5 WWE Superstars who could replace Alexa Bliss at Money In The Bank 2019

WWE has announced that Alexa Bliss will not be able to compete in the women’s Money In The Bank ladder match on Sunday, May 19.

A short statement on WWE’s official website reads:

“Alexa Bliss is not medically cleared to compete at WWE Money in the Bank this Sunday, and has been removed from the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. A suitable replacement for Alexa will be announced.”

The 2018 Money In The Bank winner was viewed by many people as one of the favourites to emerge with the MITB contract in the 2019 match, especially after she received help from an unlikely ally, Nikki Cross, to pose with the briefcase on the latest episode of Raw.

However, the match will now be contested by Dana Brooke, Naomi, Natalya, Bayley, Carmella, Ember Moon and Mandy Rose, with the eighth person in the match set to be revealed at a later date.

With so many women currently on the Raw and SmackDown Live rosters, let’s take a look at five of the most realistic contenders who could step in and replace Bliss on Sunday.

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#5 Lacey Evans

Whether you like or loathe her WWE character, can any woman besides Charlotte Flair create as much heel heat as Lacey Evans right now? No, nobody can.

“The Lady of WWE” will challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship in one of the most anticipated matches of the night at Money In The Bank.

Lynch has repeatedly mentioned in the build-up to their match how Evans has bragged about playing politics and currying favours in order to make it to the top in WWE, which means her character is perfectly suited to being handed an opportunity, much like Flair, in the MITB ladder match.

If this does happen, Evans would likely have to lose to Lynch earlier in the night and then return later in the show to win the ladder match. That would then enable her to cash in on Lynch during/after her match against Flair to become the new Raw Women's champion.

Would this be a popular booking decision? Probably not, but it would allow “Becky 2 Belts” to look strong, despite losing one of her titles, and Evans would immediately be catapulted to stardom.

#4 Sonya Deville

One of the most intriguing storyline developments in the build-up to Money In The Bank came when Sonya Deville surrendered her potential place in the women’s ladder match and gave it to Mandy Rose.

The two women have been tag partners ever since they were introduced to the main roster by Paige as members of the Absolution faction in November 2017. They originally found victories hard to come by following their move to SmackDown Live in April 2018, but they started to rack up wins towards the end of the year to became one of the top women’s tag teams on the main roster.

Despite their success, there has been dissension between the 2015 Tough Enough contestants over the last six months, with Deville struggling to trust Rose’s decision-making inside and outside of the squared circle.

Many fans are expecting Deville to get involved in Sunday’s match, either to help or hinder Rose, but perhaps it would be more interesting if WWE decided to add the MMA fighter to the match instead.

#3 Beth Phoenix

Beth Phoenix came out of retirement to team with Natalya in the Fatal 4-Way match for the Women’s Tag Team titles at WrestleMania 35.

Since then, she has continued to compete in untelevised matches, joining forces with Natalya again to defeat Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan during WWE’s European tour, while it was recently announced that she will take Percy Watson’s place as a member of the NXT commentary team.

The Hall of Famer is extremely unlikely to win the Money In The Bank ladder match if she replaces Alexa Bliss, but the fact that she competed on the European tour suggests that WWE feels she also has an in-ring role to play moving forward.

With Dana Brooke, Naomi, Natalya, Bayley, Carmella, Ember Moon and Mandy Rose confirmed for Sunday’s match, the only storyline alliance that makes sense out of those seven women is Bayley & Carmella.

If Phoenix is added to the mix, at least we could see some teamwork – and a possible rift – between her and Natalya.

#2 Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks has not appeared on WWE television since she and Bayley lost the Women’s Tag Team titles to The IIconics in a Fatal 4-Way match at WrestleMania 35.

Depending on who and what you believe, Banks was reportedly unhappy at WWE’s decision to make her lose at WrestleMania and split her from Bayley – so much so that she allegedly requested her release and was given time off by the company to think about her future.

On the same night that news of Banks’ unhappiness with WWE broke, “The Boss” revealed on Twitter that she had been blocked by Alexa Bliss, who responded by saying that she was sick of her long-term rival being “petty”.

Now, given that nobody seemed to know about an injury to Bliss prior to WWE’s statement, there is an outside chance that her absence from Sunday’s match is part of a storyline.

If that is the case, then we would be foolish not to suggest that Banks, who has had legitimate issues with Bliss for many years, could be her replacement.

#1 Nikki Cross

Nikki Cross formed an unusual alliance with Alexa Bliss when she agreed to take her place in a Fatal 4-Way match against Dana Brooke, Naomi and Natalya on Monday’s episode of Raw.

The former SAnitY member went on to win the match before she helped set up a ladder in the middle of the ring for Bliss, who climbed to the top and posed with the Money In The Bank briefcase.

Given that Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville were given the choice by WWE’s authority figures on which one of them would compete in the ladder match, it would not be all that surprising if Bliss is allowed to choose her replacement on Sunday.

From a storyline perspective, Bliss’ most likely preferred replacement would have to be Cross, and it could even further the storyline between the two if Bliss gets involved at some point or if Cross goes on to win the match.