This year’s WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view card looks to be potentially very exiting. On the heels of the “New Era” NXT call ups following WrestleMania 32, the MITB card is indicative of all the creative improvements the WWE has shown these past few months. It will feature matches between young and veteran talent, and will showcase the resurgent tag team division.
I had the opportunity to attend the last PPV, WWE Extreme Rules, in person in Newark, NJ in May. It was good to get my finger on the pulse of what the live crowd is thinking these days. One thing for sure is that Roman Reigns, and anything that has to do with Roman Reigns, is roundly despised by the crowd. Reigns’ cousins, The Usos, who have enjoyed a babyface run for the entirety of their WWE careers were loudly booed by the crowd when they entered the ring. Reigns, of course, continues to flounder as WWE Champion and the Jersey crowd made sure to disrespect him at every chance. Even when he hit a move that made him look like he knew what he was doing, the crowd serenated him with a “You still can’t wrestle” chant. When Seth Rollins made his triumphant return to the WWE following Reigns’ match, the crowd gave its loudest cheer of the night as Rollins planted Reigns with The Pedigree. On the way out of the building, I spoke with several fans who were genuinely upset that AJ Styles failed to win the match and capture the belt.
While Reigns continues to bungle his opportunity to be a babyface champion, the rest of the talents around him are carrying pay-per-view cards and I have high hopes that MITB will be among the best we see in 2016. I’ll break down the matches and explain why.
Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus
Apollo Crews is one of the latest NXT call ups and was packaged in a classic whitemeat-babyface gimmick with the billing that he is a five-tool superstar. I don’t know exactly what the five-tools are (I’m guessing strength, size, speed, charisma, and verbal skills?) but he is reminiscent of a young Tito Santana or Ricky Steamboat. I don’t know if this type of gimmick still has legs in today’s WWE, but so far the crowd has seemed receptive to him and he has a good opportunity to showcase his skills against the veteran Sheamus.
I like the somewhat realistic angle that sparked the rivalry between the two, as the veteran Sheamus appears to be threatened by the influx of new talent on the roster and wants to protect his spot. This is a real-life concern among WWE veterans as older talents are constantly cycled through in favor of new ones. In this case, I would assume that a dependable performer like Sheamus is safe for a while, but it makes for an entertaining storyline.
Hard to say exactly what to expect out of this match as it is the first time that Crews will get a chance to work a one-on-one match on a PPV. With any luck, his style will complement that of the brawling style of Sheamus and this will be an entertaining match.
Prediction: Winner, Sheamus
Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
This running feud between Ziggler and Baron is a good example of WWE creative sometimes missing the mark. Baron Corbin had all the momentum in the world, when he was the surprise victor in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. He was immediately put into a feuding program with Dolph Ziggler and that was things started to go off the rails. Ziggler’s career, having plateaued years ago, is pretty much only good as a jobber these days, and his duty should be to put other talents over. Over the course of their program, both Ziggler and Corbin have traded victories which I think is a mistake. If the WWE wants to build up Corbin as a legitimate heel, the best thing for him to do is regularly crush Ziggler, thus setting him up for programs with members of the upper card. This so-called “50/50” booking isn’t helping either guy look good.
With any luck things turn around for Corbin this weekend, he emerges victorious over the hapless Ziggler, and regains some of his lost momentum in his pursuit of relevancy.
Prediction: Winner, Baron Corbin
Charlotte and Dana Brooke vs. Natalya and Becky Lynch
My buddy took a picture of me sleeping during the women’s match at WWE Extreme Rules and posted it on Facebook. I wasn’t embarrassed at all, in fact, I would have been more embarrassed had he posted a picture of me actually paying attention to a WWE women’s match.
Prediction: This match is going to suck
Rusev (c) (with Lana) vs. Titus O’Neil in a singles match for the WWE United States Championship
Rusev has been on a roller coaster ride during his WWE run, having been at the top as a monster heel in a major program with John Cena, and at the very bottom in a love-square storyline between himself, Lana, Dolph Ziggler, and the career-killing Summer Rae. Luckily, someone in WWE creative realized what they had done to a talent that they had worked so hard to create, and reunited Rusev with Lana and gave him back his monster-heel-from-a-foreign-country gimmick. He even re-captured his US Championship at WWE Extreme Rules. With any luck, he can shake the fan’s memories of the horrid angle with Summer Rae, and charge back towards the top of the card as a heat-seeking bad guy.
Titus O’Neil is back on WWE TV after a bizarre suspension following an incident between himself and Vince McMahon shortly after Daniel Bryan’s retirement speech in Seattle, Washington. He had enjoyed some marginal success on WWE TV prior to his suspension, but really wasn’t ever given enough TV time to connect with the fans and let us know who he really is.
This should be a physical match between these two big men. I would expect Titus to really go the extra mile now that he has a rare title shot in a singles match on a pay-per-view. Rusev always delivers in his matches, and I would expect him to be on the attack against O’Neil.
Prediction: Winner and still WWE United States Champion, Rusev
The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (c) (with Xavier Woods) vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) in a Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
As I eluded to earlier, the WWE has made a significant investment in its tag team division of late. The WWE is at its best when it has a strong and diverse tag-team division as it gives performers a lot more options to express themselves creatively, both in the ring and when cutting promos.
