TJRWrestling WWE Money in the Bank 2021 Preview
John: Welcome to the TJRWrestling WWE Money in the Bank preview. Goodbye to the Thunderdome setup and hello to the vocal WWE audience that will be in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday night. I am writing this after watching/writing about Smackdown and it made me so happy to hear the fans again. They were loud in Houston on Friday night. I think they’ll be loud on Sunday too because the lineup WWE is presenting at Money in the Bank is pretty good from top to bottom.
There are some fresh matchups and also rematches, but what really matters are the two ladder matches that are almost always the highlight of the Money in the Bank PPV. To me, Money in the Bank is the fourth biggest show of the year after WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam. I know that Survivor Series is considered the big four because it’s been around for 30+ years, but it really doesn’t feel as special as it should be. Money in the Bank feels more important because of the Money in the Bank briefcases up for grabs and the surprise element that exists after wins one of those briefcases. We know that over 80% of Money in the Bank contract winners have cashed in to become a major WWE Champion over the last 16 years, so if a wrestler that hasn’t been a World Champion before wins one of those contracts then it makes fans think this person might finally get a big push. That’s why it’s exciting and fun. I wish more WWE PPVs had this much excitement going into it.
In addition to the ladder matches, I am really looking forward to Roman Reigns vs. Edge. It has been built up very well and I think it will be one of the best WWE PPV main events this year.
Joining me for the preview are Alex Podgorski and Lance Augustine. Here are some thoughts from Alex and then we’ll get to the preview.
Alex: This is gonna be good. After over a year of weirdness masquerading as normalcy, we’re finally back to pro-wrestling in front of a live crowd. WWE has tried to make the best of things, but wrestling just isn’t wrestling without a real crowd full of real people making real noise. Since the fans are back, I’m hoping they actually make a difference here.
The crowd is going to make this into what wrestling used to be, which will be great. That said, with all this hype, I just hope that WWE delivers with solid booking. The ball is in their court, and I’m really hoping for something exciting leading to SummerSlam season.
(Note: All graphics are from WWE.)
Smackdown Tag Team Championships: Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs. The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)
Alex: I still think it’s too early for the Mysterios to lose their titles. I want to see them have a long run because they’re a different kind of tag team. Most teams in WWE are just thrown together haphazardly. But not these two. This father-and-son duo has been impressive so far and I think it’ll make for a great story to see them conquer the tag division one team at a time.
But the Usos won’t make that easy. Their internal squabbles are over and they’re more determined than ever to join their cousin Roman by having gold around their waist. They’ll bring heelish brutality to the mix against the Mysterios’ high-flying skill. It’ll be a styles clash, but one that’ll lead to an exciting opening match.
Winners and STILL SmackDown Tag Team Champions: Rey & Dominik Mysterio
Lance: The showdown between two families in this one. Rey Mysterio is living all parent’s dreams right now by being a champion with their child. There isn’t a lot of heat to this match, but it makes sense since The Mysterios have been paired with Edge lately, who is feuding with Reigns. With Jimmy’s recent run-in with the law, I can’t see the Usos picking up the win here.
Winner(s) and STILL Smackdown Tag Team Champions: The Mysterios
John: This should be a very good match. Sometimes I don’t watch the Kickoff Show match live, but I will probably watch this one live because I’m a big fan of both teams. It’s a cool story to have the first father-son team as champions facing twin brothers as challengers with The Usos established as one of the best teams in WWE history. If they get 10-15 minutes it should be very good. Jey got the win over Rey on Smackdown in the six-man tag so, I think The Mysterios get their win back here. I think The Usos could certainly be the next Smackdown Tag Team Champions although I don’t know if that’s a good message to send since Jimmy recently had a DUI. I just think if they do the title change, it’s probably going to be at SummerSlam rather than at this show.
