As I type this very sentence, we’re approximately one hour away from the start of WWE’s Clash At The Castle pay-per-view. My regular Weekly Power Rankings will be put together after the show, of course, so don’t be confused when you reach that part of the column.
Will Drew McIntyre regain the World Heavyweight Title? Will CM Punk travel all the way to Glasgow, Scotland just to continue trolling Drew and making his life a living hell?
Ten (!!!) months after his first (televised) attempt at taking the Intercontinental Title from Gunther, will Chad Gable finally become the new champion, or will Sami Zayn continue to show where Gable’s “place” is on the WWE card?
These questions, and more, will be answered long before you ever read these words. My focus here, just like the focus of everyone in the WWE Universe once Clash At The Castle ends, is on what comes next, though.
Exactly three weeks after Clash At The Castle comes Money In The Bank, live from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
I don’t want to make predictions on anything, as it’s too early for that. What I do want to do here is talk about one man and one woman I feel SHOULD gain possession of the briefcases in Toronto on July 6th. Please remember that part. SHOULD, not WILL.
Let’s start with the women’s Money In The Bank.
If you’ve been a reader of mine through the years, you should already know my stance on things like Money In The Bank, the Royal Rumble, and so on. Preferably, it would be a vehicle to take someone to that next level in their careers. A midcarder that is ready to reach the main event scene. A former tag wrestler that is looking to make a name for themselves as a singles performer. That type of thing.
Obviously, it hasn’t always happened that way, but that would be my preference.
The woman I feel should take hold of the Money In The Bank briefcase this year falls into my preference category. She has gotten over in the multiple phases of her young career, and even though she has been involved with some of the top main roster talents so far, she hasn’t been able to truly reach the upper tier of the card.
If I had my way, all of the clocks inside of the Scotiabank Arena would declare that it is, indeed, Tiffy Time. Yes, let’s go with Tiffany Stratton as this year’s Money In The Bank winner.
Historically, the winners of the women’s MITB matches have been very quick to cash in. Four of the winners have cashed in their shots in less than 24 hours, with three of those four cashing in their shots later in the Money In The Bank pay-per-view. I think Tiffany could make for some entertaining television if she were to keep the briefcase for an extended period of time. She has the character work down to make that a lot of fun as she taunts the WWE Women’s Champion for however long the company wants to make that last.
I know some people feel that Tiffany is too young, and too new to the sport, for that type of push at this point, but I disagree. She has proven, time and time again, that she is one of the best overall athletes of any woman on the WWE roster. Her aforementioned character work has been top notch. She’s over everywhere she goes. With all of that, it doesn’t matter if she’s 25 years old with less than three years of experience in the ring. When you have a rising star of that nature, you take advantage of that and make yourself some money, no pun intended.
Let’s switch it over to the men’s match for a moment.
The current depth of the WWE roster is on full display here. You could make a realistic case for 20, and maybe 30, different men to win Money In The Bank this year. That’s not hyperbole at all.
If I’m going to follow the same preferences that I have for Money In The Bank winners, that certainly narrows the list down. For example, someone like Randy Orton is a name I’ve seen mentioned as a potential winner. If you were to make a list of names who don’t need Money In The Bank to be involved in the World Title picture, Orton would be right there at the very top of the list. It would be something of a “waste” to have him win at this stage in his career.
I just had a thought that is random, yet related to the current discussion. He isn’t my pick, but can you imagine the heat that could be made by having Dominik Mysterio win Money In The Bank? He is already one of the biggest heat magnets in the business right now. Having him literally one step away from being the World Heavyweight Champion, though, would bring on that nuclear heat. Making it even better is the fact that Damian Priest could (again, I’m typing this before the results of Clash At The Castle are known to me) be the champion that Dom is “chasing” with the briefcase. That would make for must-see television every week.
Okay, back to the matter at hand.
On one hand, I like the idea of the men’s winner coming from the Raw brand. I feel that Cody Rhodes is in it for the long haul as the Undisputed WWE Champion, and as the biggest star in the company, he will always have more than his fair share of contenders gunning to knock him from his pedestal.
On the other hand, Raw has been involved with the men’s Money In The Bank winner for the last seven years. The winner always ends up being a Raw wrestler, with Raw’s titles involved, and we’ve seen Raw itself as the place where the cash-in takes place. With Roman Reigns as the man on Smackdown for the last four years, it goes back to what I said in the previous paragraph… with him being the champion, and the top star, for such a long time, there was no shortage of people looking to take him down. Smackdown didn’t “need” a Money In The Bank winner, so it made sense to have the winner be on Raw for a while.
