Money in the Bank 2018 Match Card and Predictions

Money in the Bank is one of those pay-per-views that has the potential to be incredible. We’ve seen some absolute classics come out of this event: Punk/Cena, Rollins/Ambrose and lest we forget that belter between Lana and Naomi last year. It seems as if WWE has gone out of their way to make this year’s ladder-iffic event as stacked as possible, so let’s take a gander through the card and figure out who has the best chances of winning and how the landscape is going to end up on Sunday.

 

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match

The Bludgeon Brothers (C) Vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

I’m not really surprised that this one got bumped to the pre-show. The build for this inevitable hoss-off has been fairly standard for a tag team rivalry, but it has been a struggle to get behind Gallows & Anderson after having such a flaccid year since losing the Raw Tag Titles at WrestleMania 33. Nevertheless, this should make for a pretty exciting match.

Prediction: The Bludgeon Bros have been outright dominant and it’s highly doubtful that they’ll be dropping the championships anytime soon. It wouldn’t surprise me if we see The Good Brothers put up a fight worthy of granting them a rematch at the next pay-per-view, but it’s more likely that this is a placeholder feud before Sanity make their anticipated debut to pose a threat to Harper & Rowan.

 

SmackDown Women’s Championship

Carmella (C) Vs. Asuka

It was only a matter of time before Asuka found herself in the championship picture again. Whether you like her or not, Carmella has been a fantastic chickenshit-heel champ and it seems almost natural for the unrelenting empress to be the one to nab the title from her. I highly doubt this will be a mat-classic to remember, Carmella’s strengths lie in her ability to rile up a crowd, but hopefully Asuka might bring something special out of her in the process.

Prediction: I don’t see Carmella dropping the title anytime soon, so expect there to be some sort of dirty finish in this match. Perhaps Carmella will intentionally get herself DQ’d before Asuka has a chance to kick the fabulous out of her? Rumours have been floating around suggesting that James Ellsworth is being considered for a WWE comeback. Perhaps Ellsworth will rekindle his partnership with ‘Mella – proving to be her good luck charm for Money in the Bank events.

 

Roman Reigns Vs. Jinder Mahal

The Raw mid-card is the strongest it’s been in a long while. Reigns and Mahal may not be the most beloved or interesting superstars on the roster, but it’s hard to deny that they hold a significant amount of star power. Naturally, the fans have rejected the feud as much as they could, but it’s hard to deny that the build for this match has been pretty fun. Their tussle has quickly turned into a blood-feud and even if the pay-off isn’t as technically-sound as some fans have come to demand from every match, it’ll be hard-hitting and a solid cool-down between some of the more intense matches.

Prediction: I figure Roman will take this one, after all he needs a victory following his series of losses against Brock Lesnar. Jinder can take a defeat for now, he doesn’t seem to be doing much which requires momentum. Saying that, I don’t see this rivalry finishing anytime soon.

 

Intercontinental Championship

Seth Rollins (C) Vs. Elias

Accompanying Roman and Jinder is an IC title match with huge potential. Both Rollins and Elias have been on an incredible run so far this year, both with a lot to prove for themselves going into this match. The Intercontinental Championship has been in the spotlight on Raw with the recent set of open challenges and has stolen the show on several occasions. I don’t see that being different for the pay-per-view. This is the match to watch this Sunday.

Prediction: Elias has been riding on a surge of momentum for months now, if they’re ever going to capitalise on that, then now is the time. Elias is the perfect candidate to dethrone Seth, allowing Rollins to go on to take the next step up in the hierarchy to challenge Brock for the Universal Title at SummerSlam.

 

Bobby Lashley Vs. Sami Zayn

And then there’s this clusterfuck of a feud. What is there to say at this point? This rivalry quickly turned sour after some of the worst Raw skits of the year – perhaps of all-time. Arguably both men deserve a lot better than they’ve been given, so let’s just hope that they manage to redeem themselves in a well constructed match. Zayn and Lashley both have the potential to string together something that makes more sense than obstacle courses and drag sisters, let’s try not lose hope in them just yet.

Prediction: Ever since his post-Mania return, you could almost see through the Gorilla position and witness Vince’s eyes glisten with joy, so will we be seeing Lashley’s first victory on his road to becoming Universal Champion? Probably.

 

Daniel Bryan Vs. Big Cass

WWE have had their fair share of sleepers as of late, and suffice to say that Daniel Bryan has landed himself in that pool. Big Cass is not the guy you want to be putting over one of your biggest stars, even if his heel character is something to behold. The fans are going to outright reject anything you give them involving him. Daniel Bryan needs to be kept away from these disasters if you have any aspiration for him to become your future flag-bearer. Unless of course he’s going over in spectacular fashion.

Prediction: Big Yessing Boi needs another win here for his run towards the World Championship. Big Cass has a place in WWE, but I don’t see it being as a top star at this point that deserves wins over someone like Bryan.

