Armchair Booking: The Money In The Bank 2018 Ladder Match Winners

The post-WrestleMania lull is in full effect, so we need ourselves a big ol’ ladder match to make us feel better. Money in the Bank has become one of the more exciting events of the entire year, now that the brand-exclusivity has been dropped in favour of inter-promotional ladder based funsies, there’s room for a lot of unpredictability. Who exactly should WWE go with to keep the landscape fresh? Lets take a look through some potential outcomes for the looming pay-per-view.

 

The Men’s Ladder Match

At the time of writing, there have only been four gents confirmed for this year’s ladder match – Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Rusev and The Miz. It’s good to see some fresh blood in the mix for this year’s briefcase, none of which could be denied an opportunity to get themselves into the main event title picture. It of course leaves four spaces to still be taken: two from Raw and two from SmackDown Live. I personally think we’ve yet to see our male winner be announced, in fact I believe we won’t see him until the night itself.

A certain former NXT Champion has been confirmed to be joining the Smackdown Live roster in the coming weeks, yet has only appeared via satellite so far alongside his compeer Zelina Vega. Of course, I’m talking about Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas. Almas was a difficult name to get over in NXT, which considering the audience, is a tough task to fail if you have some notable experience in another well-known promotion. This is an entirely new audience that would need to familiarise themselves with Cien, so in order for him to be considered as big of a deal as he should be coming off his run in NXT, he would need a huge rub on his debut.

What better way to make Almas seem like a main event player than to give him the Money in the Bank briefcase on his first night? The contract always seems to suit the chickenshit heels better than it does anyone else, and with Vega’s help, Almas can get that gimmick down.

For argument’s sake, I could see someone like Bobby Lashley taking the briefcase. They seem to think he’s going to be a big babyface for Monday Night Raw, giving him vignettes about his rough upbringing and whatnot. But as it stands, he just seems to be meandering around in the mid-card, not doing anything to impress nay-sayers. Perhaps if he were to win Money in the Bank, then it could elevate him to the level he was competing at elsewhere, bringing out another side of Lashley that WWE fans have yet to see. My concern with Bobby Lashley is that he could go down the Roman Reigns route, with fans quick to turn on him after they suss out that he’s the next golden boy (again).

Looking over the roster though, there’s some names that could definitely use with the briefcase to put them back on the pedestal they once were on. Finn Balor is certainly one of those names, so if he were to win, then it would be a sure-fire way to get him away from the mid-card scene. Similarly, Kevin Owens could use the same nod. Both former Universal Champions have lingered in semi-meaningful feuds, attempting to generate some momentum that would put them back into the main event title pictures. Owens has come the closest out of the two, but being stuck in a volatile partnership with Sami Zayn has brought his singles career to a halt. Owens has proven that he can carry a main event championship, it was just unfortunate that his Universal Title run was a bit of a dud. There’s definitely room for improvement with both his and Balor’s current characters and I believe that by giving either of them the MITB briefcase would help solve any of those issues.

So out of all these potentials, I’ll be going with Andrade Almas for the men’s winner this year. The briefcase could benefit any given entrant into the match, but out of everyone, I think Cien needs it the most.

 

Women’s Ladder Match

With only two names confirmed so far, this one’s a little harder to consider. Ember Moon and Charlotte could carry this ladder match alone and probably have a MOTN. Originally, I would have put the briefcase on Alexa Bliss, but now that she’s out of the picture with an injury, I could see a babyface taking this one and running with it for a while. Having only recently come off the cash-in of Carmella, the first female MITB winner, it would be ideal to have the polar opposite win this year’s ladder match. So out of every female superstar I think the sure-bet to win is Ember Moon, a recent call-up who has already proven to be a popular choice of the mainstream audience.

Moon is certainly a talent that everyone can get behind as a future champion, she can put on a fantastic match as well as have enough character for you to root for.

Of course there’s a plethora of names from the women’s roster that need a bump back up to their former standard. Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley immediately come to mind, who are clawing for relevance while the title pictures unfold. All are suitable suggestions for the MITB, and I would definitely put money on all three being a part of the ladder match this year alongside Naomi and maybe an entry from either Absolution (sans Paige) or The Riott Squad.

Speaking of, the briefcase could indeed suit one of those aforementioned teams. Now that both factions have switched brands, mostly due to a lack of direction after respectively feuding with champions and being set-back by injuries. Both stables have stand-out talent who could afford to be given somewhat of a push.

Ruby Riott has proven herself to be a reliable in-ring worker, putting on a fantastic duo of matches with Charlotte and Becky Lynch in recent months. The MITB briefcase wouldn’t go amiss being put on her, nor would it be out-of-place with Sonya Deville. I’m a huge fan of Deville’s work so far, even if she is still a little green. What with MMA becoming the preferred style of wrestling in the modern era, Deville could be a trail-blazer for a new era of women’s wrestling in WWE, becoming the unlikely winner of the MITB as well as an unlikely champion this soon in her career. Besides, it seems as if they’re wanting her and Mandy Rose to drift apart and become separate entities on the Smackdown roster, which is probably for the best, Deville was putting in some of her best work during the latter half of her singles run in NXT, having a partner might hinder her in becoming more of a well-rounded superstar.

And of course, there’s always Ronda Rousey. Out of everyone, I think she’s the least likely to even be involved in the ladder match next month, but nevertheless, if they were to follow through with their intention to make her ‘just like everyone else in the women’s division’ then why wouldn’t she be competing to take part in the ladder match? At the moment, she seems to be teasing a partnership with Natalya, which will most likely lead to a feud of their own by SummerSlam. If they wanted to give the Women’s MITB some prestige, then why not pass it onto Rousey while she continues to make waves?

Regardless of who wins, it should make for a really fun match this year, hopefully there’ll be no James Ellsworth to taint the result this year. Actually, that’d be pretty cool.

Money in the Bank always comes through as an exciting pay-per-view, so hopefully it should fight back that feeling of apathy that’s developing amongst WWE fans after Backlash. It looks like they’re willing to take some risks by having the likes of Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan kept away from the men’s ladder match, so it should at least add some intrigue to the main event scene when all is said and done.

Who do you think is going to walk out with the briefcases this year? Let us know in the comments below