WWE Money in the Bank, Rosemont, IL
This is a request via Ko-fi. I wasn’t paying close attention to wrestling in 2011, but I was tuned in a bit around this period and I really liked the Orton-Christian feud. For this match, if Orton is DQ’d, Christian wins the world heavyweight title that Orton is defending. This is also being sold as Christian’s final shot, even though that’s not a stipulation officially.
Christian leaves the ring after the bell sounds, and grabs a chair. He slides it into the ring to Orton, daring him to use it and get himself disqualified. Orton smirks, picks the chair up, and then throws it out of the ring, telling Christian he’d “love to” use it, but he won’t. Orton is also at peak hotness around this time, by the way.
Christian shoves Orton, Orton drops him with a closed fist. HEY! DQ this man! Orton with shots in the corner, whip to the other side. Christian bounces out and into a back bodydrop. Orton measures a stomp to the face and connects. Kneedrop lands. Christian with a shot to the gut from his knees, then two right hands to the jaw.
Orton whipped to the corner, but he comes out with a clothesline and drops Christian, who then recovers and sends Randy out to the floor. Orton slides back in as Christian goes for a dive to the floor, hitting nothing but floor.
The fight stays outside for a moment, but Orton rolls it back in. Christian goes to the apron, leaning over the second rope after a gut shot, and then Orton misses a kick to the head, Christian bending him back over the ropes. Christian to the second rope, he hits a diving European uppercut for a quick count.
Christian with stomps to the chest, then grinds his boot on Orton’s throat. Christian staying in control. He gets another two count and then mounts Orton, laying in some right hands to the head. Christian pulls Orton up, but Randy slaps him to the stomach. Trying to come back, but Christian cuts it off and lands some more shots, then stands on Orton’s back with Orton hung out over the second rope. Christian hops out to the floor, lands an uppercut. Christian covers, two count.
Christian staying on Orton’s head, wearing him down. Orton back with a couple shots, Christian cuts him off again. Orton rolls him up in the corner, gets two. Orton off the ropes, but he walks into a spinebuster, another two count. Christian frustrated, he slaps the top turnbuckle, but tries to gather himself again immediately.
Christian looking for the Killswitch, Orton blocks and clotheslines Christian over to the floor, going with him by way of momentum. Both down on the floor. Orton rolls back in, Christian goes to the top. Christian jumps, but he jumps over Orton, who is coming in to crotch him. Christian blocks the RKO, then gets a boot up when Orton charges the corner. Christian off the second rope, Orton catches the legs and jackknifes over with a cover, two count.
Orton with a Thesz press, lands a couple right hands. Christian caught trying to retreat to the apron. Christian counters the DDT attempt, then side kicks Orton in the gut. Christian jumps backward off the second rope, Orton counters with a dropkick, cover gets two.
Christian to the floor, Orton follows over, but Christian, the cagey veteran, snaps his head down over the top rope. Christian up top again, cut off by Orton, who lands a series of right hands. Orton up to the second rope, Christian blocking the superplex attempt. Christian shoves him down, then hits a flying headbutt! Cover gets two again.
Christian counters another RKO attempt, but Randy hits a couple clotheslines. Orton goes for an uppercut, misses badly, but keeps the advantage. RKO blocked again, Christian going for the Killswitch — HE HITS IT! Cover, TWO! VERY near fall there, really well done.
Christian at a loss now, he’s hit his signature move and it didn’t get the job done. It’s in his head, Orton’s in his head. Christian perched in the corner, goes for the spear, Orton leapfrogs and Christian spears the corner. Orton with a gutwrench lift, then drops him down into a reverse neckbreaker. Cover gets two again! Orton can’t believe it! That was some Chris Kanyon offense, hell yeah.
Uh oh, Orton is making snake-man faces. Orton wants the punt. Christian up, misses a clothesline, Orton hits the powerslam! NO ABSENCE OF MALICE flies off the bingo board. Orton with the hanging DDT. Orton going to That Place still. He drops down and hammers the mat, wants the RKO, but Christian avoids it and begs off in the corner.
Christian spits in Orton’s face. Orton snaps. He pummels Christian with right hands, ignoring the referee’s count to break, then he KICKS CHRISTIAN IN THE NUTS. Bell sounds! He’s DQ’d and Christian is the new world heavyweight champion!
After the match, Orton snaps further and attacks Christian, taking the fight to the floor. He tears up the Spanish commentary desk and cracks Christian in the head with a monitor. Teddy Long comes out to try and talk Orton down, but Randy hits the RKO on the Spanish commentary desk and continues grunting and panting. He’s completely lost his shit.
Rating: 4/5. It’s a really smooth, really well-executed match between two guys who just absolutely gelled together in the ring. And the gimmick title change is done really well, too. It’s a 12 and a half minute match, totally gets its point across, keeps the story between the two going. You can’t ask for much more out of this as a setup for the show’s main event. Watching the feud between these two, you see the greatness that is in Orton, and just as much you see how great Christian was, too, one of the most underappreciated wrestlers in WWE history and of his era, period.
Tape Machines Are Rolling 
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