The four teams featured in this match are all riding hot streaks, and should be able to tell a compelling story. The New Day have been the top faction in the WWE since re-capturing the Tag Team Championships at Summer Slam in 2015. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have been well received by the fans since they came over from NJPW just over a month ago. The Vaudvellians have somewhat of an odd gimmick, but they managed to get over as heels and will certainly generate a lot of heel heat during this match. Big Cass and Enzo Amore have shown a great deal of potential both as individuals and as a team. They have a great look and both have great mic skills.
Fatal 4-Way matches always have the potential to be awkward as there are a lot of spots to manage with eight competitors in a match. I predict that this match will be well-paced and will give each team a chance to showcase their talents and get over with the fans.
Prediction: Winners and still WWE Tag Team Champions, The New Day
John Cena vs. AJ Styles
For fans of wrestling circuits outside of the WWE, this match is a long time in the making. Both men, in their late 30’s have been regarded as the best in their respective companies for years but have never faced each other in a WWE ring. It’s almost surprising that this match wasn’t saved for a bigger event such as SummerSlam but it should be one of the best matches on the card at MITB.
AJ Styles stumbled a bit out of the gate in WWE. He was received well by the fans, and then proceeded to job to an over-the-hill Chris Jericho, and then lose twice to Roman Reigns. Fortunately, a well-executed heel turn a few weeks ago, along with his new program with John Cena, should really help him turn things around.
John Cena is always dependable in big spots. He works well with new talents on the WWE roster, whether they are NXT rookies or newcomer veterans such as AJ Styles. His matches deliver excitement more often than not, and he will surely be motivated to look strong in this match, having missed an extended period of time with a shoulder injury.
This match should be very entertaining and should feature a lot of drama and some high spots. If anything, AJ Styles really needs a clean victory here if he is ever to be taken seriously as someone who can win in WWE. Cena has a history of laying down when the time is right to get another talent over, I would expect tonight to be no different.
Prediction: Winner, AJ Styles
Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Alberto Del Rio in a Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match contract
This is one of the most anticipated matches of the year on the WWE schedule. Not only is a MITB match good for some thrills, but it sets up a storyline that can persist for the better part of a year, as the winner can attempt to steal the WWE Championship at any time. Of course, the greatest cash-in of all time saw Seth Rollins steal the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 31 in 2015. It’s hard to say what will come of this year’s MITB match winner, but the possibilities are endless for each of the competitors.
- Chris Jericho is the least likely to win. He has delivered a number of dud matches since his latest full-time return to WWE. Chances of him ever recapturing the WWE title are pretty much zero and he should consider hanging up his boots sometime soon.
- Cesaro is a persistent fan favorite, especially since his return following a shoulder injury. Still, he isn’t championship material, and the WWE would really have to make some changes to his character and persona to ever get him into the position to be the face of the company.
- Sami Zayn has built up a bit of a cult following since his return from injury (there sure were a lot of guys on the injured list lately), and his feud with Kevin Owens has been a lot of fun to watch. Still, it’s unlikely that Zayn is going to get a WWE title shot anytime soon, it is just too early in his WWE career for that kind of push.
- Dean Ambrose is one of the WWE’s top earners and is very popular with the fans. If there is a dark horse in this match, it is Dean Ambrose. He is the kind of guy who the WWE could make into at least a transitional champion for a short while. An Ambrose win could also potentially set up a three-way feud between himself and the other former members of the Shield, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
- Alberto Del Rio is a former WWE Champion himself and the WWE is always very high on his potential, especially due to his marketability with the WWE’s Hispanic audience. He has been a bit aimless these past few months, a MITB contract would make him interesting to watch again.
- Kevin Owens, in my opinion, is the favorite to win this match. He is a genuine heel and an offensive innovator. He has built up a great deal of name recognition, and a lot of critical acclaim for his in-ring workrate and ability to cut top promos. He would carry the WWE Championship very well if he were to win MITB.
Although those are my views as to who the favorites and the underdogs should be, it wouldn’t surprise me if any one of them won the match and were to run with the opportunity to hold the MITB contract.
Prediction: Winner, Kevin Owens
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins in a Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
I’m getting tired of blogging about how bad Roman Reigns is, so I’m not going to repeat myself this time. Just look back to the beginning of my WWE blog if you want to know more. There are enough other guys on the roster who can take his spot and run with the WWE Championship, it is time to put this nonsense to an end and give the belt back to someone else.
Seth Rollins, who got the call up to the WWE roster at the same time as Reigns, is immeasurably more talented than the current champion. In 2015, he was in the midst of one of the best years we’ve seen from a WWE superstar in quite some time when he was felled with a badly broken knee in November. He missed an extended period of time and should pick up right where he left off, as the top heel in the company. He never lost the championship, and should be primed to go in his first match back.
Seth Rollins will have to carry the inferior Roman Reigns if this match is going to be interesting at all, but if the result is what the WWE fans want to see, it could be remembered as one of the best main events for quite some time.
Prediction: Winner and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins
The North Jersey Nonconformist 
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