Winners: Rey & Dominik Mysterio
Raw Tag Team Championships: AJ Styles & Omos (c) vs. Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
Alex: I don’t have high hopes for this match. Even though three of the four men involved are very talented, the issue here is the fourth man: Omos. He’s very much the Diesel to Styles’s Shawn Michaels, and he’s Vince McMahon’s new pet project. It stands to reason that this match exists to make him look as good as possible. Styles doesn’t need to worry about that because he’s AJ Styles so he’ll do most of the bumping and flying around for the Viking Raiders. They’ll land some cool tag combo moves and to the typical ‘heavyweights-that-do-flippy-stuff-like-it’s-the-indies’ that’ll make the crowd chant ‘this is awesome’ without much effort. But the end will see Omos tag in and do some crazy power moves. I wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to double chokeslam them to end the match and retain the titles for his team. It might not be most people’s favorite finish, but it’ll definitely make Omos look even bigger and stronger, as if such a thing was possible.
Winners and STILL RAW Tag Team Champions: AJ Styles & Omos
Lance: The Raw Tag Team Titles have not been featured as much since Styles and Omos won the titles. I have always been a fan of solid tag team matches, but it just doesn’t seem like the WWE cares all that much about it. The Viking Raiders were awesome when they first came in, but they have lost a lot of steam for me anyway. I still think they are a viable team that has a good future in the business, but I think I would rather see Styles and Omos retain.
Winner(s) and STILL Raw Tag Team Champions: AJ Styles and Omos
John: The Styles/Omos team is entertaining in the sense that it allows Styles to remain a cocky heel that can win matches on his own, but he can also hide behind the big man Omos, who is undefeated in his WWE career. I think Omos is going to be booked in a dominant way for a very long time. Whenever they lose the titles, it’s going to be Styles that takes the pin rather than Omos and I don’t see that happening here. It was a bit of a surprise to see Ivar beat Styles on Raw in about three minutes, but that’s because they had to book Omos over Erik since Omos never loses. Anyway, this should tell a similar story to most Styles/Omos matches where Styles is beat up for most of the match, Omos gets the tag, cleans house and gets the win. It will probably go around ten minutes.
Winners: AJ Styles & Omos
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Asuka vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki A.S.H. (Cross) vs. Liv Morgan vs. Zelina Vega vs. Natalya vs. Tamina
Alex: I’m going to break this down by predicting the likelihood of each wrestler winning here:
Asuka: They’ve gone down this road before. She’s great and all, but that would be too repetitive and underwhelming. WWE wants to really shock the audience now that the fans are back, and this really wouldn’t be the best way to do that.
Naomi: Possible, but very unlikely. She has always been a bit underwhelming to me and she doesn’t come across as being at the top level in the division. She’ll be there to do some cool spots, but that’s it.
Alexa Bliss: Oh dear God in Heaven, no. I hate this character with a passion. She makes me change the channel. The last thing we need is more of this demented abomination of a character on an already difficult weekly TV show. I hope the rest of the women gang up on her to keep her as far away from the briefcase as possible.
Nikki ASH (Cross): No chance. She’s a poor man’s Hurricane, plus not particularly funny. She’ll be there for the silly stuff that Vince and no one else likes, but there’s no way she’s winning.
Zelina Vega: She returned fairly recently after a bit of an acrimonious departure. Worse, she said some things that you know WWE’s office wasn’t happy about, and you know how petty this company is. She’s in here to fill in the numbers, that’s all.
Tamina: Sometimes the jokes write themselves.
Natalya: I have this weird sense of hope about Natalya. No matter how much s**t she gets put through, there’s this almost unshakeable sense of ‘maybe this year’ for her. Even as she gets older, she doesn’t seem to falter or get worse over time. If she were to win, there’s an easy made story for her that’ll have a solid payoff. But I really doubt WWE will ever pull the trigger on her.
Liv Morgan: I mean, why not? She’s been around for a while, looks great, is ok in the ring, and would get a huge career boost from winning. I personally don’t think much of her to be honest, but I’m going by process of elimination here and her winning makes the most sense.
Winner: Liv Morgan
Lance: Both MITB matches on the show are a little harder to pick, which I don’t think is bad. It seems like keeping plans under wraps is harder than ever, so it is nice to not have a clear talent they have in mind.
