev, I agreed with your prediction for MITB and even though we were both wrong, I have to say it feels good to be wrong sometimes. Daniel Bryan winning the SD MITB match was a pleasant shock and a great match. It might being setting up the ROH stable I was talking about before. Henry/Show match wasn't good but put Henry over (About time after all these years). Divas match was what it was. RAW MITB was good. Orton/Christian was good with a weird ending. But lets face it and I can't believe I'm saying this but Punk/Cena might of been match of the year. Truely an unpredicable PPV.

I haven't purchased a WWE ppv in 15 years but i was compelled to buy this one and I'm happy that i did.Tonight the WWE brought back Professional Wrestling at its Finest, instead of the usual sports entertainment for the kiddies! I hope they get the idea that the fans over 13 years old seem to be starving for great ring storytelling like we saw tonight. I wonder if Vince is just teasing us. CM Punk and John Cena, from an old time fan i want to thank you both for taking me on a Great ride! See you soon CM.

Good evening Mr.McMann, please we are beggibg you please do not get rid of john cena my 2 boys are going to see him this saturday july 23,2011 at the wildwood convention center at 8pm we love him so much my 2 boys are very up set please dont fire him thank you very much.

It just hit me what this storyline is. This storyline is one of the great "What if?" scenarios in professional wrestling history: What if Survivor Series 1997 had not gone according to Vince McMahon's plan and Bret Hart made it out of Montreal with the WWE Championship?

Boy oh boy! I haven't been this excited about wrestling since Bret Hart returned last winter, but after the moment wore off it was the same old same old. Now someting has my interest in wrestling again! CM Punk and his much publicized promo 3 weeks ago, now a super match from both Mr. Punk and Mr. Cena that went over 30 mins!
Great story telling is what made me have interest, put that togther with the great wrestling and it is a good product.
I can't wait to see where this goes! Also the crowd in Chicago was hot, making its even better!

That happened pretty much as you predicted, except Punk did leave with the title.

match of the year contender. i was on the edge of my seat much of the time. the crowd was crazy, the match told a great story, and there were several nice false finishes. punk was great playing to the crowd. cena deserves some credit here too, obviously hes not the wrestler punk is, but he played his part really well.

CM Punk is awesome john cena time is up lol

Somebody pinch me, this MUST be a dream! CM Punk is at last WWE champion and no better place to win but in his hometown, At last a PPV worth replay value and a PPV with no screwy lame endings and an event where all matches had the right WRESTLERS winning them!!! Hurray Go CM Punk best WRESTLER in the world.

JR has recommended to watch this PPV. I will as soon as it is shown in India in 2 weeks time.

http://www.jrsbarbq.com/blog/jrs-money-bank-post-event-thoughts

The WWE did not need 2 world champions anyway... always thought it was a dumb idea.

This was a great way to get rid of the extra title without the boring "merge match."

The last time I can remember, maybe the only time ever, that Vince McMahon, either as himself or in his Mr. McMahon mode (or both?), appeared so feeble and meek was the night after the Chris Benoit tribute when he essentially said "Oops!" That was shortly after Trump gave him a cheap haircut and, quite frankly (Sorry!), Vince sightings have been few since then. In one, the Rock's birthday celebration, he seemed more the baby-face announcer of his early days than the Chairman. Our final image of him from last week's RAW is with an astonished, even pleading expression on his face as he pantomimes his desire to sign Punk's version of the contract. Wow!

And why? Is it simply that good old WWE sloppiness that inevitably botches a promising storyline -- out-of-character contract demands from Punk (several mentioned by Vince in the prior RAW), befuddling submissiveness from the Devil Incarnate himself?

I initially though that having a taped episode of RAW, with its inevitable "spoilage," as a follow-up to Punk's Vegas Verbosity was, at best, a bit clumsy. But in hindsight, leaking the next chapter of the story, combined with Punk's perhaps purposeful verbal faux pas in Australia, allowed the story to become the "buzz," that social relevance Punk likes to reference, much of it emanating from some rather non-traditional sources. Coincidence, or a logical plan?

When Punk announced at the pre-Vegas RAW that he'd be leaving with the championship belt (and isn't "belt" about the only WWE taboo he has not violated -- so far?), did you not soon think, "Vince'll be along soon; can you spell screw-job?" or something akin to that? Right after you sang, "That'll be the Day," to Punk, huh?

And now here we are!

A sincere tip of the Boomerang fedora is definitely in order here. This has been -- and I hope continues to be -- masterful story-telling, playing to, upon, and even with everybody.

The only thing that diminishes the significance of CM Punk leaving the company with the WWE Title is that the company recognizes a second world champion in Christian.If there had been a single world title, Punk leaving with it would be of far greater importance.

But perhaps Vince McMahon will do what should have been done a long time ago. He'll retire the WWE Title just as he retired the European Title or the Hardcore Title. Not only would it give the WWE a single world champion it would make Punk even more of an anti-hero. A man without a title.

Kevin, I just wanted to thank you for writing a blog about wrestling. Not too many (non-wrestling) journalists are willing to do so anymore, thanks to Vince McMahon calling his wrestlers who put their bodies on the line, entertainers...

That PPV was the best I've seen from WWE in at least 15-20 years, and the ending was the best ending I've ever seen at a PPV...

Last week, TNA had an A+ PPV with Destination X, every match could have been a match of the year candidate. MITB proves WWE is paying attention, and that final match may have stolen the match of the year from TNA...

I couldnt believe that CM PUNK won the wwe championship I really thought that John Cena was going to win win I think Vince McMahon shouldnt fire John Cena becuase Cena is going to fight The Rock at Wreslemainyoa.

This is how it's supposed to be done, great storytelling, a couple of highspots, the pop that Punk received just walking to the ring was reminiscent of the Attitude Era, if you didn't get goosebumps then you're not breathing, makes for a very interesting Raw. Hey Kev how long do you think Punk will be on hiatus and does he come back a face.

RESPONSE FROM KE: No doubt he'll be a face. As to how long he'll be out, I don't really know.

Cm punk vs John cena that match was one of the greatest matches i have ever seen it deserves a match of the year candiate hearing the chicago crowd reminded me of the ecw crowd back in 2006 Rvd vs John cena but the difference about Cm punk vs John cena it was bigger,badder,and greater

cm punk fans were not cheering cena,LIERS.........90% OF THE ARENA WAS BOOING CENA,even on his entrance and cena with a poopy diaper if you will, dragged ass for the entire first half of the match but luckily for us he stopped and started working and this became one of the best matches wwe has produced in years.