PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

 
 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT: THE MONEY IN THE BANK TIP SHEET IS NOW ONLINE

By Dave Scherer, Mike Johnson and Richard Trionfo on 2017-06-17 13:30:00

This Sunday, WWE will present the 2017 Money in the Bank PPV from St. Louis.  Here is our take on what will go down at the PPV.

WWE champion Jinder Mahal, with the Singh Brothers, vs. Randy Orton.

Dave Scherer: This is one time that WWE should have a guy lose in his home town.  Jinder needs to win here to have a chance to get over as a top, or near top, guy.  I think the legends should be a tease, everyone thinks that they are there to help Randy but they are guys that Randy laid out when he was the Legend Killer and they work against him.  That would be kind of cool, that they pay Orton back. Either way, Orton doesn’t need the Title.  Jinder does.

Mike Johnson: We know that WWE has booked a lot of older names to appear at the PPV and watch from ringside here.  I see that as a sign the Legends will end up beating down the Singhs at one point to set up a false finish where it appears Randy has Jinder beat.  I don't see Orton getting the win.  I think they will do some sort of screwy finish to set things up for a rematch at Battleground - and given that we have heard a lot of rumblings about the Punjabi Prison in the last week from WWE sources, they could be the direction they are going in.

Richard Trionfo: Randy Orton has a chance to win the title in his hometown so it is time to get out the WWE Trope Book and the main one is that the hometown guy does not win.  I still think they have kept Mahal looking credible as a champion and I don't expect them to take the title with him, especially since Mr. Free Agent is coming back on the Fourth of July.  Will the legends at ringside neutralize the Singhs?  I would love to see one of them get knocked out by Cowboy Bob's cast.  We may get an RKO out of nowhere, but it will probably be on one of the Singhs and Mahal will retain.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: WWE United States champion Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler.

Dave Scherer: Ziggler?  No, for obvious reasons.  Corbin?  No, he still needs work on his promos.  Sami?  I don’t think they have booked him strongly enough to give him the case.  That leaves Owens, AJ and Nakamura.  I think Jinder should win the main event so that would knock KO out for me.  So, AJ or Shinsuke….tough call.  I say go with AJ for now.  He never really got a chance to get his belt back.  They can book him purely as a babyface by saying he will cash in at SummerSlam, not when Jinder is beaten down.  Nakamura needs to be built up more before he is thrust into the spot.  Had they used him better on his debut this wouldn’t be an issue, but, they didn’t.

Mike Johnson:  This should be the best thing on the show from a spectacle standpoint and I expect a lot of mayhem and hard-hitting bumps.  Owens and Zayn have been the masters of this sort of environment forever.  Ziggler is best when he's taking spectacular bumps.  AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the world.  Corbin is poised for a big win.  Nakamura is the guy fans want to love but WWE hasn't figured out how they want to present him best.  I know everyone wants to see Nakamura win, but of everyone involved, I feel like the win would best benefit Corbin, so he's my pick.

Richard Trionfo: If you go by the logic of people who do not normally get title matches winning the ladder match, it should be Zayn or Corbin.  Owens and Styles will get their title matches based on their position on the card.  Nakamura would be an interesting choice, but they have done so little to help him that you might think creative thinks he is Bayley (but with a cool instrumental entrance).  Corbin can add to his Andre the Giant Battle Royal victory with a win in this match.  If Zayn wins, you can have JBL saying that "winning MITB is a guaranteed title win' and then have Sami fail when he cashes in.  But if he does win and successfully cash in, you can get the resurrection of the 'we said it was over before their last four matches' feud with Kevin Owens.  If Ziggler wins, we riot.

WWE Smackdown Tag Team champions The Usos vs. The New Day

Dave Scherer: I think the champs need to retain.  If they don’t they look like fodder for The New Day.  The New Day will get them belts eventually, but this would be too soon.

Mike Johnson: They have had some really good matches in the past, so I expect more of the same here.  The Usos have really been without a good babyface team to match up against, so I am hopeful that will be the case here but I can see them doing a screwy finish to build to the rematch.   I can see New Day ending up with the belts.  To me, the money is in an American Alpha vs. New Day program with the Usos as the angry vets who are mixed in. 

