On tonight’s episode of WWE Raw, seven women will compete in a “Gauntlet Match” to decide the final participant in the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Will Sasha Banks or Bayley pull off another signature victory, or will the Riott Squad steal an MITB appearance?
Last week on WWE Raw, Natalya defeated Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, and Dana Brooke in a Fatal Four-Way match to earn a spot in the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match this year. Natalya competed in both ladder matches last year and was unsuccessful both times, but she did win the SmackDown Women’s Championship at SummerSlam against Naomi.
This year, Natalya is also expected to come up short in the match despite a valiant performance, but could one of the seven women competing in the Gauntlet Match tonight for the final women’s Money in the Bank spot end up winning the briefcase? The odds are against them, especially with the likes of Alexa Bliss in the match, but someone like Sasha Banks could grab that briefcase after winning a grueling Gauntlet Match.
There’s more scheduled for Raw than just the Gauntlet Match, too. Seth Rollins will defend the Intercontinental Championship against Jinder Mahal, two weeks after he defeated Kevin Owens for the title. Rollins is on fire, but can Mahal, who has been targeting Seth’s brother-in-arms Roman Reigns lately, pull off the upset?
Here are five predictions for tonight’s episode of Raw.
5. Nia Jax Bests Ronda Rousey
WWE likes to talk about how dominant Nia Jax is, but we’ve seen her lose so many big matches in the past, particularly to Asuka. Nia defeated Alexa Bliss twice in title matches to win and retain the Raw Women’s Championship, which she has put on the line against Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank on June 17.
Rousey is WWE’s most dominant competitor, and it is a little bit difficult to buy into Nia as a serious challenger to a woman with Rousey’s pedigree. While Nia has the size and strength advantage, as Stephanie McMahon touted during last week’s contract signing, Rousey has the advantage in every other department. Beyond that, Jax is usually booked weakly against wrestlers who excel at submissions, as she’s tapped out to Becky Lynch, Asuka, and Sasha Banks in her WWE career.
That’s why I think WWE will throw Nia a bone and try to build her up a little bit more for this matchup. Last week, Stephanie called her “lazy” and criticized her for essentially no reason. Jax in a tough spot as a champion making her title defense against Rousey, and because she’ll likely lose, it’s even more important for her to send a message.
4. Seth Rollins Defeats Jinder Mahal In IC Title Match
This is an easy prediction to make, but I have no interest in boldly proclaiming that Jinder Mahal will dethrone the Kingslayer. Seth Rollins is probably the best thing about the WWE right now, because his matches for the Intercontinental Championship are a real highlight each week. Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and The Miz are among the names Rollins has burned the house down with, and Rollins has reached a level of overness with the live audience that I’m not even sure WWE’s brass anticipated.
Mahal has a non-title match against Roman Reigns scheduled for Money in the Bank, and while WWE could make that an IC Title match if Mahal were to take the title off of Rollins, I simply do not see that happening. Plus, Mahal holding the workhorse title? It just doesn’t make sense.
I’m hoping this match ranks among Mahal’s best of his career, and he has stepped up his game against top opponents in the past. His WWE Championship matches with AJ Styles were tremendous, and the fans in attendance for his live event match against Triple H in India also praised that bout.
With a match against Reigns coming, Mahal needs a strong showing, and I wonder if he’ll try to beat up Seth after the defeat, leading to Reigns saving Rollins. Remember, Rollins saved Reigns from a Mahal beatdown during his match with Owens last week.
3. Bobby Lashley Ends Sami Zayn, Match Scheduled For MITB
The segment involving Sami Zayn and Bobby Lashley last week was transphobic and an absolute embarrassment. From a storyline standpoint, it’s also hurt Lashley, because fans are starting to question why the WWE decided to sign him from Impact Wrestling. There’s even been some revisionist history pertaining to Lashley’s improvements in TNA/Impact, with some fans asserting that Lashley was overrated and only shined in TNA because it was an inferior product.
This is untrue, and it’s simply an example of fans trying to opportunistically hate on a wrestler. However, WWE’s booking of Lashley has been head-scratching, and this “sisters” storyline has done nobody any favors.
Lashley needs to come out an absolutely destroy Zayn tonight. I’m also guessing that WWE will get Lashley and Zayn on the card for the Money in the Bank Pay Per View by having them fight each other in a straight rivalry match. Neither Zayn nor Lashley qualified for the ladder match, so a straight singles match is likely in the cards for these two. I think they set that up tonight, with Lashley giving Zayn something a little bit more serious than vertigo.
I’m not sure how many matches will be on the Money in the Bank card, but I’m guessing that because it’s a Big 5 PPV and the show will run longer with the new PPV format, they’ll be able to fit in matches like this one.
2. Ruby Riott Wins The Gauntlet Match
Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Mickie James, and Dana Brooke will compete in a seven-woman Gauntlet Match on Raw, with the winner qualifying for the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Seven of the eight ladder match spots have been filled by Ember Moon, Alexa Bliss, Natalya, Lana, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Naomi.
Just looking at that list of names, there are only two wrestlers who would qualify as heels – Lana and Alexa Bliss. I’m thinking WWE throws in another heel into the mix, and my pick is Ruby Riott, the leader of the Riott Squad.
Although Sasha is probably the most popular pick among the WWE Universe, I don’t see WWE giving the win to Sasha or Bayley. I mean, Sasha winning could help push the rivalry between The Legit Boss and The Hugger to a different level, but WWE might not want to choose between the two and might want to have them do something else instead of the ladder match.
As for the Riott Squad, they need to be represented in the ladder match. A win for Ruby Riott would add more intrigue to the ladder match, because the Riott Squad holding the Money in the Bank briefcase would be a big deal. Plus, this faction needs to feel important, and this kind of a win would solidify Ruby’s status as one of the women to beat on Raw. Ruby’s already defeated Sasha and Bayley in singles matches, and she’s put on some incredible work ever since being called up to the main roster.
1. Jason Jordan Returns To Mess With Chad Gable
I’ve missed Jason Jordan on WWE television, because he’s been out since February after undergoing neck surgery. Prior to his injury, Jordan was on fire, as the former Raw Tag Team Champion was playing his character to a “T”. Entitled and whiny, Jordan has been a hit as Kurt Angle’s son, and a heel turn seemed ready to happen before the injury.
Jordan teamed with Chad Gable in NXT and on SmackDown Live as “American Alpha”, which was one of WWE’s best tag teams. But Jordan moved over to Raw when Angle made the special announcement that the former All-American wrestler was his son, and Gable and Jordan showed their bad blood in the build up to Survivor Series.
Next: Joe Hendry Will Be At Impact Tapings
According to PW Insider, Jordan is scheduled to appear at the Raw tapings tonight, and while that’s not a guarantee he’ll actually be on television, I’ll boldly predict his return and some sort of interaction with Gable. Last week, Gable lost a singles match against Dolph Ziggler, and I have a feeling that the manipulative Jordan will have something to say about it. Jordan seems like the type of person who loves rubbing salt in somebody’s wounds, especially if that person is his former good friend.