Countdown to Money in the Bank

Drew McIntyre: +175. Seth Rollins: +250. Big E: +500. Winner: Drew McIntyre:

When picking a winner of a Money in the Bank Ladder Match it is usually about crowning a new main event player.  However, that may not happen here.  If Rollins was a babyface he would likely be a shoo-in to win and go on to challenge Reigns for the Universal Title, but that’s not the case.  Nakamura is someone who has main event potential, but has been stuck in the mid card since his feud with AJ Styles ended a few years ago.  If McIntyre were to win he would have to move over to SmackDown since his program against Lashley has been completely played out.  So who wins?  Look for Kevin Owens to capture the elusive Money in the Bank briefcase and tease cashing it in for the next few months.

They have made such a big deal about Drew’s road back to the belt that you have to believe he has this in the bag. Winner: Drew McIntyre.

Normally I like when the Money in the Bank holder is a heel, because it’s more fun to predict when they will take the cheap opportunity to cash it in whenever the champion is vulnerable. But I think this year, they’re going to change things up. I think that Big E wins the briefcase. Then, later on, Bobby Lashley beats Kofi, but then attacks Kofi after the match and continues to beat him up unmercifully. Big E runs in for the save, and in order to get revenge on Lashely, calls him out right then and there, forcing Lashley to defend the title. Lashley tries to leave, but the New Day prevent it, and Big E captures the title. Winner: Big E

Rhea Ripley: -400. Charlotte Flair: +250. Winner: Rhea Ripley.

With two participants still not named for the match picking a winner is very difficult.  Furthermore Asuka, Naomi and Bliss are the sole former RAW/SmackDown champions in the match with only Asuka having a recent title reign on Raw.  As a result look for one of the two unannounced participants to win the contest.  Who could they be?  My bet would be Sasha Banks or perhaps Becky Lynch.

This field represents WWE mediocrity, except for Asuka and Natalya of course. Becky Lynch will be the final spot and will win it all thus laying the ground work for a comeback at any time. Winner: Becky ‘Stone Cold’ Lynch.

Since Asuka won last year, but never really got to have a run with the briefcase because of Becky Lynch’s surrendering of the title, I could see them giving it to her, just for the promos she can cut. But the other part of me (the cynical part) thinks that Zelina Vega’s deal to come back (and shut up about the third party social media stuff) included a title run. So look for her to walk away with the win. Winner: Zelina Vega

Rhea Ripley: -140. Charlotte Flair: +100. Winner: Rhea Ripley.

The battle of the crutches on Raw recently was one of the most ridiculous segments seen on WWE programming in quite a while and considering how poor a job WWE Creative has been doing the last few years that’s saying something.  Ripley & Flair are both great performers and have good chemistry in the ring with each other.  However, what WWE Creative has been giving them has been a real detriment to the overall program.  Sadly as much as it would be nice to think Vince McMahon and WWE Creative have learned their lesson look for more silliness to enter into the finish of this match and to leave a very unsatisfactory end result with no clean finish.

I literally will be making snacks or taking a piss during this one. I couldn’t care less about this feud or these two superstars. Rhea’s run has been bungled so badly I don’t see her coming back from this when she finally loses the belt. She will be mid-card fodder forever and Charlotte Flair is one of the most irritating performers in wrestling today and not because of her heelish persona either. Winner. My stomach, bladder or both. (Ripley)

Charlotte Flair: old and busted. Rhea Ripley: new hotness. Everyone can see it except, presumably, WWE bookers. Get with the program, and give Rhea the convincing win, and salvage her credibility while you can after booking her so badly so far. Winner: Rhea Ripley

Roman Reigns: -650. Edge: +375. Winner: Roman Reigns.

Edge deserves all the credit with his promos in building interest in this match because make no mistake that wasn’t easy to do.  That’s how dominant Reigns win over Daniel Bryan and Edge at WrestleMania was.  So the fact this is a contest that is one to look forward is not something that was expected when Edge returned to SmackDown to challenge The Head of the Table.  As for who wins it is very difficult to predict as this is a program that could have legs for a few PPVs if it is booked correctly.  Thus look for Edge to win by disqualification and Reigns to retain his Universal Championship.

This match is another reason why the WWE is barely treading water these days. Everything is so predictable. Edge has next to no chance of winning the title so why even bother? Rollins is ticked at Edge, will interfere and face him at SummerSlam. Roman moves on to face John Cena. Winner: Roman Reigns.

As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  The way they’ve booked Roman Reigns is the absolute most not broke thing they have in WWE these days. Besides, with Big E winning the WWE Championship, that’s enough of a happy ending that you don’t need another one here. Roman’s keeps his seat at the Head of the Table. Winner: Roman Reigns

Bobby Lashley: -1000. Kofi Kingston: +525. Winner: Bobby Lashley.

The issue here is that there really has been no building up of Kofi Kingston as a credible challenger since he lost the WWE Title to Brock Lesnar in approximately 60 seconds.  In fact Kingston was immediately pushed back down the card to where he was prior to winning the WWE Title.  Consequently it is very difficult to feel as if Kingston is a real threat to end Lashley’s tenure as WWE Champion.  Thus, look for Kingston to show flashes here and there, but for Lashley to dominate most of the match and win convincingly.

As I said above, WWE is stuck in a massive rut with its angles and its match-ups. Lashley will likely be battling Lesnar or McIntyre soon so Kofi is just another body on the pile. Kofi, the mid-carder, had no business holding the WWE Championship to begin with any way. Winner: Bobby Lashley

Like I said earlier, this one should be a dominant win by Lashley to set up the show-ender of Big E cashing in and winning the title. Winner: Bobby Lashley