Money in the Bank 2016 Predictions
“Bigger than Wrestlemania!” That’s how WWE is pushing Money in the Bank this year. Honestly I thought Payback and Extreme Rules were better than Wrestlemania 32, but I’ll admit that “bigger than Payback” doesn’t have the same ring to it. I’ll agree though that this is a big Pay Per View, with the main event being overshadowed by the Money in the Bank match and AJ versus Cena. Let’s dive in with some predictions!
Pre Show: Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin (again???)
Winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is going to start having the same stigma as winning the King of the Ring if they keep Corbin on pre show matches.
Who will win: Baron Corbin, because he’s on his way up and Ziggler’s on his way out.
Pre Show: Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus
I can’t believe they called Apollo up so early for this.
Who will win: Apollo, because he’s the cool new guy.
The Money in the Bank Ladder Match
I’m really glad WWE went back to six entrants this year instead of the typical seven. I think having six strong contenders right on the verge of breaking into the main event (or back into it) is way better than just stuffing in whoever can take a bump off of a ladder. While I’d be happy with any of these guys winning it (except for Del Rio), the only two I think have a chance are Owens and Ambrose. Del Rio and Jericho’s main event days are behind them, Zayn’s still too new, and WWE hasn’t gotten behind Cesaro yet, so I’m not sure why they’d start now. Owens is consistently fantastic at everything and hasn’t flirted with the World Title much yet, so I think he’d be a strong contender. I think the temptation of having (or at least teasing) a Shield Main event is too much for WWE though, and Ambrose will win.
Who will win: Ambrose
The New Day vs. The Club vs Enzo and Cass vs. The Vaudevillains for the WWE Tag Team Championships
As much as I love New Day, Enzo and Cass, and the Vaudevillains, it’s nice having The Club provide a serious threat to the tag team division. I’ll admit that on Raw when Xavier and Enzo were getting jealous over a trombone and Aiden English came out singing I started thinking things were getting a little too silly. Now that New Day have become the longest reigning tag team champions again, I think it’s the perfect time for them to lose the titles and chase after them again.
Who will win: The Club
Rusev vs. Titus O’Neil for the United States Championship
Titus may be back on TV, but I feel like his punishment for grabbing Vince’s arm isn’t over. The man used “blowhard” as an insult. On commentary he said he would be a great US champion because he is an American like Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali. He literally said that! While I’m glad to see Rusev being built back up, this could be Titus’ last chance in WWE and they’re giving him nothing to work with.
Who will win: Rusev
Charlotte and Dana Brooke vs. Natalya and Becky Lynch
Do you remember a time when fans thought there would be a women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match? We were all so naive back then. I can’t believe that the great “Diva’s Revolution” and renaming of the division at Wrestlemania has boiled down to one crummy tag match at this Pay Per View. Not that it matters, but I think the babyfaces will win after Dana screws something up for Charlotte.
Who will win: Natalya and Becky Lynch
AJ Styles vs. John Cena
I want to take a minute and acknowledge just how mind blowing it is that WWE are spending so much time hyping up a wrestler who’s still in his first six months with the company. They’re talking about Cena vs. AJ Styles like it’s Cena vs. the Rock, and while I agree that it is a big deal and will be a great match, I’ve never seen them build up a non-WWE guy this much in my life. Even Sting was brought in like “yeah, he’s cool, but he was also around for the death of WCW, so…” Simply mind blowing.
I really think this feud’s been great so far, and I love AJ’s heel work. I haven’t seen much of him as a heel before, and I hope he stays this way for a while. During his contract signing with Cena at Raw he seemed to get under Cena’s skin in a way that I haven’t seen before. I think this has a real potential to be a match of the year contender. Most of Cena’s recent feuds see him losing the first match and winning two after it, so my official prediction for this one is AJ Styles picking up the win.
Who will win: AJ Styles
Likelihood of the club coming out anyway (because what even was the point of those two contracts): 95%
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
While I enjoyed the “Ambrose Asylum” talk show last Monday on Raw, the rest of the build for this match has felt flat to me. For one thing, I personally am seated in the big ol’ boat of people who wished Seth would’ve come back as a face. While his heel run as a champion last year had a fantastic start, by the time he was injured it was growing old. To see him come back playing the exact same character doesn’t really have me excited, especially against Reigns. It will be great to see Seth in the ring again, but I don’t think he’ll actually stand a chance at beating The Guy. While I think Ambrose will definitely win Money in the Bank and tease a cash in, I think he’ll still hold on to the briefcase for a while.
Who will win: Reigns
As much of a drag as Raw is, and as much of a Raw Replay as Smackdown is, WWE’s Pay Per Views almost always deliver and I think Money in the Bank will be no different. There are a lot of great matches on the card and as confident as I sound when predicting that AJ will beat Cena and that Ambrose won’t cash in, I know when the pieces are in motion I’ll be glued to the TV.
