Predicting the match order at Money in the Bank 2019

It’s one thing to predict the winners and losers at Money in the Bank 2019, but how about taking a guess at the match order on that card?

WWE has announced 10 different segments for the main card of Money in the Bank, not counting the pre-show match featuring Daniel Bryan, the Usos, and Rowan.

Here is my subjective view of how important each of these 10 segments rank on the Money in the Bank card, ordered from most important to least important.

1. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair
2. AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins
3. Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens
4. Men’s ladder match
5. The Miz vs. Shane McMahon
6. Women’s ladder match
7. Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans
8. Roman Reigns vs. Elias
9. Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio
10. Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari

It is important to come up with a list like this to get an idea of which matches are going to be placed in the key spots on the card or take up the most time, and which matches might end up in the cool-down spots or be given the least amount of time.

The top three matches are pretty much interchangeable; they are championship matches for the top belts in the company that also feature most of the top stars in the company.

It’s a bit trickier to rank the matches after that. The Money in the Bank ladder matches always have importance to them, but this year they feel a bit short on star power, particularly on the women’s side.

It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if Nese’s match is moved onto the pre-show. It really sticks out like a sore thumb here.

Main event

The top four matches are all viable contenders to main event this card, and it really isn’t clear which one is the favorite.

Flair and Lynch just headlined WrestleMania 35, so they can certainly close out this card too. This match has been done to death and doesn’t really feel that special anymore, but the main event spot would be a fitting way to end their feud.

Kingston has been regularly main eventing WWE’s weekly television shows. But he has still never main evented a WWE pay-per-view (PPV) in a singles match, while Owens is primarily in this spot due to Daniel Bryan’s absence after WrestleMania.

Rollins and Styles have been established main event level stars for a long time and have never wrestled on PPV against each other. However they are both babyfaces, so perhaps that’s not ideal for the final match of the night.

The men’s ladder match has main evented many of these events in the past, but looks like a longshot here due to Randy Orton being the only established main event star in the mix.

I don’t really know where to go here. If WWE is planning to end the night with a cash-in, that kind of angle could very well determine which match ends up in the main event spot.

I’ll play it safe and go with Flair and Lynch, because they just headlined WrestleMania 35, and because Lynch’s double duty makes her more susceptible to either a surprise cash-in or a straight up title loss to Flair. I think titles are less likely to change hands on the men’s side of the equation, particularly in the Universal championship match.

Opening match

The opening match of the night is usually one of the mid-level attractions with good work rate that doesn’t require a dedicated video package ahead of time to hype it up.

This is trickier to figure out than usual, and I see five potential matches for the opening segment.

Either ladder match could end up in this spot, with the women’s match more likely than the men’s.

Becky Lynch is pulling doubly duty on this card, so her match with Lacey Evans should take place early in the night.

Joe versus Rey does rank towards the bottom of my list in terms of importance to this card, but it’s a reliably good match from a work rate standpoint that can easily fit into the opening spot.

There are essentially six major matches on this card. Shane versus Miz in a steel cage is one of those matches and could land in this spot if WWE tries to spread them all out, though it’s really not ideal for the opening match.

I think Lacey Evans is still too much of an unknown in the ring to begin a PPV with, so I’ll go with the women’s ladder match for the opening match of the night.

That gives me the following card:

Segment 1: Women’s ladder match
Segment 2:
Segment 3:
Segment 4:
Segment 5:
Segment 6:
Segment 7:
Segment 8:
Segment 9:
Segment 10: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Segments 2 and 3

Segment 2 is usually one of the least important matches of the night. Considering that Shane McMahon is involved in two feuds right now, I could see Roman’s match with Elias taking place here with some involvement from Shane, and then Roman paying Shane back later in the night. Or maybe WWE just books a straight up squash of Elias. Either way, Segment 2 feels like a good spot for this one, despite Roman’s status as a top guy. His match with Elias doesn’t need to wait until the latter half of the card.

Then I’ll follow that up with Becky’s first match of the night in Segment 3, defending her Raw women’s championship against Lacey Evans.

That gives me the following card:

Segment 1: Women’s ladder match
Segment 2: Roman Reigns vs. Elias
Segment 3: Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans
Segment 4:
Segment 5:
Segment 6:
Segment 7:
Segment 8:
Segment 9:
Segment 10: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Segments 4 and 5

There are four major matches left to choose from (Kingston, Rollins, Miz, Men’s ladder) with six slots left, so one of them really should go in Segment 4. It’s too soon for the men’s ladder match considering the women’s ladder match started the show, so I’ll take that one out of the mix.

Ideally I’d want to put more room between Roman and Shane, but I think it’s a better idea to spread out the three gimmick matches (two ladder and one steel cage). Therefore I’m putting Shane’s steel cage match in Segment 4, giving it some distance from both ladder matches.

I’ll follow that up with something that’s not so important in Segment 5, and Rey’s match with Joe fits that description pretty well.

Segment 1: Women’s ladder match
Segment 2: Roman Reigns vs. Elias
Segment 3: Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans
Segment 4: The Miz vs. Shane McMahon
Segment 5: Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio
Segment 6:
Segment 7:
Segment 8:
Segment 9:
Segment 10: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Everything else

The only remaining matches are three important ones and Nese’s obvious filler match. I figure Nese’s match will be buried right after the men’s ladder match, so I’ll slot those two matches in at the same time.

Segment 6 still feels a bit too early for it though, so I’ll put Kingston and Owens in that slot instead. I think the presence of the SmackDown women’s championship in the main event makes it more likely that the top Raw title (Rollins) goes later in the night than the WWE Championship. In other words, the Raw main event of this show will probably take place in Segment 9.

Sometimes the obvious filler match is placed right before the main event. But I don’t think Lynch versus Flair is a hot enough main event where Segment 9 should be given to a throwaway match; I’m much more comfortable putting Rollins and Styles in Segment 9.

That means the men’s ladder match will go in Segment 7, with Nese in segment 8.

Finalized card

So here is my final prediction for the match order at Money in the Bank, along with guesses on the bell-to-bell match times.

Segment 1: Women’s ladder match (15 minutes)
Segment 2: Roman Reigns vs. Elias (6)
Segment 3: Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans (8)
Segment 4: The Miz vs. Shane McMahon (17)
Segment 5: Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio (11)
Segment 6: Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens (16)
Segment 7: Men’s ladder match (21)
Segment 8: Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari (6)
Segment 9: Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles (20)
Segment 10: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (18)

There are six matches here going 15+ minutes, making for a card with 138 minutes of total match time. That’s the kind of number that can push a main card past 4 hours in length. I hope you’re ready for another marathon night.

That’s my prediction for the match order at Money in the Bank 2019. What’s yours?