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WWE returns to pay-per-view (PPV) -- if your cable provider is carrying the event, of course -- tomorrow night (Sun., June 18, 2017) live from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri with its Money in the Bank event starting at 7:00 p.m. ET with the Kickoff show leading right on into the main course at 8 p.m. ET on the WWE Network.
Set for the card: Titles matches, ladder matches, and more!
Luckily for you Cagesiders, our staff of learned wrestling blowhards is here to help figure out just how the event is going to play out with predictions for each match on the card.
Let's get to it.
WWE MONEY IN THE BANK PREDICTIONS
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match
Geno Mrosko: I’m going to go with the idea that part of the big push for Shinsuke Nakamura involves his being able to say an awful lot without saying anything at all: carrying that briefcase around, a WWE title reign just three seconds away at all times. Pick: Nakamura
Sean Rueter: The case works best with a heel, Kevin Owens is already the face of a whole country and it’s not gonna be Dolph. Pick: Baron Corbin
Kyle Decker: The briefcase is perfect for Corbin. Word is they've wanted him in the title hunt for a bit now and this is a great way to get him there. Baron lives to sneak attack people. Add in the case and he's going to be a feared man. Winning the title after ambushing the champion and cashing in while he’s down seems like the way the Lone Wolf would win the title. Pick: Baron Corbin
Cain A. Knight: This is by far the best match on the card and it really needs to deliver something special. The formula here almost always works. When you fill the ring up with tons of ladders and a bunch of great workers, you can even throw in Baron Corbin and the match should still be great. I don't envision Zayn or Ziggler winning the WWE Championship in the next year, so I'll rule them out. Styles already had his lengthy run on top somewhat recently so they probably won't give him the briefcase either. Nakamura standing tall on the go-home SmackDown makes me think he won't win when it really counts. That leaves Owens or Corbin. Corbin has been pinned by mid-carder Sami Zayn multiple times in the last month, so that's probably WWE's foolproof way of grooming him to be a future champ. Pick: Baron Corbin
Reverend Kain: Man, this is a tough one. I can see a case for just about anybody, except maybe Dolph. So, just spinning a tale here, let's say Sami Zayn takes it and uses the case to jumpstart his issue with Jinder (since he lost the #1 contender's match that Mahal won in the first place) and that's our WWE Championship feud to tread water until the build for SummerSlam starts in earnest. Pick: Sami Zayn
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match
Geno Mrosko: WWE has shown time and again that it believes in Charlotte in these historic spots more than any other wrestler. There’s nothing that tells me it will be any different here. Pick: Charlotte
Sean Rueter: See above, and this feels like the payoff (at least until she cashes in) of the last year’s worth of building her a heel. Plus, she has a valet for a reason. That white and gold case will look great with his ensemble. Pick: Carmella
Kyle Decker: I can see almost any woman walking away with the briefcase. Carmella has the Ellsworth X factor and as heels, they could be fun with the case. Charlotte has a history of winning these type of "first time" matches. Nattie's been great on SD and a future title run is something to consider. Becky could use something to keep her around a title scene she always deserves to be near. The only person I'd be a bit surprised by would be Tamina, but even that wouldn't be too shocking. I'm going to go with Becky as Ms. Money in the Bank, partially because I'm going with a heel in the men's MITB and partially because it’d be a good accolade for her to have. Pick: Becky Lynch
Cain A. Knight: I'm going to vote with my heart and go with Becky Lynch, with the hope that the briefcase is used to initiate a heel turn whenever she cashes in on Naomi. Becky Lynch is awesome at pro wrestling and I hope a win here will spark a strong run from her for the remainder of 2017. It's usually not smart to pick Becky to win, but with inferior performers like Carmella and Tamina in the mix, and Charlotte and Natalya not needing this accolade, I think Becky is clearly the best choice. That means I'm going to be pretty disappointed when Carmella wins. Pick: Becky Lynch
Reverend Kain: Charlotte is absolutely going to powerbomb someone through a ladder, so I'm going with her here. Pick: Charlotte Flair
Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton
Geno Mrosko: There is nothing over the past few weeks to support the idea that Randy Orton will win the title back here, and it being in his hometown really doesn’t help him. Pick: Mahal
Sean Rueter: The Jinder experiment probably isn’t gonna last much longer, but it’s not gonna end by flipping the belt back to Randall Keith here, either. Plus, they already broke the hometown curse once this month. Pick: Jinder Mahal
Kyle Decker: Seems kind of pointless to switch the belt back to Orton after the shocker of a change last month. While Orton certainly is more credible as a champ, may as well play out Mahal's run a bit further. Plus, Randy is in his home town. Pick: Jinder Mahal
