WWE Money in the Bank 2011: Thoughts, Previews, and Predictions

WWE's Money in the Bank pay-per-view event is only a few hours away. With anticipation for the WWE Championship match at a recent high, fans are coming out of the wood work to express their interest in just what will happen when John Cena defends his title against CM Punk. Will Cena leave another WWE pay-per-view with his hideous championship belt or will CM Punk shock the world and leave the company with the gold around his waist?

Also on the card, Randy Orton defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Christian while Big Show and Mark Henry look to continue their recent rivalry when they meet one-on-one, and six Superstars from Raw and six from Smackdown compete in two separate Money in the Bank Ladder Matches. Two will win the opportunity of a lifetime. All win feel pain.

Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match

This year's Smackdown Money in the Bank match is intriguing in that there is no clear-cut winner. Logic would dictate that "The Celtic Warrior" Sheamus wins the match, the briefcase, and becomes the next challenger to the World's Heavyweight Championship. That is exactly why Sheamus will not win.

A former two-time WWE Champion, Sheamus does not need a gimmick such as the Money in the Bank briefcase to receive a WWE Championship opportunity. With the Smackdown roster as light on genuine main event talent as it currently is, Sheamus is likely the next in line to challenge for the gold anyway. He's been constantly in the mix since being drafted to Smackdown and appears ready to take the next step towards championship gold on the Friday night show.

Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett are interesting cases in that both, in the past year, have been the recipients of spirited pushes by the WWE creative team. Barrett captained Nexus, which dominated Raw for the better part of six months before falling apart once it arrived on Smackdown and changed its name to The Corre. Since then, Wade has floated aimlessly around the mid-card and has not come close to matching the success he enjoyed on Monday nights. A win for Barrett could once again make the former bare-knuckle fighter relevant and re-motivate him.

Rhodes has enjoyed a sustained push since December of last year and remains one of the bright spots on the Smackdown program. He has become one of the most well-rounded young stars the company boasts and appears well on his way to becoming a bona-fide main event Superstar. Winning the Money in the Bank briefcase could do for him in one night what it has taken seven months for the writers to do. It would give him a hint of legitimacy and force the fans to see him as one of the brand's top performers. A rivalry with Randy Orton over the World Championship, visiting the old Legacy stable and somehow introducing Ted DiBiase to the fold, could prove to be compelling television.

Daniel Bryan is one of the great professional wrestlers in the world. He can wrestle a number of styles and against a number of different opponents. Unfortunately, there is little chance that he will walk out of Chicago with the Money in the Bank briefcase. There is little doubt he will one day scale the ladder and become one of the company's top talents, but I do not believe the company has enough faith in him yet to give him this opportunity. Bryan will hold the match together, as he does many of the matches in which he competes. But at the end of the day, it will be another, more established performer that wins. Bryan will have his day in the spotlight. It just will not be in Chicago tonight.

Sin Cara has taken WWE by storm since arriving on Raw, one night after Wrestlemania XXVII. He is a spectacular performer to watch, with his risk-taking, death-defying dives and flips popping crowds across the country. Unfortunately, there is little substance behind the flips, the dives, and the other assorted high spots. While those in the office (Triple H, I'm looking at you) have a vested interest in Sin Cara succeeding, I cannot honestly believe he wins this match and receives a championship opportunity this quickly. There have been reports of backstage heat on Sin Cara and pressure for him to pick up the American style of working faster than he has. Until he proves he can be more than strictly a highlight reel, Sin Cara will not sniff major WWE gold.

Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, and Kane really have little chance of winning this match. Kane, the winner of the Smackdown match on last year's show, has been floating around aimlessly since losing the World Championship in December of last year. The only bright spot of hope for him is his recent presence in the Randy Orton-Christian program on Friday nights. That bright spot, however, is not nearly enough for him to be considered a legitimate threat.

Gabriel and Slater, meanwhile, have been largely tag team specialists as of late and have had a string of quality matches with the Usos. Neither man appears ready to shoulder the responsibility the briefcase, and the push to the main events that comes with it, necessitates. Gabriel could win, if WWE is looking to throw fans off and shock the WWE Universe, but I would not bet on it.

PREDICTION: I have pretty much narrowed things down to three men: Sheamus, Wade Barrett, and Cody Rhodes. Sheamus does not need the briefcase and Barrett has been so poorly handled in the last few months that a win for him would seem disappointing and anticlimatic. That said, I predict that Rhodes leaves Chicago with the Money in the Bank briefcase.

