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(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda)
When Otis, the guy who talks kinda funny and really likes his food and Mandy Rose, won the Money in the Bank contract last month, many people, including me, were quite surprised. Out of all the contestants in the match, he was the least likely winner, yet here we are.
Is he Universal Champion material? The jury's still out on that one. While one certainly cannot fault WWE for trying something new, people are divided on whether or not Otis deserved to win the briefcase. He may be entertaining, but you could say the same of R-Truth, and he's never won the WWE or Universal Championships.
Still, it will be interesting to see where this whole thing goes. While it's not hard to feel that the concept's been squandered in recent years, this is a chance for WWE to do something new. Here are three ways that the whole thing can be handled.
#3 Otis actually cashes in
This is the outcome I feel most people will take umbrage with, regardless of the outcome. While Otis would certainly be a fresh face in the Universal title scene, if you looked at the lineage of the title, he'd stick out like a sore thumb.
People would say that it's too soon, Otis isn't ready, he needs to develop more, all that jazz. We've heard it all before, and we'll hear it again. But perhaps those people have a point. It'd be hard to move forward with Otis as Universal Champion when his number one defining trait is that he eats steaks.
But should he lose, then people would say that the briefcase was wasted (again). One could argue that the briefcase hasn't been used in any meaningful way since Dean Ambrose won, and that was all the way back in 2016.
Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman both lost their cash-in matches. Boombox Brock Lesnar was fun, but many felt it was unnecessary. If Otis lost his cash-in, it would feel like the contract has lost its value, which would be a shame, as there is really nothing quite like it.
#2 Otis loses the briefcase
Now I'm not saying that Otis literally loses the briefcase and then Mojo Rawley finds it and cashes in. That's beyond stupid, and it would be a really bad look. I'm referring to Otis putting his briefcase on the line and then losing it, something which Mr. Kennedy (aka Mr. Anderson) did in 2007.
It's actually kind of surprising that they don't have the briefcase defended more often. Off the top of my head, I think the briefcase has only been defended thrice: when Mr. Kennedy lost it to Edge, when Edge retained it against Matt Hardy in 2005, and when Braun Strowman retained it against Kevin Owens in 2018.
The actual defense could add more suspense and shock to a concept that already relies heavily on those two factors. If for example, a dastardly heel picks on Mandy Rose and got Otis to put his contract on the line in a match, the heel would be hated even more if he won.
It also allows the contract to remain relevant because it could end up in the hands of someone who would far better as a champion. That's not to say that Otis would be a bad champion, but it still feels a bit premature.
#1 An injury angle
What if Otis got hit by a car, or got food poisoning from eating raw meat, or something? He might be forced to let go of his contract. Management decides to have a new Mr. Money in the Bank, and then someone else ends up winning the whole thing. Otis would be livid upon returning, and boom, we have a new feud as Otis hunts for who fed him too much raw meat.
The one issue I can think of off the top of my head is that people might say it makes no sense. The reason this works for Championships is that the champion is contractually obligated to be able to defend (not actually defend, just be able to) their title every 30 days, according to the ancient scrolls of WWE lore. There's no such ruling for the Money in the Bank contract.
Still, it's never too late to try something new, and fans sometimes struggle with their attention spans (and I speak as a fan). I feel like if WWE just made it sound official, with a big announcement in the ring, and then the roster competes in another ladder match or a battle royale or something, then people wouldn't mind too much. Especially if the briefcase ends up with someone better.
