One of the most exciting WWE pay-per-views of the year is just around the corner. And although it’s a SmackDown-only event this time around, it could produce one of the best Money in the Bank ladder matches of all time.
It’s a star-studded match to say the least, and each one of these Superstars is worthy of being Mr Money in the Bank. Aside from Dolph Ziggler, every Superstar in the match seems likely to become world champion either again or for the first time. And for one of them, that world championship will get closer than ever.
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You can make the case that any of these guys should become Mr MITB. They all have an impressive wrestling pedigree and would all make great world champions. Alas, some of these Superstars are more likely to take home the victory than others. So we’ve taken it upon ourselves to rank them.
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For some of these guys, it’s probably not their time. And for others, it may have been their time already. With that said, here is our ranking of each Superstar’s likelihood to win MITB, starting with the least likely.
#6 Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler has reinvented himself since turning heel on Kalisto back in January. He’s actually developed a somewhat interesting character again to complement his in-ring skills that have always been exceptional.
Ziggler’s role as the grizzled vet who’s tired of things not going his way has been great, but he’s been given very little to do with it. And although an MITB victory would be a good change of pace for the reinvigorated Ziggler, it doesn’t seem likely to come to fruition.
At this stage of his career, a stage in which he admits he only has 1-2 years left, Ziggler is better served to put other Superstars over. We’ve already seen this begin with his loss to a debuting Shinsuke Nakamura, and we’ll probably see it more in the future.
Ziggler’s days as a world title holder are probably over. He had a decent prime, and although he may not have accomplished as much as he would’ve liked, his career is nothing to be ashamed of.
In fact, he has the most iconic MITB cash-in of all time, so why give him the briefcase again when he can’t possibly live up to that moment? Ziggler has plenty to hang his hat on. Another MITB win is not in the cards.
#5 Kevin Owens
This time last year, Kevin Owens seemed like one of the favourites to win the MITB ladder match. He was (and still is) a dastardly heel, and he had never h a world title before. It seemed like the perfect formula to make an MITB winner.
But things didn’t go down that way for KO. Dean Ambrose ended up winning and cashing in the same night to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Owens has another opportunity to become Mr Money in the Bank this year. So will he capitalise on it? Will the new Face of America pull down the briefcase, securing himself a WWE title shot whenever he wants it? Well... probably not.
The MITB briefcase is basically a ticket to stardom unless your name is Damien Sandow or Mr Kennedy. Owens is already a star, and while he almost certainly has more world title runs in his future, they do not need to come via cash-in.
Owens is also United States Champion and seems pretty unlikely to lose it before MITB. So he’ll still be plenty busy defending his title after the event, to the point where he certainly doesn’t need the briefcase on top of it.
Although Owens’ character is tailor-made to be Mr Money in the Bank, 2017 is probably not KO’s year.
Also read: Early Royal Rumble 2018 match predictions
#4 Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn has been known as the underdog from the underground since he arrived in NXT. That nickname became less and less appropriate as he climbed the ladder in the yellow brand, eventually becoming NXT Champion and anchoring the show.
Now, Zayn is firmly back to underdog status. His time on the main roster hasn’t exactly been a success story for the ages. Sure he’s had some good matches, particularly with Kevin Owens, and he’s had a few title opportunities. However, he has yet to pick up that signature victory on WWE’s main roster.
Money in the Bank would be the perfect time for him to pick up that win. But there are two reasons why he’s still so low on this list.
First, babyface Superstars rarely win MITB. Sure, Dean Ambrose won it last year, but his character had an extremely aggressive side to it. Sami is as white-meat as it gets. Being Mr MITB usually requires a degree of slimeyness since you need to be willing to capitalise on a weakened opponent unless you take the John Cena/RVD approach and announce the cash-in in advance.
Second, WWE has shown no willingness to commit to Zayn on the main roster. Hopefully, it will happen sometime down the line since he has all the makings of a star. But as of now, nothing indicates WWE is close to pulling the trigger on him. So predicting an MITB victory probably isn’t smart.
#3 AJ Styles
AJ Styles has been in WWE for a little over a year and has already accomplished a career’s worth of feats. He’s been world champion, he’s had two great WrestleMania matches, and he’s beaten John Cena in incredible contests at both Money in the Bank and SummerSlam.
Could the Phenomenal One add an MITB victory to his ever-growing list of accolades? He just might.
Styles’ world title run was great, but it felt like he deserved a longer reign. It ended for a good reason though. After all, John Cena deserved to get that 16th world title victory to tie Ric Flair, and what better Superstar to get it from than AJ Styles?
But with Styles having been the centrepiece of SmackDown since the brand split, it feels like he deserves a reign longer than 140 days. And a new title reign could be kicked off by an MITB cash-in.
Just to be consistent, we should acknowledge that like Zayn, Styles may be a little less likely to win now because of his apparent babyface turn. But Styles has been aggressive enough during his time in WWE that we would understand him taking advantage of a moment like MITB winners often do.
Styles is probably the best overall performer in this entire match. That in itself gives him a great chance to walk out of the Scottrade Center with briefcase in tow.
#2 Shinsuke Nakamura
If any babyface is going to win Money in the Bank, Shinsuke Nakamura probably has the best chance to do so.
Nakamura has only recently been brought up to the main roster, and it seems like WWE is handling him pretty well thus far. There was a valid concern that they would botch his booking since his mic skills aren’t the best and he’s an incredibly unique Superstar to the point where fans may not connect if things aren’t handled perfectly.
But WWE is doing well in his first month, giving him an extravagant entrance and waiting to have him wrestle until Backlash, so he seems like a big deal. It’s certainly not a Finn Balor-esque rise to the main roster, but it’s been good nonetheless.
Could the next step be giving him the MITB briefcase? It definitely can’t be ruled out. WWE obviously likes the guy, evidenced by the signing, the massive contract, the NXT title run, and solid main roster debut.
An MITB victory would be an excellent way to fast-track him to a world title run and make Nakamura feel like an even bigger deal than he already does. The King of Strong Style may just be the next WWE Champion.
#1 Baron Corbin
Well, if anyone fits the mould of past Money in the Bank winners, it’s Baron Corbin.
MITB winners are often upper-tier Superstars who are just a step away from reaching that top tier. They just need that one extra boost to reach true main-event level importance. Corbin is knocking on the door pretty loudly.
SmackDown is in need of some more stars, and Corbin has proven he can be exactly that. He’s never held a title in WWE or NXT, but that seems likely to change pretty soon. He’s SmackDown’s version of Braun Strowman, albeit not quite as dominant. Whenever Corbin enters the fold, you know things are about to get real.
Look no further than what he did to Sami Zayn on SmackDown last week for evidence that he can be a top heel in WWE. His mic work is miles improved since his time in NXT, and his in-ring work is exactly what you want out of a big man.
Corbin’s slimy personality is exactly what you want out of an MITB winner. Think about some of the best cash-ins of all time. There’s Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, and even Sheamus had an exciting cash-in. And they all happened because the briefcase holder had no reservations about taking advantage of the right moment.
Corbin is the perfect Superstar to carry around the MITB briefcase, and he’s also the perfect Superstar to finally ascend to the main-event scene in WWE.
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