WWE Money in the Bank 2020: Stars Who Would Benefit Most from MITB Briefcase Win
May 5, 2020
With AJ Styles' victory on Raw, the field for the men's and women's Money in the Bank Ladder matches are set for Sunday.
WWE deviated from the script a bit at last year's show.
Bayley climbed to the top of the ladder for the women's briefcase, while Brock Lesnar was a surprise entrant and grabbed the men's briefcase. Both Bayley and Lesnar were former world champions, so they didn't profile as the traditional winner from the annual event.
The 2020 installment isn't lacking in star power (Asuka, Nia Jax, Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio and Styles), but it looks like we'll get to see at least one new name enter the championship fray for the first time.
Looking at the wrestlers how haven't tasted main-roster gold yet, these three stand to gain the most from standing tall at WWE's headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
Aleister Black
Aleister Black doesn't need the briefcase in order for fans to take him seriously. Much like how the WWE Universe got behind Drew McIntyre after the Royal Rumble, the same would probably happen for Black once he won a match of consequence.
Having said that, he has to do something important for that to happen, and holding the MITB briefcase could provide The Dutch Destroyer's character with some direction.
Those backstage promos in which he demanded a challenger spoke to how WWE seemingly didn't know what to do after calling him up from NXT.
Through no fault of his own, the entirety of his persona largely boils down to a cool entrance and finishing move.
Black is the kind of wrestler who can eschew the traditional face/heel dynamic and hover in a gray area between the two for long stretches. His inevitable cash-in would allow him to draw more of a distinction right now, and that's especially true if he were to take the WWE Championship from Drew McIntyre.
Beating John Cena for the WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution in 2006 was a turning point in Edge's career. The "Ultimate Opportunist" was born.
Black could experience a similar effect from a cash-in.
Shayna Baszler
It's too early to say Shayna Baszler is on the Asuka career path, but the parallels are somewhat concerning so far.
Asuka was an unbeaten monster heading in to WrestleMania 34. Then she lost to Charlotte Flair and began a prolonged fall. WWE somehow turned a can't-miss star into merely another interchangeable member of the women's division.
Baszler's entire feud with Becky Lynch felt somewhat lacking. Turning the former NXT women's champion into a vampire was a puzzling development.
The WrestleMania 36 match between Baszler and Lynch fell flat, too, given what they're capable of inside the ring. While she didn't carry a perfect record into WrestleMania, losing to Lynch punctured Baszler's aura of invincibility.
Much like with Black, fans will be ready to accept Baszler as the top threat in the division at a moment's notice. As such, the Money in the Bank briefcase isn't the only avenue through which she can ultimately achieve that level of credibility.
But the briefcase is most effective in the hands of a heel. You can easily picture Baszler locking in the Kirifuda Clutch to spoil the moment for a triumphant babyface champion.
To be clear, Dana Brooke is by far the biggest underdog in either of the Money in the Bank Ladder matches, and the odds she prevails are slim to none.
However, WWE's focus on the women's division has been almost nonexistent since Ronda Rousey went on an indefinite hiatus, and the momentum generated by Becky Lynch's sudden rise steadily fizzled out.
Rather than relying on a proven hand, the promotion might as well embrace somebody fresh, and Brooke is the only MITB match participant who hasn't either held a title or competed for a women's belt on a pay-per-view.
Remember that promo Brooke delivered on Raw last March in the buildup to WrestleMania 36? Probably not.
She did a great job of playing off her limited usage on television to not only make herself a good underdog but also someone deserving of support from the fans.
The MITB contract holders shouldn't be limited solely to main event stars or younger wrestlers WWE views as future cornerstones of the company. Brooke can be more like Carmella, who was a surprise victor in 2017 and ended up being an entertaining champion on SmackDown.