5 Possible shocks that could happen at WWE Money In The Bank 2018

The 2018 WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view will take place in Chicago, Illinois on 17 June – and if past MITB events are anything to go by, fans can expect plenty of surprises.

The 2017 show is best remembered for James Ellsworth interfering in the first-ever women’s MITB ladder match to help Carmella win the briefcase, while the 2016 event saw all three members of The Shield hold the WWE Championship in the same night.

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This year’s match card is absolutely stacked with Superstars from both Raw and SmackDown Live, with the highlight of the show being the 8-person men and women’s MITB matches, and there will also be an additional focus on the women’s division as Ronda Rousey challenges Nia Jax for the Raw Women’s Championship.

Four other title matches will happen in Chicago, including AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship, while Daniel Bryan will face Big Cass for the second PPV in a row.

With a total of 10 matches already announced, there’s plenty of room for surprises this Sunday, so let’s take a look at five possible shocks that WWE could spring on us.

#5 James Ellsworth returns to WWE

James Ellsworth claimed the MITB briefcase for Carmella last year

Since his release from WWE, James Ellsworth has been a prominent figure at independent shows, even creating his own World Inter-Gender Championship, but could a return to WWE be on the cards?

Ellsworth has a lot of history with the Money In The Bank PPV, having controversially claimed the briefcase to help Carmella win the first-ever women’s MITB match last year, and reports this week suggest he could make an appearance on Sunday.

If the former WWE Championship challenger appears, will he try to help someone else win this year’s women’s ladder match? Or will he interfere in the SmackDown Women’s Championship match between former ally Carmella and Asuka?

Either way, it would definitely make sense from a storyline perspective for him to make a brief return this Sunday, so keep an eye out for “The Chinless Wonder” in Chicago!

#4 Big Cass defeats Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan defeated Big Cass at Backlash

Frustrated that fans were more excited about Daniel Bryan’s return than his, Big Cass attacked “The Leader of the Yes Movement” on the episode of SmackDown Live after WrestleMania 34 and he has continued to target him ever since.

The two men fought for the first time in a singles match at Backlash in May, with Bryan getting the win after making Cass tap out inside just eight minutes, while the 7-footer was successful in eliminating D-Bry from the Greatest Royal Rumble a week earlier.

One would imagine that this is going to be the final match in their rivalry, but it wouldn’t do much for Cass’ status as one of SmackDown Live’s top heels if he loses fair and square in back-to-back PPVs against a man who is over a foot smaller than him.

Expect this match to last longer than the previous meeting, and don’t rule out the former “Realest Guy In The Room” producing an upset.

#3 Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax is the main event

Nia Jax has been the Raw Women's champion since WrestleMania 34

Looking at the 10-match Money In The Bank card, there are three matches that could headline the show and nobody could have any complaints: the men’s MITB match, the women’s MITB match and AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura.

However, it has been speculated this week that WWE could spring a surprise by having the Raw Women’s Championship match between Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey main-event the PPV instead.

If it happens, it’ll be just the second time in WWE history that a singles match between two women has gone on last on a main-roster PPV card, following Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair at Hell In A Cell 2016.

#2 Natalya wins and cashes in on Ronda Rousey

With rumours around that Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey could headline Money In The Bank, there’s an increased possibility that the winner of the women’s MITB ladder match will make an appearance and try to cash in their contract during the Raw Women’s Championship match.

We saw the same thing happen in 2016 when Dean Ambrose won the MITB ladder match earlier in the show and ended the night by cashing in on Seth Rollins to win the WWE Championship, so will WWE pull the same stunt this year with the women’s contract?

If they do, the only woman currently connected to both the MITB ladder match and the Raw Women’s Championship storyline is Natalya – Ronda’s friend and training partner – so perhaps she could close the show by cashing in on the new champion.

#1 AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura gets a new stipulation

The — AJ Styles defeated Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34

The No Disqualification WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura at Backlash ended in a no contest after both men struck each other with a low-blow and failed to stand up after a 10-count.

Naturally, a rematch was announced for the Money In The Bank PPV and Nakamura was allowed to choose a stipulation after defeating Styles in a non-title match on SmackDown Live, so he decided that the MITB match will be contended under Last Man Standing rules.

If this new stipulation was in place at Backlash, the result would have been exactly the same – a draw, as neither man got back to his feet in time – so it seems strange that WWE has booked a Last Man Standing match when it was a Last Man Standing ruling that couldn’t separate the two men last month.

SmackDown Live General Manager Paige said last week that, whatever happens, there will definitely be a winner when the long-term rivals do battle for the fifth time in two months at Money In The Bank, so we reckon there’s a possibility that the Last Man Standing match ends in a draw and Paige demands that it restarts under a new stipulation – say, a pinfall or submission-only match – to determine a definitive winner.

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