WWE Money in the Bank 2017 Predictions

Posted by Peter W on June 15, 2017 in Wrestling | 7 Comments

This is the third PPV for WWE in six weeks. It almost seems like overkill but the fan in me enjoys having the option to watch more wrestling on Sunday nights.

I’m kind of excited to watch this show and it’s probably a 7 out of 10 on the hype scale due to the fact that two Money in the Bank briefcases will be claimed and it will bring some suspense to two Smackdown title reigns.

As of the time of writing this, there are only five matches announced. If there are any additions, I will update.

Naomi (Champ) vs. Lana – SmackDown  Women’s Championship Match

Whoa boy. I’m not sure what to say about this one. On one hand, you have Naomi who has vastly improved in the ring. Then on the other hand, you have someone as green as they come with Lana. I don’t want to see the women fail and maybe Lana will prove us all wrong, but I just have a funny feeling this isn’t going to be a good match. Lana won’t win the title here, either.  IF Lana wins to get heat, it’ll be through count-out or a DQ.

Winner: Naomi

The Usos (Champs) vs. The New Day – SmackDown  Tag Team Championship Match

Please don’t have The New Day win. Please don’t have The New Day win. Please don’t have The New Day win. Please don’t have The New Day win. Please don’t have The New Day win. Please don’t have The New Day win. Can you tell what I don’t want to have happen here? I can’t stand them anymore. At least we’ll have a decent match here. I think the Usos will also cheat to win to keep the feud going so the people that actually like The New Day still can have something to get behind.

Winners: The Usos

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya vs. Tamina vs. Carmella –
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

I think this will be the match that opens the show. The combination of Becky, Charlotte, and Natalya is the perfect fit for this match finally being given to the women. They are all seasoned enough to work this kind of match and keep it flowing like it should. We barely see Tamina in the ring and Carmella is still green in the ring, so I’m hoping both of them don’t get hurt.

While I would like to see Lynch win here or Charlotte get the win and embrace her heel persona here, I’m just not sure WWE is going to give us those options. Natalya is a favourite as she deserves a win here BUT we’ve also seen some major swerves by WWE lately and opportunities for others to step up their game. I have a weird feeling we may see Tamina walking out of the match with the briefcase to shake things up. We have a face with Naomi as the champ, so shouldn’t it be fitting that a heel wins here? It probably won’t happen, but I’m sticking with my first thought for the winner.

Winner: Tamina

Jinder Mahal (Champ) vs. Randy Orton – WWE Championship Match

If you’ve read my past features, you know my thoughts on Orton. He doesn’t need the win or title here. WWE needs to make Mahal look strong as hell here by getting a clean pin on Orton. Yeah, cheating will give him more of the heat a heel champ is supposed to get.

WWE has gone out of their way to get across to the audience that Cowboy Bob Orton (Randy’s father) will be in the front row with some other past Superstars, so I can see something involving ol’ Cowboy (like Mahal striking him) and it will cause Orton to snap and get DQ’d.  Or perhaps the old timers get involved and get Randy DQ’d by accident.

On a side note: We ALL know who is coming back to Smackdown in a few weeks: John Cena. Mahal will retain the title on Sunday and I can see Mahal and Cena feuding, leading to a match at Summerslam. Yeah, I know…Cena doesn’t need a win or another title run but it will be a story the kiddies can get behind. Mahal has to win against legit opponents like Orton in order for people to believe he even has a chance at beating Cena. I think Cena will win if they do stretch a feud out until Summerslam and that’s where the winner of the men’s MITB match will come in to play.

Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – Money in the Bank Ladder Match

I’m sure this match will be one of the best ladder matches in years. I mean, just look at the talent involved! This is a match that could potentially put people like Sami Zayn, Shinuke Nakamura, and Baron Corbin on the next level in the casual WWE audience’s eyes. I’m predicting Zayn will probably take the most spectacular spot of the night while we see Styles and Owens take flight in the ring.

Owens will probably feud with one of these men over the US Championship after this match, so he won’t be winning. Let’s say Styles will be the person to continue his feud for the championship, so that may eliminate him as the winner. Ziggler has had his shot, so he’s out.  WWE hasn’t put enough stock in Zayn’s character for him to win with his goofy backstage speed-talking. Who is left? Nakamura and Corbin. While Nakamura is a favourite to win this, I don’t think WWE will propel him into that spotlight yet.

That leaves Baron Corbin. If Cena shows back up, feuds with Mahal until Summerslam and wins the belt, we’ll need someone else to get major heat from a win by beating Cena while Cena is exhausted after wrestling.   That person is Baron Corbin. This is where I see WWE going over the summer but I, of course, may be wrong and that’s the fun of making these predictions.

One last thing: will we see a really pissed off Rusev show up and cause someone in this match their shot?

Winner: Baron Corbin

For a Sunday update/addition – rumours are rampant that Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett will make an appearance on tonight’s program. In one way I hope they leave their debut until Smackdown Live as there are already too many people involved in the Money in the Bank match and I don’t see WWE inserting them into the WWE Championship picture when Maria hasn’t been on WWE TV in ages and Bennett never has.