Ladders upon ladders will engulf the MGM Grand Garden Arena this evening with WWE Money in the Bank. There are six matches on the card, which is in line with WWE putting fewer bouts on their premium live events as of late. While there are four championship matches, the real interest in the show is the two Money in the Bank ladder matches.
WWE United States Championship: Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley:
Bobby Lashley is arguably the top babyface on Raw. While WWE is not featuring ‘”The All Mighty” in the lead role, they’re heating him up enough just in case they need to pull the trigger so he can hit the ground running.
Theory has been riding steadily on the path to main event success since Last November at Survivor Series when he stole Mr. McMahon’s billion-dollar golden egg. Now, as U.S. Champion, it’s easy to see that WWE has high hopes for Theory.
The outcome of this match will all depend on whether Theory vs. John Cena is a go for SummerSlam. WWE will go the safe route in this one. Lashley losing via count-out or DQ allows him to remain strong while keeping Theory in the win column on his way to bigger things.
Prediction: Theory wins by count-out/DQ
WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship: The Usos vs. The Street Profits:
The Street Profits have upped their already impressive game in recent weeks. Montez Ford is making serious gains in the weight room and putting on some decent singles matches, while Angelo Dawkins has shown a more athletic side to his in-ring work.
The Usos are a team the audience can always count on for a great match. Regarding the outcome, Jimmy and Jey’s fate is aligned with their cousin. The Usos are not losing the titles until or close to the time Roman Reigns drops the Undisputed Universal Championship.
Prediction: The Usos retain the tag team championship.
Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Carmella:
Belair is the true queen of the women’s division. On the other hand, Carmella is the Rodney Dangerfield of the roster; she gets no respect. The champ always shows out, while Carmella is the question mark here. Most hardcore fans will say that Carmella is a flat-out horrible wrestler.
Carmella may never receive five stars in the Observer newsletter. Why? Because she’s essentially The Miz, more sports entertainer than a professional wrestler. That’s not a bad thing. Mella is money with her character work. The self-appointed most beautiful woman in WWE has a simple story to tell. She is getting her comeuppance from the EST.
Prediction: Bianca Belair retains the title.
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Natalya:
The worked-shoot nature of Rousey and Natalya’s comments towards one another on television and social media is meant to drum up extra interest in the match. It’s not working.
However, wrestlers have the best matches with their friends, and their real-life friendship is well documented. Odds are they will put on a good match, but the result is full tilt for Rousey.
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Lacey Evans, Liv Morgan, Alexa Bliss, Raquel Rodriguez, Asuka, Shotzi, and Becky Lynch:
Examing the field in the match, no one stands out as the clear front runner. WWE could push someone new to the forefront. The holder of the briefcase is a pivotal role for a wrestler. Fans watch their every move eagerly, wondering when they will cash in.
Since both women’s champions are babyfaces, a heel is likely to win. That puts the odds in Becky Lynch’s favor. A section of the audience still hopes for the day Liv Morgan gets her big win. Many also want to see Alexa Bliss back in the central fold.
Shotzi and Evans are the biggest underdogs in the match. Rodriguez hasn’t been on the main roster that long, but she’s being pushed as a blue-chip prospect, so a surprise win is not out of the question. Asuka winning is a prospect that no one would complain about, but here is how it will go down.
Becky Lynch will win Money in the Bank. From there, she will challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Title in a SummerSlam rematch from last year. Lynch will lose to Belair, and later in the night, she will cash in on Ronda Rousey to win the SmackDown Women’s Title to kick off their feud heading into WrestleMania.
Prediction: Becky Lynch wins.
Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Riddle, Drew McIntyre, Omas, Sheamus, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, and Madcap Moss:
On the surface, this match is a non-event since no one believes any of the participants can beat Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar, who will wrestle each other, again, in the main event of SummerSlam.
WWE has taken a different approach in building this year’s Money in the Bank match. Instead of amplifying the mystery of when the eventual winner will cash in, everyone is targeting the Reigns/Lesnar winner, believing they’ll be too battered and beaten to defend themselves following the match.
At the heart of this master plan lies Seth Rollins, the man who successfully cashed in on Reigns/Lesnar seven years ago at WrestleMania. Drew McIntyre is the second favorite to win since many expect him to headline WWE’s U.K. premium live event in September. It makes sense considering it will be a hometown affair for McIntyre.
Riddle is rising in popularity, and after losing to Reigns two weeks ago, he officially can no longer challenge for the world title as long as “The Tribal Cheif” holds the gold. Winning the briefcase is Riddle’s only loophole.
Sami Zayn is The Bloodline’s unofficial lackey, and his goal is to capture the briefcase to ensure no one will cash in on Roman Reigns. While this could all be a ploy by the shifty Zayn, winning and putting the briefcase on ice to protect Reigns would be something new and fresh. If WWE goes this route, eventually, Zayn would be put in a position to lose the briefcase to someone who fully intends to cash it in.
Then, there is Omos. I KNOW FANS DON’T LIKE HIM! My next statement will not be popular. Omos will be a world champion someday. History says he’s too big to fail in that endeavor. The looming threat of a seven-foot-three-inch giant being able to cash in at any time would be interesting.
Madcap Moss just earned the final spot last night on SmackDown when he won a Fatal Four Way match against Happy Corbin, The Miz, and Ezekiel. No one expects Moss to capture the briefcase, but win or lose, it’s the biggest match of his career.
Seth Rollins winning Money in the Bank is the most predictable outcome. Predictability is not always a bad thing. In this case, it’s a good thing. The biggest match WWE can make is Seth Rollins defending the WWE Championship against a returning Cody Rhodes.
The idea of Rollins, who lost three straight to Rhodes, winning the one prize Rhodes wants to win for his father, is a story that writes itself. Again, predictable, but also not bad. Rollins winning is the best path forward.
Ringside Logic 