I have like the new Nikki Cross gimmick a little bit more than some other people have, but I don’t think she is going to win the match. I think veterans like Asuka, Naomi, and Natalya are important to matches like this, but don’t need to win the thing. I think they will have a strong presence only to put someone else over. They added Tamina to the match recently as well, but she will be taken out of the picture.
That leaves me with Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, and Zelina Vega. The character work with Bliss has been an absolute mess, but obviously, they love what she brings to the table. Liv Morgan might be someone they have in mind for a push and a win here would certainly move towards that. Zelina Vega just returned to the company and hasn’t really had a chance to shine yet on the main roster. I am going to go with Bliss, because I just have a feeling that they have some more stuff planned for her moving forward.
Winner of The Women’s Money In The Bank Briefcase: Alexa Bliss
John: This match might open the PPV portion of the show because it’s not a bad idea to separate the two Money in the Bank matches. I don’t think this is the strongest lineup that there has been for a women’s Money in the Bank match, but there are some talented people in the match. I’m shocked that WWE didn’t put Shayna Baszler or Nia Jax in the match considering how much TV time they have gotten in the last year. I like to break it down by going in order of least likely winner to who I think might win.
Tamina – I don’t think Tamina was originally going to be in the match. She’s in the spot Carmella was going to be in, but then Bayley got hurt and they used Carmella to put over Bianca Belair on Smackdown. Tamina should get in some power spots, but I doubt she comes close to winning.
Zelina Vega – They just brought her back after leaving last year, so I don’t know if they are going to push her, but I have my doubts. I don’t think she’s at the level of some of the other WWE women in terms of in-ring talent. I like her promos and she knows how to portray a cocky heel character, but I doubt she wins this.
Naomi – The phrase “underused” always comes to mind with Naomi. They could be doing so much more with her, but it’s been a few years since she’s been a singles champion and I don’t anticipate a strong push for her. They could certainly have her win in order to give her that momentum, though.
Natalya – It’s smart to put Natalya in a match like this because she’s a talented veteran wrestler that will likely help put the match together and make everybody look good. While a win seems unlikely in theory, it would be a way to give her another career milestone. I don’t expect her to win.
Nikki A.S.H. – They are pushing her enough to where they are giving her some wins that could lead to a future title match, but I don’t think she’s a great choice to win Money in the Bank. It wouldn’t shock me if she wins, though.
Asuka – Last year’s winner didn’t get a chance to carry the briefcase around because Becky Lynch relinquished the Money in the Bank contract after being married. You can certainly say that Asuka “doesn’t need it” since she’s pushed all the time anyway, but that’s also a reason to have her win. It makes Asuka a threat and it could be a way to get her over to Smackdown too. I think it’s a possibility.
Alexa Bliss– I was picking Bliss to win as of a few weeks ago, but when I watched Raw and saw Doudrop/Eva Marie get involved with her on TV, it makes me think that those two women may cost Bliss the win. With that said, I think WWE is high on Bliss as a character and I think there’s a possibility that Bliss might win. It would be such a unique thing to see Bliss holding that briefcase.
Liv Morgan – The most popular woman in this match may be Liv Morgan. The fans loved her on Smackdown and I think they are going to love her at Money in the Bank as well. Liv is a natural babyface that is so likable as a bit of an underdog that keeps fighting back against anybody and anything. This could be her breakout moment.
I’m going with Morgan for the win, but I am not sure of it at all. If I had to put a percentage on it, I’d say 60% on Morgan, 30% on Bliss, 9% on Asuka and 1% on everybody else. I can see a lot of people picking different names to win. It’s Money in the Bank Morgan for me.
Winner: Liv Morgan
Raw Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
Alex: This is why I don’t care about WWE’s women’s division anymore and why in most of these previews, the match I look forward to the least tends to involve the women’s title in some way. WWE has done so little to promote more than two new women that matchups get repeated over and over and over and we’re expected to be as excited for the tenth match as we are the first. Seeing Charlotte get another title shot because of a paper-thin story involving a random authority figure is bottom-of-the-barrel creatively. And once again, Charlotte’s last name won’t save this match from being horrendously average.