The Big Show vs. Mark Henry

The issues between the Big Show and Mark Henry began just prior to the Capitol Punishment pay-per-view, when Big Show knocked Henry out with his hard right hand, leaving the "World's Strongest Man" to be taken from the arena on a stretcher. At Capitol Punishment, Henry assaulted Show and cost him a match to Raw's resident elitist, Alberto Del Rio.

At Money in the Bank, these two behemoths will look to settle the score once and for all when they meet in what is sure to be a hard-hitting, high-impact brawl. Make no mistake, this match serves one purpose and one purpose only: get Mark Henry over as a main event Superstar and a destructive, dominant big man.

PREDICTION: These two Superstars are no strangers to one another in the month of July. In 2008, they did battle at the Night of Champions pay-per-view, with Henry defeating Show and Kane in a Triple Threat Match to win the ECW Championship. I expect Mark Henry to once again get the best of Big Show on a July WWE pay-per-view event, rather soundly dominating the WWE's resident giant to pick up the victory. Henry will move onto bigger and better things on Smackdown, while I expect Big Show to become lost in the Monday night shuffle over on Raw.

World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs. Christian

WWE has most certainly planted enough stipulations in this match to justify taking the World Heavyweight Championship from Randy Orton without actually having him pinned or made to submit. One can understand this, considering he is the most marketable, most merchandised, and arguably the only MAJOR star on the Friday night roster at the moment. If Christian is able to leave Chicago with the World Championship, it will likely be because of some sort of controversial finish, be it disqualification or a faulty referee decision.

Regardless of the finish, however, one should expect a quality match between Orton and Christian. These two Superstars have shown a distinct chemistry that has allowed them to perform in two of the best matches in recent history, one of which was the sole bright spot on a terrible Over the Limit show.

With the amount of hype being put into the CM Punk vs. John Cena championship battle and the high expectations surrounding the Money in the Bank matches, Orton and Christian have been left on the back burner. I would not be surprised, in the slightest, if these two Superstars steal the show and tear the roof off of the Allstate Arena in what should be their final match against one another in this entertaining, high-quality, and often underrated program.

PREDICTION: Orton is undoubtedly the face of Smackdown and one of the company's two biggest stars. With that said, Christian has really stepped up his game and become the main event talent so many expected he could be. The stipulations that have been put into place, and the fact that Christian has lost to Orton on so many different occasions, lead me to believe tonight is the night Christian recaptures the World Heavyweight Championship and enjoys a bit longer of a reign than he did previously. Orton will rebound and, more than likely, win the gold sooner or later. But tonight, Christian will stand tall atop the Smackdown brand.

Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Alberto Del Rio, like Sheamus on Smackdown, appears to be the unquestioned favorite heading into the Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match. He has been pushed as a future champion since arriving on Smackdown last year and has, for the most part, lived up to his end of the deal. He has become one of the most hated stars in the company and one of its best inside the squared circle. He has every tool a titleholder in Vince McMahon's company should have. But he will not win this match.

Del Rio already has a championship match in his back pocket, the result of a victory over Rey Mysterio and R-Truth on Raw two weeks ago. Rumors have circulated for months that Del Rio would challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. There are far easier and more logical means of getting to that match than wasting this opportunity on a guy most fans already perceive as a main event attraction.

For that same reason, Rey Mysterio will not win the Money in the Bank match. Rey is on a different level than any other star in the match, a guaranteed Hall of Fame inductee who no longer needs championships or gimmicks such as a Money in the Bank briefcase to remain relevent and in the upper echelon of WWE talents. Add to that recent rumblings of contract disputes between the company and Rey, as well as his notable absence from Raw Monday night while final preparations for this event were underway, and you have a very unlikely winner of the popular annual match.

R-Truth has become one of the most entertaining performers on either brand, in any company, in professional wrestling. His paranoid, slightly insane persona, often spouting off about "Lil Jimmy," has become incredibly over and just one month ago, many fans were calling for him to win the WWE Championship at Capitol Punishment. That did not happen. Tonight, however, Truth has the opportunity to all but guarantee himself a championship reign by winning the Money in the Bank briefcase. While his stock has fallen slightly in the last two weeks, Truth remains as strong an option here as any other Superstar.

