While the Money in the Bank concept has suffered a bit in recent years by being watered down (would wrestlers logically use the contract for anything less than a shot at a world championship?), the namesake matches and event are still highly anticipated by WWE fans.
Not only are the Ladder matches fun in their own right, allowing for some of the most free-flowing creativity seen in WWE, but the briefcase is a visual that has withstood the test of time, and the contract inside makes an excellent tool for either accelerating or revitalizing careers.
There’s a compelling argument that on the men’s side, a Money in the Bank winner is needed now as much as ever to inject some unpredictability into the world title picture. On SmackDown, Roman Reigns seems likely to be tied up with internal Bloodline strife for the foreseeable future, and what better way to keep him on his toes (and perhaps make him vulnerable for a Jimmy Uso) than to have a briefcase holder stalking him too?
His Raw counterpart, Seth Rollins, has promised to be a fighting champ who takes on all comers, but so far doesn’t have an obvious No. 1 contender. He’ll likely get one ahead of the Money in the Bank event in London, but the briefcase winner could transition right into that role afterward.
(Note that this same thinking applies less to the women’s division, where both titles have changed hands within the past two months and there needs to be some resolution about the titles being on the “wrong” shows first.)
While the field for the men’s Ladder match has already begun to be set, there are still more names to be added, and as we’ve seen in the past, spots can even be won or lost after the fact. With that in mind, here are four WWE superstars in no particular order who could really take off after winning the MITB briefcase, plus one safe fallback if Triple H and company aren’t feeling particularly inspired by their other options.
Shinsuke Nakamura
If you ever needed proof that being presented as a big deal and being booked as a main event-caliber talent don’t always go hand in hand, Shinsuke Nakamura is it. From his entrance theme to the way announcers usually talk about him, everything about the King of Strong Style tends to be top shelf. Yet WWE seems to forget about him creatively for long stretches of time and never commits to pushing Nakamura toward one of its main titles for long.
There’s a school of thought that Nakmaura, now in his 40s, is fine with this after more grueling programs in his prime in NJPW. But WWE has recently begun getting behind him again, to the point where fans hoping he might sniff one of the big belts can reasonably think “this is it.” If he wins at MITB, it very well could be.
Drew McIntyre
Obviously, this is dependent on Drew McIntyre and WWE working out whatever issues they might have with each other. But despite the fact that he’s had an excellent run as a fan favorite, Raw is screaming for someone to step up as a monster heel, and the Scottish Warrior can certainly play that role to the hilt.
As McIntyre famously had his lone world title run during the crowd-less pandemic era, his motivation for going on a rampage basically writes itself: I’ve done everything asked of me, others keep getting shots I deserve, so I’m taking matters into my own hands. It would be pretty fun watching him menace Rollins over an extended period of time, and they’ve only had one previous singles match with a title at stake.
Montez Ford
One thing the Money in the Bank briefcase has successfully done in the past is elevate wrestlers on the verge of breaking through but in need of a logical push to get them over the hump. There’s little doubt that if you asked 1,000 WWE fans to name the next male wrestler deserving of a push toward singles title shots, Montez Ford would be heard plenty of times in response.
Better still, a MITB victory would mean he could be pushed without breaking up the Street Profits. There’s no reason for Angelo Dawkins to be jealous of just winning the briefcase — save that for if and when Tez is wearing gold on his own. Let the Profits keep dong their thing as a duo, but give Ford a chance to spread his wings with the case and see if his blend of athleticism and charisma play as a championship contender. It just makes sense.
LA Knight
Speaking of charisma, there’s probably no WWE wrestler as over without much to show for it as LA Knight. He’s in the perfect spot right now where fans love to cheer him when he comes out, but he plays the traditional heel role perfectly and is almost always able to convert most of those cheers to boos before long. He’s excellent on the mic and pretty darn good between the ropes as well.
Yet WWE hasn’t seemed to know what to do with him, rarely giving Knight a chance to sink his teeth into any particular program. The good news is that wouldn’t actually need to change much if he won the briefcase — could you think of anyone more well-suited to keep both world champs guessing as to which of them would be the target of a cash-in? Knight is already over and fans would absolutely buy him stepping up a notch. WWE just has to lean in to what’s already there.
And finally, the “break glass in case of creative emergency” option …
Cody Rhodes
Through no fault of his own, Cody Rhodes is the least interesting candidate. That’s because he’s already at the main event level, and we can all agree he’s going to get another shot at Reigns whether it’s a few months from now at SummerSlam, or (gulp) next spring at WrestleMania 40.
The issue is that with WWE booking Rhodes to lose his one big shot at WrestleMania 39 and then sending him to Raw and Reigns to SmackDown, there’s no obvious way for him to get back in line for Roman again. Having him win Money in the Bank would be a strictly logistical play, much the same way as having him win the Royal Rumble last year was.
Let’s just hope this isn’t necessary and that Cody can “finish the story” some other way.