There’s an entire roster of women that could benefit from having a title shot against Ripley, even if they lose. But no, WWE goes to the Charlotte well all the time. Now that well is bone dry and I for one hope this match ends the feud once and for all.
Winner and STILL RAW Women’s Champion: Rhea Ripley
Lance: I don’t think I can say this enough, but these two are going to carry the women’s division for the foreseeable future. Booked correctly, this has the chance to be the next great feud we talk about a lot in the future. Rhea Ripley has been on fire since being brought up to the main roster and won the Raw Women’s Title at Wrestlemania. That was a big moment. Charlotte Flair needs no introduction herself and I think she is the best women’s wrestler on earth. This should be another great back and forth battle with a lot of near falls. I feel like if they get the time, this will be above average. I assume there will be a trilogy of matches from these two, which means they will square off again at Summerslam. I think Ripley wins here, but Flair ultimately comes out on top next month.
Winner and STILL Raw Women’s Champion: Rhea Ripley
John: This feud has lost some steam going into another PPV match. They went from a triple threat with Asuka getting beat to Ripley getting DQ’d in the last match and now they have another match. Why not have a stipulation on this match? If they made it a Street Fight it would be a lot more interesting. I think their matches have been okay in the past although it’s tough to get behind Ripley as a face sometimes since she still acts heelish a lot. Charlotte is a natural, cocky heel, but people are also sick of her due to how many pushes she has had.
I’ll pick Ripley to win because I think her title run should continue, but it wouldn’t shock me if Charlotte wins because it’s been a while since Charlotte had a singles title.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Ricochet vs. John Morrison vs. Riddle vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Big E vs. Kevin Owens vs. King Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins
Alex: Ah, here we go. This is where the chaos will really unfold with all the ladder spots, weapons, and wrestlers ganging up on each other. And unlike the women’s MITB match, this one has a more credible field of contenders. Here are my predictions for them:
Ricochet: He’s in this match for spots and spots only. He was the star of the NXT North American Title ladder match a few years ago (my review for that is here) but he didn’t win. The same will happen here. Ricochet will steal the show with his crazy acrobatics and daredevil moves, but he won’t win.
John Morrison: Basically a bigger and slightly slower version of Ricochet. He’ll do some equally-crazy stuff but for the most part will be there to fill in the numbers.
Riddle: He’s a Rob Van Dam knockoff doomed to tread water in the midcard for the rest of his career thanks to WWE’s moronic creative team. No briefcase will save him, regardless of what’s inside it.
Drew McIntyre: He’s a plausible winner, but I hope he doesn’t win. He lost three title matches in a row and winning here would just be a cheap and dissatisfying way to shoehorn him back into the world title picture. I don’t want to see McIntyre vs. Lashley again, especially after three PPVs in a row with some terrible storytelling mixed in between.
Big E: He could win. He’s a rising star on SmackDown and seems to have close calls in these matches all the time. He would’ve been my pick until I saw the fully updated list of participants.
Kevin Owens: Another guy that seems to exist at the upper midcard without ever breaking beyond that. I have a more logical pick in mind, but I wouldn’t mind if he won.
King Shinsuke Nakamura: As much as I would love to see him win and knee Reigns’ beard into the roof of his mouth, it’s not happening. Nakamura is doomed to tread water on SmackDown forever unless a miracle occurs. And considering who’s in charge, we might as well keep dreaming on this one.
Seth Rollins: Let’s be realistic. Face vs. face, heel vs. heel, or in any other dynamic, Rollins feuding with Reigns is a license to print money. These two have been more or less joined at the hip for almost a decade. You can turn one of them face and there’s a ready-made story to be told. And of course, the live audience would lose their minds at a possible repeat of WrestleMania 31, or even a tease of that happening. Considering how successful Rollins’s first reign was, I wouldn’t be surprised if WWE went down that same path starting here.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Lance: The amount of talent in this match makes it jump off the paper as must-see TV. You could realistically make a case for any of these guys to win the match and I would have a hard time arguing with you. There are so many options to go with. Let’s break this down the best way we can.
