With 2018 Money in the Bank coming up this Sunday night, the go-home show of Monday Night Raw has given us an indication of what talent is booked for the pay-per-view and who are not currently scheduled. As always, there is a chance any kind of alterations can be made to the lineup, as the card is always subject to change, but at the moment, the men and women in this breakdown are not being promoted as taking part in this event.
In some cases, this may be justified, but in others, it might seem ridiculous. That is up to you to decide as we take a look at which superstars from the red brand are sitting this show out.
From the Raw Men’s Singles Division
— Baron Corbin: Constable Corbin will probably have a segment backstage where he talks to Kurt Angle, but that’s certainly not the amazing equivalent of winning the briefcase like he did last year. What a downgrade!
— Big Show: After suffering another injury, Big Show was pulled from the Greatest Royal Rumble and has stayed away from any and all advertisements and, of course, television. There was no chance he would get a spot on this card without any build whatsoever.
— Brock Lesnar: Eat. Sleep. Wait a few months and then do a couple of German suplexes and F5s while brushing off your opponent’s finisher, then beat him in 5-10 minutes. Repeat. Brock Lesnar wrestled at WrestleMania and the Greatest Royal Rumble. He’s likely to not even pop up at Extreme Rules. Look out for him to show up around SummerSlam.
— Chad Gable: If Gable doesn’t end up rejoining with Jason Jordan to form American Alpha again, I’m nervous that there isn’t much of a push in store for him. As a singles star, he hasn’t been able to get any traction, which is a shame. I would have really enjoyed seeing him in this year’s Money in the Bank match, even if he’d be an underdog that wouldn’t overcome the odds.
— Curt Hawkins: When you have a losing streak the size of the one Curt Hawkins has, it would be a travesty for you to get a coveted spot on a pay-per-view like this. Maybe he would have been able to swing it, though, if he was able to give out those tacos…
— Dean Ambrose: The Lunatic Fringe has been out with an injury since December 2017.
— Goldust: At this point in his career, Goldust is just a supplemental talent to put people over, work with younger superstars and fill in some blanks here and there. He hasn’t been doing anything lately, so it’s no surprise he isn’t on this card.
— Jason Jordan: Jason Jordan is still out from his neck injury and the surgery he had as treatment from earlier this year.
— Kane: The Big Red Machine is fully in political mode for his mayoral campaign and isn’t likely to make any appearances until after that, if he loses. If he wins, we might have seen the last of him for a long, long time.
— Mike Kanellis: You can’t make your debut, barely accomplish anything, quickly disappear, spend months MIA, make your return and nearly set a new record for the shortest time in any Royal Rumble without being left off the next card, especially if you don’t follow it up with any appearances after that.
— Mojo Rawley: It certainly isn’t Monday Night Rawley when you’re never booked on the card, right? That’s not surprising. Mojo Rawley isn’t a featured player by any means.
— No Way Jose: Poor No Way Jose was brought up to the main roster likely as a sink or swim guy that WWE has no intention of actually pushing, but utilizing mostly on the house shows circuit and Main Event every now and again.
— Zack Ryder: Speaking of Main Event, that seems to be where Zack Ryder has been relegated. It’s a shame, but it’s not the most surprising thing in the world, as his career has had lots of ups and downs. This is just another valley, rather than a peak.
From the Raw Women’s Division
— Alicia Fox: Fox is still out with her injury from earlier this year.
— Bayley: Since this feud between Bayley and Sasha Banks hasn’t concluded, I’m very suspicious of the potential that Bayley could have some sort of presence here, but I can’t think of a scenario that would make enough sense to throw any predictions out there. Instead, there’s a chance WWE just felt like her spot was better off going to someone like Ember Moon. Not everybody can be featured on every event.
— Dana Brooke: Dana Brooke is the most often ignored woman on both Raw and SmackDown. WWE didn’t even announce her for the women’s battle royal at WrestleMania until the last minute. Of course she’s not on this card.
— The Riott Squad: I’m surprised Ruby Riott didn’t get into the ladder match, but I’m not surprised that Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan were passed over. As mentioned with Bayley, not everybody can be featured, and since both The IIconics and Absolution were left off the SmackDown side, I guess WWE’s philosophy and preference right now was to keep the tag teams away from the ladder matches…minus The New Day.
— Mickie James: I’m disappointed that Mickie James is still stuck in this supporting role and never gets anything to really do, but I can’t say that I’m surprised at this point. Granted, she would be the elder stateswoman in the match and people could argue that she’d be taking up a spot that a younger athlete could have filled, so I get the decision, but I’m a fan, so it’s still a bit of a downer.
From the Raw Tag Team Division
Every single tag team from the Raw side of things has been left off this card, including the champions—The Deleters of Worlds—and the current No. 1 contenders—The B-Team.
Considering how both of those teams are essentially jokes, and the majority of the other teams on Raw are more on the comedic and less serious side as well, it’s no surprise that the Raw Tag Team Championship was one of the belts that WWE opted to not have represented at this pay-per-view.
For those keeping count, the other tag teams on Raw who will not be performing at Money in the Bank includes The Ascension, The Authors of Pain (who have been MIA for a long while), Breezango, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Revival and Titus Worldwide.
From the Cruiserweight Division
For the better part of 2018, the cruiserweight division has been completely kept out of Monday Night Raw and left to fend for itself on 205 Live.
With this co-branded event structure, they’ve also lost out on Backlash and this event, as there just aren’t enough spots I guess to justify in WWE’s mind spending some time dedicated to a division that has a smaller following, rather than trying to give them a chance to shine and gain new fans.
As such, every single member of the 205 Live roster is missing from this card, including the champion, Cedric Alexander.
If you’re looking for the names, they are as follows: Akira Tozawa, Ariya Daivari, The Brian Kendrick, Buddy Murphy, Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak, Gentleman Jack Gallagher, Hideo Itami, Lio Rush, The Lucha House Party trio, Mark Andrews, Mustafa Ali, Neville (still in a contract dispute), Noam Dar (still injured), TJP and Tony Nese.
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
