Money In the Bank 2018 Predictions

   After a stellar Takeover event last night, it's time for the 2018 edition of Money In the Bank.  Maybe it's just me but there seems to be a lot of matches on this year's card.  It may have to do with the additional hour that has now been added to all of the PPV events WWE has.  Hopefully it won't seem like a dreadfully long night.  Some of the under card doesn't exactly scream must-see tonight but I am looking forward to both Money In the Bank Ladder matches.  Much like my blog about last night's Takeover, I'm here to give my predictions for tonight's festivities.

Kick-Off Match

Smackdown Tag Team Titles - Bludgeon Brothers vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

   Since the Bludgeon Brothers won the Titles, the consensus seems to be that they will dominate the Smackdown tag team division for a while.  I should point out that Smackdown's tag team division looks a lot more legit than Raw's. For instance, Raw's Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt, aren't even booked tonight.  The Bludgeon Brothers moved on from the Usos and The New Day are busy preparing to secure a briefcase, possibly to put their pancakes in, as we've seen in recent weeks. The challengers tonight are the resident Good Brothers in Gallows and Anderson.  Should they win, they could help out AJ Styles and reform a certain "Club."  Unfortunately for Gallows and Anderson, I believe Harper and Rowan will retain tonight.  On the bright side, at least Anderson has a hot Asian wife!

Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal

   If it were up to me, Reigns would have been Universal Champion by now and this match would be for the Title.  That's more of me saying that I don't want to see anymore Reigns/Brock Lesnar matches.  Jinder cost Reigns a qualifying match for Money In the Bank, which started this feud.  It's not very interesting, in that Jinder Mahal is simply awful and I frankly couldn't care less about this match.  People like to point out that Reigns is getting this big push, but he wasn't won a match in a long time and hasn't held a World Title in over two years.  I think Reigns will get the win tonight in a match I'm sure not many people care about.

Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn

   Speaking of matches I don't care about, this one is up there as well.  The match itself I'm sure will be fine but the story has been so awful that I don't care what happens.  The segments have been flat out terrible and I hope they neither man interacts with one another ever again.  Something is just not clicking and it's neither man's fault.  Here's hoping Lashley decimates Zayn so we can all move on.  That's the way I think it'll go down!

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass

   If I was a betting man, I'd say Big Cass is going to walk away with the win here, due to the fact that he lost their first encounter.  Even though Bryan made the big man tap out, Cass still got the last laugh.  I'm sorry to say this but I don't care one way or the other about Big Cass anymore.  A big mistake WWE made in my opinion was splitting up Enzo and Cass.  Neither of them were as good without the other.  I used to enjoy their shtick but Enzo doing it by himself got old quickly for some reason.  Even if they were going into singles, they should have stuck together.  This is yet another "who cares?" for me but my prediction is Big Cass with the win.  

Intercontinental Title - Seth Rollins vs. Elias 

   This is going to be a shining moment for sure!  Out of all the non-Ladder matches on this card, this is the one I'm looking forward to the most.  Since winning the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania, Rollins has been on fire.  On the other side, Elias has really come into his own since his NXT days.  Now he's drifted into a Title match!  People use to tell him to drift away but now they all wan tto "Walk with Elias!"  Though I can see Elias walking away as Champion, my gut tells me Rollins is going to retain.  However, should Elias win, I'd love to see him with an Intercontinental Title reign like the Honky Tonk Man had, perhaps even passing his record.  Either way, it's going to be a great match and like Rollins' music says, both men will "burn it down" tonight!

Raw Women's Title - Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey

   I already discussed in another blog about my disdain for this match.  Let's get something clear, though!  I'm not against Ronda winning the Title, but just not this soon.  They started a story with her and Mickie James and that's exactly the type of opponent Ronda needs right now.  Ronda proved critics wrong at WrestleMania and she is a bona fide superstar.  However, Nia is still too new to the ring to be in a match with an inexperienced wrestler like Ronda.  Most of us can see a program with Natalya coming for Ronda as well.  There's no build up anymore!  Everything is rushed!  If Nia retains, it will not be clean whatsoever.  In fact, many predict Ronda will get screwed by the woman whose arm she almost tore off, Stephanie McMahon.  I think they should have given Ronda some ring generals like Mickie and Nattie first and then eventually had her win the Title, and at some point taking on women like Charlotte Flair and Asuka.  However, I did think of a scenario where this match taking place now could have been the right choice.  While most are expecting Ronda to get screwed, what if it's the other way around?  What if Stephanie screws Nia and Ronda becomes the new Corporate Champion?  That's something I could get into!  However, I'm going with the consensus here with Nia getting the win, or at least retaining her Championship somehow.

