[2005-04-03-WWE Wrestlemania XXI] Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Edge vs Kane vs Shelton Benjamin vs Christian (Money in the Bank)

[Vinnie B]

I do really like ladder matches, but the issue with multi-man or MITB is they are just straight spotfests, and don't really engage with a story or have that epic feel that the best ladder matches do. A lot of these spots have been seen plenty of times since, so lose some of their novelty. But it was still a very fun match, and the crowd was super involved, cheering face attempts to grab the briefcase and booing the heels efforts.

 

Benoit was noticeably quiet in this match. Except for one spot, where he does a diving headbutt off the top of the ladder onto Kane, and busts open the stitches on his head. "Fuck's sake" was the only appropriate reaction I could have to that. He does an amazing job of selling a bad arm from an early spot throughout however. Christian was also the other highlight, bumping around like crazy.

 

Overall good match, fun spotfest but nothing to elevate it to excellent or MOTY status for me though. *** 3/4

[cactus]

This was an exciting spotfest, with an unrelenting pace and a responsive crowd who pop for every big moment. Benoit tries to sprinkle in as much psychology as he can into such a match by having his shoulder worked over, limiting his ability to reach up and grab the briefcase. He misses an Air Canada from the ladder and the visual of him bloodied-up hardway and violently convulsing is rather haunting. None of the spots are particularly innovative, with the exception of the Shelton's incredible ladder run-up, but everything moved at just the right stride and pace and it made for an incredible moreish watch. 
★★★★

[ohtani's jacket]

This was Meltzer's second highest rated match from WrestleMania. Not surprising since Dave always did like a ladder match and there were a number of huge spots. I'd probably  take Orton vs. Undertaker over this, but I will say that this was an entertaining bout that breezed by. It was one of those WWE matches where there's a lot of crowd manipulation but it's engaging because of the presentation. I didn't expect Kane to take so many big bumps. You'd think he'd be the weak link in a match like this, but he put in a huge shift. Benjamin got to shine with two crazy spots. The finish paid off the early foreshadowing of Benoit's facial injury. From a long term storytelling perspective, the result tied into everything Edge had been on about since turning heel. A tidy piece of business all round. Impressive considering it's supposed to be the annual train wreck match.