I'm always here for Money In The Bank. Outside of The Royal Rumble, it's the best stipulation match WWE regularly puts on, but when I first published this column like a week ago, I was a little lukewarm in my excitement because I thought it was relatively obvious Damian Priest was going to win. He's a rising star. The Judgment Day is getting a ton of TV time, and while LA Knight was warming up, a world title run seemed like a bridge too far for a guy that's never fought for even a mid-card belt in WWE.
But so much has changed in the last week. Logan Paul showed up on Raw, dropped a fire promo and got added to Money In The Bank. He's now a serious contender. And LA Knight dropped a minute long promo during a surprise appearance on the red brand, and fans shared the hell out of it, comparing it to something The Rock would have done in The Attitude Era. He suddenly might be too hot to hold back any longer.
So, in less than a week, we've gone from what I thought was a pretty obvious outcome to who the hell knows. How great is that? I've gone ahead and made some adjustments to my picks and re-wrote my analysis. So, read on for a complete ranking of everyone in the match (so far) and who I think is most likely to win.
7. Butch
Don’t let this last place ranking fool you into thinking I’m not a Butch guy. I love The Brawling Brutes and I love Butch. He’s somehow both super athletic and also mean-spirited and brutal. Many are hoping he’ll eventually get back to the Pete Dunne character, but I personally don’t see any reason why he can’t just develop Butch. The potential is there, and he’s gotten some good fan responses alongside Ridge Holland, even when Sheamus isn’t around.
But it just doesn’t make sense for him to win this match. WWE hasn’t given him the story or the character development to make him a believable singles champion at this point in his career. He’s very clearly a supporting player right now for Sheamus. That being said, putting on a great performance in a match like this is a great way to break out and start becoming someone who would actually be considered to win a match like this in the future. And there’s no reason to think he can’t put on a great performance. I’d expect him to be involved in a few terrific spots, and I think the European crowd will really get behind him and push. This could be the thing that leads to the other things.
6. Santos Escobar
The LWO is having a nice little moment right now. Joined by Bad Bunny who rocked the shirt, they were the unquestioned stars of Backlash and have been getting regular television time and some good crowd reactions, but in order to be at a winning Money In The Bank level, Santos Escobar needs to show he can generate star-level reactions outside of Rey Mysterio. He hasn’t really done that yet, and I think it’s an open question as to how fans would even respond if he won the briefcase.
But just like with Butch, a big event like Money In The Bank is the best place to start generating momentum. Santos has good physical strength but also tremendous athleticism. That should allow him to be considered and possibly used for all the match’s coolest moments. I’d love to see him come out of this event looking like a star and maybe emerge as a candidate for a mid-card belt. A feud with Austin Theory, as an example, could be a good speed for him.
5. Ricochet
It’ll be interesting to see what Triple H and company want to do with Ricochet. He had a nice little tag team with Braun Strowman going before the big man was injured. I saw them live a few times, and they were very over with the crowd. Is there a future in which he once again competes for and holds mid-card titles as a singles performer? Or is he mostly going to be a guy who loses key matches but looks great doing it? I don’t know what the long-term plan is, but in the short-term, he’s almost certainly going to lose this key match and look good doing it.
I’m putting him fourth and above the other two, however, because he’s more established as a solo singles performer who the crowd knows and appreciates. He gets some nice pops when he comes out, and he’s always good for a few double-take moments during every match. It really might be a viable option to have him feud with someone like Austin Theory, but given Roman Reigns, who isn't losing, isn’t the only one with a major belt anymore, I expect the cash-in to come on Seth Rollins and that feels like a bridge too far for Ricochet at this point in his career, especially since he hasn’t shown the mic skills to properly take advantage of the awesome promo opportunities the briefcase usually offers.
4. Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura has had a weird career in WWE. He won The Royal Rumble, which is one of the biggest shows of support the company can give to a performer; yet, he’s also gone through periods where he’s taken a lot of losses to pretty lowly opponents. Fortunately, the writers seem to be trying to build him back up since his return. He’s picked up a lot of recent wins over people like Karrion Kross, The Miz, Ricochet and even Bronson Reed. That’s allowed him to get a bit of momentum, but unfortunately, when he’s stepped up one level higher to the likes of Finn Bálor and Seth Rollins, he’s lost.
I think fans would love to see Shinsuke Nakamura finally raise a world title in WWE. He’s had such an incredible career and has come close in the past, but I don’t know that he’s the best fit right now for Money In The Bank. The briefcase typically works better with a heel or at least someone who is super comfortable on promos. I’d rather see someone else win the prize and Shinsuke get his moment later, since I suspect the new World Heavyweight Championship will change owners a lot more than Roman Reigns’ new title. Ultimately, I think he could win, but I don’t think he will win.
