While I don't agree with it, Money in the Bank 2017 is a Smackdown exclusive event. While I understand it, mainly because Raw's Universal Champion has only made two appearances on Raw since winning the title, I wish it was a multi brand event to give more people the opportunity to become a World Champion but I like what Smackdown is doing. Two different Money in the Bank ladder matches, the WWE Title rematch from Backlash and a great tag title match make should make for another good Smackdown PPV. Let's talk matches!
Smackdown is giving the women the spotlight come Money in the Bank as for the first time ever, the women will compete in a Money in the Bank Ladder match. Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Carmella and Tamina Snuka will all compete for a briefcase they will grant them a title opportunity anytime they want within the next year. Now, first things first, regardless of the overall match quality, Charlotte is DEFINITELY hitting a Moonsault off the top of the ladder. It's a spot that needs to happen and one that needs to be replayed for years to come. I wish there was one more woman in the match though. 5 is such a weird number. Why can't Nikki come back?!? My weird reasoning aside, I'm really looking forward to this match. It should be the opening contest and one that fires up the crowd. Charlotte and Becky Lynch winning would be too obvious. There's the top stars of the division who have already climbed to the mountaintop before, they don't need the accolade. Natalya hasn't been champion for almost 7 years. This could be her comeback story. Tamina Snuka is the wildcard, a woman who really never got a fair chance in the division. A shock win here would make sense. I'm going with Carmella. She's a NXT girl and if Smackdown has showed me anything, it's that they give chances to their women. Alexa Bliss was given the ball and hasn't looked back since. They also gave Naomi her first shot at gold. It's a equal opportunity show. It just makes sense to have Carmella and James Ellsworth carrying around the briefcase and being annoying. After a 20 minute match, Carmella or Ellsworth will grab the briefcase and become Ms. Money in the Bank. There's no better choice.
The New Day will get their first shot at Smackdown Tag Team gold as they face The Usos for the titles. This will be a show stealer. They already have chemistry from their days on Raw. The Usos have only been holding onto the titles for this long for this match up. After WWE failed to put the amazing team of American Alpha over, WWE had to go to Plan B; put New Day on SD as the top team. The top team need the titles. Maybe New Day can help American Alpha come back into being relevant. I just don't see New Day losing their first opportunity. Alexa Bliss didn't squander her first shot at a title on Raw and I don't think New Day will either. New Day will defeat The Usos to become Smackdown Tag Team Champions.
Naomi will defend her Smackdown Women's Championship against Lana. With all the other women busy, Nikki Bella still out on vacation and not a lot of other talent available for other matches, Lana gets the nod to face Naomi for the title. I can't really comment on what I expect from the quality of this match as Lana hasn't had much TV in ring time. She was training down in NXT but that wasn't on TV. This is simply a way to defend the title on PPV after it wasn't on the last SD PPV. I don't think Lana wins in her first shot so I'm picking Naomi to win here. Since it's pretty obvious the Women's MITB will be going on first, Naomi should be watching her back after her victory, especially if Charlotte or a heel wins the briefcase.
Jinder Mahal will defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton. I never thought in my life that I would type that sentence but that's the situation we're in. Yes, Money in the Bank takes place in St. Louis, Randy Orton's hometown but if we've learned anything in the past year, it's that WWE doesn't allow you to win in your hometown, unless you're Rich Swann apparently. Anyway, Orton isn't winning her. Why? Well, WWE has already announced that now free agent (he wasn't around during the Superstar Shakeup so he's fair game) John Cena will be returning on the July 4th edition. You know, America's birthday. That's an odd date to come back on, especially since it's a holiday and no one will really be tuning into Smackdown that night anyway. And oh look, there's a foreign WWE Champion! Yes, I'm saying Jinder Mahal is only going to retain the title here so he can lose to Cena on July 4th, giving Cena world title #17. It's patriotic people! I could be wrong but I will say Cena will be the one to dethrone Mahal, whether it be on July 4th, Battleground or SummerSlam. I just hope they don't waste a good SummerSlam match with Cena/Mahal. Anyway, Jinder Mahal retains and it will be a dirty finish.
In the 19th Money in the Bank ladder match, 6 Smackdown stars will battle for the opportunity for a title shot anytime they want. AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler will battle for that right. This is one of the best fields for a MITB ladder match. All guys who deserve the chance to become WWE Champion. Of the 6, only one has actually held onto that title and that's Styles. Owens and Ziggler have won different World Titles while Zayn, Corbin and Nakamura haven't held World Titles yet. Actually Corbin is the only star in the match who hasn't won any title in WWE yet, With this much talent in one match, this should be a fantastic contest. And also, this will be the first WWE match where Styles and Nakamura will be opponents, something that be probably be happening in the near future. I expect Styles to try and steal the show. Maybe a 450 onto someone on a Ladder or even off a Ladder. Something crazy. Look at his TLC match with Ambrose for proof.
As far as who's winning it, it's anyone's gain. WWE momentum booking would suggest Nakamura won't win. He grabbed the briefcase on the go home episode of Smackdown but last year, the obvious choice in Dean Ambrose won so that's not too helpful. Styles doesn't need the briefcase to get back into the main event picture. He will gravitate back to it on his own. Ziggler isn't winning. I would legit be shocked if Ziggler won it for a second time. That means it comes down to Corbin, Zayn and Owens. I dream of the day Owens wins the WWE Title. He's definitely a favorite to win. Zayn would be an even bigger shock than Ziggler. The way they've been using Zayn is criminal so a MITB victory, not likely. Baron Corbin is the most likely guy to win the briefcase. Again, here's a guy who hasn't won any titles yet in WWE, that's including his run in NXT. He's got the look Vince loves and it's rumored he's in line for a monster push. Smackdown is lacking in the monster heel department with no Wyatt on the show. They need a big guy like Corbin to strike fear into whoever is holding onto the title. And can't you just hear the commentary team talking about how The Lone Wolf is stalking his prey? How's this for a storyline; Cena defeats Mahal on the July 4th Smackdown and then again at Battleground, only for Corbin to cash in to win the title.
I'm going with Baron Corbin to win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, becoming the 10th man to win in his MITB debut.
Although there are only 5 matches on the main card, I'm really looking forward to the show. MITB has become one of the biggest PPVs for WWE and after last year's fantastic show (Styles/Cena, MITB featuring Ambrose/Owens/Zayn/Cesaro and Reigns/Rollins) I have high hopes. The WWE Title match will probably just be average but the tag title match and both ladder matches should be fun!
Join me again in three weeks for Great Balls of Fire predictions! Maybe...