One of the first names that pops into my head here is Bron Breakker. We’ve seen the reports that have stated WWE has big plans for Bron, and that he is going to be one of the major players on Raw in the “Netflix Era” when the show moves to the streaming service in 2025. Is it too early for him, though? Even though he can keep the Money In The Bank briefcase in his possession for an entire year, he is still brand new to the main roster and the average WWE fan is still learning who he is. It might be a bit backwards to give him the briefcase and THEN give him the in-ring experience to show the WWE Universe that he’s World Title material. He’d be better served working his way up, working more (and longer) matches against the right opponents, and silencing any critics that may still be out there.
The more I think about it, the more I keep going back to one name for the men’s Money In The Bank winner. Not only is it the person I would give the briefcase to, but it seems like he’s the person a lot of people would pick, as he has already been announced as the early betting favorite to win the match. I’m going to go with Jey Uso here.
I know what some of you are thinking.
You’re thinking about my MITB preferences, and you feel that Jey doesn’t meet that criteria.
I assure you, though, that he does.
Yes, he has been involved with the top of the card for a while now, using his connections to Roman Reigns and The Bloodline story to become one of the most popular stars in the business today. However, he has yet to truly break through that proverbial glass ceiling and reach the elite tier in the company.
Since the start of The Bloodline story, Jey is 0-5 in World Title matches, 0-1 in Intercontinental Title matches, and 0-1 in United States Title matches.
Not ideal.
WWE has spent time and effort in making Jey a bigger name, including giving him a viral entrance that can be used in highlight packages for years to come. If he wins the briefcase, it would make for a great moment, but that would only be the amuse-bouche to the main course that would be the crowd reaction to him cashing in and winning the World Heavyweight Title at some point.
The beautiful thing about all of this is how wide open the fields are on the men’s and women’s side of things. Like I said before, you could make a case for a ton of people winning Money In The Bank this year, from top to bottom. That isn’t always the case, so let’s enjoy it.
Your turn. If you had your way, who would be this year’s winners of the Money In The Bank matches? If it matches up with who you think WILL win, that’s fine, but otherwise, just focus on who you think SHOULD win. As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, or on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s get to my Weekly Power Rankings before closing things out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Cody Rhodes vs AJ Styles: Physicality. Brutality. Both men ended up bloodied and battered, and it feels like you haven’t been able to say that about a WWE match in 20-some years.
Damian Priest vs Drew McIntyre: Should Drew have won in front of his fellow Scots? That’s up for you to debate. It would’ve made sense for him to win, sure, but it also made a ton of sense to go with the direction the company ultimately went in. All CM Punk cares about is making Drew’s life an absolute living hell, and you can’t do that with any more force than completely embarrassing him in front of his friends and family, costing him yet another opportunity at being the World Champion. The upcoming Punk vs Drew match is going to be incredible. While I’m here, I’d like to say how glad I am to read that Damian Priest’s leg injury is apparently not a serious one. That botch could’ve been VERY bad for him.
WWE’s Production Since Kevin Dunn Died: I mean, he’s not really dead, but he should be. Every week, it becomes more and more clear just how much he was holding the overall WWE product back. The most recent instance is the shot of CM Punk sliding into the ring during the Priest vs McIntyre match, with the camera positioned perfectly behind Punk as to not immediately reveal his identity. Dunn would’ve had the camera follow Punk all the way down the aisle, follow him into the ring, and then feature more cuts than a Barry Sanders highlight reel. Kevin Dunn, you bucktoothed fuck, I’m so glad that you’re gone.
Will Ospreay vs Rey Fenix: Ospreay had a match. Ospreay makes my Weekly Power Rankings. It’s a pretty solid formula at this point.
Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe & Kyle O’Reilly vs Konosuke Takeshita, Roderick Strong & Kyle Fletcher: Â Oh, hey, it’s a trios match in AEW. You know what that means… more action than you can effectively keep track of.
Sami Zayn vs Chad Gable: Will Chad Gable ever win the Intercontinental Title? Who knows? Every single time you think it’s going to happen FOR SURE, he loses. At least he can say that he continues to go out there and have some really fun matches, even in losing efforts, so I guess there’s that.
AJ Styles Going To Pro Wrestling NOAH: Even though he was unsuccessful in his match at Clash At The Castle, it was announced that AJ would be heading to Japan to face Naomichi Marufuji on July 13th at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Destination event. Two of the best in-ring performers of the last two decades… squaring off for the first time… wrestling at the legendary Budokan in Tokyo… what a time to be alive.
Iyo Sky Going To Marigold: To go with the previous entry, it was announced that Iyo Sky would be making her return to Japan… on the exact same day that AJ will be facing Marufuji… to compete at Marigold’s Summer Destiny event, taking on Utami Hayashishita at the Ryoguku Sumo Hall. While this isn’t quite The Rock vs Hulk Hogan, it’s definitely a showcase featuring Iyo, who is arguably the greatest wrestler that Stardom has ever had, and Utami, who has blown everyone away to become arguably the greatest female wrestler in the world over the last few years. Again… what a time to be alive.
