The Money in the Bank pay-per-view is in just one week and the field is set. This year, six women will ultimately climb a ladder on the roof of WWE Headquarters and grab the coveted briefcase. The briefcase symbolizes a chance to cash in an opportunity for a championship match at any time within a year.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Money in the Bank event. The match itself has existed since 2005. The women did not participate in this match type until 2017. There have been three winners to include Carmella, Alexa Bliss, and Bayley.
Who will take it this year? We have three participants from RAW and three from SmackDown. The briefcase should, but doesn’t always, go to someone who needs that push towards the title picture. The landscape this year is a mixture. A few would be the perfect example of what a win could do for them. The others certainly don’t need a briefcase to get into a title match.
I have ranked the six competitors from least to most in my opinion who should win this unprecedented match. We just found out also that the women’s match will take place at the same time as the men’s. So this adds another layer to a high risk, big reward match.
Prior to my list, take a gander at the official Diva Dirt promo video below from our YouTube page for the MITB match.
6. Nia Jax –
Nia Jax recently returned from a year’s absence. She has just recovered from a double knee surgery which caused her severe pain prior to going out after WrestleMania 35. Since her return, she has dominated her opponents and has even been controversial once again about her safety after her matches with Kairi Sane.
I think Jax would be the least likely to win due to her history with her knees. She may be medically cleared, but her history with her injury is something other competitors will be focusing on. This match could take a high toll on her body, considering she needs to start from the ground floor and work her way all the way to the top of the building. She could use her strength and take everyone out from the start. She could then use an elevator to her advantage and head all the way to the top, but this would be too quick of solution.
Jax is a former RAW Women’s Champion, however, it has been a couple years since she has held a title. Regardless, she doesn’t need to hold the briefcase to insert herself back in the title picture. It writes itself.
5. Shayna Baszler –
Shayna Baszler has been seething since she lost her RAW Women’s Championship match against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania. From this loss, she has been taking out her frustrations on her opponents. Since qualifying for the MITB starting with her defeat of Sarah Logan, Baszler has been destroying her opponents with a stomp to their arms.
She is deadly and many women see her as a threat. She may be one of the strongest in the match. I feel as though she will be getting teamed upon by the others early on in order to take her out of the equation. They all have seen how she was at the Elimination Chamber and I’m sure they don’t want a repeat. I can say that the fans don’t.
After seeing her matches on RAW she most likely will be stomping arms or putting her opponents in the common go-to, the Kirifuda clutch. Her winning would seem unlikely as she can easily get another title shot against Becky Lynch. I say this, but she didn’t need to win the Elimination Chamber either.
4. Carmella –
Our first (and second?) Money in the Bank winner.
Carmella is the prime example of what winning this type of match can do for one’s career. Once she won, she would go on to hold the briefcase for nearly the full year and cash in on Charlotte Flair after WrestleMania 34 on SmackDown.
She has proven to us twice that she is Ms. Money in the Bank by winning the first-ever women’s match. She had to have a rematch due to James Ellsworth technically winning it for her the first time. Mella would win the rematch on SmackDown. Will she win it a third time?
In my opinion, I don’t think she will come out on top this year. I feel Carmella may be targeted due to the simple fact that she has already won this twice and with that has a leg up on her competition. If the other competitors are smart, they wouldn’t count out the Princess of Staten Island.
Her winning could be a good thing, however, because she is in need of a push. A potential heel turn could also help her if she turns on her recent tag team partner Dana Brooke. She moonwalked her way as a heel during her prior wins in this match and during her championship reign. With strong competitors like Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, she would need a big strategy to pull out a win.