Cain A. Knight: Their match at the last PPV was thoroughly mediocre and I don't see any reason to expect this match to be better. Neither Orton nor Mahal belong in the main event scene, and SmackDown desperately needs to make a complete change at the top to make the show more compelling. That's not going to happen unless there is a cash-in. Mahal is going to win because it doesn't really make sense to change the title for a month just to put it back on the perpetually stale Randy Orton. And WWE probably wants Mahal to be the champ when Mr. America Hulk Hogan John Cena returns on July 4. Pick: Jinder Mahal
Reverend Kain: Jinder's spoken at length about humiliating "Cowboy" Bob Orton at ringside during this match, so all I really want here is some proper old man brawling, and maybe for the Singhs to re-aggravate that old broken arm of his. But unless uncle Barry O is coming along for the ride, that still leaves That Damn Numbers Game, and the Modern Day Maharaja's reign rolls on. Pick: Jinder Mahal
Naomi vs. Lana
Geno Mrosko: Call me crazy but I can absolutely see WWE doing something like putting the title on Lana here just so Charlotte can cash in on her next Tuesday. Pick: Lana
Sean Rueter: Look, she has the greatest entrance theme in WWE... and IT’S NOT EVEN CLOSE. That’s what I read on the internet, anyway. Must be true. You gonna give a lady some bomb ass music and then not put the belt on her? Pick: Lana
Kyle Decker: This is just a stop gap feud for Naomi that will establish whatever they're planning with Lana. I'd be shocked if there's a title change here. While you can point to Jinder as a parallel for why Lana can win, Jinder has been wrestling for years while Lana is really still learning. Pick: Naomi
Cain A. Knight: This match is going to be truly awful, but Naomi needs a villain to overcome while the other SmackDown women are making history with ladders. Lana is basically playing the role of Eva Marie here, and that means it's a great idea to tease her winning the championship, but it's probably not going to end well if they actually make her the champion. Pick: Naomi
Reverend Kain: I'm living in pants-shitting terror of a ravishing champion (whatever that means), but I don't really think it's happening here. They're playing it like Lana is a joke, and I don't think the punchline, even if she's surprisingly competent in the ring, is her winning the title, at least not just yet. Pick: Naomi
The Usos vs. The New Day
Geno Mrosko: It’s not quite time for The New Day to win the titles they will very clearly be winning in the not too distant future. Pick: The Usos
Sean Rueter: The straps will probably find their way to Big, Kofi & X at some point in the not too distant future, but on June 18, their new day is gonna be more ‘L’ than ‘H’. Pick: Paranoia... I mean The Usos (I always get those confused)
Kyle Decker: It feels like the titles are more interesting on the Usos than the New Day. The Usos new gimmick (dudes who drink too much 5 Hour Energy) has been great. The New Day would be more suited for exploring singles while still being part of the New Day. Plus, if the Hype Bros are going to get a title shot (which they've earned), facing the heel Usos act would fit better. Pick: Usos
Cain A. Knight: Both of these teams are a ton of fun and I hope they give this one time to be great. I think the return of the Hype Bros means that the Usos will retain here and be involved in a future break up of Mojo and Zack, and then the New Day will take the titles at some point after that. Pick: The Usos
Reverend Kain: That feeling, creeping up on you, the hair standing up on the back of your neck, the thought that someone's watching-- it's not paranoia, it's the Usos, and I don't think they're losing the titles just yet. At least not before the New Day have a chance to do some skits live from the Uso Penitentiary. Pick: The Usos
The Hype Bros vs. The Colons
Geno Mrosko: Wouldn’t it be something if Zack Ryder turned heel here, blaming Mojo for his woes? Pick: The Colons
Sean Rueter: I want to pick the team who is more hype, but I don’t have any idea how to gauge that. Can someone help me out? Anyone? Oh well, since there’s no way to tell that, I’m gonna go with the team who has experience in the real estate business (also, maybe Zack & Mojo can’t get on the same page and their break-up starts getting teased early? Probably not, but I don’t like it when we all pick the same, and that already happened once). Pick: The Colons
Kyle Decker: Doesn’t make any sense for the Hype Bros to lose here. They’ve likely got a title shot coming their way. Pick: The Hype Bros
Cain A. Knight: The Hype Bros are reunited just in time to beat the Colons. This victory will probably help them earn a future championship match, where their inevitable failure will lead to Zack Ryder becoming disgruntled and betraying his partner. Pick: The Hype Bros
Reverend Kain: I really want to spin a contrarian yarn about the Colons not being hype but being a really good team and tape libraries and Puerto Rico and blah blah blah, but it's an undercard tag match that has one purpose and one purpose alone, and that's to remind folks how the Hype Bros win a wrestling match. Pick: Hype Bros
That’s how we see the card going down.
How about you?