Thursday, March 28, 2024
EditorialWWE Money in The Bank 2019 Preview and Match Predictions

WWE Money in The Bank 2019 Preview and Match Predictions

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Daniel Bryan and Rowan vs. The Usos

I won’t complain about this match being on here because these two teams killed it in their match last week. But I will say that there is also no reason to have this match other than to fill time. It feels like The Usos have been featured more on Smackdown since coming to RAW. I understand the new “wildcard” rule technically permits this to happen but isn’t that rule only meant to be a temporary allowance weekly? They should be more focused on establishing themselves on their native brand.

Bryan and Rowan already defeated them, and I see no reason for them to lose. 50/50 booking is one thing, but having your SD Tag Team Champions lose to a team on the opposite brand wouldn’t bode well for them. I am sure they will have another hard-worked match, though.

Winner: Daniel Bryan and Rowan


Samoa Joe (C) vs. Rey Mysterio – United States Championship

The biggest factor in this “feud” has been the involvement of Rey Mysterio’s son, Dominick. Here’s the thing. Rey Mysterio pinned Samoa Joe in a tag team match before WrestleMania. Joe squashed Mysterio at WrestleMania. Rey beat Joe a couple of a weeks ago. So now, we are doing this again. There is no feud in this match outside of two people getting wins over each other and the typical pinning the champion before a PPV routine. It’s a shame because Rey has proven he still has plenty of high-quality performances in him, and Joe is a terrific performer when used correctly. The problem is that there’s no reason to care, and also little reason to expect anything different other than Joe retaining once again.

Mysterio only needs to win the United States Championship to become a Grand Slam Champion in his WWE career, but it’s rare when WWE will have someone get pinned clean before a PPV, and then have the champion lose once again. I say Joe retains here. I did like the fact Mysterio got a competitive win against a freak of nature in Cesaro, but Joe has proven himself to be a different animal.

Winner: Samoa Joe


Tony Nese (C) vs. Ariya Daivari – Cruiserweight Championship

I’ll be honest in stating that I have not paid much attention to 205 Live since Buddy Murphy got the nod to come to Smackdown. It just does not feel the same without him. That said, it’s safe to assume that Nese is not going to lose so quickly after just winning at the previous PPV. My guess is this match is going to get bumped to the pre-show.

This match will also go a long way in determining if I ever get back to watching 205 Live on a regular basis. With Ali, Alexander and Murphy transferring from 205 to the main roster over the past year, it is a new generation. We’ll see what they are made of. I have Nese retaining.

Winner: Tony Nese


The Miz vs. Shane McMahon – Steel Cage Match

If I’ve said it before, I’ve said it a thousand times. I just don’t think Shane McMahon should be in singles feuds in the Year of our Lord 2019. This isn’t to say he is a horrible worker, per say. However, he just isn’t believable as a competitor. Hell, his WrestleMania win was the clear definition of a fluke. So this feud is still centered around Shane punking out Miz’s dad, and The Miz still wants revenge. It’s an okay story, but The Miz could be doing something much more productive.

I honestly cannot wait for The Miz to move onto something else, and I hope it is centered around something that will gradually get him back to main-event status. Since Shane got the win at WrestleMania, it seems only fair to give The Miz a win back. We all know this match will be centered around what new way Shane will try to almost kill himself. We shall see, indeed. I have The Miz winning, but I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if WWE gave Shane two fluke victories in a row.

Winner: The Miz


Roman Reigns vs. Elias

To be honest, I do not even know why these two are feuding either. This just seems like giving Roman someone to feud with just for the sake of feuding with him. Also, with Roman bouncing on RAW and Smackdown each week, I believe we are moving slowly closer to WWE re-unifying the brands again. It all starts with periodic superstars from each brand crossing over, and it has already started.

As for Elias, well, God bless him. He hasn’t really done anything on Smackdown as of yet in a context that doesn’t involve him serving as Shane McMahon’s muscle. Roman is a heavy favorite here, and while Elias is certainly talented, I do not expect him to pick up the victory here. This seems to be another stop on the Roman Reigns comeback tour. Unfortunately, I’m fearful that we will get a long, drawn-out match that makes us believe Elias actually stands a chance here.

Winner: Roman Reigns


Becky Lynch (C) vs. Lacey Evans – RAW Women’s Championship

Becky is set to become the first superstar to defend two titles in one night since her boyfriend Seth Rollins defended the WWE Title and the United States Title at Night of Champions 2015. He emerged with only half the belts he came in with.

While I am afraid that Becky Lynch’s double duty will make the women she defeats look weak by comparison, I do like the contrast in styles in what Lynch is facing in Evans and Charlotte. In Evans, she has a relatively new opponent that she knows little about in the ring. She may not be able to fully anticipate what Evas can bring to the table, and Evans is looking to make a statement.

Whereas Charlotte is a familiar foe for Charlotte, as the two probably know each other like the back of their hands at this point. While Evans is getting her first shot at being champion, Charlotte is looking to add her 9th title to her mantle.

