WWE Money in the Bank 2012: 10 Things to Know About the Heavyweight Ladder Match

WWE is taking a different approach to this year's Money in the Bank PPV by having the Raw match contain four former WWE Champions, while the SmackDown match will have eight superstars, some who have held the title in the past and others who haven't.

With Raw's match being essentially a fatal-four-way, it leaves the SD match as the only one that really looks like the MITB matches we are used to seeing.

Of the eight men involved in the match, only one looks out of place in a ladder match: Tensai. That is not to say that he has no chance of winning as we have seen big men win ladder matches before.

SmackDown's match is the one people will be looking to for excitement since the only person known for his ladder-match prowess in the Raw match is Chris Jericho.

So, let's take a look at the SmackDown Money in the Bank match and look at 10 things you need to know heading into the match. These will be more statistics and facts than speculation about the future.

Half of the Competitors Have Been to the Dance Before

The eight competitors in the SD ladder match have varying degrees of experience in these kinds of matches. Let's look at how they stack up.

In the SD ladder match, we have four competitors who have been in this situation before: Cody Rhodes has been in two, as has Dolph Ziggler. Sin Cara has been in one, which saw him get injured, and Christian has three under his belt.

With the most experience of anyone in any ladder match situation, Christian should be a standout favorite in the match as well as someone we can rely on for a few high spots.

Ziggler and Rhodes have both shown some impressive feats in past MITB matches, while Sin Cara seems tailor made for a match like this, as long as his knee holds up.

The Other Half Have Not

We already covered the MITB match competitors with experience, so now we will take a look at the other four.

Damien Sandow, Santino Marella, Tyson Kidd and Tensai all have the exact same amount of experience in the MITB matches—none.

That does not mean they are less likely to win, as we have seen several winners who took home the case in their first outing, like Jack Swagger, Mr. Kennedy and The Miz.

Tensai really looks like the odd man out, as all seven other men are capable of quickly climbing the ladder, but Tensai has his size working for him in regards to being able to knock anyone off a ladder with a little swat.

Not One of the 8 Men Involved Have Won the Case: Definite First-Time Winner

Unlike Raw, who has former MITB winner in Kane, this match features no one who has ever come away with a MITB case before.

This will mean that someone out of the eight men in the match will receive what could be the first really big push of their careers.

Let's all hope that WWE doesn't decide to give it to someone deserving, only to have them be the first person to fail at cashing it in.

The SD Match Has Both Midcard Champions

Santino and Christian hold the US and IC titles respectively, so having them both compete in this match is a bit strange.

Santino is a Raw superstar, while Christian is a SmackDown superstar, and even though the lines between the two rosters are more blurry than the bottom line of an eye test, it still seems like they should not be in the same match.

Santino is not a former World Champion, so he does not qualify for the Raw MITB match, but Christian is. WWE should have put him in the Raw match and evened them out a bit more instead of having twice as many in the SD match as the Raw match.

This Is How Sin Cara Got "Hurt" Last Year

Sin Cara is one of the few people who are expected to be soaring from the rafters during the ladder matches, but what we need to remember is this is where he got "injured" last year.

Really, he just had to take 30 days off, but the injury was sold well with the powerbomb in the video.

He only recently returned to absolutely no push, and with him being fresh off the bench I would not be surprised to see him take things a little easier in this match than most might expect.

Cara has the potential to be the next Mysterio in WWE, but if he keeps up with the injuries, then he may only be like Mysterio in that one way.

A Luchador is more likely to get hurt in these kinds of matches due to his high-risk style, and it is a fact that Cara has to live with every time he steps through the ropes.

Only Two Former World Champions in the Bunch

Christian and Ziggler are the only men in this match to hold a World title in WWE, and that could give them a bit of a boost come Sunday.

Ziggler and Christian both have great resumes, but when you look at it from a fan's perspective, it seems like both were either paper or transitional champions, which is sad given the high level of talent between them.

Christian is no stranger to taking things down from atop a ladder, so he could end up an IC Champion as well as MITB case holder after Sunday.

Ziggler, oh the other hand, needs another real World title run to prove he belongs at the top with the CM Punks and the Daniel Bryans.

