So not only is there one MITB briefcase up for grabs, there’s a second one that’ll be hanging in the air for the ladies of SD Live.
WWE Money in the Bank 2017 is going down in wrestling history for that aforementioned reason and the fact that it’s a SD Live exclusive PPV. Six of the best male competitors over on the Blue Brand will go into the big ladder match to realize their championship match dreams – Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Shinsuke Nakamura. On the other end of the brand spectrum, five top female Superstars will be fighting to grab their own briefcase – Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Tamina and Carmella. Those two matches by themselves are worth the price of admission for this show, but the rest of the show features some noteworthy bouts worth watching.
So let’s preview the entire event by predicting the results of its marquee matches.
The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder) vs. The Colóns (Primo Colón and Epico Colón)
Predictions & Winners: Zach Ryder’s back? I thought he was going to be on the shelf much longer due to his injury. Welp, he’s back to being a Hype Bro alongside Mojo Rawley and proceeding to grab an easy victory over Primo and Epico. It’ll be interesting to see if Mojo tries to capitalize on his WM33 battle royal victory and simultaneously maintain being a tag team Superstar with Ryder. A Mojo heel turn on Ryder would be interesting to see, but that seems unlikely to occur.
Naomi (c) vs. Lana (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)
Predictions & Winner: It’s pretty crazy to see Lana moved farther away from Rusev and pushed into a more prominent position on the SD Live roster. Her gimmick seems to be a mix of Eva Marie’s and the Emmalina character change that never got its foot off the ground. Upon returning, Lana got right into the mix by getting herself a title match against the current SmackDown Women’s Champion, Naomi. Watching Lana come right back onto the roster and get a shot against the current queen of the brand is telling me that she’s going to fail. It just wouldn’t make much sense for a returning Lana (who hasn’t really done much of anything before getting her title shot) winning the championship on her first try. So yeah, Naomi’s getting the clean sweep victory here.
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya vs. Tamina vs. Carmella (with James Ellsworth) (Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship Match Contract)
Predictions & Winner: This is pretty damned historic. The Women’s Revolution has given us a big time Ironman Match in NXT, big time WrestleMania multi-women encounters, an all-women Hell in a Cell brawl and now a ladies Money in the Bank match. Right off the bat, I have to exclude Tamina from my predicted winner’s bracket. She’s never amounted to anything more than a bodyguard who gets crickets every time her music hits. Now Carmella has been gaining some steam lately, so she could possibly be a top pick. But I just can’t see her getting the win (her and James are going to take some nasty bumps during this match, I bet). As for Becky Lynch, she’s been eating so many pins lately so it’s hard for me to believe she’ll win the match while she’s in such a cold state. She’s not going to get the “Jack Swagger MITB win of out nowhere” treatment here.
My two top winning prospects comes down to Charlotte and Natalya. Truth be told, Charlotte really doesn’t need to win the briefcase here. She’s a strong character who’s over without any added gimmicks like the MITB briefcase. Plus she’s already proven herself, so it makes sense for her to keep getting title shots on her own accord. So it all comes down to Natalya, who I’m selecting as the winner. Her conniving character attributes and the fact that she’s a longtime roster member who never really got a chance to truly prosper as champion means it’s finally time for her to shine. She won’t hold it for too long, though. I’m expecting her to cash in within a month or so (cashing in during SummerSlam would be a safe bet).
The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods)
(WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship)
Predictions & Winners: Jimmy and Jey’s transformation into super thugs with amazing promo skills has been one of the best surprises this year. They’ve put on some fun bouts against American Alpha and The Fashion Police (now that feud had me legit laughing out loud). Their newest foes happen to be the returning New Day trio. The Usos have held onto their titles for a good while now and I don’t see them losing them quite yet. Expect a hard-fought match between both teams that will end in a dirty manner on behalf of The Usos. That way, The New Day have a built in reason for an even bigger rematch down the line. This is a beef that can see culminating in a title win by The New Day at SummerSlam.