The Money In The Bank Pay-Per-View is on its way and it’s sure to have some crazy moments. The Money in the Bank Ladder matches promises the winner one of the most invaluable prizes in the WWE Universe. A briefcase containing a contract that gives the holder a championship title match at any time of their choosing. For years now the MITB Briefcase has been a stepping stone for superstars to take a giant leap in their career starting back in 2005 when Edge won the inaugural match and cashed in for a Championship Match against a beleaguered John Cena after he finished a title defense at Elimination Chamber, winning his first ever World Championship.
After that, it was a mainstay at Wrestlemania until it was given its own PPV in 2010. Last year we were finally given a women’s MITB Ladder match to match the men and this year we see the two brands thrown together into one match for each division. There’s a lot to look forward to.
The qualifiers have already started on both brands and things look like the could be setting up for barn burners! Raw is sending Finn Balor, Braun Stroman, Bobby Roode, and Kevin Owens for the men and Ember Moon and Alexa Bliss so far for the Women. Not to be outdone, SmackDown Live has Rusev and The Miz heading in the men’s ladder match and Charlotte Flair looking to get revenge on Carmella through the women’s ladder match. But that isn’t the biggest news announced about MITB! It turns out Ronda Rousey will be receiving her first ever title shot at the PPV! Nia Jax will be putting her Raw Women’s Championship Title on the line against the MMA legend. This is a surprising turn, many thought they would spend more time easing Rousey into the Championship scene. How will the former Olympian hold up against The Irresistible Force? We’ll just have to see.
WWE Money in the Bank 2018 Details
Date: Sunday, June 17, 2018
Time: 8:00 P.M. EST (5:00 P.M. PST)
TV Channel: WWE Network
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Matches
This section will be updated as matches are announced:
Men’s Money in The Bank Ladder Match- Braun Stroman vs. Finn Balor vs. Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens vs. The Miz vs. Rusev vs. The New Day vs. TBD
Women’s Money in The Bank Ladder Match- Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Naomi vs. Lana vs. TBD
Nia Jax (c) vs. Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women’s Championship
Carmella (c) vs. Asuka for the SmackDown Live Women’s Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship
Predictions & Must-See Matches
Nia Jax (c) vs. Ronda Rousey
This was a surprising announcement by WWE but none the less, huge. Ronda Rousey will be taking on Nia Jax for her Raw Women’s title. It seemed that WWE was going to ease Rousey into the Championship scene but it turns out that was wrong. This choice is somewhat puzzling on multiple levels.
Rousey is arguably the WWE’s biggest name at the moment so why make her first title match at a PPV that isn’t one of the big four? Summer Slam is right around the corner and seems like a better stage for a match of this level. Also, Jax is somewhat new to wrestling as well. Rousey surprised the WWE Universe at Wrestlemania by absolutely knocking her first match out of the park but that doesn’t mean she is a master at the craft yet. Her years of fighting prowess help her immensely but the art of wrestling is still a new venture for her. Jax was not originally a wrestler either, starting her career as a model before transitioning to wrestling. You would think they would be partnered with superstars who were extremely technically proficient to make sure they look good.
One more thing–who should win? It would be damaging to have Jax drop the belt so soon after winning it and having only defended it against Alexa Bliss. Even if the person she loses to is Rousey. And Rousey can’t lose because she’s WWE’s hottest commodity right? Look for some treachery from an outside source to come into play in this one to save both performers momentum. That being said both of these women are capable of putting on a great match and are huge personalities if they can find a good groove this could be awesome.
Carmella (c) vs. Asuka
Carmella made a massive statement when she defeated Charlotte Flair at Backlash last month. Now she faces off against another titan of the Women’s Division, Asuka. People were surprised when Asuka’s undefeated streak came to an end against none other than Charlotte Flair at Wrestlemania 34. If Charlotte beat Asuka, and Carmella beat Charlotte, then that means The Princess of Staten Island should be able to take care of The Empress of Tomorrow right? Carmella was intelligent in her match with Charlotte and took advantage of a nagging knee injury that dates back to the match with Asuka at Wrestlemania 34. She will need to be intelligent again if she hopes to score another major upset. This is a toss-up, Carmella hasn’t had a proper chance to show how she can hold up as a champion but would WWE really book Asuka to lose in two straight PPV appearances? Carmella showed a lot of heart against Charlotte and can use this match to prove she belongs with the big dogs.
AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Four times… this will be the fourth PPV in a row that AJ Styles will be defending the big belt against Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura has become a master of the low blow, absolutely obliterating Styles nether regions since the first one he delivered at Wrestlemania 34. Backlash ended with both men kicking each other in the groin at the same time so hard that neither could continue the match. Yay WWE’s top title right… At first, this seemed fun but now that Styles has joined the low blow party it just feels like it’s two grown men punching each other in the nads. With that being said, I may sound like a broken record in these sections by now but both men are incredibly gifted performers and put on stellar matches and there’s a chance this one could be the blow off epic we’ve all be hoping for. And there’s a strong chance we get a new Champion in the form of a heel Shinsuke Nakamura. I know that the last three versions of this match have not lived up to the hype but there is no way Styles and Nakamura underperform four times in a row… right? Right!?