 

Raw Women’s Championship

Nia Jax (C) Vs. Ronda Rousey

A match which I personally believe should have been put on the back-burner for a few more months, Ronda Rousey steps up and challenges for the Women’s Championship. I mean it was written in the sand that eventually Rousey would become the champ, but one would think that they’d keep that on hold until one of the bigger pay-per-views. Nonetheless, here they are attempting to make Money in the Bank one of the ‘big four’ (perhaps replacing Survivor Series).

Nia Jax has only just started to scratch the surface with her title run, and considering how they have portrayed her as the latest ‘be a star’ campaign figurehead, it would be silly to take the title from her so quickly. However, Rousey’s stampede towards the top of the card would be somewhat damaged if she were to be taking losses so soon after her big debut.

Prediction: After seeing Rousey lock Jax in the armbar this past week on Raw, I think we’ll be seeing a cheeky title win from her on Sunday. It’s a shame that they couldn’t have waited just a couple more months for this match to take place at SummerSlam, Ronda could have easily put together a match or two with Natalya or Ruby Riott in the lead to that encounter, building her up naturally instead of instantly being granted a title opportunity (despite claiming she didn’t want to be put on that pedestal). Maybe we’ll be seeing a cash-in hours after they win the briefcase, who knows?

 

Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Ember Moon Vs. Charlotte Flair Vs. Alexa Bliss Vs. Becky Lynch Vs. Natalya Vs. Lana Vs. Naomi Vs. Sasha Banks

Speaking of briefcases, who’s going to win the ladies ladder match? This is a fairly stacked match – Ember Moon, Charlotte, Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Natalya, Lana and Naomi. There’s a handful of viable winners amongst that group so it’s hard to pin down just one. No matter who walks out with the big white case of golden opportunities, this is a chance for the women to showcase their division on a grand scale. I have high hopes for this match, bar maybe Lana.

Prediction: I’m going with Ember Moon on this one. She’s proven herself to be a huge hit for the women’s division on NXT, so it’s time to make that step up on Raw and get herself noticed as a threat to the champion. Ember Moon has everything she needs to be a superstar of this era, this could be her defining moment. Also, seeing the eclipse off a ladder is going to become one of those highlight reel moments.

 

Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Braun Strowman Vs. Finn Bálor Vs. The Miz Vs. Rusev Vs. Bobby Roode Vs. Kevin Owens Vs. Samoa Joe Vs. TBA (Big E, Kofi Kingston or Xavier Woods)

Similarly, the gents have a ridiculously stacked ladder match involving some of the brightest stars of this generation. The Miz, Finn Bálor, Kevin Owens, Braun Strowman, Rusev, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode and (probably) Kofi Kingston are about to put on a cracker of a Money in the Bank ladder match. Everyone in this match is on the precipice of becoming a money-maker for the WWE, so it’s a matter of who is going to be given the chance to step up this year. Of course, it doesn’t mean that any of the others won’t be getting another opportunity later on in the year, but for certain names on that list, it’s about damn time they get a break.

Predictions: I spent a good while thinking about this one, the name I’m throwing out there to win this is Bobby Roode. “The Glorious One” hasn’t really made much of an impact since making his debut on the main roster, but he still has that presence of a main-eventer. This is his chance to step out of the shadow and become the Bobby Roode we all know and love. Depending on whether he makes the leap into heeldom, he could make for an incredible cash-in artist. This doesn’t mean that he deserves the chance more to be a headliner than the likes of Miz, Strowman and Joe – but this opportunity brings the best out of those that haven’t had the chance to break out of the mid-card. If it weren’t for the Money in the Bank match, then names like Edge, CM Punk and Seth Rollins may forever have been kept away from being the legendary champions they became. This is the year for the briefcase to become absolutely glorious.

 

Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship

AJ Styles (C) Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

I might be the only person who’s not sick of this feud. Too much of a good thing can spoil it, but if this is to be the last match, then I’d say it hasn’t outstayed its welcome. One of the biggest criticisms of this feud is that they have been holding back for the sake of a screwy finish. A last man standing match is the ultimate bookend to a feud, so if we’re ever going to see Nakamura and Styles go the distance with one another then it’s going to be this Sunday. Both these men have really come into their own with this feud and I’m more than ready to see heel Shinsuke take the gold and make himself the star he was proclaimed to be. I hope that this match is given the deserved show-closing spot, if this is to be the final encounter, then make it feel like a big-money match.

Prediction: Now is the time, Shinsuke Nakamura is the man that should take the title from AJ Styles. There is no way that AJ is going to leave this feud looking bad, especially in a match where he can leave it all in the ring and give the fans the show they’ve been clamouring for since Nakamura won the Rumble. I really hope this is the MOTY candidate that the WWE desperately needs to have to put them back on par with New Japan and other promotions that are consistently exceeding expectations.

Money in the Bank takes place this Sunday night on the WWE Network, it has the potential to be one of the best weekends of WWE programming, alongside NXT: TakeOver Chicago – be there, or don’t be, give us your predictions either way in the comments below.