The Chances of Those Winning WWE Money in the Bank

With Money in the Bank just a week away, eight Superstars from both the Raw and Smackdown brands are being given an opportunity to snag the right to a contract for their brand's prized championship with the WWE Title on Raw and the World Heavyweight Championship on Smackdown.

For some, this will be their first opportunity at trying to snag their first World Title reign. For others, winning MITB would bring back the momentum they need to be a threat to the champion on their brand.

In this ranking, I will personally rank the chances of each wrestler in both ladder matches from least to greatest with some superstars seeming to be around just as spot-fillers and others having built up enough momentum as of late where they could have their opportunity.

The Raw MITB Match

I'll first list off my thoughts on the Superstars involved in Raw's MITB ladder match.

8. Evan Bourne

Bourne's spot in the MITB match seems to be mostly as a spot-filler in my opinion.

While he has gotten a bit of a push as of late with his rivalry with Jack Swagger and his aerial match with Sin Cara at Raw Roulette a couple weeks ago, I can't really picture him flying onto the main event scene considering he isn't the kind of guy Vinnie Mac would be willing to push.

7. Jack Swagger

Swagger has mostly been floating around the midcard throughout this year with notable moments being lackey to Michael Cole and his recent rivalry with Evan Bourne.

Considering his run as World Heavyweight Champion was quite lackluster when he won MITB last year, I doubt the WWE will let him return to the main event scene anytime soon.

6. Alex Riley

Ranking Riley this low might ruffle up some feathers for folks. But I just don't think he's ready to be elevated to the main event scene just yet.

While he has been doing fairly well in his recent face run against Miz, I still feel there's quite a bit of uncertainty over how well he could fare on his own. He needs to show he can be without the Miz to get over with the fans.

I say give the guy another year to see how the fans warm up to him and if he gets over enough, then give him his opportunity for any major championship.

5. Rey Mysterio

Many of you following Rey know quite well that the guy is on his last legs as a WWE Superstar thanks to the years of injuries that have been nagging him throughout his career.

This combined with two lackluster reigns as World Heavyweight Champion make me doubt that Rey will be winning this.

Yet being one of the WWE's top faces, I wouldn't be surprised if he stole the show with some aerial spots, especially if they involve use of the ladder.

4. Kofi Kingston

With Randy Orton no longer around on the same brand as him, MITB seems like a big opportunity for Kofi to finally spring onto the main event scene. He is over with fans as a face, has a great look and is great to see in the ring.

The major hurdle I see for him winning however is that the three men ranked higher on this list are in huge need of winning the match so they can still be relevant to WWE fans as they have lost momentum in recent weeks with their characters.

Sadly, I see Kofi being overshadowed by those three mentioned Superstars as he has been floating around the midcard of the WWE roster for quite a while now without much direction.

3. R-Truth

R-Truth had been doing great up to Capitol Punishment in his recent heel run where his delusional character made him seem to be a legitimate threat to John Cena's WWE Title run.

Yet with the typical Cena finish at Capitol Punishment, it killed quite a bit of the buildup R-Truth had going for his character and there doesn't seem to be any direction for his character as of late.

Truth is in great need of winning MITB so he can keep his character relevant in the eyes of fans.

Yet without any major accomplishments like the two men ranked higher on this list, it greatly reduces the chances of him winning the match.

2. The Miz

Being last year's Money in the Bank winner and one of the longest-reigning WWE Champions in recent memory with a fairly successful title run, The Miz has a good chance of winning for a second year in a row as his heel character is over with the fans and the powers-that-be within the company have liked the media attention that he generated during his WWE Title run.

And he'll need that win to get back to being a main event threat as his losses to John Cena and Alex Riley have killed his character's buildup in recent months.

But considering there has been enough Cena/Miz over the past year, the WWE should be looking for someone else to be put in a fresh rivalry with the company's top face and I don't think Miz will be back to winning the title so soon.

1. Alberto Del Rio

I strongly believe that the Mexican aristocrat will be snagging the briefcase for this year's MITB. Del Rio definitely has all the necessary skills to be elevated to the main event scene with the right look, great mic skills and ring ability and being over as a heel with fans.