Kofi Kingston has evolved into one of the company's most consistent in-ring performers and one of the most popular stars on the roster. A multiple-time holder of the Intercontinental and US Championships, Kofi has proven himself to be better than a mid-card competitor and in need of one creative team member to have faith enough to elevate him into the WWE Championship picture. That faith could come tonight.

The Miz is an interesting piece of this puzzle in that he is a former WWE Champion who won last year's Raw MITB match and really does not need to do so again tonight. However, he is a trusted performer and one of the few legitimate stars at the top of the card who has not overstayed their welcome and still feels "fresh" to both the common and internet fans alike. While he could leave Chicago with the briefcase, I cannot see the company wasting the opportunity to elevate a young star or someone who has not been champion in the past in order to continue its push of the former Real World star.

Alex Riley, Evan Bourne, and Jack Swagger fill out the match nicely but none are really expected to win the match. Riley would be a dark horse but, as popular as he has become and as talented as he has proven himself to be, winning the briefcase and receiving the "rocket pack" push to the top of the card this quickly could result in Rocky Maivia-esque backlash from the fans. Bourne, as it was established last year, only receives a push around the time of the Money in the Bank match because, well, he can do a lot of cool things with a ladder. And Swagger has name appeal, and a resume containing a World Heavyweight Championship reign, but has been so poorly booked and embarrassed since last year that winning here would do more damage to him than any bad writing could ever do.

PREDICTION: Call it a gut feeling or a "hunch," but I think Kofi Kingston leaves Chicago with the Money in the Bank briefcase. I do not think he cashes it in tonight, nor do I think the Smackdown briefcase is chased in tonight. Truth remains an outside shot and Miz could certainly leave the event victorious, but I think Kofi has finally earned a shot at the main event.

Divas Champion Kelly Kelly vs. Brie Bella

Well, I will give them this: both of these young women have improved greatly in the year between Money in the Bank pay-per-views. I expect a decent match if Kelly and Brie are given the time, with some interference from Nikki Bella and, perhaps, some from Eve Torres.

The problem with this match, however, is that no WWE fan has any reason to care about it. WWE has done such a lousy job in booking their female talents in the last two years that there literally is no reason for a fan to care about any of the WWE Divas outside of the fact that they are beautiful women. Kelly is popular because she is hot. Brie is a heel because she is hot and bitchy.

That is it. That defines their characters and, in a day when we are treated to great, complex characters such as CM Punk, R-Truth, and Cody Rhodes, there really is no reason the women cannot be treated with the same respect and garner the same attention from the creative team. They would be so much more marketable if they had personas and were easier to care about.

PREDICTION: Kelly Kelly retains her title with a potential Eve Torres heel-turn on the horizon.

WWE Champion John Cena vs. CM Punk

CM Punk is single-handedly responsible for the most anticipated WWE Championship match in recent history. His worked-shoot promos against Vince McMahon, his company, and several of Punk's co-workers have been the things of legend. People are emotionally invested in Punk and in this match. As a result, it should make for a unique, hostile, memorable atmosphere in his hometown of Chicago.

John Cena's work throughout this program has been greatly underappreciated as well. While he still wanders into the "stupid comedy" realm every once and while, he has shown a fire and passion that we have not seen from him in recent months. He has spoken his mind and broken free of the "PG" chains he has been burdened with. It is a small but refreshing change for a character many consider stale and well past his experation date.

The wild card in this whole story is whether or not Punk has signed a contract. Even if that contract contains a period of time off for Punk, it would greatly factor into what happens at tonight's event. If Punk has signed a contract, which I expect has happened (would they really book Punk this strong weeks before he was bailing from the company?), he would conceivably win or lose and not look the worse for it. If he has not signed, common sense would say he loses but, considering the nature of this storyline, it would not surprise me either way.

Expect to see Vince McMahon at some point in this match. He is far too important to this program not to make an appearance. He will likely factor into the outcome of the match.

PREDICTION: CM Punk will lose the match when Vince McMahon and John Cena align to screw him out of the WWE Championship, thus proving everything Punk said correct. Punk will become the antihero of the company and the genesis of a new era in wrestling.

THAT would be awesome. But that probably will not happen. I predict CM Punk defeats John Cena to win the WWE Championship when Colt Cabana (and, possibly, Luke Gallows) interferes and helps Punk steal the gold. Cena will be fired but will show up a week later, like normal.