My answers are heavily contingent upon whether Evans or Charlotte will go first. I think it’s too early to give Evans a victory, although an upset wouldn’t surprise me. I suspect with Evans, Lynch will escape her more than defeating her straight up. RAW’s Women’s Division is incredibly top-heavy and lacking credibly competitors. That’s why it is important that Lacey be protected here. So, I say Becky retains for now.

Winner: Becky Lynch


Becky Lynch (C) vs. Charlotte Flair – Smackdown Women’s Championship

My gut is telling me that Charlotte is going to get the advantage and have Becky to herself 2nd. Flair wants to be champion at any cost, and having the opportunity to defeat Becky when she’s not at her freshest lines up straight with her character.

With everything these two have been through the past year, I cannot see Becky relinquishing the title to Charlotte as of right now. It simply would be a quick reversion back to the status quo in a way. We have been building up to Becky having two belts around her waist for a while now. Having Becky show that she cannot defend both of her titles on her first try won’t reflect on her much. While I am skeptical she will win straight up, I believe Charlotte will lose in the end. It just seems like the right decision.

Winner: Becky Lynch


Seth Rollins (C) vs. AJ Styles – Universal Championship

This feud has been painfully by-the-numbers as it can get and has followed the stereotypical face vs. face sequence of events. Face 1 gets a title shot to face Face 2. Both faces have a contract signing and one face says something to inflate his ego. Both faces are put in a tag team match to see if they can “co-exist”. Face 1 accidentally hits Face 2 during the match. Both faces now say it has become personal.

While this feud is about as personal as my relationship with my old science teacher, there is no reason why this should not be one of the best matches of the year. Personally, I would have saved a dream match between arguably the two best performers in the WWE today for Summerslam. However, I will never complain if I get to see these two go one on one. It’s a fresh matchup, it’s a world title match and both men are elite-level performers. This is literally something you have to intentionally want to mess up.

The only thing I hope that develops in all of this is that AJ gradually turns heel. I think he would make a great contrast to Seth Rollins being a face, which he happens to be very good at. All that being said, it should be clear that Seth is retaining here. There is absolutely no way Seth is going to lose on his first PPV title defense. I think AJ will eventually get his chance to be Universal Champion, but for right now, Seth is the man for RAW.

Winner: Seth Rollins


Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi vs. Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Natalya vs. Ember Moon vs. Carmella – Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Usually, when I predict Money In The Bank Ladder matches, I predict everyone’s probability of winning form least likely to most likely. Here is how I see it.

Dana Brooke: Props to Dana for getting herself some television time as of late, but she can’t be taken seriously as a winner. She’s incredibly stiff when she speaks and her ring work leaves a lot to be desired. Also, she was chosen to be a replacement for the woman originally supposed to be in her spot, Sasha Banks. Her winning would be the biggest upset in the match.

Natalya: Natalya has been in every women’s Money In The Bank ladder match, but her fortune won’t change this Sunday. The briefcase is used for superstars who need it or to help facilitate a push. Natalya does not fall into either category. This isn’t to say she isn’t worthy of becoming champion, but she’s not interesting at the moment.

Naomi: Naomi has been kind of just wandering around doing nothing. I believe the last active feud she had was the one she had with Mandy Rose. She is a serviceable competitor and a great performer, but I don’t see her winning. I believe she needs to pick up a series of convincing wins before that happens first.

Carmella: Carmella being the longest holder of the MITB briefcase kind of disqualifies her in this match. It seriously feels like yesterday she cashed in on Charlotte. So it’s pretty likely that Carmella will not be winning twice in three years.

Alexa Bliss: Her reasonings for not winning will be the same as Carmella. As the reigning Ms. Money In The Bank, WWE will go in a different direction in all likelihood. CM Punk is the only person to have won the ladder match in back to back years, and I think it’s going to be a while before we see that happen again. Alexa doesn’t need a briefcase to get herself a title shot anyway. She’s already a five-time champion after all. Keep an eye out for anything with Nikki Cross, though.

Ember Moon: It seriously feels like Ember hasn’t done a single thing since being called up to the main roster. A combination of nonexistent feuds and injuries have seriously derailed her momentum. The MITB briefcase could be just the thing she needs to get back on track. It just doesn’t feel as though WWE is ready to pull the trigger on her, though.

Mandy Rose: Mandy is an interesting character. She isn’t the best in-ring performer, and she isn’t the best on the mic, but she seems to be a character that WWE is a fan of. She kind of reminds me in Alexa Bliss in a way. However, I’m also kind of held back that WWE will have her win as long as she is paired with Sonya Deville. The Women’s Tag Title scene is incredibly dull at the moment, and I’m not sure Mandy can be teasing a singles run while being in a tag team at the same time.

Bayley: I think Bayley is the person that can benefit from the briefcase the most. While it seems like an eternity ago, she was THE face of the women’s division in NXT. She’s been incredibly neutered in her main roster run, with only one lackluster women’s title run to show for it. I think it’s time for her to re-establish herself as a major face in the women’s evolution and not have Charlotte and Becky take incredible leaps over her. I honestly don’t believe they are THAT much superior to her if used in the right context. I think Bayley takes the first step in rediscovering her magic.

