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The 9th Annual Money in the Bank is now only 2 days away and, despite an underwhelming build to all the matches on the card, we could not be more excited about it. With 2 star-studded MITB Ladder matches and a Last Man Standing match that promises to steal the show, this edition has all the ingredients to be one of the best show of the year if presented properly and ends on a satisfying note.
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However, you can never trust WWE for living up to the expectations of the fans in the modern age of wrestling. It is just impossible to predict the winners of the match, and it is really hard to change WWE's mind when they are adamant about a result.
When it comes to MITB Ladder matches, WWE has often produced winners that didn't deserve to win but still got the nod ahead of other deserving candidates.
We can only predict who might get their hands on the briefcase this Sunday. Until then, here are the 4 Superstars who should have and 3 who shouldn't have been Mr. Money In The Bank.
Wrestlers Who Should Have Won The Briefcase
#4 Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho is the type of Superstar that comes only once in a generation. The man is a legend who is phenomenal both inside the ring and on the mic, he has won every possible title in the WWE and has reinvented himself multiple times. Jericho has accomplished everything in this business. Well, almost everything.
It is quite a wobbling fact that Jericho, who has been in WWE for almost 20 years now, has never won either a Royal Rumble or a Money in the Bank briefcase, two of the most important matches in WWE right now.
Jericho has been part of 5 different MITB ladder matches till date and deserved to win the match at least once, but the closest he came was getting his leg etched between the ladders as CM Punk unhooked the briefcase in 2008 right when he should have won. Jericho deserved a win, not because of the fact that he was the inventor, but because he is a way more logical option than a number of exciting winners.
#3 Cody Rhodes
Ever since his departure from the WWE in 2016, Cody Rhodes has turned a new tide in his career. Always reeling in the mid-card during his 10-year tenure in WWE, Cody has found a whole new success as a main event superstar in ROH, where he was the promotion's world champion and in NJPW.
WWE had, in fact, a number of opportunities of taking full benefit of Rhodes' talent and to push him as a main-event level Superstar. Rhodes was part of 4 Money in the Bank matches between 2010 and 2013, yet he came short in all of those. Think of the difference it could have made to his career at that time.
2013 Money in the Bank match had Rhodes' name written all over it. And even though Damien Sandow was also a good option at first, what happened to him in the aftermath makes us wonder how the situation could have been different had it been Cody holding that briefcase. Cody was wonderful as a World Champion in ROH, and he should have been one in WWE as well.
#2 Kevin Owens
Few Superstars in WWE can generate genuine heat from the crowd and yet manage to get the crowd to cheer them better than Kevin Owens. Ever since his main roster debut in 2015, Kevin Owens has been the biggest heel on the entire roster and has been a staple of the main-event on either of the brands.
Money in the Bank briefcases are usually won by heel Superstars, and, as I said earlier, there is no one better on the main roster that can play a heel better than this guy(Sorry, Shinsuke!).
The character of Kevin Owens in handmade for a run with the briefcase, and it should have been him unhooking the briefcase in 2017. It could have added a new element to his rivalry with Shane McMahon, AJ Styles and, probably, Sami Zayn. Moreover, it would have given KO a well deserved World Title run on the blue brand.
#1 Jeff Hardy
This is an entry that might not have made it to this list had it not been for a few unfortunate incidents back in 2008. Till that point, Money in the Bank was used as a platform for catapulting popular mid-card Superstars into the main level, and there was no bigger potential main-eventer in that period Jeff Hardy.
It has been long rumored that it was Hardy who was supposed to leave Orlando as Mr. Money in the Bank and supposed to start his run in the main event. But a drug-violation forced WWE to remove him from the match and give the victory to CM Punk and launch his career as a World Champion.
Even though Jeff won the World Title only 9 months after his supposed start as a main-eventer, Money in the Bank is a type of match that is made for a Superstar like Jeff Hardy who made a name for himself with his performance in ladder matches. Considering that he is way past his prime now, the chances of Hardy winning that match are thinner than hair.
Wrestlers Who Shouldn't Have Won The MITB Briefcase
#3 Sheamus
Sheamus had a nice run at the top of the card between 2010 and 2012 when he was either holding or fighting for either of the two World Titles. However, come 2015, Sheamus was not even close to the main event and was losing to Dolph Ziggler months after his return.
And this is what made his win at Money in the Bank 2015 a complete waste of opportunity. Not just this, but the concerned match as a whole was one of the worst outings of the gimmick in its entire history as none of the competitors, barring Roman Reigns, were a viable candidate to win the match.
Even though Sheamus won the World Title at Survivor Series, he was never meant to be a long-term champion as he was just being used as a bait to get Roman Reigns over with the fans, rendering his victory totally useless. Anyone else, even someone like Reigns, would have been a better option than Sheamus in 2015.
#2 Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin's appointment as the new 'Constable of Raw' is probably the last way of saving his disastrous run on the main roster. Once touted as a future world champion upon his arrival on the main roster in 2016, Corbin has endured a big fall from challenging for the WWE Title to barely appearing on Raw in 2018.
This dismal run for Corbin, as we all know, started following his win at Money in the Bank 2017 - a win that should not have happened in the first place. Despite being a big heel, Corbin was not getting over with the fans because of his bland gimmick and, hence, was a bad choice to win that coveted briefcase.
His loss in his cash-in and his subsequent burial at the hands of John Cena ended his supposed pre-main-event run after just 2 months. If WWE seriously wanted a heel Superstar as Mr. Money in the Bank, they could have chosen Kevin Owens. Corbin's win was a big mistake on WWE's part, and we can clearly see it now when we look at him on Raw.
#1 John Cena
John Cena is inarguably the biggest Superstar of the last decade, and one of the biggest WWE Superstar in the entire history of professional wrestling. The man is a record 16-time World Champion, a 2-time Royal Rumble winner, a record 5-time United States Champion and a multi-time headliner of WrestleMania.
Then why did WWE chose a Superstar as big as John Cena to win a match that was designed to push new Superstars into the main event? This decision was undoubtedly one of the worst decision by WWE in the history of the event, and it resulted in inarguably the worst MITB ladder matches in WWE history.
There was no need to have Cena fight to earn a World Title shot. The man is such a big star that he can just show up and ask for a title shot right away. To make matters worse, Cena became the first man to unsuccessfully cash in the contract. Hence, it is absolutely fair to say that there was no need for Cena to win the briefcase. Any other Superstar would have been a better choice than Big Match John.
Who do you think will walk out as Mr/Miss MITB? Let us know in the comments section below!
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