WWE Money in the Bank preview & predictions: Wrestling’s summer in England begins

WWE has some added motivation to make this year’s Money in the Bank a memorable show.

The company is in the midst of negotiating for its next U.S. TV rights agreement, making the coming months more important than any WrestleMania season ever could be. 

This is like when a top athlete is in the final year of their deal and has a little extra incentive to have a good season. Nick Khan surely wants to pad WWE’s stats as he sits at the negotiating table, so if there was ever a time to hotshot a few angles or something else enticing, it’s now. 

The exclusive WWE TV rights negotiating windows for both Fox and NBCUniversal have expired, meaning we are already deep into free agency season. WWE is now free to negotiate with other interested parties including Disney, Amazon or even the New York Yankees. (Maybe one of those isn’t legit).

Another reason WWE is motivated to put on a good show in London this weekend is that they have been trying for years to turn Money in the Bank into an annual event on the level of Royal Rumble or SummerSlam.

Having to move last year’s edition out of Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium and into the MGM Grand certainly didn’t help matters in that regard. A fun and newsworthy 2023 show in London could be exactly what the 13-year-old event needs.

Another potential factor for Saturday’s show is that AEW will run nearby Wembley Stadium 57 days later for All In. The big stadium event will make AEW look like a major league promotion in a way it never has before and that could motivate WWE to make sure theirs is the more fondly remembered of the two shows. Maybe we see a surprise return or debut, a big angle, or something else meant to create a historical moment as a result.

Below are previews and predictions for Saturday’s event (2 PM Eastern on Peacock and/or WWE Network):

Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa vs. Jimmy & Jey Uso

Reigns and Sikoa are -140 favorites to defeat The Usos in what will be the first civil war to take place in England since the 17th century. 

In terms of betting odds, this is the closest match on the show. Ultimately, the Usos will win the blowoff to this feud but that could be several months away. I just don’t think they are going to beat the WWE Universal Champion and Sikoa so soon in the story.

You can also make the argument that Sikoa and Reigns need to get a win after losing to Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn at Night of Champions. Of course, it won’t be a clean win. Something underhanded will be done to both give the heels an advantage and also move WWE’s top storyline into its next chapter.

One thought is that a new member of The Bloodline could possibly debut on Saturday.

With only Sikoa and Paul Heyman by his side now, it seems like Reigns needs more people to acknowledge him as their Tribal Chief. The problem is that I’m not certain who is available to be slotted into that role. Jacob Fatu is believed to be under contract with MLW until 2025, Lance Anoa’i was just announced for NOAH’s N1 tournament this summer, and others in the family are still too early in their training.

When it looked as though Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Hikuleo could be WWE bound, I thought they could be added to the mix. While not members of the Anoa’i dynasty, Haku’s kids are close enough to the family that they could choose to acknowledge Reigns as their Tribal Chief. But then Vince McMahon returned to WWE and rumors of the Guerrillas of Destiny coming in became less and less.

If it’s not a new member of The Bloodline, there will have to be some other storyline development leading to the finish of this match.

Prediction: Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor

Rollins is a -2000 favorite to retain his title.

He’s tied for being the biggest favorite on the card as very few fans are giving Balor much of a chance. He and Rollins will have a great match but ultimately, we are still at the beginning of Rollins’ story as the fighting World champion.

As much as I know some wrestling fans don’t want to admit it, this version of Seth Rollins is incredibly popular. Fans love him, they love singing his song, and they love that he’s World champion. His weird laughing and sing-songy entrance have made him more of a larger-than-life character than he ever has been before.

Whether you find fans singing his song annoying or even his over-the-top Joaquin Phoenix Joker impression gets on your nerves, he’s still Seth Rollins once the bell rings. He will win what is expected to be a great match in London.

Prediction: Rollins retains

Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match

IYO Sky is a -500 favorite to win the briefcase.

Most people are banking on Sky winning and it setting up a showdown with Asuka at a later date. You just have to wonder how that plays into the tension they are building between Bayley (+500) and Sky. Something will happen during this match that furthers their story like Bayley preventing Sky from climbing the ladder or vice versa. Maybe Bayley acts happy for Sky winning at first, but then costs her a match against Asuka, etc.