Winner: Bayley


Kofi Kingston (C) vs. Kevin Owens – WWE Championship

I believe Kofi Kingston has adapted to becoming a WWE Champion well, and I believe Kevin Owens has served as a fabulous foil to his character. While I would have liked Kevin Owens to have waited out the heel turn a bit longer, seeing as how it was obvious he was going to turn on him eventually, the feud has still been very well done.

If there is one thing that has defined Kofi as a character and as a person for most of his career, it is his overwhelming generosity. When you are overly generous, you can also become naive. For Kofi, he trusted that Kevin Owens can have a change of heart. In actuality, this was a feud that was built before WrestleMania, as Kevin Owens was chosen to be Kofi’s replacement at Fastlane.

Kevin wasn’t able to get the job done in spite of saying that Kofi was deserving of the shot. Kingston took advantage and won, and now Kevin Owens is seeking to validate not only himself but the notion that Kofi is nothing without The New Day’s support. I hesitate to say that Big E’s injury is “good”, but it could serve as a blessing in disguise in the context of establishing Kofi as a formidable singles competitor.

The overarching fear I had was that Kofi would have to rely on The New Day, but he’s essentially by himself, and if he wants to be taken seriously, he’ll need some signature victories on his own, and I think he starts this Sunday. Not only would it be too soon to take the title off of Kofi, but he’s touring his stomping grounds of West Africa at the end of the month. It’s likely that he won’t be returning empty-handed.

Winner: Kofi Kingston


Drew McIntyre vs. Baron Corbin vs. Ali vs. Andrade vs. Randy Orton vs. Finn Balor vs. Ricochet vs. Sami Zayn – Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

As with the women, I will do the same with the men.

Ricochet: If we are being honest, Ricochet is essentially Neville in 2015. He is in this match, not because WWE is seriously considering him to win, but because they need a guy who can creatively almost kill himself and look cool doing it. Ricochet fits the bill quite nicely, as his performance at Takeover: New Orleans last year displayed. Plus, he also already held the briefcase on Smackdown. That’s pretty much a guaranteed jinx.

Finn Balor: The reason why Finn has next to no chance here is because of that Intercontinental Championship he’s holding. In the history of the Money In The Bank Ladder match, there has been only one person to win while being an active champion (The Miz is 2010). So if Finn were to win, he would have to go up against historical odds. I think he’s best suited elevating the IC Title and having competitive matches in the mid-card for the time being.

Sami Zayn: Zayn was a last minute replacement for last year’s winner, Braun Strowman. Typically, last minute entries into matches do not fare well in big matches unless its clear that they will be winning. To me, Zayn’s inclusion of the match doesn’t make him a favorite but is rather a way to potentially set up a feud between Strowman and McIntyre. Sami’s gimmick of berating us for watching the product is good, and perhaps winning the briefcase would be a great endgame to everything. But I don’t see it happening.

Baron Corbin: For the same reasons as Carmella, it is highly unlikely Corbin will be winning two times in three years. This is especially so considering that his last run was an abject failure. He’s been advertised in Universal Championship matches against Seth Rollins in the near future, so he may end up getting his chance anyway. It is still baffling to me that WWE seems to be so high on him. I guess that’s why I’m not on the creative team.

Randy Orton: Orton is in the middle of the pack when it comes to this. On the one hand, he’s a 13-time world champion, a former Money In The Bank winner and someone who most certainly doesn’t need it to elevate his career at this point. On the other hand, he hasn’t been in the WWE Title picture for a while, and WWE hasn’t been shy about giving the MITB victory to veterans over younger talent. I’m more inclined to believe Orton will just find a way to hit the most creative RKO he can on Ricochet as opposed to being a serious candidate. Peg him as a dark horse.

Ali: I don’t think Ali has the confidence of the WWE brass to be taken seriously as a holder of the briefcase, but I think putting it on him creates some interesting possibilities. He was taken out of the Elimination Chamber match due to injury. Who was his replacement? The current WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston. Imagine if he were to win the briefcase and everything were to come full circle. It’s an interesting story that makes sense, but I don’t think WWE follows through.

Andrade: If it wasn’t for him pinning the Intercontinental Champion and defeating two other participants in this match the week before the match, Andrade would be my favorite. He is the kind of foreign, aristocrat heel that WWE would love. Kind of like an Alberto Del Rio type without all the flashy cares and gold wardrobe. He handled himself very well as NXT Champion, and I think he’d transition fine as WWE Champion. Zelina as her manager is also a godsend. He still should be considered a favorite despite looking strong the week before the PPV, but there’s one other person that I think makes more sense.

Drew McIntyre: Young? Check. A heel that needs his career elevated? Check. Needs a signature victory? Check. Drew checks all of the important boxes when it comes to heels and the MITB briefcase. If there is one thing that has frustrated the hell out of how Drew has been booked, it’s his inability to pick up consistent, convincing victories on his own. He looks something chiseled out of ancient Greece. He has world champion written all over him. I’m not a fan of him jumping Strowman with Corbin and Lashley every other week. I’m tired of him not being able to take Roman one on one. He needs to establish himself as a dominant figure that we know he can be. I think it starts this Sunday.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

 

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