Ricochet is the first one I am going to eliminate off the board. I think it would be great for him to pick up a victory, but I don’t see him in the plans for a big push shortly. I also think that Drew McIntyre, John Morrison, Kevin Owens, and Nakamura are guys that I think to have the potential to still do great things, but I don’t see them being in the main event picture to either dethrone Lashley or Reigns.
That leaves Big E, Riddle, and Seth Rollins. I think Rollins is headed for a collision with Edge at Summerslam, so I am going to take him off the table as well. Riddle has been in a tag team with Randy Orton over the last couple of months, and that certainly isn’t bad company to have. I just feel like they are going to keep that going a little bit longer. I picked Big E to win the Royal Rumble, but obviously, that didn’t happen. I think this is a second chance of sorts for him, and it is the time they go ahead and pull the trigger. He is ready for the big time.
Winner of The Men’s Money In The Bank Briefcase: Big E
John: I think WWE has done a fantastic job of picking eight guys for this ladder match. With that said, there are still so many talented upper midcard guys that could be in the match like Sami Zayn, Cesaro (I really wish he was in it), Randy Orton, Finn Balor now that he’s back on Smackdown, Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews, United States Champion Sheamus and so on. Just like with the women, I’ll go in order of who I think are least likely winners to who I think will win.
John Morrison – It would be a big win for Morrison, who hasn’t been booked that well since his WWE return. I’m glad that he’s in this match and that he’s starting to gain some momentum as a singles wrestler again. I just don’t see him winning.
King Nakamura – The king push for Nakamura has been fun to watch. I don’t know how long he’ll be a “King” in WWE or if it will lead to a major run for him. He could certainly win this. I just think there are better options.
Ricochet – The best flyer in WWE is coming off one of his best Raw matches this past Monday with Morrison. It makes me happy to see that WWE might finally be using him right, but I don’t know how far this push is going to go. I think Ricochet is likable as an athlete. However, as a character, his personality doesn’t stand out that much.
Drew McIntyre – The former two-time WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will probably have some dominant moments in this match and look like a potential winner. However, after he destroyed Jinder Mahal’s motorcycle this past Monday on Raw (as payback for Jinder thinking he stole Drew’s sword), I think the obvious route is for Mahal and friends to attack McIntyre. If you have Mahal and friends prevent McIntyre from winning, it gives Drew an out for losing and also sets up Mahal vs. McIntyre for SummerSlam.
Kevin Owens – I’d love to see KO win this as a babyface that is easy to like and a guy that has gone through a lot in his WWE career so far. When Owens was the Universal Champion in the past, he was a heel that cheated to win his matches. To see Owens transform himself as a face and get to that title level again would be a lot of fun to watch. I think he’s a decent option for sure.
Seth Rollins – The heel character of Seth Rollins is the guy that the fans least want to win. They would probably boo him a lot if he won since he’s already a main eventer that has won everything in WWE already. Having Rollins win and tease cashing in for several weeks or months would be good television, but I’m going to go with guys that have never been the top guy before. Rollins in penciled in for a match against Edge at SummerSlam. That shouldn’t matter here, but that’s something they can build to over the next month.
Riddle – I have enjoyed the silliness of Riddle as a character because he’s really talented in the ring. The storyline with Randy Orton has led to some funny segments and I think the fans are going to like it. Riddle has said that if he wins he’ll cash in on the Raw Tag Team Titles with Randy, which could be what he thinks in theory, but then you could have Randy talk him out of it and go for the WWE or Universal Title.
Big E – This would be such a feel-good moment to see Big E as Mr. Money in the Bank. When he lost the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania I thought that was because they wanted to put Money in the Bank so here were are and I think the time is now to give Big E the biggest win of his career.
Money in the Bank is at its best when the winner is somebody who hasn’t been a top guy, but they are on the rise to getting there. I think Big E and Riddle are the best choices. I’m going with Big E to win here in what should be an outstanding match that’s around 25 minutes or so.
