This Sunday night, seven Superstars have the opportunity of a lifetime as the WWE presents Money in the Bank live from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Ranking The 7 Money in the Bank Ladder Match Competitors
Two Ladder Matches highlight this pay-per-view and WWE Network special as Seth Rollins defends the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Dean Ambrose under that stipulation and the Money in the Bank Ladder Match will also take place.
Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Kane, Neville, Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston will compete for a briefcase with a contract inside that is good for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship shot anytime within the next year hanging in the balance.
5 Best Money in the Bank Cash-Ins Ever
Seven matches have been booked for the event, including four title bouts in what should be an important night for the WWE.
Here are our predictions for the Money in the Bank event in the projected order of matches.
Pre-show Match: R-Truth vs. King Barrett
This bout was pretty much thrown together out of nowhere, but should still be a fun way to kick off the show. Barrett should have been in the MITB Ladder Match and it's uncertain why the WWE chose to leave him out of it. With Barrett being the King of the Ring and Truth being lost in the shuffle, the heel will probably go over here.
The Pick: King Barrett
WWE Tag Team Championships: The New Day (Xavier Woods & Big E) (c) vs. The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil)
I was very lukewarm about The New Day at first, but ever since they cranked up their heel turn the trio has become a very fun faction to watch. The old school idea of all three of them being able to defend the titles and the heels cheating to keep the gold at any cost has been a lot of fun.
The Prime Time Players and their awesome new T-shirts present an interesting and fresh rivalry for The New Day, but at the end of the day the WWE has something good with this trio of heels and should keep the gold on them long-term as they have been very entertaining in the cocky villain role.
The Pick: The New Day
WWE Divas Championship: Nikki Bella (c) w/ Brie Bella vs. Paige
Nikki Bella reached a milestone of 200 days atop the division as Divas Champion this past week while Paige enters in search of her third title reign.
This should be a great match as both of these ladies can go and should be familiar enough with each other by now that they can tell a good story. The WWE could easily put the belt on Paige since she is great on the mic and in the ring, but it appears the WWE has a long reign slated for Bella.
With AJ Lee retiring, likely due to CM Punk's impending lawsuit with WWE's doctor Chris Amann, the company likely wants Bella to make new history for the belt by surpassing Lee's reign of 295 days atop the division, which she had from June 2014-April 2013. Until she reaches Day 296, there's no reason to bet against Bella.
The Pick: Nikki Bella
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Ryback (c) vs. The Big Show
This isn't going to be the most exciting match on Sunday's card, but it will at least be interesting to see two of the biggest titans on the roster clash.
The WWE could use Big Show as a way to legitimize Ryback as the Intercontinental Champion after he won the belt two weeks ago at Elimination Chamber in what was considered a surprise after it appeared Sheamus was earmarked for the win.
With Ryback just winning his first singles belt, there's no reason to think he'll lose here.
The Pick: Ryback
Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Kane vs. Neville vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler
This will undoubtedly be one of the best matches of the night based on the myriad spots its likely to see plus the storyline implication it will have on the next several months to a year in the WWE.
I detailed the likelihood of each man walking out with the contract earlier this week in a separate column, and it really seems as though the Superstars with the best chances to win include Reigns, Orton and Sheamus.
Kingston is in a tag team, so it's unlikely that he'll leave with is head held high while Neville has only been a part of the main roster for a few months, so he is doubtful to win as well. Both men should have some big spots during the bout though, so their inclusion isn't unwarranted.
It would be nice to see Ziggler win the contract like he did in 2012, but the WWE has kept him in the midcard for years now and doesn't seem keen on pushing him to the top anymore, especially with there only being one World Championship now. Also, his storyline with Lana likely sidetracks any chance of him escaping Ohio with the briefcase.
Kane, who won this match in 2010, is one Superstar who could very well win the contract as the WWE could reward his loyalty and would also get storyline mileage out of him torturing Seth Rollins by dangling the contract over his head.
