Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a WWE Championship Match Contract)
Predictions & Winner: Every year, I always go “I wonder if this year’s MITB match will be full of legit all-stars again?” I thought the odds of that happening would be a lot slimmer since this year’s installment solely belongs to the Blue Brand. But I’ve been proven wrong. There’s not one C-Class or lower ranked Superstar in this matchup. Everyone here has a viable shot at gaining ownership over the men’s MITB briefcase. So let’s break this all down, shall we? Ziggler can proclaim that he’s been a winner of the briefcase who’s gone on to successfully cash it in all he wants. His best days are behind him, so he’s definitely not going to become a 2-time winner. Owens is currently thriving as the US Champion, which is a role I think he’ll continue excelling at without the MITB briefcase. AJ doesn’t really need the briefcase since he’s always in a great position to get his title shots through fairer methods.
This leaves three other contenders who would benefit greatly from having the briefcase – Zayn, Nakamura and Corbin. Now Nakamura is the type of star who can thrive without having to lug that briefcase around. Now Zayn and Corbin are two Superstars who’s stock would go that much higher if they ended up being 2017’s Mr. Money in the Bank. Zayn plays the underdog role so well and I think him winning the title via an impromptu cash-in would be a cool Daniel Bryan-esque moment. Honestly though, Corbin needs this win more than anything. Corbin’s my pick since he’s such a dark horse member of this match and I’m expecting the unexpected to occur. Corbin has grown into one of the better members of the roster, so it’ll be time for him to show and prove even more with this big win under his belt. SD Live has Jinder Mahal as champion now. It wouldn’t be that shocking to see Corbin running around with the MITB briefcase, too.
Jinder Mahal (c) (with Sunil Singh and Samir Singh) vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship)
Predictions & Winner: Now that the initial shock of “Don’t Hinder the Jinder” Mahal winning the WWE Championship has worn off, I’ve lost some interest in his reign. His initial championship win celebration was amazing to see, but everything that’s happened with him afterwards has been par for the course. He still hasn’t put on any matches worth praising and his promos have stayed in the realm of “purely generic.” Orton hasn’t been any better, which is why I have little to no interest in this WWE Championship rematch. It seems like Mahal as WWE Champion is something that the powers that be want to keep intact for a while longer. Mahal’s going to retain his title with the aid of his boys once again and probably go into some sort of short feud with a returning Rusev. And once Cena returns in July, Mahal will most certainly get into a big beef with him. And it’ll certainly be the typical Evil Foreign Champion vs. US Hero plotline we’ve all seen play out before.
