Every year, when Money in the Bank rolls along, I find it fun to play the game of “What If” in regards to how other brands and briefcases would play out if WWE decided to really expand the concept to the other divisions.
This is just an interesting little exercise in taking a theoretical concept and trying to apply it to the current roster, with a bit of analysis and fantasy booking in the mix.
This year, I’ll be doing a three-part series breaking down my thoughts on the rosters for NXT, tag teams and the AEW roster, starting first with everyone’s favorite yellow brand, NXT.
Last year, I split things up with NXT UK as part of the mix, too. That way, it was similar to Raw and SmackDown competitors both having a chance at their brand’s title. This year, however, we know those superstars can’t travel, so I’m sticking to just NXT talent, instead.
As such, I present to you my breakdown of how I personally think this would go down, and I invite you to do the same in the comments below!
Let’s get started with the women’s division.
Women’s Division – List of Competitors
I tried to keep this to the same number WWE has for this year’s ladder matches, which is six competitors.
- Candice LeRae — Her new persona isn’t great, in my opinion, but she’s still a top member of the roster.
- Chelsea Green — To make her feel like a big deal, she can’t be pushed aside for these types of matches.
- Dakota Kai — Arguably the top heel underneath Charlotte Flair.
- Mia Yim — Flair recently put Yim over big as the person to watch out for. As she should. Yim would be my top pick here as someone to watch out for.
- Shotzi Blackheart — The newbie who could steal the whole thing.
- Tegan Nox — The sweetheart of the match you’d root for.
The ones who didn’t make the cut, but were close, were Aliyah (not as believable to win as the some others), Io Shirai (already No. 1 contender), Kacy Catanzaro (not as prominently pushed), Kayden Carter (she’s lost too many times recently to be believable to win), Mercedes Martinez (I’d have picked her, but she’s been MIA, so she may not be in the group willing to work right now), Raquel Gonzalez (she’ll be there to spot Kai), Rhea Ripley (what are they doing with her???), Santana Garrett (bigger fish to fry), Vanessa Borne (bigger fish, not believable) and Xia Li (I’d love to have picked her, but people wouldn’t think she’d win).
With that being the field of competitors in the match, which one of them would more than likely walk out with the briefcase?
Winner and Plans
With Charlotte Flair as champion, I feel like there’s no way anyone would successfully cash-in on her and take the title. Then again, I thought it was absolutely absurd they’d take the title off Rhea Ripley, so what do I know about how they “logically” think, right?
If I were in control of this, at least, here’s what I’d do. I’d give the briefcase to Candice, have her purposely avoid interacting with Flair under all circumstances, book Ripley to beat Flair at SummerSlam or something, and then have Candice try to cash-in on Ripley down the line around Survivor Series to allow Ripley to move to Raw in 2021.
Men’s Division – List of Competitors
The same as the women’s division, I’m keeping this at six who are only from NXT and not from NXT UK in any fashion.
- Damian Priest — He’s big, athletic and a convincing heel to be in this match. He wouldn’t win, but he’d fill out the ranks well.
- Dominik Dijakovic — I can’t say enough positives about this guy and his potential.
- Finn Balor — The anchor. He’s the pick you could see winning due to his legitimacy and how he’s kind of a tweener, in some ways.
- Johnny Gargano — You can’t have a match like this without Johnny Wrestling.
- Matt Riddle — While he’s a tag champion, his partner Pete Dunne is unable to travel. Timothy Thatcher has been filling in, but I think people would be okay with Riddle focusing on a singles situation for a few weeks.
- Tommaso Ciampa — Just like Gargano is a necessity, so is Ciampa. They’re a package deal.
No Velveteen Dream, as he’s in hot water right now and he’s already the No. 1 contender. No Karrion Kross, as he’s an unknown. No cruiserweights who are busy with the tournament.
I gave a lot of consideration to Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis, Keith Lee, Killian Dain and Roderick Strong. Ultimately, I figured Grimes isn’t as important, Lumis should be protected, Lee has his own title to worry about, Dain may not be in the current crop who is wrestling and Strong would be a conflict of interest against Cole.
With that being the field of competitors in the match, which one of them would more than likely walk out with the briefcase?
Winner and Plans
Any of them could win and I’d be cool with it as a fan. I could see any number of scenarios playing out with all of them, too. Priest would be the least likely to take the briefcase, though, I’ll admit that much.
Since Balor, Gargano and Ciampa are too easy to pick, I think I’d lean more towards Dijakovic. This would depend greatly on what WWE’s plans were for Cole’s title future. If Velveteen Dream is supposed to win it, I’d rather see Gargano take the briefcase and eventually cash it in to become the new champion. However, if this is staying on Cole, Dijakovic is one of the few guys who hasn’t been given that major push to fighting him for that belt and could conceivably beat him and ascend the throne.
Those are my thoughts on the issue, but how would you imagine WWE would do this if it were to happen? Tell us your fantasy booking scenario in the comments section below!