3. Logan Paul
There are three primary reasons to think Logan Paul could win Money In The Bank. First, he's really good at wrestling and only getting better. He's overdelivered every single time he's appeared, and if he were to tell WWE he wanted to appear two or three times a month for the next six months, it would be really tempting to put the briefcase on him. That promo he delivered on Monday Night was better than what we get on the mic from 90% of the roster.
Second, there's a lot of history between him and Seth Rollins, who almost everyone considers the likely cash-in target. They fought at WrestleMania, and the story of Logan teasing a cash-in, then cashing in and having a rematch at a major premium live event practically writes itself.
Third, Logan Paul carting around the Money In The Bank briefcase everywhere he goes until he cashes in would be excellent publicity for WWE. Attendance is up, and revenue is up. People are excited about WWE right now, but it still hasn't broken back into the mainstream. It needs to attract a younger audience. Logan Paul could be a massive help in making that happen.
I don't think he's going to win, but because of everything outlined above, he would actually be a pretty logical choice. I'd give him at least a one in ten chance for sure.
2. LA Knight
YEAH! The megastar has spent the past few months getting himself over with hardcore fans/ marks, despite being beset by F- booking, but in the last week, he's seemingly gone from being the hardcore fan pick to the everyman pick. His surprise promo on Raw was among the most raucous crowd reactions we've gotten in awhile, and there's now tweets calling for him to win the briefcase all over social media, many of them with thousands upon thousands of likes.
I'm really torn by what Triple H, Bruce Prichard and the rest of the WWE writers will choose to do here. On the one hand, you need to take advantage of a moment, and LA Knight is having a moment right now. There are only a handful of guys on the entire roster who have ever had fans screaming their names as loudly as the megastar got during his recent promo. That means something, and listening to the fans, when they're this loud, is rarely a bad idea.
On the other hand, if you were building this storyline out from scratch, you'd have LA Knight do a month long promo with Austin Theory to challenge for The United States Championship and have them fight at SummerSlam. The crowd would be in a frenzy for that match, and it would feel so meaningful because it would potentially be the rising star's first title in WWE. If his momentum continues for another few months, he could escalate to a world championship level after that.
1. Damian Priest
With the exception of those involved in the Bloodline story, I’m not sure anyone has gotten more consistent television time in key spots this year than Judgment Day. It feels like they’re always involved in A-level storylines and wrestling in main events of Raw. With the exception of Rhea Ripley, however, they’ve done a lot of losing lately. Finn Bálor and Dominik Mysterio both lost at WrestleMania. Damian Priest lost at Backlash. I suspect Bálor will lose to Seth Rollins at Money In The Bank and Dom Dom will lose to Cody Rhodes. At some point, they need to start stacking some wins to be taken seriously, and giving the briefcase to Damian is the perfect way to do that.
Priest has really started coming into his own over the last few months. He had, without question, the match of the night with Bad Bunny at Backlash, and his promo work has been improving exponentially. It’s time for him to take the next step. I’d love to see him win the match and eventually cash in on Seth Rollins and become World Heavyweight Champion. That victory would elevate Judgment Day to a level they’ve never reached before, given they’d have two world champions with Rhea, and it would allow WWE the opportunity to explore more of the interpersonal dynamics between the group members. To me, it’s pretty clearly the most obvious from a storyline perspective.
But sometimes what's best for the storyline needs to give way to what has the highest upside, and right now, a strong case could be made that both Logan Paul and LA Knight offer higher possible upside for WWE if they were to grab the briefcase. So, that leaves a really interesting decision for WWE to make. I'd still put Priest as the odds on favorite, but I'm really not sure anymore. What a fun position to be in as a fan!
You can catch Money In The Bank live on July 1st with a Peacock subscription.
Other Possible Options
WWE has said this is who we’re getting in the Money In The Bank match, but do we believe them? Last year there were eight people including Austin Theory who was added at the last possible second. It’s possible WWE could stick with six this year, but I think we all need to be prepared for the possibility that more may be added. So, let’s talk out who those people could be.
I think the most likely is Drew McIntyre. He currently seems to be locked in some kind of stand-off with WWE over his contract that allegedly expires later this year and also, if the rumors are to be believed, his displeasure with some of the creative choices around his character. You’d have to think he’d be open to returning if it meant winning Money In The Bank, especially since it’s taking place in Europe where he’s sure to get a raucous ovation.
It’s also possible we see some kind of representation from The Bloodline. Rumors are swirling that Roman Reigns will be featured in the main event, maybe against Jimmy Uso who he’s been sniping back and forth with. Could that mean that Solo is given the chance to compete or maybe Jey Uso? Either one of them winning could add a very interesting dynamic to the storyline.
If anyone officially gets added to the match, I will update the rankings and give them their own paragraphs. You can stream the event, which will take place on July 1st, with a Peacock subscription.
