Here comes the money.
This Sunday night, the WWE presents Money in the Bank live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Outside of the Big Four events, this show is annually one of the best due to the sense of urgency the Money in the Bank Ladder Match brings to the storylines. With the brand extension coming up, anything is possible.
On paper, this card looks awesome and since it's going up against Game 7 of the NBA Finals, it better deliver. There certainly are some WrestleMania caliber matches on this show, so let's get down to it with our match-by-match picks.
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Singles Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
This was originally slated for the pre-show, but was bumped up by the WWE. Corbin could use some momentum back, so he'll win as long as the WWE doesn't continue to bury NXT talents upon arrival.
The Pick: Baron Corbin.
Dolph Ziggler won the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2012:
Singles Match: Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus
The WWE doesn't seem to know what to do with "The Celtic Warrior" now that the League of Nations has (thankfully) disbanded. This match should be decent, but once again lacks any kind of good angle. Much like Corbin, Crews could use a high-profile win.
The Pick: Apollo Crews.
Sheamus won the MITB briefcase at last year's event:
WWE Tag Team Championships: The New Day (c) vs. Enzo & Cass vs. The Vaudevillians vs. The Club
The WWE's tag division is thriving, so naturally it'll probably get completely shaken up by the impending brand split. Let's enjoy it while it lasts. American Alpha will likely be added, but hopefully the WWE relegates the tag titles to one brand rather than making another set of titles and once again having an overabundance of belts after finally narrowing them down.
As for this match, The Vaudevillians appear to be the least likely to walk out of Vegas as title-holders. The WWE seems to be very high on The Club, but their mic skills have left a lot to be desired thus far. With Gallows and Anderson not being too impressive, there's no need for a win here.
There is big money (no pun intended) to be made on an Enzo & Cass and New Day feud, so hopefully that develops out of this match. Just like NXT, Enzo & Cass are best when chasing the gold, so the WWE should hold off on crowning them just yet. With The New Day rapidly approaching one year as champions come SummerSlam, it seems logical they'll hold the belts until then.
The Pick: The New Day.
Women's Tag Team Match: Charlotte & Dana Brooke vs. Becky Lynch & Natalya
So much for that Women's Revolution momentum, huh?
Charlotte, Lynch and Sasha Banks simply stole the show at WrestleMania 32, but the division has been floundering since then as the WWE has focused on Ric Flair and Charlotte drama rather than actually building up conceivable contenders. Why "The Boss" remains off these cards will forever be beyond me. There will no doubt be a "We Want Sasha" chant during this match, but it'll fall on deaf ears, much like the boos for Roman Reigns the WWE swears aren't happening.
The Emma injury was so gut-wrenching as it seemed she and Brooke were destined for big things, but the WWE was forced to randomly team the latter up with Charlotte. It seems Lynch or Natalya will get a pin on Charlotte -- likely with Flair's help -- to cement themselves as contenders to her throne and cast doubt on her ability to survive without her father.
The Pick: Becky Lynch & Natalya.
WWE United States Championship: Rusev (c) w/ Lana vs. Titus O'Neil
It's nice to see the WWE isn't punishing O'Neil long-term for his "incident" with Vince McMahon, and he presents a fresh and interesting challenger for Rusev. O'Neil has the look and charisma to be a great rival to the "Bulgarian Brute," so he was definitely a good choice. Since Rusev just won the gold and his upcoming wedding with Lana is set to net him some major exposure, it's unlikely he drops it here.
The Pick: Rusev.
Singles Match: John Cena vs. AJ Styles
The WWE is billing this as a dream match and it's hard to argue as many thought they'd never see the former face of TNA battle the standard bearer of the WWE. Love him or hate him, there is just no denying how good the "Cenation" leader is. He has the versatility to put on a good match with anyone, as evidenced by his U.S. Championship open challenges.
The need to turn "The Phenomenal One" heel is questionable, but now that the WWE has done it, it kind of seems like he needs this win more than the returning Cena to establish himself as a dominant villain. Styles lost to Chris Jericho at WrestleMania and is coming off back to back losses to Roman Reigns. No wonder why he snapped in storyline.