Trish Stratus (+2000), Becky Lynch (+350), and Zoey Stark (+900) all have their own storyline going on that will eventually lead to Lynch vs. Stratus at SummerSlam, I’m assuming. They will tell their own story as this match goes on, but it won’t have anything to do with the finish.

Then, there is Zelina Vega (+2000). While I don’t think she’ll win, the +2000 odds are a little off. I don’t recommend actually betting on wrestling but if I was going to, I might put a little money on Vega with those numbers. Perhaps the reason few are giving her much of a chance is because she just had her big match for the title at the Puerto Rican WrestleMania that was Backlash. Still, Vega will probably wear something cool to the ring and everyone likes it when she does that. 

Prediction: IYO Sky

Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match

LA Knight is a -250 favorite to win the briefcase.

It feels as though both WWE fans and Triple H want the company to go all the way with Knight. However, the real question is how far is Vince McMahon willing to go with him?

McMahon was reportedly not high on the guy after he was cast in the role of Max Dupri last year. Knight is also over the age that McMahon generally likes to push new stars. Will the fan response to Knight be enough for McMahon to admit he was wrong about the guy? Maybe, maybe not.

If this was Triple H booking the show, the Money in the Bank match is the perfect opportunity to strap the rocket pack onto Knight. It’s possible that is what happens, but I feel Logan Paul (+150) is actually more likely to win.

Paul carrying around the Money in the Bank briefcase while he’s doing his other non-WWE stuff is perfect crossover promotion. The briefcase sitting in the background during Impaulsive and the potential of him being asked about it during media appearances are all things Nick Khan seems to enjoy very much. 

The other contenders to win the briefcase are Damian Priest (+170), Shinsuke Nakamura (+2000), Santos Escobar (+2000), Butch (+2500), and Ricochet (+3000). 

Prediction: Logan Paul

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler defend against Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez

Rousey & Baszler are -1000 favorites to retain over Morgan and Rodriguez.

I’m a little surprised that Morgan and Rodriguez aren’t bigger underdogs. It seems as though the plan is for Rousey and Baszler to defend the WWE tag titles on all three brands moving forward. That’s an excuse to bring Rousey’s star power to any of WWE’s weekly shows while in the middle of TV rights negotiations.

WWE has had success getting the ratings up for NXT by bringing on main roster stars recently. Rousey and Baszler showing up on Tuesday nights from time to time is a good way to keep that trend going.

Prediction: Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler retain

Intercontinental Champion Gunther defends against Matt Riddle

Gunther is a -2000 favorite to retain over Riddle.

This is the match that will steal the show. These two have a long history together dating back to a 2017 WXW tour in Germany. In fact, Saturday won’t even be the first title match they have had against each other in London.

Riddle successfully defended the Progress Atlas title against then-WALTER at Progress 46 from the Electric Ballroom in London on March 26, 2017. The match followed WALTER eliminating Riddle in the semifinals of the 16 Carat Gold tournament two weeks prior. In total, they have wrestled each other 11 times across promotions such as EVOLVE, Progress, WXW, Ambition, and PWG before either signed with WWE. Their styles align nicely.

Imperium injured Riddle’s ankle recently on Raw, so I’m expecting that to factor into the finish of what should be an excellent match.

Prediction: Gunther retains

Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio

Rhodes is a -700 favorite to defeat Mysterio.

An interesting note about the odds is that Rhodes was actually a bigger favorite to defeat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania than he is to beat Dominik here. 

In storyline, this is a significant drop in competition for Rhodes. He’s spent the last two pay-per-views facing Brock Lesnar and went up against Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania before that. No offense to Dominik, but he doesn’t quite have the pedigree of Rhodes’ other recent opponents.

This will be a good match. Rhodes is going to go out of his way to make Dominik look good, perhaps doing so in a way that hasn’t been done for Dom Dom since he started getting hot alongside Judgment Day.

WWE has given Dominik wins over Xavier Woods, Apollo Crews, and Akira Tozawa since WrestleMania. If they want to take full advantage of the massive heat the guy is generating at the moment, it makes sense to give him some wins over bigger names. I just don’t see them doing that against Rhodes, however.

Prediction: Cody Rhodes