WWE Money in the Bank 2018 Profile: Happy Lana Day!

Out of all 16 men and women competing in the WWE Money in the Bank 2018 ladder matches, Lana is by far the biggest surprise qualifier.

The fact that Lana qualified for the Women’s WWE Money in the Bank 2018 Ladder Match was surprising on its own, but the way in which she qualified was even more shocking. In a matter of seconds, Lana pinned Billie Kay to punch her ticket to Money in the Bank, raising everyone’s hopes that June 17 will be a very, very happy Lana Day.

Lana’s husband, Rusev, also qualified for a Money in the Bank Ladder Match, and he did this by defeating Daniel Bryan in a main event of SmackDown Live, just days after Bryan was obliterated by Big Cass after their match at Backlash. The prospect of Rusev and Lana, two of the most popular wrestlers in the company, potentially holding Money in the Bank briefcases together is tantalizing, to say the least.

But is it realistic? Rusev has a chance to win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match as a serious darkhorse, though Stephanie McMahon’s favorite “Prizefighter” Kevin Owens, the first ever Universal Champion Finn Balor, and the must-see Miz are ostensibly more likely options.

As for Lana, her chances seem incredibly low. For starters, she isn’t ready in the ring, which means she needs to make plenty of improvements before she can even be considered as a women’s champion. Even though Carmella had a lot more in-ring experience and credibility than Lana did, similar criticisms have followed ‘Mella, who won the Money in the Bank ladder matches last year and is the current SmackDown Women’s Champion.

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While Lana’s chances are indeed the lowest of any of the women in this match, they aren’t “zero” by any means. WWE used the briefcase as a way of “seasoning” Carmella last year, and they could be interested in doing something similar with Lana, who received a title opportunity against Naomi at last year’s Money in the Bank before her singles career was delayed.

It’s interesting that WWE even put Lana in this high-risk ladder match, and it’s even more interesting that they had her essentially squash Kay, though that may partially be because they wanted her in the ladder match but didn’t trust her to have a lengthy singles match with Kay.

So why did WWE put Lana in the ladder match? It has to go beyond just “rewarding” her or even just teasing the fans with the possibility of both Rusev and Lana winning a Money in the Bank contract?

Most of the discussion around Lana’s in-ring involvement in the ladder match centers around her lack of experience in the ring, which seems dangerous in a freaking ladder match. But with seven other women involved, WWE could easily hide Lana’s weaknesses, even in a more dangerous environment. They get to choose exactly what Lana does, and if something goes wrong, there are so many experienced wrestlers like Natalya, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Naomi, and Becky Lynch who can make sure that the mistakes are cleaned up quickly.

The fact that Lana could just do very little throughout the match and swoop in for a controversial victory is a distinct possibility, even if it isn’t a remotely likely one. Last year, James Ellsworth grabbed the Women’s Money in the Bank briefcase in a moment that sparked outrage and caused WWE to redo the ladder match. Lana winning would be far less controversial, but it would cause fans to become upset and would put the briefcase in the hands of an inexperienced wrestler and extremely talented talker who would generate quite the stir with the contract in her hands.

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None of this is to say that I want Lana to win the briefcase over wrestlers like Sasha Banks, Natalya, Becky Lynch, or even Alexa Bliss, but it is to warn those of you who think Lana has “absolutely no chance” of winning to be careful not to completely dismiss her chances. WWE, as the main event of WrestleMania 34 illustrated, can do pretty much whatever they want, and Lana winning would honestly be far less surprising than some of the other decisions they’ve made, including the finish to last year’s first Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.