Sunday night is going to be a busy one. We’ve got game seven of the NBA Finals, the Battle of the Bastards in Game of Thrones, and WWE’s Money in the Bank! It’s also Father’s Day, for those of you who keep track of that sort of thing. While GoT will probably sit on my DVR until Monday and the NBA will be on my twitter feed, the event I’ll likely have my eyes on is the ladder-laden wrestling spectacular. (That makes it sound way fancy.)
As there are with all WWE PPV’s, there are a bunch of matches filling out the night’s card. That list includes a US title match, a fatal four way tag team title match, and yet another Ziggler-Corbin pre-show match (their third in a row). Oh yeah, and AJ FUCKING STYLES VS JOHN DAMN CENA. Pardon my french. There’s stuff there to like. But let’s talk about the two matches that hold the most significance.
Six Man MITB Ladder Match:
Kevin Owens, Alberto Del Rio, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Sami Zayn
Okay, there’s been some confusion since this match’s announcement. It was initially a seven man match, but that mystery spot has fallen by the wayside amidst a swirl of rumors regaring its vacancy-filler. As it stands now without further adjustments, one of the six men I listed will hold the briefcase at the end of the night. I’m personally hoping for for a Bray Wyatt interruption / surprise entry, but I’m not expecting one.
I feel like there’s a couple surefire “no’s” on this list. ADR, having already won several years ago, should be right out. Yeah, it could be given to him as a sign from management that they’re ready to fill the promises they made in signing him, but pffft. His character isn’t strong enough for the title scene. Sami Zayn is a no as well, simply because they’re gonna play this underdog card as long as they can. Daniel Bryan 2.0, if you will. Jericho and Cesaro are on the bubble for me. Y2J has been booked strong since his return, defeating AJ Styles at ‘Mania. He comes off a losing feud with Ambrose, but a win could put another heavy player in the mix, albeit a temporary one. (His standing tall at the end of Raw might rule him out completely though.) Cesaro is SO close to being ready for a main event run, providing awesome matches and moments almost nightly. I’m just assuming WWE doesn’t have a great plan for him or that they’ll put him in a feud with Jericho or Del Rio after this match instead.
This still works though.
That leaves two strong candidates for the ‘case. Kevin Owens is ready for the title. We all know it. We know his mic skills are currently the best in WWE. He also tells an in-ring story better than anybody I’ve seen in a while. The only question is whether WWE wants him to keep elevating the upper mid-card for the foreseeable future. Dean Ambrose is clearly the star that WWE is hinting at the hardest. The Ambrose Asylum segment on last Monday’s Raw proves that out, as he’s already moved on to feuding with the two guys who are fighting for the actual title. Though it wouldn’t be beyond them to immediately pay us off with a Dean title reign, I can easily see them letting Dean win… only to cash in and somehow lose later on in the night. Dean gets set-up to lose the big ones, we all see that, right? With that in mind, I’m taking Kevin Owens, because I feel that he can do the most with the briefcase, even if he doesn’t need it. I’m fully prepared to be wrong or switch my vote when Bray gets involved.
WWE Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs Seth Rollins
And then there’s this match. You know, the match who decides which dude gets jumped at a late point in time. Like WWE has been oh so quick to point out, this match feels like it should be saved for something bigger. I’m almost positive we’ll get it again at SummerSlam, but let’s focus on this first installment. Roman’s been built as “the guy” for a while now, but it’s only been a few months since his ‘Mania win. Seth’s just recently returned and hasn’t even had a match yet. I doubt they’re setting Roman up just to lose clean to Seth, and why blow Seth’s return on a clean loss? There’s something else going on here.
Not that WWE would EVER pull a fast one on us.
The MITB contract is an easy out for someone to win or lose via shenanigans. For example: Dean wins MITB. Title match starts. Dean cashes in when they’re both down. Seth or Roman pin Dean. Boom, just like ‘Mania 31. There’s clearly a chance someone else gets involved, so I’m leaning towards a win by DQ sorta finish where the title doesn’t change hands. Roman‘s keeping the belt for now, I’m pretty sure. Maybe the Wyatts show up and wreck everyone? (You can tell I REALLY miss Bray, can’t you.)
What are your thoughts for Sunday? Who’s winning? Who’ll be a looooooser? Let us know!
Please come back.