He is capable of pulling solid matches in the main event run thanks to his rivalries with Edge and Christian for the World Heavyweight Title earlier in the year and winning this year's Royal Rumble.

In addition, Del Rio has yet to engage John Cena in a rivalry and rumors have been circulating that there would be a Del Rio/ Cena WWE Title main event for Summerslam.

The writing on the wall for me says that Alberto Del Rio is the most likely to win this year's Money in the Bank for Raw.

The Smackdown MITB Match

And now let me offer my thoughts on the participants of the Smackdown MITB match.

7. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel (Tie)

These two guys are just around as spot-fillers for the match. I picture them still being in the midcard as a tag team for quite a while and highly doubt neither of them will be winning the match, especially as they lack any character for the fans to connect with.

6. Sin Cara

The luchador formerly known as Mistico is still green to the WWE's wrestling style and has yet to make an impression on the mic. While I highly doubt that he will be winning this year's MITB, I do think he has potential at stealing the show with aerial spots.

5. Kane

The Big Red Monster did have a solid run as World Heavyweight Champ at first when he won Money in the Bank and feuded with The Undertaker last year while on Smackdown, providing for some of the better moments we seen of his character in years.

However, his rivalry with Edge did kill his run and he is now back to being a midcarder as tag team partner to Big Show and having a rivalry with Mark Henry that further sinks his former status as a fearsome big man.

I don't picture Kane winning MITB this year as I heard of last year's MITB win being a reward for his years of commitment to the WWE and the man being content at remaining in the midcard to put over other talent on the roster.

4. Daniel Bryan

One of the WWE's best in-ring wrestlers, Daniel Bryan has been floating around the midcard over this past year without any direction and being involved in matches to make opponents such as The Miz and Cody Rhodes look good in the ring.

While The American Dragon certainly has the in-ring ability to put on great matches, he is lacking charisma and presence with his current character. Without these notable traits, I can't picture the WWE pushing him to the main event right now.

However with Bryan's abilities in the ring, I could also see him being a potential show-stealer in next Sunday's MITB match.

3. Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes has made enough improvements with his character over the past year when he adopted his current disfigured gimmick. His feud with Rey Mysterio is one of Smackdown's better feuds of this year thus far and he has done well at pushing heat onto himself with his mic skills.

Having him win Money in the Bank has potential to create an interesting rivalry involving him and his current partner Ted Dibiase against Randy Orton, especially considering all three were part of Legacy and were dominant throughout much of 2009.

The only major thing that would kill Cody's chances of winning MITB is his lack of main event experience which the two men ranked higher on this list have over him.

2. Sheamus

The Celtic Warrior is no stranger to having the WWE Title considering his two runs with the title and being booked as a monster heel with prominent feuds against superstars such as Triple H and Randy Orton.

Sheamus' recent attack on Orton and Christian during their contract signing a couple weeks ago on Smackdown has helped make him a legitimate threat once again in the main event scene and enough folks are thinking he has the best chance of winning MITB to resume a rivalry with Orton.

While I agree that Sheamus is very likely to win MITB, personal bias has me tempted to support another man who I believe deserves a run with the gold.

1. Wade Barrett

For all that this man has, I'm very surprised the WWE hasn't given him a run with the WWE Title or World Heavyweight Championship. His smug look, mic skills and ability in the ring are great enough as a heel where he stuck out enough from the subpar wrestlers that he led within Nexus and Corre.

Barrett certainly has the capability to hold up in the main event with the rivalries he had with John Cena and Randy Orton last year while leader of the Nexus.

Now free from being the leader of subpar stables, Barrett has a great chance of creating his own persona as a heel and distancing himself from being known as the former leader of two stables that didn't work out.

Personal bias be damned with enough favoring of Sheamus, but the Celtic Warrior's already had two runs with the WWE Title. I think it is time for Barrett to get his spotlight as the World Heavyweight Champ as he has enough to deliver with his character.