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LA Knight is the rightful leading candidate to become Mr. Money in the Bank this summer.
LA Knight is the rightful leading candidate to become Mr. Money in the Bank this summer.Credit: WWE.com

WWE's Next Mr. MITB, Pros and Cons of New AEW Saturday Show, More Quick Takes

Graham GSM MatthewsApr 17, 2023

Ahead of the upcoming WWE draft, there are several Superstars who are ready for that next step toward singles stardom and can be considered prime candidates to win this year's Money in the Bank Ladder matches.

Leading that list has to be LA Knight, who has slowly but surely gotten over with the audience despite his many losses as of late.

How he's handled between now and the July 1 pay-per-view will be interesting to follow, but he's someone who should be in the MITB conversation. He's just a few high-profile wins away from breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling.

Meanwhile in All Elite Wrestling, talk of a new Saturday show has fans buzzing that another significant summer is on the horizon. Although it could lead to more wrestlers receiving opportunities, it could also be another example of overexposure that ultimately amounts to nothing.

This installment of Quick Takes will delve deep into what this AEW program is rumored to be, how Damage CTRL have officially run their course, The Hardyz going for the gold one last time, and more.

Pros and Cons of AEW Adding Saturday Show to Already-Packed Schedule

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There's plenty of wrestling during any given week, and on the AEW schedule alone, there is arguably already more hours of content than there needs to be.

That's not including AEW Collision, which will be the name of the company's new Saturday show premiering this June, according to Matt Black of WrestleZone.

As of now, no other AEW programs will apparently be affected, but it will surely render Rampage irrelevant if the idea is for it to be treated with the same reverence as Dynamite.

Rampage has been a fine, albeit inconsequential, hour of wrestling for AEW since its launch, so it must be established early on that Collision will be different by boasting significant star power along with consistent storyline development and must-see matches.

The idea of a "soft" brand split may actually work given the depth of the promotion's loaded roster. Keeping CM Punk exclusive to the show may not only alleviate issues behind the scenes but also give viewers an incentive to tune in regularly.

If Collision is more or less an extension of Rampage, it will not be successful. More television time is the last thing AEW needs right now if new faces aren't featured.

Above all else, another new show on the schedule is a positive indicator that AEW will have a long-standing relationship with TNT and TBS for years to come if the amount of content continues to increase.

Legado del Fantasma Already Benefiting from Rey Mysterio Alliance

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Turning Santos Escobar babyface along with the rest of Legado del Fantasma as part of their alliance with Rey Mysterio has been the best thing to happen to them since joining the main roster last October.

Escobar and company are outstanding talent, but they failed to connect with the audience on a meaningful level as heels in their first few months on SmackDown. And they were hindered by a lack of direction and inconsistent booking.

Rey found himself needing backup against The Judgment Day and recruited the group to form Latino World Order, a WCW faction once helmed by Eddie Guerrero. In such a short span of time, they have already established themselves as fan favorites.

Interestingly, they have lost more matches lately than they did prior to joining up with Mysterio, but that hasn't seemed to affect their standing with the fans. They'll need to be built back up eventually, but their natural pairing with The Master of the 619 is enough for now.

The ultimate endgame should be to have Escobar eventually betray the veteran and revert to his roots as a heel. That could jump-start a lengthy feud between them heading into SummerSlam or WrestleMania 40, but either way, it wouldn't be in the immediate future.

Damage CTRL Officially Damaged Goods

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The debut of Damage CTRL at last year's SummerSlam was met with praise from fans, with the idea of Bayley having her own faction being fresh and Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky being the perfect names to accompany her.

It wasn't long before the group started to lose their luster thanks to an inability to win whenever it mattered most. Bayley was unsuccessful against Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Championship twice, while Kai and Sky had two forgettable reigns as women's tag team champions, and their loss at Survivor Series WarGames in November erased any momentum the faction may have had.

Their subsequent feud with Becky Lynch culminating in yet another defeat for them at WrestleMania 39 was simply the final nail in the coffin.

Thankfully, WWE began to tease tension within the ranks of Damage CTRL last week on Raw, with Kai and Sky showing frustration toward Bayley for getting herself title opportunities before them.

Sky went on to win a Triple Threat match that night to become the No. 1 contender to the Raw women's belt. Bayley appeared to be far from thrilled in the background, and a feud between the two is inevitable.

WWE's smartest course of action would be to switch Sky to a babyface role and split the three of them up in the draft, which starts on April 28.

A group that started with so much potential was unfortunately squandered and is beyond redemption.

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Are The Hardyz Set for Another Tag Team Title?

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Jeff Hardy returning from a 10-month hiatus last Wednesday on Dynamite has been a point of contention for many fans, and understandably so given the nature of his situation.

At the time of his abrupt absence from AEW TV last summer, he and Matt were preparing to challenge for the AEW World Tag Team Championship in a three-way tag team ladder match on Dynamite. All signs pointed to them winning as well.

Before the brothers resume their chase for the twin titles, Jeff must prove he can reliable for a lengthy period of time and not fall back into bad habits.

Fans simply want what's best for The Charismatic Enigma and to see him happy and healthy. Whether being back in the ring will help with that remains to be seen given his past issues, but if he is going to remain a regular on the show, AEW can't rush them into going for the gold again.

Additionally, it would make for a better story if their pursuit of the only major set of tag titles they've never held lasts for more than a few months.

The Hardyz are very much a nostalgia act at this stage of their careers, but their level of popularity can't be denied, and they can be a valuable asset to AEW's tag team division provided Jeff stays on the right path.

LA Knight Is Perfect Star to Win Men's Money in the Bank

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LA Knight continues to rack up loss after loss, but he's a prime candidate to win this year's men's Money in the Bank Ladder match, per a rumor from WWE insider WRKD Wrestling.

You would never know it based on how he's booked, but that lack of logic is often how WWE decides who is in line to be pushed. Superstars will lose many matches because the company believes they're bulletproof once they win Money in the Bank, though that isn't always the case (see: Austin Theory).

Nonetheless, these next few months will be crucial for Knight. His latest loss to Xavier Woods was acceptable, with the New Day man now moving on to challenge for the intercontinental title, but there's no reason he should be relegated to midcard mediocrity any longer.

From Bray Wyatt to Rey Mysterio to Cody Rhodes, Knight has proved he can hang with the best of WWE both on the mic and in the ring. Moreover, his shtick has caught steam and purposely not running with it would be asinine.

Everything about Knight screams "star," and becoming Mr. Money in the Bank would allow him to take his time working his way up to the main event scene where he belongs.


Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.

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