WWE SmackDown Division Rankings Before Money in the Bank

SmackDown Live. Photo by WWE.com

The SmackDown Live World Title Picture

Highlights of the Division

Jinder Mahal looks to be the favorite to retain his WWE Championship at Money in the Bank. The build-up to this rematch has been below average compared to the one at Backlash. The Maharaja will need to dig deep and find that magic that catapulted him to the title in the first place. It feels like he’s going through the motions every week by repeating the same lines over and over again. As the top guy on Smackdown Live—he’ll need to showcase more character growth and range to justify to the fans why he deserves to be WWE Champion. 

Randy Orton will probably lose at Money in the Bank and it’ll be interesting to see what he does afterward. He’s been at the very top of Smackdown Live since winning the Royal Rumble back in January and it’ll be fresh to see him out of the title hunt. Potential feuds with Baron Corbin or possibly even Rusev could keep the Viper busy till Summerslam. 

The advertisement of John Cena coming back to Smackdown Live as a free agent is more likely a ruse. He’ll challenge Jinder Mahal for the WWE title at Summerslam. He’s the next logical challenger after Randy Orton and could legitimize the Mahal title reign. A main-event type match between the two superstars is a far cry of what fans come to expect from the talent Smackdown has to offer. Guys like Shinsuke Nakamura won’t be facing Mahal but might be favored to cash it in if he wins the Money in the Bank ladder match this Sunday. 

Let’s see the rankings for the division this week.

WWE World Champion: Jinder Mahal (9 Wins – 10 Losses)

Contenders

• No.1 Contender: Randy Orton (10 Wins – 5 Losses)
• Contender No. 2: John Cena (6 Wins – 4 Losses)

Pretenders

• Pretender No. 1: Shinsuke Nakamura (5 Wins – 0 Losses)

More wwe: Ranking All 16 Superstars to Win MITB

What do you think of this week’s SmackDown Live rankings? Comment below!