WWE Money In The Bank: Handicapping The Field, Part Four — The Favorites

In just a few hours, WWE's latest themed pay-per-view, Money in the Bank, will come to the WWE Universe live from Kansas City.

As the name indicates, the night will feature a pair of Money in the Bank ladder matches, one from each brand.

But who will win?

It's a question that will surely garner much speculation leading up to tonight's event, but I've decided to get a jump start on the IWC and do a little handicapping for the big matches.

In this four-part series, I'll be grouping each match's combatants in one of four groups: The Favorites, The Dark Horses, The Wildcards, and The Fillers.

Part Three outlined the four Dark Horses: The Miz, Evan Bourne, Christian, and Dolph Ziggler.

With only hours to go before the live event, I will unveil my favorites, including my pick to win each match.

Raw's MITB Match

As much as I'd like to shake the fact that a former nine-time world champion struck me immediately as a favorite, it just won't happen.

The Rated-R Superstar, Edge, is the first of my favorites for tonight's Raw MITB match.

The hype surrounding Edge is impossible to ignore. He's cashed in the MITB briefcase twice. He's won more ladder matches than one could count. And he's perched near the top of Raw's main event picture.

The only reason I don't have Edge winning tonight is because a heel is currently holding the WWE title. Should John Cena regain the WWE title tonight, I think the momentum shifts in Edge's favor. If Sheamus retains it, however, the favorite remains my pick to grab the red briefcase.

The Pick : Randy Orton

Orton's momentum is sky-high right now, and he is being pushed as the clear alpha dog coming into tonight's event.

Every MITB winner to date has been an up-and-coming superstar, which would seem to favor the likes of John Morrison or The Miz. But with the logjam atop the Raw roster, and with Triple H set to return in the next few months, I don't see a new star being born tonight.

After dropping Evan Bourne with an insane RKO Monday night, The Viper stood tall above most of his most serious competitors. Look for much of the same later tonight.

Smackdown's MITB Match

With his move to Smackdown in this spring's draft, I finally became a believer in the Kofi Kingston push to the top.

Yes, it's Smackdown, and Raw is considered the flagship show by Vince McMahon, but the quality of matches is better on Friday nights and the stars of tomorrow are coming into their own each and every week.

If a face comes down with the blue briefcase, look for it to be Kofi Kingston.

But Rey Mysterio will need a new feud once his program with Jack Swagger comes to an end.

Enter tonight's winner.

The Pick : Drew McIntyre

He is The Chosen One. Without the Intercontinental title around his waist, the time for Drew McIntyre to arrive on the main event scene is now.

Like Orton, McIntyre screamed favorite to me even before his official inclusion in the match was announced. His feud with Matt Hardy has fizzled out, and with his visa issues resolved, the latest international success for WWE is ready to make his move to the world title picture.

Money in the Bank matches are anything but predictable. But the gut doesn't lie, and my gut tells me The Viper and The Chosen One will become the latest to add the moniker Mr. Money in the Bank.