WWE Money in the Bank Lineup for June 17 Following WWE TV This Week (And Some Early Predictions)
The next WWE PPV is Money in the Bank in Chicago on June 17. As we reported yesterday, all WWE PPV events will be at least four hours long with a start time of 7pmET/6pmET starting with Money in the Bank.
Here’s the lineup so far with some notes from me on the updates to the lineup based on what happened on Raw (my review here) and Smackdown (my review here) this week.
WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Nakamura got to pick the stipulation because he beat Styles on Smackdown two weeks ago. On Smackdown this week, Nakamura was hesitant to tell Styles the stipulation, that led to a fight and Nakamura got the advantage thanks to a steel chair. After Nakamura hit the Kinshasa knee strike, he told Styles it would be a Last Man Standing Match. I’m not sure who will win, but it should be an outstanding match. I’m going with Styles although there’s a very good chance I will change my mind multiple times on that prediction.
Raw Women’s Championship: Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey
They had a contract signing segment on Raw this week with Stephanie McMahon trying to stir the pot between them. I think Rousey will leave with the title and Jax will turn heel soon after and side with Stephanie.
Men’s Money in the Bank Match:
Braun Strowman (Raw)
Kevin Owens (Raw)
Finn Balor (Raw)
Bobby Roode (Raw)
The Miz (SD)
Rusev (SD)
One member of The New Day (SD)
The last Smackdown guy is the winner of Samoa Joe vs. Daniel Bryan next week.
The four Raw guys are set. The New Day guys are keeping it close to the vest and not revealing who it is. The expectation is that it will be Big E, but we may not know until Money in the Bank takes place on June 17.
Samoa Joe vs. Daniel Bryan for the first time ever in a WWE ring takes place next week on Smackdown. I’m leaning towards a Samoa Joe win there possibly due to interference from Big Cass. I would be fine with a Bryan too.
As for a winner, I think there are a lot of great choices. It would help guys like Balor, Joe, Strowman and Rusev. Former major champions like Owens and Miz would do great with it. I’m leaning towards a Strowman win even though he doesn’t “need” it really. It’s hard to pick against Strowman considering how big of a star he is. Then again, Strowman loses multi-man matches often because he can lose without getting pinned. Samoa Joe might end up being my pick if he’s in it. It’s tough to say right now.
Women’s Money in the Bank Match:
Ember Moon (Raw)
Alexa Bliss (Raw)
Natalya (Raw)
Charlotte Flair (SD)
Becky Lynch (SD)
Lana (SD)
Naomi (SD)
One more woman from Raw (Gauntlet qualifying match next week).
I want the final Raw woman to be Mickie James because I think she needs to be booked better, but I’m leaning towards Sasha Banks, Bayley or Ruby Riott winning.
As for a winner, I’d like to see Becky Lynch get it since she has been lost in the shuffle a bit and maybe if she wins Money in the Bank it would get her going in the right direction again. Ember Moon is an intriguing choice too. Another option is Natalya winning and cashing in on her buddy Ronda Rousey.
Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal
I think Reigns will win and the crowd will hate this match. Good luck to the wrestlers.
Smackdown Women’s Championship: Carmella vs. Asuka
Carmella will probably win by doing something cheap. I think WWE will want to give her this win to try to legitimize her title reign by having her beat Charlotte and then Asuka even if they are cheap wins. She’s a heel, so cheap is fine.
Smackdown Tag Team Championships: The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
I doubt The Bludgeon Brothers lose this match.
That’s 7 official matches. I can see them putting 9 or 10 total matches, but there may need to be more. With four hours of run-time and something being moved to the Kickoff Show, there is room for more.
Other likely matches: Sami Zayn vs. Bobby Lashley. There should be an IC Title match with Seth Rollins as well because he’s too good to not be on the show. The Raw Tag Team Titles may not be on there. If Daniel Bryan loses to Joe then maybe they can do Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy for the US Title and they can get more than the 11 minutes they got on Smackdown this week.