Money In the Bank Preview and Other Musings

On this 4th of July weekend, I am going to focus on just positives as the world and the USA is a bit more… chaotic. We have a Money in the Bank PPV event that can shape up WWE’s summer platform for the next few months, potential outcomes for what the future holds the briefcase winners, IC and Heavyweight title matches and even some thoughts on TNA/NXT partnership and the AEW Forbidden Door PPV.

Without further ado, let’s get to business and start with the Money in the Bank Preview for this Saturday.

MEN’S MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH (Drew McIntyre, Jey Uso, Andrade, LA Knight, Carmelo Hayes & Chad Gable) With the exception of Hayes and Andrade, all of the competitors are coming into the match with some kind of drama that needs to keep an eye on. For Gable, it’s the Wyatt Sicks who have been seen freaking him out and harassing him in their short stay, causing him to try to reconcile with his Alpha Academy stable mates. LA Knight meanwhile has been engaging in a war of words and fists with Logan Paul over the US Title. Drew McIntyre has promised to win the briefcase and cash it later in Toronto after assaulting CM Punk.

And Jey Uso has seen the rise of Solo Sikoa’s new Bloodline 2.0 and how they demolished Jimmy Uso in the process.

At this point we can clearly eliminate Andrade, Gable and Hayes as neither seems to be ready for a world title run yet. Maybe in a year or two they might be considered, but for now it would be seen as pulling a “Jinder Mahal”.

You can bet dollars to donuts that Logan Paul is going to screw LA and lead to a SummerSlam match for the US Title.

It comes down to what makes the most sense booking wise then between the constant porking of Drew McIntyre by CM Punk or Jey Uso’s Yeet-Mania. If the previous regime were in charger, I would bet that we get Drew winning the briefcase, cashing it in later tonight and either winning the title, or CM Punk screwing him over again.

And as great as that seems, the drawback is that it ruins Damian Priest and continues to make the Raw Heavyweight title feel like a crackerjack prize. The title needs to continue to feel more important that it has been treated the past year, so the shenanigans have to stop.

Meanwhile for Jey Uso, there has to be that big moment where he gets elevated to the next level as a singles star. Right now, he is a lot like LA Knight in that he doesn’t have that big win he can hang his hat on to “make” him a big star. It’s not his fault as there are only so few titles in the WWE that not everyone can be a champion.

But the “Money in the Bank” Briefcase allows Jey to threaten not just Gunther but allow the Bloodline 2.0 to draw him into their feud. Imagine if during Crown Jewel, while Jey is about to cash in, Jacob Fatu and Co assault him and cost him his title shot. It would allow him to get drawn into the Bloodline Civil War that takes place in possibly at Survivor Series.

PREDICTION: Jey Uso MITB Winner

WOMENS MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH: (Lyra Valkyrie, Iyo Skye, Chelsea Green, Tiffany Stratton, Naomi and Zoey Stark). There have never been back-to-back female winners of the MITB so I feel safe ruling out Skye. Naomi and Stark are ice cold right now in terms of storyline and push so the smart money says they are there for the bumps.

Sentimental favorite is Chelsea Green who has found her niche as the chickenshit heel/Karen who blends comedy with wrestling and become a favorite of pro wrestling fans. The drawback is that she is still portrayed more as a comedy wrestler and under the current regime, those types don’t get main event title runs.

It’s down to the two NXT graduates in RAW’s Lyra Valkyrie and Smackdown’s Tiffany Stratton. Lyra made a big splash on RAW by saving Becky Lynch from a 3-1 beatdown from Damage Ctrl on her Raw Debut. Since then, she advanced to the Queen of the Ring Finals before losing to Nia Jax and has been embroiled in a feud with Damage Ctrl.

Meanwhile Tiffany turned heads by debuting on Smackdown and quickly feuding in a triple threat with Bayley and Naomi for the Smackdown Women’s title. After getting eliminated in the Queen of the Ring Quarterfinals by Bianca Belair, she aligned with Nia Jax as her “protégé”.

It all comes down to which way Levesque feels is better to hold the briefcase in a fiery babyface or the conniving heel. Both women could use the push as they are on the cusp of big things and have shown they can work with anyone on the roster.

At this point in time, it feels that Tiffany is the heir apparent to be the next Main Event star in the mold of Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair. She has the look, the athleticism, the charisma and has the crowd reaction wherever she goes. Safe to say that this feels like the moment the company is ready to launch her into superstardom.

Prediction: Tiffany Stratton MITB Winner

INTERCONTINENTAL MATCH: Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn (Champion).

