Money in the Bank: Ranking the Likelihood of Each WWE Title Contender Winning

An essentially guaranteed reign as WWE champion awaits of one of the seven Money in the Bank contenders.

Each man's chances are not equal, however. A certain goat-faced wrestler stands a far better shot at coming away with the briefcase than his old tag team partner or the returning former ECW star.

Who has the most momentum going into the Money in the Bank pay-per-view? Who does WWE have the most confidence in to be WWE champ?

From the long shot to the sure thing, here are all the WWE title Money in the Bank competitors ranked in order of likeliness of beating out the competition on July 14.

7. Christian

Daniel Bryan and Christian are the only men on this list who haven't won the WWE Championship. Don't expect that to change for the latter.

WWE let Christian sit backstage once his shoulder had healed for months. Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WrestlingInc.com) reported that he had been waiting for WWE creative to come up with a return angle long after he'd been ready to go.

That doesn't sound like the company has a lot of faith in his drawing power at this stage in his career. Would WWE have hesitated to bring back John Cena once he'd recovered from an injury?

WWE gave Christian his world title run in 2011 during his feud with Randy Orton.

It doesn’t feel like the company is itching to get him back to that position. His feud with The Shield, and Dean Ambrose in particular, should keep him busy and out of the WWE title picture.

6. Kane

Kane had his world title run given to him, presumably, in reward for his longevity when he won the Money in the Bank ladder match and the World Heavyweight Championship in 2010.

He's now three years older, slower and lower on the totem pole than the upper-echelon guys on the roster. At 46, he's just not a serious contender for the WWE title.

His role is likely to be the match's powerhouse and to be both friend and enemy to Daniel Bryan.

5. Rob Van Dam

The returning Rob Van Dam is only slightly more likely than the Big Red Machine to win his second Money in the Bank because of the excitement and surprise his win would bring. If WWE goes for the thrill of the moment, Van Dam has a shot, but it's not one worth betting on.

Like Kane, he's probably too old to be champion and his part-time status doesn't help matters.

His role is to provide some thrilling spots and get folks pumped about seeing him back in WWE.

4. CM Punk

Two factors have CM Punk lower on this list than some of his peers.

For one, fans just saw him as WWE champ for over a year. How likely is it the WWE wants to return to that situation so quickly?

Secondly, Punk seems to be heading toward a feud with Paul Heyman's other clients. He and Curtis Axel have had tension and Brock Lesnar smashed Punk's face on the mat without explanation.

That is a story likely to keep him busy for the next few months, with championships becoming less of a priority for now.

3. Sheamus

WWE clearly believes in Sheamus.

In just four years with the company, Sheamus has already won the King of the Ring, the Royal Rumble, the United States title, the World title and the WWE title twice. Expect more championships and big victories in the Irishman’s future.

He's popular, has an intimidating physique and is in his prime.

He's generally a guy WWE won't allow to lose many matches as well. It's easy, then, to imagine him winning a Money in the Bank ladder match sometime during his career, and the WWE title is never far out of his reach.

2. Randy Orton

Randy Orton is a guy who is always at the top are just below the top of the WWE pecking order.

Orton hasn't worn the WWE title since 2010, but his ability, prominence and popularity are reasons he will mostly likely be the champ again.

The long-awaited heel turn could happen here, making him John Cena's natural enemy. WWE can put the belt on Orton with confidence, as he has been a successful, entertaining champion in the past.

This would mark his first Money in the Bank ladder match win, something that would further bolster Orton's resume, like Cena's MITB win last year did for him.

The only thing that could get in The Viper's way is the man who made him tap out in their recent street fight.

1. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan's momentum is steamrolling right now.

He's wailed on The Shield and defeated Randy Orton in convincing fashion. He's opened WWE Raw for two weeks in a row.

Rumors of a John Cena and Daniel Bryan SummerSlam match have been buzzing. Could this be how that match gets set up? Does Bryan's inferiority complex have him do like Cena and announce when he is going to cash in?

With as popular as Bryan is at the moment, with as huge as the reactions he's getting are, there's no better time for WWE to put the briefcase in Bryan's hand and the title around his waist.

Bryan has a lot of enemies in this field, but with as much as WWE has been focusing on him lately, the best bet is that he ends the match atop the ladder screaming, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"