5 WWE women who could realistically win the 2019 Money In The Bank match

The 2019 WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view takes place in Hartford, Connecticut on Sunday, May 19. One of the highlights of the show will be the women’s ladder match, which has previously been won by Carmella (x2) and Alexa Bliss (x1).

The rules of the chaotic match state that the winner will be able to cash in their Money In The Bank contract at a time of their choosing, provided it is within the next year, to challenge for a world title. In total, there have been 21 official cash-in attempts in WWE history, with 17 of those being successful.

In 2017, controversy surrounded the first women’s MITB match when James Ellsworth unhooked the briefcase and handed it to Carmella. Due to the unpopular outcome, a rematch was set up on SmackDown Live, which “The Princess of Staten Island” won to become the first “Miss Money In The Bank”.

One year later, Bliss outlasted seven other women to claim the briefcase from the top of the ladder. Unlike Carmella, who waited nine months to cash-in her contract on Charlotte Flair, Bliss cashed in on the very same night to pin Nia Jax and become a five-time Women’s champion.

Looking ahead to the 2019 match, let’s run through five of the most realistic female Superstars who could leave the pay-per-view with a guaranteed future title opportunity.

---

#5 Ember Moon

Ember Moon was expected to be sidelined for several months after undergoing elbow surgery in January. However, the former NXT Women’s champion made an early return at WrestleMania 35 when she participated in the Women’s Battle Royal.

Although the general consensus from fans is that Moon has not received the opportunities that she deserved in 2018, it is worth noting that she won a total of 18 matches on Raw throughout the year – a tally that was only bettered by Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor.

Now that she is fully cleared to compete again, it feels like now would be the right time for WWE to elevate “The War Goddess” into a position where she can become a serious title contender at pay-per-views, especially when you consider that she is yet to receive any title opportunities since joining Raw in April 2018.

#4 Asuka

Another WrestleMania, another post-WrestleMania wondering what the future holds for arguably WWE’s most impressive female Superstar, Asuka.

It looked as though the aura surrounding “The Empress of Tomorrow” had disappeared after her 914-day undefeated streak came to an end against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34. However, as the months went on and she became less of a priority in WWE’s storylines, fans rallied behind the Japanese star and she ended 2018 as the SmackDown Women’s champion.

Now, after she lost her title in an impromptu match to Flair on SmackDown Live shortly before WrestleMania 35, it feels like Asuka needs another boost of momentum to be taken seriously as a title contender again.

Her three-month reign with the SmackDown Women’s Championship was forgettable, so perhaps the title of “Miss Money In The Bank” could help propel the former NXT Women’s champion back to the top of the women’s division.

#3 Mandy Rose

Mandy Rose felt like an afterthought in the women’s division after she swapped Raw for SmackDown Live with Sonya Deville in the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up. She lost 11 televised matches in a row between May and December, with the likes of Asuka and Becky Lynch often getting the better of her, and the former Tough Enough contestant looked a long way away from challenging for a title.

Fast forward to 2019 and, after settling her differences with tag partner Deville, Rose defeated Naomi on two occasions during their heated SmackDown Live rivalry and she suddenly became the #1 contender for Asuka’s SmackDown Women’s Championship at Fastlane.

Rose was unable to win the match, once again due to a communication error with Deville, and she then became lost in the shuffle in the blue brand’s women’s division leading up to WrestleMania 35.

It is clear that WWE sees a bright future for Rose on the main roster, so we would be wrong to rule out a Money In The Bank triumph for “God’s Greatest Creation”. Granted, there are a lot more credible title contenders at this moment, but people said the same when Carmella won in 2017 and look at how her career has progressed since her victory.

#2 Naomi

Naomi is one of the few women in WWE who has had the privilege of having two ‘WrestleMania moments’ in her career. The former Funkadactyl’s first big ‘Mania triumph came in 2017 when, in her hometown of Orlando, Florida, she won a six-pack challenge to become the SmackDown Women’s champion. Then, one year later, she outlasted 20+ other Superstars to win the Women’s Battle Royal.

Despite those successes, it feels like Naomi is still underrated by WWE’s decision-makers. She previously held the SmackDown Women’s title on two occasions, both times in 2017, but she has not been involved in a match for a singles title in over 18 months.

She recently tweeted her frustration about receiving a lack of opportunities on SmackDown Live, having had two advertised matches cancelled at the last minute in the past few months (vs. Mandy Rose in December, and vs. Rose, Sonya Deville & Carmella in March).

Y’all sure this ain’t going to get cancelled too? Btw thank you so much for the opportunity https://t.co/mr2GCUgrMj

— Trinity Fatu (@NaomiWWE) March 29, 2019

If Naomi is to reach that next level as a Superstar, perhaps a Money In The Bank victory would be the best route to take.

#1 Sasha Banks

It is being widely reported that Sasha Banks asked to leave WWE after she and Bayley lost the Women’s Tag Team titles against The IIconics in a Fatal 4-Way match at WrestleMania 35.

The following night, “The Boss” did not appear on Raw, despite being advertised for a segment with Bayley and Alexa Bliss, while she pulled out of an appearance on Wendy Williams’ talk show on Tuesday due to “personal reasons”.

While the WWE Universe speculates about what she will do next, the four-time Raw Women’s champion seems quite content posting pictures on social media with her husband, as well as Kalisto and his wife, from her vacation this week.

Moving forward, if and when Banks returns to WWE, it is clear that she wants to be given better opportunities by the company in the future, which is somewhat understandable when you consider that she never successfully retained the Raw Women’s title and that her Women’s Tag Team title reign was over before it really began.

Perhaps, as unpopular as this might be, she could return in time to kick-start her singles career again with a win at Money In The Bank?