Smackdown Women's Title - Carmella vs. Asuka

   This is another match I felt shouldn't be taking place yet.  It seems pretty likely that Asuka is going to decimate Carmella tonight.  However, I feel like it kind of screws Carmella a little bit and almost makes it not even worth it that she cashed in her "Money In the Bank" in the first place.  Carmella worked hard to get where she is and you know what they say; "Mella is money!"  If they're going to take the Title away this quickly, they should have had her cash in a long time ago or somehow fail her cash in attempt.  Also, if this is the route they're going, then Asuka should have just beaten Charlotte outright in the first place.  That's not because of Asuka's streak but more so Asuka winning the Title.  Asuka is my pick tonight.

WWE Title Last Man Standing Match - AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

    I never thought I'd say this, but, I don't think I want to see this match take place anymore.  Their first encounter at WrestleMania was decent, but not the caliber expected.  Then again, the night was so long that by the time it took place, the fans at home and especially at the Superdome, were tired.  The outcome of AJ retaining was unexpected and it led to a great heel turn by Nakamura.  Their rematch at the Greatest Royal Rumble was good until the ending.  My opinion is that a match on a big show should never end in a double count out.  The match was good but the ending killed it.  Then again, it was a glorified house show after all!  To make matters even worse, their match at Backlash ended with a double low blow kick, incapacitating both men for the ten count in the ring.  That has got to be the dumbest ending of a match I've ever seen!  They overdid the low blow by this point and why AJ has yet to wear a cup is beyond me.  My pick for tonight is Nakamura finally winning the Title.  Unfortunately, that means yet another match between the two is in the cards.  I'm amazed that they ruined this feud.

Women's Money In the Bank Ladder Match - Sasha Banks vs. Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya vs. Charlotte  Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Lana vs. Naomi

   I feel like I've been pretty negative so far but it all changes with the two ladder matches.  I'd be happy with most of these women winning the briefcase and eventually cashing in successfully to win their brand's Championship.  With Charlotte about to deal with a minor surgery, I think she's out of the running.  Besides, it's more likely for her to win next year's Royal Rumble.  Holding the briefcase seems perfect for a heel Sasha or Alexa.  It would be nice for Becky to be back in the running as well.  Many predict a win by Natalya, who will in tern, cash in on Ronda and start a feud.  Ember may be a dark horse pick but it would be cool, as it would be for Naomi as well.  I'd even accept Lana winning as long as Rusev wins the men's, becoming the first Mr. and Mrs. Money In the Bank.  I think this match will be vast improvement from last year's, especially because an actual woman will claim the briefcase this time.

Men's Money In the Bank Ladder Match - Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor vs. Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens vs. Rusev vs. The Miz vs. Samoa Joe vs. a member of The New Day

   Never have I been this exciting for a Money In the Bank Ladder match.  Every single outcome is a home run in my view.  There is not one bad scenario in the aftermath of this match at all!  Not only would I be happy with any one of the eight men winning, I'd be doubly happy if they successfully cashed in for a Championship.  I'll run down the list before I get to my pick.  Braun seems to be the one that needs it the least, considering his presence alone can grant him a Title shot whenever he wants.  That's not to say I'd be unhappy if he won!  Should Braun win, my guess is he's going to give notice for his cash in.  He's too large and over as a babyface to cash in on a vulnerable opponent.  Finn Balor winning and cashing in would be a great story because then everything comes full circle for him.  He could regain the Title he never lost.  I'd love Bobby Roode to win but I think his cash in should be in the form of a heel turn to really make it stand out.  Either way, Roode winning would be absolutely...glorious!  Of course, you can never go wrong with Kevin Owens.  Winning the briefcase and cashing in seems to be in Owens' wheelhouse for sure!  Although this might be the least impactful of the eight outcomes, I'd still be more than okay with it.  Like I said, there is not one bad outcome in the bunch.  That takes care of the Raw side of things.

   Onto the Smackdown participants, we've got Rusev.  With how over Rusev is these days, it would be a magic moment for him to win.  It would be a Happy Rusev Day for all!  Up until two years ago, I was drinking lots of "Hateorade" when it came to The Miz.  Even if I liked him back in 2010, I still would have felt that he wasn't quite ready to cash in and become WWE Champion.  If you ask me now, I would be so down for The Miz to do so.  In fact, a great way to do it would be for him to cash in moments after Daniel Bryan regains the WWE Title.  The heat would be nuclear and a great feud would ensue.  The seeds were certainly planted on Talking Smack two years ago.  Samoa Joe would be another great pick.  He's credible enough to be Champion, but just cunning enough to cash in on a weakened opponent.  That leaves a member of The New Day.  I love the fact that we don't know which member will take part in this match.  My prediction is that a member of The New Day wins tonight.  Not only that, I would love to see them use the Freebird rule for both carrying the briefcase and having the WWE Championship.

   Those are my thoughts and predictions for tonight's show.  Please comment if you have any feelings of your own on Money In the Bank and for all the dads out there, Happy Father's Day!




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