WWE is bringing one of its signature events to the United Kingdom with Money in the Bank taking place this weekend.
For the first time in more than 30 years, London will host a major WWE pay-per-view. The action will kick off live on Peacock starting at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Both of this year’s Money in the Bank ladder matches have relatively wide-open fields. While there are definitely some favorites to win, you could make a strong argument for any of the participants.
The men’s ladder match features seven wrestlers who have never been a world champion on the WWE main roster before. Logan Paul, Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, Damian Priest, Santos Escobar, Butch and LA Knight will be vying to win the briefcase and the future title shot that comes with it.
Paul is returning to the ring for the first time since his stellar match against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. With Rollins now holding WWE’s world heavyweight championship, it would make sense to resume their feud with Paul winning Money in the Bank. Paul cashing in on Rollins (potentially after Rollins’s title defense against Finn Bálor on Saturday) would generate such amazing heat. There’s a time when Logan Paul becoming WWE world champion would have been unthinkable. It would have been seen as a business-killing move like WCW putting its title on David Arquette. But Paul has delivered in every single one of his WWE matches. He’s one of the best big-match wrestlers in WWE and would be a great world champion.
LA Knight stands out as the other favorite in the men’s ladder match. WWE has something special in the 40-year-old Knight right now, and it would be hugely disappointing if the company doesn’t capitalize on it. It was a long road for Knight to get to WWE stardom. His main-roster introduction as Max Dupri seemed destined for failure. But Knight’s charisma and microphone skills have made him one of the biggest fan favorites in the entire company. Wherever WWE goes, people are chanting Knight’s catchphrases. The London crowd is going to be begging for Knight to win this match. The reaction will be incredible if he’s able to do it.
Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus, Zoey Stark, Zelina Vega, Iyo Sky and Bayley make up the field for the women’s ladder match. It features three intersecting stories: the feud between Lynch and Stratus, the rise of Vega and the inevitable breakup of Damage CTRL. Lynch is one of the best candidates to win. WWE has been teasing a title match between her and Rhea Ripley, but Lynch will likely need to resolve her rivalry with Stratus first. That could open the door for someone else to win Money in the Bank.
The card for Saturday’s PPV also includes three title bouts, the Bloodline Civil War and a grudge match between Cody Rhodes and Dominik Mysterio. Here’s a full rundown of the lineup, along with predictions for each match.
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Logan Paul vs. Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Damian Priest vs. Santos Escobar vs. Butch vs. LA Knight
While Paul and Knight are the top contenders, it wouldn’t be shocking if neither won. Priest and Escobar are the best options among the other candidates. Both should be on the cusp of world title contention. Butch isn’t at that level yet, but this is an opportunity for him to put in a strong performance in his home country. Ricochet and Nakamura are both decent choices but have probably found their place in the upper midcard.
It’s refreshing that whoever wins will actually have a realistic chance to become world champion. When Austin Theory won Money in the Bank last year, there was no chance that he was ever going to beat Roman Reigns. Having another men’s world title opens the door for more possibilities.
Choosing between Knight and Paul is such a hard decision. Knight would provide for the better moment, but Paul makes more sense as an immediate title challenger. Paul can win the briefcase and go on to face Rollins at SummerSlam.
Prediction: Logan Paul wins
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus vs. Zoey Stark vs. Zelina Vega vs. Iyo Sky vs. Bayley
You can’t rule out a Lynch victory, but it’s more likely that Stratus and Stark will prevent her from being able to grab the briefcase. It’s time for WWE to make Iyo Sky one of the top stars in the women’s division. Her title challenge against Bianca Belair at Backlash showed what Sky is capable of. She’s among the best wrestlers in all of WWE. A ladder match is the perfect moment for the Genius of the Sky to ascend into superstardom. With Sky winning Money in the Bank, Bayley’s jealousy will lead to Damage CTRL finally breaking up.
Prediction: Iyo Sky wins
Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa vs. The Usos
After a brief post-WrestleMania lull, the Bloodline saga is back to being the best thing in pro wrestling. Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, The Usos and Paul Heyman have found new ways to keep this story compelling. It’s a credit to how great they are as performers that they’ve been able to recapture the magic of the story even with Sami Zayn no longer heavily involved.
Fed up with Reigns’s disrespect, Jimmy Uso dropped Reigns with a superkick at Night of Champions. Jey Uso later followed suit when he decided to stick with his twin brother and leave The Bloodline. This civil war is going to remain WWE’s hottest story throughout the summer. The best way to keep it going is with The Usos winning on Saturday. Jimmy and Jey are both viable SummerSlam contenders for Reigns. Sikoa will also be in the title mix when he eventually turns against his cousin.
Prediction: The Usos win
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor for the world heavyweight championship
The story for this match dates back seven years. At SummerSlam 2016, Bálor defeated Rollins to become WWE’s inaugural universal champion. It should have cemented Bálor’s place at the top of WWE, but a torn labrum that Bálor suffered during the match derailed his title reign. Just one day after defeating Rollins, Bálor was forced to vacate the championship. The injury legitimately hurt Bálor’s career. Though he’s still done well since then, Bálor has never been able to fully recapture his momentum. WWE has never been behind him in the same way it was in 2016. Bálor will be looking to get revenge on Rollins and end his title reign.
Rollins vs. Bálor is guaranteed to contend for best match of the night at Money in the Bank. Rollins retaining is a safe bet, but whether he walks out of London as world heavyweight champion remains to be seen. If Logan Paul does win the men’s Money in the Bank briefcase, he could cash in on Rollins later in the night and steal the title.
Prediction: Seth Rollins retains
Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler vs. Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan for the WWE women’s tag team titles
Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan are attempting to reclaim the titles that they never lost. A shoulder injury Morgan suffered in May brought an early end to their championship reign. With the titles vacant, Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler won a fatal four-way match on Raw to become champions.
It may be a step down from her main-event heights, but this tag team run with Baszler is the best work Rousey has done in a while. You can tell that she and Baszler are having fun teaming together. They should have a long reign that establishes the women’s tag team titles as a genuinely important prize in WWE.
Prediction: Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler retain
Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio
The dynamic between Cody Rhodes and Dominik Mysterio has worked so well during their feud. Rhodes is one of the best babyfaces in the company, while Mysterio gets massive heat every time he appears. Mysterio plays his cowardly heel role perfectly. Instead of just being a boring stopgap feud as Rhodes awaits his next match against Brock Lesnar, this has been really fun and helped both competitors.
Rhodes winning is the right call. That being said, it’s important that Mysterio puts in a good showing. We should at least see flashes that Mysterio is capable of holding his own against Rhodes and isn’t just the cheap-shot artist we’ve seen in the lead-up to Money in the Bank.
Prediction: Cody Rhodes wins
Gunther vs. Matt Riddle for the intercontinental title
This is the second straight WWE PPV to feature a Gunther intercontinental title defense. Going forward, there needs to be a Gunther match at every major WWE event. No wrestler in WWE is as consistently great as he is. If you gave him any challenger on the roster, Gunther would find a way to have an incredible match with them.
Riddle and Gunther have had great in-ring chemistry dating back to when they were on the indies. They now get to show that on a bigger stage. Riddle will put up a good fight, but it won’t be enough to end Gunther’s reign of dominance.
