There are still two spots left in the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match on the WWE Raw side, and it looks like both vacancies should be filled shortly, given that the final two SmackDown Live participants will be decided on Tuesday night.
WWE Raw continues to build towards the Money in the Bank Pay Per View on June 17, but while all four men’s competitors have been announced, there are still two spots open for the women. Will they be filled tonight? And how will Sami Zayn’s segment with Bobby Lashley’s sisters pan out? Are we headed for “Bayley: This Is Your Life” all over again?
Seth Rollins’s “Open Challenge” for the Intercontinental Championship continues to be one of the best things in pro wrestling, and Rollins just might be the hottest act in all of wrestling right now – not just the WWE. His matches with Finn Balor, The Miz, and Kevin Owens have been extraordinary, and I wouldn’t bet against him doing something special tonight, too.
Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey was announced for the Money in the Bank Pay Per View as a Raw Women’s Championship match, surprising many fans. Although Rousey challenging for the title was inevitable, both are currently babyfaces, and some fans are wondering if this decision has come too soon. Regardless, they will be building to this match, and it will be interesting to see how they proceed with the rivalry.
So let’s try to predict what might happen on tonight’s episode of Raw.
1. Sami Zayn Pulls It Off
Call this a bold prediction if you’d like, but I think Sami Zayn and Bobby Lashley’s version of WWE’s apparently perennial “This Is Your Life” segment doesn’t bomb. A big reason for this claim? Lashley isn’t going to act all weird and scared like Bayley did last year when she was absolutely eviscerated by Alexa Bliss verbally. Oh, and there won’t be an awkward lovers scene between two actors we couldn’t care less about.
Zayn’s neuroticism and ticks make him a brilliant heel, as evidenced by the promo he cut on Raw last week. Lashley is the soft-spoken bad-ass who is the perfect foil to Zayn, and he will beat up Zayn in spectacular fashion. Kevin Owens’s best friend and Mike Rome’s worst nightmare will be complaining about a lot more than “vertigo” by the time the night is over.
I trust Zayn to find some way to make this work, even though I don’t necessarily trust the overall creative direction of this type of segment. It was absolutely abysmal last year in Bayley’s and Bliss’s case, but I believe it will be more “ridiculous” than “awful” this year with Lashley and Zayn involved. But this could just be an instance of blind faith. We shall see.
2. Nia Jax Starts Teasing A Heel Turn
At Money in the Bank, Ronda Rousey will challenge Nia Jax for the Raw Women’s Championship, and barring an ill-advised instance of interference, Rousey is poised to end Jax’s title reign. Jax’s days as a champion were always numbered, and while I’ve slowly become a huge fan of her work, it isn’t a travesty that she’ll lose the title. How they book Rousey as a champion over the long-term is another issue entirely, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
Until then, the WWE has to find some way to make this feud work. Rousey and Jax currently have a great deal of mutual respect. A couple of weeks ago, they stood tall in the ring together with the victorious Natalya, who rolled up Mickie James in a match. When Jax challenged Rousey on the red carpet, she did so as a babyface champion looking to challenge the best, rather than someone who had beef with Rousey.
Maybe the WWE can roll with that, and I’d like to see Nia remain a babyface. But on some level, I think they want to turn her heel again, and I think they’d rather have a traditional heel/face match here for Rousey. There’s no way Rousey gets booed, despite the small segment of fans who believe she is “undeserving” of a title opportunity just months into her WWE career, so Nia could be the one to turn heel. And even if she doesn’t, the WWE would be wise to at least plant a seed for the fan base tonight.
3. B Team Defeats Slater And Rhyno
Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre may be the hottest act in the Raw Tag Team Division right now, but they have some real competition from Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. This “B Team” gimmick is gold, and they have the priceless merchandise (and a tremendous theme song that should be released as soon as possible) to back that up.
Dallas and Axel picked up their first win on Raw by defeating Tyler Breeze and Fandango in a tag team match, and I expect the WWE to capitalize on their sudden popularity. Heath Slater and Rhyno are on another losing streak, so they’d make sense as a team that Dallas and Axel can defeat to continue to build momentum.
I could honestly see the “B Team” challenging for the Raw Tag Team Championships in the near future. While they probably won’t take the titles, especially with Ziggler and McIntyre potentially poised to feud with Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt at some point, it would be entertaining to watch the “B Team” square off against Hardy and Wyatt.
Whether or not the “B Team” are headed for a tag team title opportunity in the future, it’s been fun to watch their segments. They have such natural chemistry together, they’ve always been able to work a match, and their partnership flows so nicely following their separation from The Miz.
4. Ruby Riott Qualifies For Money in the Bank
It is possible for Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan to interfere in the Raw Women’s Championship match at Money in the Bank, but I’d much rather see a clean result between Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax. I’d also like to see the Riott Squad represented in the Women’s MITB Ladder Match, and the only sensible option of the three is Ruby. While Morgan has improved noticeably and Logan is solid, Ruby is the group’s leader and one of the best women’s wrestlers on the roster.
Although Riott failed to qualify in a Triple Threat match with Ember Moon and Sasha Banks, which was won by Moon in breath-taking fashion, I could see her getting a “second chance”. We saw the WWE use “second chance” matches for the Elimination Chamber match earlier this year, and Finn Balor ended up qualifying because of one of those types of matches.
Ruby would add so much to the ladder match, especially since so many people would be interested in seeing her nab a victory. Alexa Bliss is currently the only heel on Raw scheduled to compete in the match, and while they could roll with just one heel or have Mickie be the other heel in the match, there’d be much more intrigue around Riott. Plus, imagine the Riott Squad with the briefcase. That could be awesome.
5. Natalya Qualifies For MITB
I also think Natalya will qualify for the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, rounding out the field of four with Ruby Riott, Ember Moon, and Alexa Bliss. It’s bold to leave both Sasha Banks and Bayley out of it, but I can’t see one of them being in the match without the other. I also think it would be poetic for both of them to miss out on a shot at the briefcase.
Although many fans find Natalya boring, a lot of those feelings dissipate when she’s being a bad-ass in a ladder match. She shined in last year’s women’s ladder matches, and she’s always been at her best in violent stipulations. Nattie is one of the strongest wrestlers on the roster, and she’s also one of the safest. Who wouldn’t want to see her in a ladder match, especially given how creative she’s been in the ring lately? Her post title-feud matches with Charlotte this year on SmackDown Live were among the most underrated television matches I’ve watched this year.
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While Natalya has next to zero chance of actually winning the briefcase, I’d like to see her in the match to keep things ticking. That will be especially important with either Billie Kay or Lana guaranteed to be in the match from SmackDown, as neither wrestler is experienced in WWE ladder matches.