However, the backlash from the WWE Universe if that were to happen would likely sway the WWE from booking that way.
Sheamus seemed as though he was going to win the Intercontinental Championship two weeks ago, but the WWE opted to give the victory to Ryback, so it could have other big plans for him in the MITB Ladder Match.
It never hurts to have Triple H supporting you backstage and with his new heel persona, The Celtic Warrior is definitely a sleeper pick to win this bout.
The two most likely Superstars to leave the Nationwide Arena with the contract are Orton and Reigns.
The Viper is a veteran and if the WWE is having cold feet with Seth Rollins as its top guy, it could always turn to trusty Orton to turn things around like it has in the past. Orton also has plenty of history with The Architect, so it would make sense that he could win. Orton won the contract in 2013.
As for Reigns, he is the odds-on favorite to win it all as the WWE has been hatching big plans for him since before The Shield split. While Rollins may have been the first of the trio to win gold, The Leader of the Roman Empire has been pushed to the moon since the split of The Hounds of Justice.
Reigns won the Royal Rumble Match this year despite missing significant time of development due to a hernia injury and he main evented WrestleMania 31 with Brock Lesnar in what was arguably his best match of his singles career.
While the WWE balked on giving Reigns an early title run, they haven't stopped pushing him as one of the top guys and that will continue with him carrying the briefcase after Money in the Bank.
The Pick: Roman Reigns
Kane won MITB in 2010:
Dolph Ziggler won MITB in 2012:
Orton won MITB in 2013:
Champion vs. Champion: John Cena (United States Champion) vs. Kevin Owens (NXT Champion)
The WWE shocked the world at Elimination Chamber two weeks ago when Owens was booked to defeat the Face of the Franchise and it will now be interesting to see whether or not he can do it again.
Owens has been a breath of fresh air on the main roster with his great agility in the ring, especially for a big man, and his fantastic promos on the microphone. Cena has also brought a lot to the feud as his mic work has been very passionate as of late.
Cena has his detractors and it's understandable with the way the WWE has shoved him down people's throats in the past, but he deserves a lot of credit for staying in the midcard and elevating other Superstars through United States open challenges despite the fact that he's enough of a draw that an argument could be made that he should be back in the main event scene.
It'll be interesting to see where the WWE goes from here as there is reportedly a difference of opinion behind the scenes with some people wanting to stick with the status quo of Cena getting his revenge and his win back and others believing that it would do wonders for Owens to go over again.
While it would be nice to see Owens win again, it's hard to see Cena absorbing consecutive losses just two weeks apart, plus a 1-1 tie sets up a rubber match between the two at Battleground in July.
The Pick: John Cena
John Cena won MITB in 2012:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Like the MITB Ladder Match, this one is likely to steal the show and could even have a leg up on that contest due to there being just two men in this clash as opposed to seven.
I'm glad the WWE wrapped back around to the Ambrose-Rollins feud as The Lunatic Fringe never fully got his revenge following The Architect turning on The Shield and their original rivalry was derailed without closure when Bray Wyatt got involved.
Ambrose has had a lot of fun with this feud, including stealing the title and partying on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, while Rollins has played the spoiled heel role very well leading into this match.
The Architect has guaranteed that he'll do anything to hold onto the title, so there could be some form of cheating here. The WWE teased an Ambrose title reign at Elimination Chamber, but it's unlikely that it was a foreshadow of a title reign as much as it was just a swerve.
Rollins' reign has been moslty great so far, though the WWE has made some errors such as booking him to lose to J&J Security, and it will likely continue into a feud with the returning Brock Lesnar -- who wasn't pinned to lose the title -- and the new Mr. Money in the Bank, which I assume will be Roman Reigns.
The Pick: Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins won MITB last year:
CM Punk defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship at MITB 2011:
Sunday night marks a huge night for the WWE as one of the most compelling storylines of the year will shift into gear when a new Mr. Money in the Bank is crowned.
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