Regardless of the outcome, this should be a tremendous matchup and may just be the first of many battles between these two icons if the (unnecessary) brand split doesn't get in the way. Much like Cena, Styles has been astounding in the ring and his transition to the WWE has been flawless. He helped carry Reigns of all people to two excellent matches.
We're expecting a Match of the Year candidate out of this and given the participants, that may very well happen. The winner is anyone's guess, but Styles could really use an improvement on his pay-per-view track record to date.
The Pick: AJ Styles.
Cena won the MITB briefcase in 2012:
Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho vs. Sami Zayn vs. Alberto Del Rio
This is one very impressive field for this year's match and the WWE can almost do no wrong with any of these guys. The most compelling winners would be Ambrose, Owens, Cesaro or Zayn because it would virtually guarantee a title run for one of the four most popular guys in the company.
We recently ranked each participant's chances of winning the match and concluded Ambrose is the most likely to leave Sin City with the contract. A win for the "Lunatic Fringe" makes sense on many storyline fronts and could potentially lead to a Shield Triple Threat Match at SummerSlam in August for the richest prize in the game -- which is looooooooong overdue.
Owens would be an excellent choice and appears to be the second-most likely to escape with a win. Despite reports that Vince McMahon isn't high on Owens' look, there's no denying his agility in the ring and his microphone skills are bested only by his ability to put trolls in their place on Twitter.
Cesaro may be more over than anyone in the match, but don't tell WWE that. I'm not too sure what he did to McMahon, but it seems the guy just can't catch a break despite deserving a main event push and being one of the best in-ring performers on the roster. Zayn is great, but likely too new to the company to get such a big stage win.
Jericho has a murky contract situation, so you never really know when he'll be bolting again, but he wouldn't be a bad pick if he sticks around. "Y2J" is more than deserving of one last run with the title. Del Rio is probably the most boring choice here, but he is in the best shape of his life. Even if he loses, he gets to go home to Paige, so he really shouldn't ever complain about anything again.
One thing is for certain, this should be an absolutely fantastic match and a show-stealer. I'd argue that next to the Royal Rumble Match, this is the most exciting bout of the year due to the storyline implications attached to it. As for a winner, Ambrose is the only member of The Shield not to win the gold, so he should secure the briefcase here and become well on his way to winning the big prize.
The Pick: Dean Ambrose.
Del Rio is the only one in this match to have ever previously won the briefcase, doing so in 2011:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns (c)
Let's just say this: Thank God Seth Rollins is back.
"The Architect" is one of the best athletes on the roster and the unfortunate ending to his first title reign left a huge void in the WWE. Reigns has improved and carried himself well against Styles, but the WWE will have to just realize at some point he's not Cena II and take the gold off of him.
Rollins deserves another run with the title, but it's hard to see the Reigns Era ending just yet. There are a lot of potential outcomes to this bout. One finish I could see would be for them to have a double pin or false ending, causing the WWE to create two belts for the brand split.
A returning or debuting Superstar such as Triple H, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton or Finn Balor could also get involved here to really shake things up, while a cash-in by whomever wins the Money in the Bank match can't be ruled out -- especially if it's Ambrose. The "Lunatic Fringe" cashing in on Rollins would be a nice parallel since "The Architect" did so on Reigns in the best cash-in of all time.
The WWE really needs to consider Rollins as champion again. Rollins vs. Styles? Yes please. Rollins vs. Cesaro? Yup. Rollins vs. Zayn? Hell yes. There are so many new adversaries for Rollins to take on as champion and he's way better at carrying the company than Reigns.
Hopefully whatever happens Sunday builds toward a SummerSlam match between the former Shield members. Betting against Reigns, unfortunately, just doesn't make sense here unless a swerve is in order.
The Pick: Roman Reigns.
Seth Rollins won the MITB briefcase in 2014:
With a dream match, a compelling Ladder Match and strong main event, Money in the Bank may end up being just that: Money.
