We are less than two months away from WWE’s next big stadium show Money in the Bank.
Taking place from Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada on 2 July, the annual show will give another two superstars the chance to win a contract that guarantee’s them a world title shot for whenever they may choose.
Last year Big E and Nikki A.S.H. climbed the ladder to grab the briefcase and ultimately cash in their cases to win the first world championships.
GiveMeSport looks at five possible contenders for this year’s men’s Money in the Bank match.
Theory
There’s only one way the trajectory of this WWE star’s career is going right now and that is way, way up. Since first crossing paths with Vince McMahon at Survivor Series, the chairman’s newest protégé has bagged major wins on Raw over Finn Balor and Rey Mysterio, lasted an Elimination Chamber beating by Brock Lesnar and rubbed shoulders with Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania – that’s quite a six months.
His latest milestone is becoming the youngest ever United States Champion, but there could be even more in store for the Upstart. Given the Money in the Bank briefcase is always better in the possession of a heel, Theory would be the ideal pesky stooge to win this year’s match and hang onto the case ‘Seth Rollins’ style as he continues to build his main event credentials. Then when the time is right, he’d be the perfect villain for another big title heist.
Kevin Owens
The one glaring omission from KO’s current WWE CV is a WWE Championship run. And say, at some point Roman’s two belts will be spilt back into once again, then Owens needs to find a way to get his hands on the converted prize. What better route, then, then to become Mr. Money in the Bank?
A heel Kevin Owens with the swagger of his current persona would be a great personality to hold the briefcase and he’d be cleverer and more calculated at how and when he’d cash in his prize – especially if it were to be whoever a babyface champion could be on Raw. KO and MITB just makes perfect sense to us.
Cody Rhodes
He’s playing a starring role in WWE’s promo for the event, which at least suggests that Rhodes will play a massive role in July’s show, but does it mean we’ll get to see a win for The American Nightmare? Part of his narrative since his comeback has been this desire to become WWE Champion, therefore it’s logical that he would be part of the match, but is a cash-in the way we want to see Rhodes finally fulfil his destiny?
The best way to go would be for Cody to win the ladder match and then name his time and place for a championship shot in a more noble and more in keeping with his current persona kind of way of getting there.
Drew McIntyre
Here’s one we may not have thought of before. Whereas the Money in the Bank winner is usually reserved for a talent WWE are looking to push onto that next level, there has been occasions where a short-term winner works for the story they are trying to tell. McIntyre has set his sights on Roman Reigns but needs to find a way to getting to The Tribal Chief and his precious gold.
By winning the Money in the Bank match, Drew could cash-in his title shot and request a main event title match for September’s Clash at The Castle show in Cardiff. Neatly knitting together McIntyre’s quest to get a WWE stadium show to the UK and being the man to headline the huge event.
Damian Priest
Damian currently has Money in the Bank royalty by his side, with the first-ever winner of the concept match, Edge. Now that The Judgement Day are seemingly being booked as a major force on Raw going forward, why not have them also target the world championships, too.
Edge could be the one seen to be grooming his new aid and the faction carrying the briefcase would give them a new sense of danger to WWE’s main event scene. Once cashed-in too, you can then sow the seeds for Edge’s jealousy to come to the boil, so he turns on Priest, ala Triple H and Randy Orton’s breakdown as part of Evolution and Orton’s first title win.