Ilja Dragunov vs Bron Breakker: This is exactly the type of match I was talking about earlier, where Bron can show the WWE Universe what he is capable of. Sure, a squash match here and there can be fun, but it’s these “main event” style matches that have me excited for his future, immediate or otherwise.
Shota Umino vs Rocky Romero: A nice surprise with “Shooter” showing up in AEW, and another nice surprise with a super fun match against his fellow New Japan wrestler Rocky Romero.
Pac vs Jay Lethal: Lethal hasn’t won a singles match in AEW since 1978, but he continues to play a valuable role with the company. You can put him in a match with anyone, and you know it’s going to be high quality, with him making his opponent look great. Every wrestling promotion needs a handful of wrestlers like that.
Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn vs Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark: There’s a lot focus on Jade’s springboard botch, but as we saw with other moments at CATC, some of that can be attributed to the ropes seemingly being looser than we usually see in WWE. There’s even a clip of AJ Styles being informed, before his match, that the ropes were loose. I think Jade tapping out to the Kirifuda Clutch TWICE is the more egregious issue. At this point, she should understand what the tapping motion means in a wrestling match. With all that said, I still enjoyed this match a lot. The champions showed a lot of really good double team offense, and the two teams of challengers looked great in their quest to get the titles. The icing on the cake was the feel-good moment that saw Alba and Isla winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles in their home country, getting a great reaction in doing so.
Lyra Valkyria vs Iyo Sky: It has been fascinating to see the push that Lyra has received since moving to the United States and joining NXT. She went straight to the top of NXT, even though she never really connected with live crowds at a level that would justify the push. Then, she gets drafted to Raw seemingly out of nowhere, and her push has continued there. She can work, and she continues to prove it. Going with the main theme of this column, don’t be surprised if she makes a run at winning Money In The Bank this year.
Thunder Rosa vs Deonna Purrazzo: While I wouldn’t say Deonna has been the “game changer” that some people predicted her to be when she signed with AEW, but she keeps having entertaining matches. As is always the case with AEW signings, it’s about more than that, though. Free agents always look good in the beginning, having pushes and good matches, but they’re inevitably forgotten about as the roster continues adding names. Will she get another push after this? We’ll see, I suppose.
Juice Robinson & The Gunns vs The House Of Black: It sure looked like Buddy Matthews injured himself in the match. If so, kudos to AEW for quickly calling an audible and having Buddy get “attacked” backstage by Christian Cage and his goons.
Kevin Owens vs Solo Sikoa: Owens isn’t going to rest until he feuds with every Polynesian on the planet today. I love the guy, but when my number is called, I’m ready to step up.
Randy Orton: WWE programming is just better overall when Orton is around, so it’s good to see him return from a brief hiatus.
Mercedes Moné vs Zeuxis: More of this, please. Mercedes isn’t in the spot she’s in because of her promo skills. She’s where she is because of the work she delivers in the ring. Having her debut in AEW and then do nothing but cut promos for what seemed like an entire decade before her first match was a terrible idea. She should be wrestling regularly. Again… more of this, please.
Drew McIntyre vs Finn Balor: Heel vs Heel matches can be really difficult for live crowds to deal with, even when those heels are as talented as Drew and Finn are. The match was good, but a better crowd reaction would’ve helped it be even better.
Apollo Crews vs Santos Escobar: Apollo creeps closer to an actual push for the first time in years. Now, he might be teaming up with Baron Corbin, which could actually be a lot of fun to watch. Corbin has been so much better as a face than anyone could’ve expected, and he is fresh off of some amazing tag work with Bron Breakker. Fingers crossed.
This Week’s Playlist: “I Am Not Okay” by Jelly Roll… “Adore U” by Khalid… “Double Life” by Pharrell Williams… “Snapshot” by Blanco Brown… “Remember Him That Way” by Luke Combs… “No Lie” by Lalah Hathaway & Michael McDonald… “You Don’t Know” by Lalah Hathaway & Phonte… “Hands Of Sin” by Bleed From Within… “Let You Go” by All That Remains… “Shut Me Out” by Tim Montana… “Say What You Will” by Myles Kennedy… “Lighthouse” by Rising Insane… “MANIAC IN THE MIRROR” by Chaosbay… “Rock Me Tonight For Old Times Sake” by Freddie Jackson… “Smoked Out” by Tear Da Club Up Thugs & Twista… “Undercover Freaks” by Tear Da Club Up Thugs, Too $hort & T-Rock… “When I Get You Alone” by Robin Thicke… “Money” by Pink Floyd… “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin… “Californication” by Red Hot Chili Peppers… “The Final Countdown” by Europe… “Wind Of Change” by Scorpions… “YYZ” by Rush… “Poison” by Alice Cooper… “Symphony Of Destruction” by Megadeth