Team Canada!

Did you know that three of the eight men in the match are Canadian? Christian, Tyson Kidd and Santino all hail from north of the border.

To answer your question, yes, Santino is from Canada, not Italy.

Let's not forget the Canadian Chris Jericho over in the Raw match.

Even though Canada has always been big in the wrestling world, it is somewhat of a surprise to see only half the competitors be American.

On top of the Canadians in the match, we have the Mexican sensation Sin Cara to add to the international appeal.

This may be a trivial fact, but I am betting Canadians are pretty pleased to see a good number of their countrymen in these matches.

Two of the Wrestlers Have Never Held WWE Gold

Of the eight men in the match, there are two who have never held a single belt in WWE, Damien Sandow and Sin Cara.

Christian and Ziggler are both former World Champions, while Rhodes, Santino and Tensai (as Albert) have all held midcard title in the company. Tyson Kidd held the tag titles with DH Smith.

Sin Cara has been in WWE for a little while now, but injuries have kept him out of long-term programs while Sandow is still new to the WWE scene in general.

If either of these superstars were to win, then it is likely that they would join the very exclusive club of wrestlers whose first title in the company was one of the top titles.

That is rarefied air as only a few names like Undertaker, Hulk Hogan and Sheamus can make such a claim.

Heels vs. Faces in an Even Match

It was probably not planned out this way on purpose, but exactly half the superstars in this match are heels and the other half are faces.

For once, it would seem like the good guys and the bad guys are on an even playing field.

Christian, Santino, Sin Cara and Kidd are all bona-fide good guys in WWE, while Ziggler, Rhodes, Sandow and Tensai make their living as heels.

In fact, with the exception of a short period at the beginning of Rhodes' WWE career and Tensai's turn as the Hip-Hop Hippo, it would seem that all of the heels have pretty much always been heels in WWE.

Odds of Each Superstar Winning

Despite the fact that a ladder match between eight people should be a free-for-all and have the possibility of anyone winning, we all know that not all superstars are created equal.

With that said, I will assign odds to each superstars and try to provide logical reasoning behind the odds given. Keep in mind that this is one man's opinion and in no way reflects any actual thoughts by WWE management.

Tensai 1000-1

With Tensai already having a few high-profile wins, one might assume he was a real contender for the MITB match, but with how WWE has been using him, I doubt they are planning on giving him a briefcase with a title match guaranteed.

Santino 1000-1

Just as, if not more, unlikely of a candidate for the win is Santino. He is WWE's resident comic relief, and he does a good job at it, but I do not think WWE would give him a shot at a World title since he is the US Champion at the current time.

Damien Sandow 500-1

As much as I would love to see the intellectual savior come away with the win, it feels like it is way too early in his run for him to have any kind of big win like this. If I am wrong, then I will be happy, but I probably won't be wrong on this one.

Tyson Kidd 250-1

Even though this is Tyson Kidd's big chance to steal the show, we cannot assume WWE is looking to give him a monster push after years of being virtually ignored. He is there to be one of the resident spot monkeys in this match, and that is why we will remember his losing performance.

Sin Cara 100-1

Sin Cara would not be a huge shocker given that WWE wants to build him into a replacement for Rey Mysterio should the master of the 619 ever decide to leave, but his odds are low given that he has not had any sort of push since returning from an injury which occurred on the same PPV last year.

Christian 10-1

The commander of the peeps is someone who deserves the case but will likely leave empty-handed seeing as he already holds WWE gold.

Cody Rhodes 3-1

Rhodes is one of the guys who I am looking for to make the jump into main-event status before the year is out, and a win here could do it. He has been one of the best heels on SmackDown for the last year, and WWE should look at him as the next Randy Orton.

Dolph Ziggler 2-1

In my opinion, this is Ziggler's match to lose. He is the guy who can literally do it all, and WWE always seems to be hesitant to push him to the top. He has had a few title matches that have not turned out well, but if it is on his own terms, he could win the title and hold on to it for a long time.

All in all, I think Ziggler or Rhodes will be walking away with a blue briefcase after Sunday.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to share your thoughts on the SmackDown MITB match below.