Friday 8 May 2020

WWE Money In The Bank Preview.

World Wrestling Entertainment will hold it's eleventh Money In The Bank event this Sunday.

The pay-per-view will be historic as it marks the first time matches have been filmed at WWE headquarters, Titan Towers in Stamford Connecticut, and both the men's and women's MITB contest will begin simultaneously.

These matches will begin in the lobby of WWE HQ, the combatants will fight their way on to the roof, climb the corporate ladder and attempt to retrieve the briefcases.
                         

The matches, for the MITB contracts, were filmed a few weeks ago and the rest of the event will broadcast live from the Performance Center in Florida.

Due to unique nature of the MITB matches, this has the potential to be an unforgettable night, six matches have been announced so far.

The Kick-Off show begins at 23:00, British Summer Time, and the main card starts an hour later. It will be broadcast on award winning WWE Network.
                           
Bayley (c) Vs. Tamina (Smackdown Women's Championship Match).

WWE have done a brilliant job in rebuilding Tamina and have made her look like a serious threat to Bayley's 208 day reign as Smackdowm Women's Champion.

Since March - Tamina has left the champion laying in the middle of the ring and on the Smackdown ramp, has pinned Sasha Banks one-on-one match, beaten Naomi in a triple threat match and it took four women's finish maneuvers to eliminate her from the WrestleMania 36 five way title match.

For the majority of her ten year run in the company, Tamina has been used in a bodyguard role but has shone recently - this could be the night she finally steps out of the shadows and wins her first Women's Championship.
                           

However Bayley has proven time and time again that she will do whatever it takes to keep hold the title she has held since last October and will pull out all the stops to retain it. At WrestleMania 36, it seemed Lacey Evans had her beat but Sasha Banks came to her rescue and The Boss will pay at part in this match.

Bayley is unbeaten, in pay-per-view singles matches, since Hell In A Cell last year and has defeated all the women on the blue brand since - with the exception of Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss.

With Bliss being one half of the Women's Tag Team Champions, Bayley's next challenger should be Banks, after Smackdown's resident role model retains her title this Sunday.

Nobody is meaner than Tamina but Bayley is craftier, she always finds a way to win and will do so after a close encounter - with the challenger looking strong in defeat.

Winner: Bayley. 

Drew McIntyre (c) Vs. Seth Rollins (WWE Championship Match).

This feud be began on the April 13th edition of Raw when Seth Rollins attacked Drew McIntyre after the WWE Champion defeated Andrade in the main event of the show.

The follow week, McIntyre addressed Rollins' actions and challenged him to a match at Money In The Bank. The Scottish Psychopath admitted he had a target on his back, as the WWE Champion, and vowed to make Rollins pay for his actions.

Rollins accepted McIntyre's challenge and a contract signing was made a week later to confirm the  bout. During the signing, The Monday Night Messiah claimed he "had to" win the title and that the WWE "needed a leader" that they could be proud of. McIntyre responded by saying "he would not let" Rollins win the title and the former two time WWE Champion was "full of shit". As with the majority of contract signings, violence erupted as McIntyre hit Rollins with a Glasgow Kiss and went for a Claymore Kick but was attacked by Rollins disciple Murphy.
                             
Murphy was the sacrificial lamb, on the go-home edition of Raw, as McIntyre defeated him in the main event.

                         
As soon the match was over, Rollins hit the WWE Champion with a super kick. Rollins picked up the title for a few seconds, put it down, and went for a Stomp on McIntyre - who countered with a Glasgow Kiss and went for a Claymore Kick but Rollins managed to escape before the damage could be done.

Rollins is coming off a loss to Kevin Owens at WrestleMania and needs to rebound here but McIntyre is at the beginning of his title reign and is on a hell of a run - he's won 17 matches in a row including the 2020 Royal Rumble.

Ratings are not the best at the moment, last weeks show only had 1.68million viewers, and that could prompt Vince McMahon to make a change however the boss has always had faith in his "chosen one" and should keep the title on him.

These two are the at top of their game at the moment, this should be a great match, with McIntyre winning and continuing his run with the most prestigious prize in the company.

Winner: Drew McIntyre.

The New Day (c) Vs. The Forgotten Sons Vs. The Miz & John Morrison Vs The Lucha House Party (Smackdown Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way Match).

Over the past month, these four teams have traded wins over each other - The Lucha House Party beat The Miz & John Morrison (Smackdown 24th April), The Forgotten Sons defeated The New Day in a non title match (Smackdown May 1st) and The New Day won the titles from The Miz and John Morrison in a singles triple threat match (Smackdown April 17th).

The only team that has been booked consistently during the last four weeks is The Forgotten Sons, who are undefeated since making their Smackdown debut on April 10th and could be considered favorites for this match.

Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler have replaced The Revival as that old fashioned ground and pound tag team, they have hammered any team that have stepped in the ring with them, they could walk out of this match with the gold.


The Lucha House Party were 205 Live regulars until they re-emerged on the April 10th edition of Smackdown and have only won once match since returning, they will probably take the pin fall or be submitted in this contest.

The Miz and John Morrison lost the tag team titles three weeks ago so I doubt they will regain them so soon, they are a great team but it might be time for them to part ways and have a singles run.

Kofi Kingston and Big E should have a long run with the titles as it makes little sense if they lose them so soon after becoming eight time champions. Since November 2019, the titles have been swapped between The New Day and The Miz & John Morrison, the division needs long-term champions so the titles can regain some credibility it has lost lately.

Winners: The New Day.

Braun Strowman (c) Vs. 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt (Universal Championship Match).

The Monster Among Men's first title defense is against somebody who he is familiar with, the man who brought him into the WWE, 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt.

