From the WWE Rumor Mill: This superstar is the frontrunner to win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match

What’s the story?

The Money in the Bank Ladder Match participants have been announced and many people are attempting to predict the eventual winner.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter claims that Baron Corbin is the man most likely to win the briefcase in three weeks.

In case you didn’t know...

SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced last week that AJ Styles, Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Shinsuke Nakamura would be competing for the Money in the Bank Briefcase on June 18, 2017.

This SmackDown exclusive show will mark the 8^th Money in the Bank pay-per-view as well as the 18^th time a wrestler wins the briefcase.

The heart of the matter

Meltzer has argued that of all the participants, Corbin is the most likely to win since the company wants to elevate him to main event status.

“He’s the guy that [WWE] is talking about elevating because…I don’t know. I don’t see him against Jinder. A lot of times, the Money in the Bank winner is someone that you don’t really think of at that level and usually they end up winning the championship. Sometimes it works, like with Edge, and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Jinder Mahal is rumoured to hold onto the WWE Championship until September when the tour of India concludes, so that may be the deciding factor in who wins the briefcase and how soon they’ll cash it in.

What’s next?

As the date for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view draws near, there may be more superstars who are considered favourites to win the match. Nakamura was reportedly the favourite to win last week, so don’t expect 100% accuracy with these predictions with the pay-per-view weeks away.

The two wrestlers who are almost guaranteed not to win the match are Styles and Owens; both of whom became world champions last year and wouldn’t need the briefcase to get them back into the WWE Championship picture.

Author’s take

Corbin winning the Money in the Bank Briefcase would make sense considering how often he’s been featured in championship matches. He’s been made to look like a strong mid-card heel who’s getting closer and closer to winning the big one and the Money in the Bank match could be the company’s means of getting him to that main event level.

The Money in the Bank contract has mostly been used by heels over the years, so the Lone Wolf holding winning the briefcase and eventually the WWE Championship is definitely a possibility.