Winner: Big E
WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Kofi Kingston
Alex: On one hand, I’m glad that someone other than Drew is challenging Lashley here. On the other hand, this is two years too late. KofiMania is dead and buried forever, and no amount of positivity is going to resurrect it.
At least Kingston finally brought up the fact that he never got a rematch for the title he lost back in 2019. And yet, even though the champion in question has changed, this match’s outcome will not. Sorry everyone, but Kingston’s not winning here. This is very much a placeholder match so that Lashley can have a huge payday at SummerSlam against a marquee opponent. Kingston will try his best to win here, but ultimately MVP will do some random distraction that’ll allow Lashley to capitalize and win. It’s not the best storyline in the world, but it’s WWE’s bread-and-butter and they’re saving the steak entrée for next month’s show.
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: Bobby Lashley
Lance: Having Lashley lose a match to Xavier Woods last week on Raw kind of took a little away from this match. Now, under no circumstances did I think Kingston was going to win the match, but it would have been nice to not have Lashley lose right before it. The guy has been on a tear since winning the title from McIntyre and should be protected as much as he can. Imagine Reigns being pinned in a match before the person who takes the title from him gets the job done. It wouldn’t make any sense at all. I like Kingston as a performer and think he has busted his ass for the company for a long time. His match with Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania a couple of years ago was magic in a bottle. That’s where it’s going to stay though. Lashley has been built as a dominant champion, and much like Reigns, the person that beats him should be someone who they are looking to build long-term. I still think the match will be awesome and will have a nice big guys/small guy dynamic to it. At least Lashley will give Kofi more than Brock Lesnar did.
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: Bobby Lashley
John: My feeling is that Lashley is going to win this match in dominant fashion. The way that Raw ended with Lashley in an angry mood makes me think this could be a short match that goes five minutes or less. That’s not my official prediction, but I think it’s possible. I think it’s more likely they get around 12 minutes with Lashley winning clean.
Lashley lost clean to Xavier Woods in a non-title match on Raw and he feels like maybe Kofi Kingston is right in saying Lashley has gone soft, so Lashley is furious. They need to have Lashley come out of this match looking stronger than ever. We know there are reports out there about Lashley facing Goldberg (ugh) at SummerSlam next month and I doubt WWE wants to have Lashley go into that match without looking dominant. Kofi Kingston has done a tremendous in terms of promos and his in-ring work during this renewed push for him. I like Kofi in this spot. I just think this is about putting over Bobby in a dominant way. That’s what we should see here.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Edge
Alex: While I’ve enjoyed Roman Reigns as a wrestler a lot since his return last summer and have liked his long and competitive matches, I’m hoping for something quick here. As much as I like Edge, I don’t want him to win here, nor do I want him to have as competitive a match as Reigns has had already. Edge has done nothing to really earn this spot beyond being an older veteran. His big nostalgia story came to a sudden end at WrestleMania, and now he gets another shot because of his name? Lazy booking.
I see no reason for Edge to win here. Reigns is approaching the one-year mark in his reign and he can have some fresh challengers depending on whoever wins the MITB briefcase. That story makes the most sense with him as champion, not Edge. I don’t see Edge pulling out a career best at this point. He’s still on borrowed time and not meant to be part of SmackDown’s future. At least not on-screen.
Winner and STILL WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns
Lance: I was really excited when Edge made his return a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know where that excitement came from, whether it’s my fandom of him, or if I was relieved because Reigns would have a great opponent leading up to Summerslam. Reigns have run through every challenger put in front of him, including Edge and Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania. I can’t put Reigns’ recent work over enough and I am a believer that he is the best heel in the business. When they do the eventual babyface turn, it’s going to be something that moves the needle for sure. There have been rumors that Reigns will have a big match at Summerslam, while Edge will be squaring off against someone like Seth Rollins. The seeds have been planted for that, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Rollins will cost Edge in the end. Edge is going to be on the brink of winning the title, and Rollins will swoop in to take it all away. Should still be a great match.