This is the classic tale of the pure indy wrestler who grew up wanting to be a wrestler, paid his dues, tour the long road and became a star vs. The elite athlete recruited into the sport and became a star. First, let’s acknowledge that Bron Breakker is the closest thing we have seen to Brock Lesnar in a long, long, long time. He blends freakish athleticism with an intense personality that is captivating when you watch him on television and in person. After a rough start in NXT as a miscast babyface, Breakker has found his niche as the monster heel, spearing opponents out of their boots and channeling his inner Steiner roots.

Meanwhile Sami continues to showcase a connection with the crowd that never gets old and has developed a more thoughtful babyface approach. His promos have been more measure and shown wisdom, not backing down from Bron but also recognizing Breaker’s strength’s and what he brings to the table.

At this point there is nothing more that Sami can do for the title and it’s time to give Breakker than big push to become the Man. He is a novelty in that he is the rare wrestler who looks, acts and wrestles like a premier athlete. He is cool in a way that is not seen in the current pro wrestling landscape.

Pick: New Intercontinental Champ Bron Breakker

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: Seth Rollins vs. Damian Priest (Champion)

The stipulation placed was that if Priest wins, he can never challenge for the title as long as Priest is the world champion. If Rollins wins, Priest has to leave the Judgement Day which has teased dissention within the ranks. We can cut to the chase and state that there is no way that Priest is losing this match as all signs point to Gunther winning the title at SummerSlam and having Rollins winning the title for all of a month is foolish.

Priest desperately needs the win as his title run has been underwhelming due to questionably booking and being made to feel like a secondary story. Expert some shenanigans and botched interference from Judgement Day which could lead to either Rollins wins by DQ or Priest by pinfall. Either way, Priest is walking out with the title.

Prediction: Damian Priest Retains

SIX MAN TAG MATCH: BLOODLINE 2.0 (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga or Tonga Loa) vs. Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens and Randy Orton.

If Bloodline 1.0 was all about getting Roman over as a Mob Boss type of heel with the Usos being used as comedic relief at times, Bloodline 2.0 is even scarier. Credit to all involved as Solo Sikoa, the Guerillas of Destiny and Jacob Fatu areas intimidating a group as any in recent memory. Their destruction of Paul Heyman a week ago was the perfect moment to end any remnants of the old Bloodline and give them their own shine.

For Cody Rhodes, this is what he has needed since he beat Roman to finish his story at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia. Title defenses against AJ Styles and Logan Paul were solid but lacked the emotional pull to get fans invested. Now he has found himself in the middle of the Bloodline drama and facing the next version of Samoan leadership. Already we have seen hard hitting matches between Orton/Owens vs. Solo/Guerillas so we know the actions is going to be exciting.

The only question is basically which three-person combination do we see and who goes through the table. This feels like a set up for Solo to get the pin on Cody to set up Solo vs. Cody at SummerSlam and the return of Roman Reigns to kickstart the Bloodline Civil War feud.

PREDICTION: Bloodline 2.0 defeats Rhodes/Orton/Owens

Musings & Finals Thoughts

-Going forward both WWE and AEW might consider putting Forbidden Door and MITB gimmicks on ice for a while. Both have become stale due to overuse and oversaturation and lost the luster that they have once had. For WWE, it might be better to send it to NXT only for a while where it would benefit more of the younger talent to help them get more chances. Meanwhile AEW has to get away from bringing in talent that not only don’t have a storyline but don’t have a big following. It was one thing to bring in Okada but most of the talent on this past FD card was not recognizable to 95 percent of the fans.

-Mercedes Mone having creative control is as bad an idea in the history of bad ideas. Pro wrestlers should never have creative control as they will abuse it worse than a fat kid in a candy store.

-Good Luck to Donovan Dijack on the next chapter of his career. His WWE career felt snakebitten from bad creative, bad breaks to unfortunate injuries at the worst time. Will be interested to see where he lands as he has multiple options and has to now decide what he truly wants for himself.

-Credit to TNA Wrestling for not putting Jeff Hardy against Moose at Slammiversary for the World Title. Under the old model, you can bet it would have been the easy thing to do and maybe even have a title change happen. But the company has gone with a six-way match with mostly homegrown or their own guys and deserve credit for staying the course.

-It won’t happen for obvious reasons but Jim Cornette being the “new” Wise Man for Solo Sikoa would be hilarious. The promo battles between him and Heyman would be next level and could tie into their real-life history. No chance it happens as Cornette seems content in retirement but I can dream.

-Credit to Shaun Michaels for the booking job he has done. Between handling the NXT-WWE pipeline, NXT-TNA talent swap, NXT duties and developing the next generation, he has shown that he has a grasp on everything. Another example of the wrestling media being wrong at the time as most of them thought it was nothing more than a friendship hire doomed to fail.

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