In 2015, Braun Strowman was introduced to the WWE Universe as "the black sheep" of The Wyatt Family and went on to fight plenty for battles for his leader.

Half a decade later, things have changed and Strowman is standing on his own two feet as the Universal Champion but Wyatt feels like was "abandoned" by his former team-mate and wants to take back the title he lost at WWE Crown Jewel.

Wyatt has been keen to remind Strowman of their past together. He gifted the Universal Champion the sheep mask he used to wear when they were in The Wyatt Family and in a Firefly Funhouse segment, told the story of 'shepherd' "looking after" a 'black sheep' - detailing how Wyatt helped Strowman in the beginning of his career.


Try as he might, Strowman has refused to play Wyatt's mind games and claims to know his former leader "better than anyone else" - he also stated The Wyatt family was "apart of his past that he's trying to forget" and that he "no longer needs Bray".

Storylines like this often make good matches as the history between these two is self explanatory, we know why they are wrestling each other. This should be a physical encounter, both men hit hard, and Strowman will have to hit his opponent with everything as Wyatt has proven it takes a lot to keep him down.

Strowman's reign is in it's infancy but Wyatt should never have lost the title, to Bill Goldberg, in the first place and will right that wrong at Money In The Bank.

Wyatt claimed "he brought Strowman into this world and will take him out of it", he needs to back up those words or his character is in danger of being permanently damaged.

Winner: 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt.

Daniel Bryan Vs. Otis Vs. King Corbin Vs. AJ Styles Vs. Rey Mysterio Vs Aleister Black (Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match).

The MITB Ladder Match is one of the most lucrative matches in the WWE, as the winner get's a 12 month contract to face any champion, at any time they want.

Only Baron Corbin (now King Corbin), Damien Sandow, John Cena and Braun Strowman have failed to beat the champions they cashed in on - the last two announced ahead of time when they would be handing in their briefcase.

Heels have won the briefcase 11 times, at this event, and this year will follow that pattern.

King Corbin does not have the best win/loss record this year but the Money In The Bank winner usually has a poor run before capturing the briefcase, so the win comes as a surprise. Corbin will look strong and could possible be involved in a high spot but will not win his second MITB Ladder Match.

Otis has been on a roll lately and will be WWE or Universal Champion some day but his issues with Dolph Ziggler, who he beat to get into this match, are far from over. Otis may come close to winning but The Show Off will stop him from doing so. A "stunt", that will see a wrestler fall of the roof of Titan Towers, is reportedly being planned for Sunday - I would not be surprised if Otis is that person.


Rey Mysterio is in the twilight of his career and has never won this match before. He is injury prone and rumors have indicated that contact is expiring soon, it's unlikely WWE will have him win this match if his future is uncertain.

Aleister Black is a dark horse in this match - he has been on a roll since debuting on the main roster and has only lost once during that period. Black would be a very dangerous contract holder, striking a champion out of nowhere with a Black Mass and winning the title of his choice but tonight won't be his night. Like Otis, he will win either Universal or WWE Title one day however it won't be on Sunday.

Daniel Bryan won this match in 2011 but won't repeat the trick nine years later. The leader of the 'Yes Movement' had title matches, against 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt, at Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble and came up short on both occasions - the WWE are going in a different direction now and Bryan has unsettled issues with King Corbin, Cesaro and Nakamura that will occupy his time for the moment.

That leaves the man that will win this match, AJ Styles. As I mentioned earlier, heels do better in this environment and after his resounding loss to The Undertaker, at WrestleMania, Styles needs to rebound strongly - a victory here will be the perfect way to do that. He will hold the briefcase for a while, Drew McIntyre will have a long title reign, but when the time is right - the Phenomenal One will successfully cash in and become a three time WWE Champion.

Winner: AJ Styles.

Nia Jax Vs. Asuka Vs. Shayna Baszler Vs. Dana Brooke Vs. Lacey Evans Vs. Carmella (Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match).

Carmella is the only woman in this match that has won the briefcase before, successful cashing in on Charlotte Flair in 2018. She has the experience of winning two Money In The Bank matches and that gives her an advantage over all the other women in this match but I don't think she will get the job done here. WWE need to add more depth to the women's tag team division and I can see Carmella and Dana Brooke going after those titles soon.

Speaking of Brooke, she has been on the main roster since 2016 and has never been booked as a threat to any title, despite being a great athlete. She deserves a breakout moment and could be involved in a crazy bump in this match but she won't win, a run in the tag team division could be the next step in her career.

Lacey Evans has had a few title matches recently, at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, but was not able to topple Bayley. She's been a solid face since turning and will become Women's Champion this year but not under these circumstances.


Asuka has been must see television lately, it doesn't matter if she's on commentary or in the ring, everything she is doing is very entertaining. She is a former Smackdown Women's Champion but should have more than the one title reign under her. The Empress of Tomorrow is a candidate to capture the contract - her issues with Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch are well documented and she would love to cash in on her old adversary or move back to Smackdown and take on whoever their champion is at the time.

Other than her impressive display at WWE Elimination Chamber and the destruction of Sarah Logan, Shayna Baszler has had a lukewarm start to life on the red brand. She came up short, in her title match against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania, and on-line reports indicated that Vince McMahon had "given up" on the Queen of Spades. Only time will tell if that is true, a win here will be a indication that McMahon hasn't lost faith in the former two time NXT Women's Champion.

Nia Jax has dominated every woman she has stepped in the ring with, since returning to Raw on March 24th, and will win this match. The Irresistible Force and the current Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch have history together and Jax is one of the few women in the WWE that Lynch has not faced - the feud writes itself.

Winner: Nia Jax.