Winner and STILL WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns
John: The main event for the Universal Championship should be an awesome match. The build for it has been tremendous with Edge coming back absolutely on fire in terms of promos, the physical attacks he has done and the way the crowd responded to him on Smackdown. Reigns continues to perform at a high level with numerous outstanding PPV matches this year. I don’t know how they are going to have a bad match because they’ll have all the time they want, Edge is known for being one of the smartest guys at putting a match together and I think he’ll work well with Reigns like they did at WrestleMania.
There will probably be several moments in the match where it might look like Edge will win either by submission or pinfall, but I expect Reigns to keep kicking out and finding a way to win. I don’t know they are going to add a stipulation to this to allow weapons or not because they have been pushing that “steel bar” from the chair submission move from Edge a lot. If it stays a straight match then maybe The Usos help Reigns, but The Mysterios are also on Edge’s side. I just think Reigns is going to continue his long run as the Universal Champion. Next month will be one year of Reigns holding the Universal Title. I don’t know when he’s going to lose it, but I expect Reigns to win here.
Both guys have plans at SummerSlam that we know of already. Reigns against Cena and Edge against Rollins. I love both of those matchups too, but first we have to get through Money in the Bank. I’m looking forward to it.
Winner: Roman Reigns
BONUS TOPICS!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
Alex: The men’s MITB ladder match. It’ll be the wildest and most exciting match on the card. Plus, I want to see if my prediction comes true.
Lance: Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.
John: I’ll join my friends in saying the Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match as well. It’s a great lineup and it should be an outstanding match.
The Match I Care About The Least
Alex: Ripley vs. Charlotte. I just don’t care about Charlotte, especially since she seems to get more title shots than any other woman in WWE.
Lance: Raw & Smackdown Tag Team Title Matches.
John: Raw Tag Team Title match. I don’t mind the wrestlers in it, but it just feels too predictable.
Longest Match
Alex: Men’s MITB Ladder match. With all the wild spots, and the fact that they’ll be in front of a crowd that’ll soak it all in, I wouldn’t be surprised if this match goes around 30 minutes.
Lance: Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.
John: It’s close because I think the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match is going over 20 minutes I think Reigns vs. Edge is going to be over 20 minutes, so it might be that. I’ll go with Men’s MITB Ladder Match as my final choice.
Shortest Match
Alex: AJ Styles & Omos vs. Viking Raiders. Considering who’s involved, I expect it’ll go just under ten minutes.
Lance: The Mysterios vs The Usos.
John: The Raw Tag Team Title match around ten minutes.
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
Alex: 8 – This has the potential to be a great show. Everyone is hoping WWE delivers on the first non-WrestleMania PPV with a live audience in a long time. With things finally getting back to the way they were before, I hope WWE takes advantage of that and starts putting more effort into creating exciting shows that don’t just blend together like the ones that took place during that dreadful Thunderdome period.
Lance: I am going to go high and give it an 8.5 because I am pumped that fans will be back in the building. It will definitely add to the atmosphere and they always seem to deliver on this show every year.
John: I’m right around 8 out of 10 as well. When I think of this card in terms of star ratings, I think the Men’s MITB Ladder Match and the Reigns/Edge match are both going to get a lot of time and hit at least the four star level (out of five), if not higher. After that, the Women’s MITB should be very good, Ripley/Charlotte know eachother well so that should be fine, the Lashley/Kingston match will be fun to watch, and then the two tag team matches aren’t as interesting, but I doubt they will be bad. I like the card a lot. It’s not perfect and there are some talented people that are missing from the show, but for the most part, I think this is going to be one of the best WWE PPVs of the year. In addition to all of that, the fact that this is the first PPV since WrestleMania with fans back will help the atmosphere of MITB. If there are some big babyface wins (like Liv Morgan and Big E) then that’s going to help too.
In Closing
John: I’ll be back with a review of WWE Money in the Bank on TJRWrestling.net on Sunday night. It will be live most likely, so check that out during the show or after it’s over.
You can also tweet me @johnreport or Lance @Collectiveheel with any comments as well.
If you want to send an email, send it to me at mrjohncanton@gmail.com as well. Thanks for reading.