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)
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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.
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.
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