WWE Money in the Bank 2014 Preview and Predictions

The most ladder-heavy show of the year!

Giving their thoughts and predictions on what to expect from the PPV are members of the site @JoeySplashwater, @TimWelcomed and @TomBlackett.

Daniel Bryan interview on the pre-show

Joey:

Expectations are Bryan cuts a babyface rallying promo. Stephanie comes out. They go back and forth. Bryan vows to win the title back when he returns.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Nothing noteworthy happens.

Tim:

He’ll probably cut a promo that WWE thinks makes him look like a good guy but instead does the opposite. He’ll answer some questions and then it will be done. I’m just happy to see him again.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: A whole lot of nothing.

Tom:

While the pre-show might be transformed from a wasteland of idiots to an almost passable form of entertainment now that Renee Young is set to replace the departed Josh Matthews, it’s still kind of a bummer that they’d shove Bryan on there, rather than have him be a part of the actual PPV or featured on Raw or whatever.

Who knows, maybe it’ll all be a big swerve and he’s actually healthy enough to be worked into one of the ladder matches on the show, but that seems really unlikely. Instead, I’m guessing it’ll just be a pretty disposable promo with maybe some Stephanie/Kane interference.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Talking happens.

Paige vs. Naomi for the WWE Divas Championship

Joey:

I am actually interested in this one. Naomi is probably the best female wrestler on the main roster and everyone swears Paige is great so maybe she shows it here? I’m expecting a good match and while rooting for Naomi to finally get past that lame gimmick/partnership with Cameron, I think Paige gets the win here.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Paige wins.

Tim:

Hopefully they get some time to have the good match that I know they could have. This has a lot of promise. I’m ready for Paige to prove herself on the main roster.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Paige wins.

Tom:

I enjoyed the Naomi / Alicia Fox match on Raw, though I think a lot of that was because I was just glad to have Paige and Cameron on commentary to drown out the sounds of three old men amusing themselves.

Anyway, the Paige run has still underwhelmed but Naomi is one of my favourites, and I’m hoping that they’ll make for a fun dynamic together (and also that the commentary team can find it in themselves to call the match, rather than giggle over their old-man jokes).

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Paige wins.

Rusev vs. Big E

Joey:

I’m starting to warm up to Rusev in the ring and I like Big E. There’s finally some heat to this feud so maybe it could be good?

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Rusev wins.

Tim:

I’m liking Rusev’s in-ring style lately and I think Big E still has a lot of untapped potential. This should be a great hoss battle so how can I not be excited? I’d also like to add that Rusev’s theme is perfect for him. The only thing that could make the entrance segment of this match better is if they went back to the original version of Big E’s theme.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Rusev hits. Rusev crushes. Rusev wins.

Tom:

I wasn’t sold on Rusev for a while, but his last PPV match with Big E was really fun… and then he did this:

So yeah, mark me down as a Rusvemaniac.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Rusev wins.

Layla vs. Summer Rae w/ Fandango as guest referee

Joey:

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: JBL hits a new low in commentating.

Tim:

I’m just tired of the bullshit. There was a lot of covering women in various things. There was a love triangle no one cared about. There was a man who keeps holding on to the hope that the crowd will start singing the sounds of his theme music again.

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: Summer Rae wins because she’s on Total Divas.

Tom:

I’m sure I’ve watched almost all of Raw for the past two weeks, so how have I completely missed the build for this epic clash? Anyway, the only thing I’m hoping for is that Fandango incorporates some super slinky dance moves into his refereeing duties.

Interest Level: 2/10
Prediction: Summer Rae wins, I guess.

The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Joey:

I really wish this was the 2nd ladder match as I can envision the Usos and Luke Harper doing cool things with the ladders. The match should still be pretty good and a potential show stealer.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: The Usos win.

Tim:

The Usos continue to be a great tag team despite getting the spotlight that anyone in WWE’s tag team division gets. Luke Harper continues to be a great character whose wrestling style matches perfectly with his character. That Rowan guy will be there too. I look forward to this.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: The Wyatt Family wins.

Tom:

REALLY excited for this one. I’m not expecting it to go super long, but the build-up on Raw was fantastic. That Luke Harper’s pretty phenomenal, eh? I like The Usos a lot, but it does feel like The Wyatt Family is winning this one. If they do get the belts, they could then go on to feud with the RhodesDust Brothers and I’d be VERY okay with the levels of wackiness that would ensue as a result.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: The Wyatt Family wins.

Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins in a Money in the Bank ladder match

Joey:

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are great. Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston can do cool things in a ladder match. Rob Van Dam is synonymous with the legacy of WWE ladder matches. Bad News Barrett is on fire right now. Jack Swagger……has Zeb Colter who can do something humorous. The match should be fun.

When having two ladder matches, WWE tends to like to go with a surprise route in one of them where a mid-carder who isn’t necessarily being pushed in the main event gets a win. I thought that would have been Bad News Barrett but with his health in question, I think Seth Rollins gets the win here. A heel carrying the briefcase usually adds to more intrigue than a face so I’m giving him the edge over Ambrose.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: Seth Rollins wins.

Tim:

Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston will bring the spots that you expect from a ladder match. The Rollins/Ambrose dynamic will be interesting to watch. RVD can spice this up in his own way if he decides to bring his A-game. Barrett was a great addition to this match but unfortunately he is injured. Swagger will be doing things awkwardly, as well. This should be AMAZING.

I think Seth Rollins is looking like the winner here but I think Ambrose needs something right now and seems like the only likely person they’ll let win out of the group if it, for some reason, isn’t Rollins. Rollins is still hot off his heel turn. Maybe let Ambrose lose it to Rollins in a one-on-one match later.

Interest Level: 10/10
Prediction: Dean Ambrose wins.

Tom:

I think this should be great fun – I’m excited for the story of Ambrose and Rollins trying to get at each other with the others wrestlers just being props to get tossed around in the midst of things. It’s difficult to imagine anyone who isn’t Ambrose or Rollins winning this one – like Joey, I think Barrett would have made sense as a surprise win, but with him out, I really can’t picture it being any of the others. Dolph, Swagger, RVD and Kofi all feel pretty spent, and without some serious rebooting, I can’t picture them being presented as title contenders any time soon. HOWEVER, they’re all pretty great at flying off ladders, so I’m excited to see them potentially injure themselves for my amusement!

For some reason, I get the feeling that Ambrose is coming out of this with the briefcase and that’ll work as incentive for further one-on-one matches with Rollins down the line (with the briefcase ultimately being up for grabs). We’ll see though!

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: Ambrose wins.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro vs. John Cena vs. Kane vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus in a ladder match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Joey:

Kane is really in the match. KANE. FUCKING KANE.

I think John Cena will get the win as they’ll look for stability. It’s too early for Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns or Cesaro to get the belt unless they have a long reign planned which I don’t foresee. Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton and Sheamus have little to no chance and quite frankly, no one wants to see that. Kane can win it if he’s dropping it to Bryan when he returns but no shot they sacrifice a Summerslam show where they need people to renew for the WWE Network (an underrated and criticial facet to the WWE landscape right now) by putting Kane in the title match. PLUS HE’S KANE!

John Cena is the logical choice, regardless of if you want someone to drop it back to Bryan or go against Brock Lesnar.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: John Cena wins.

Tim:

Cesaro is the only wrestler in this match that excites me right now for a ladder match. Reigns will come out looking good, of course but he won’t win. Cesaro will not win. Wyatt, who I feel like would be a good person to win since they could have all of The Wyatt Family walking out with titles, will most likely not win. I’ll be damned if Randy Orton or Sheamus win. Alberto Del who? The person I’m most scared about winning is Kane. That would be the worst. Thankfully Cena will be in the match so there’s the most likely winner. This match doesn’t tickle my fancy as much as I’d hoped it would.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: John Cena wins.

Tom:

What an odd mix of guys this is. Cesaro, Wyatt and Reigns are the most exciting elements in this (with Kane being the EXACT opposite, in that he’s a black hole of interest), but I can’t picture any of them getting the belt(s). One thing I haven’t seen talked about much is the idea that they might split the titles up again and have the finish be two guys each pulling down a belt… and thank fuck for that, that’d be dreadful.

As ridiculous as it’d be in the year TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN, I can picture Kane winning this, just so Bryan can win the belts back and that sordid little storyline can be wrapped up and we can all move on with our lives. However, I don’t think it’ll happen. Triple H fucks Reigns, Cena wins, the world keeps on turning. BOOK IT.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: John Cena wins.