Richard Trionfo: The new team on the brand leaps over the competition to get a title match but I think the Usos need to retain and getting a win over the longest reigning Tag Team Champions in WWE history would help them more than seeing new champions.  I wish we would have gotten more between the Usos and Breezango because Breezango is a lot more fresh than the New Day.  This should be a good match but in the end, the new attitude of the Usos will be the difference.

WWE Smackdown Women's champion Naomi vs. Lana.

Dave Scherer: A Title change here would scream desperation.  We don’t even know how much Lana can even do in the ring.  If she has gotten a lot better, show us first.  If not, don’t put the belt on her, especially not if she is going to be protected by someone.  That would be lame.

Mike Johnson: It's quite the choice to put Lana into this situation right away.  Either she's winning the belt and shocking the world or it's going to be a short match.  My guess is they go with the latter.  I don't see a title change here.  I think it makes more sense for Naomi to beat Lana quickly.

Richard Trionfo: My only condition for this match is that Lana needs to wrestle in the dress.  Instead of being able to attack Naomi from behind, they will be face to face when this thing starts.  This match seems like a participation trophy for Naomi since everyone else in the division is in the Ladder Match.  At least Lana was able to get a title match after Shane told her on Smackdown she was not good enough to deserve a title match.  With both women's divisions spinning their wheels until they take people from NXT to have creative screw them up, I say give the title to Lana, but only until the women's briefcase is cashed in and we get a second new champion in the same night.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Charlotte vs. Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Tamina vs. Natalya.

Dave Scherer: Tamina and Carmella don’t seem viable here.  Charlotte seems obvious, but they haven’t done that yet and I think it’s the right call.  You know, I have no problem with them giving Natalya the shot.  If Naomi retains, a heel should go over here.  I guess they could also go with Carmella but I would book Nattie.  Naomi can learn working with her and that is a good thing for a younger wrestler.

Mike Johnson:  This should be an interesting match to follow.  The Smackdown side has done a really nice job of putting all of their women into the mix and giving them each time and storylines.  I am looking forward to this and I've heard that the women have been working really hard on putting this together as they want to steal the show.  To me, anyone but Charlotte or Becky should win as they should be the ones chasing for the belt. I think of everyone involved, Carmella is the one name that fans look at it as "deserving" the win the least, so I can see WWE going with her and doing a finish along the lines of James Ellsworth going to the top of the ladder to get the case and handing it to her, to get them some heat.

Richard Trionfo: I think whoever wins this match will successfully cash in the briefcase to become the new Smackdown Women's Champion.  Ideally, these briefcase matches should be for people who are not usually in the title picture but when you only have seven people in the division, it is hard not to have anyone who is not going to get a title match.  Charlotte or Becky do not need the briefcase because they will get title matches whenever they want, even though having Charlotte claiming that she is the first winner of this match would help with her character.  Natalya winning could be considered the Career Achievement prize.  Tamina seems like the long shot.  That leaves the person who I think will win the match.  Taking a page out of Get Smart, someone will be close to the briefcase but James Ellsworth doing his best Maxwell Smart impression, climbs the ladder and kisses that person, freaking them out and forcing them to fall from the ladder.  Carmella climbs the ladder and claims the case and then becomes your Smackdown Women's Champion later in the night.

The Hype Bros. vs. The Colons

Dave Scherer: If Zack and Mojo don’t win, what’s the point?  Seriously.

Mike Johnson:  This is Zack Ryder's first match after his ACL injury and I don't see them sacrificing that return with a loss to the Colons.  Plus, its the Kickoff match and traditionally, they want the babyfaces to go over.  From an in-ring standpoint, this should be fine but when was the last time the Colons were portrayed to be any sort of threat?  Hype Bros. win.

Richard Trionfo: Remember this act that brought smiles to the faces of the viewers when they appear each week on Smackdown, or if we are lucky enough, Talking Smack?  Why aren't Breezango on this pay per view?  Mojo and Zack are back together but will their reunion last long enough for them to get the tag titles which they claimed was the reason they are still a team?  Will this match be considered a number one contender match for the tag titles (assuming New Day/Usos is not going to last many months).  At least the Colons are not time share selling goofs and are trying to be more serious, but still secondary to the Usos on the heel side.  Mojo and Zack win, but the seeds of jealousy are planted in the match.

 

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!