Money in the Bank 2023 Predictions

In this week’s roundtable, our writers give some predictions for Money in the Bank 2023, an event that is fast becoming a can’t miss yearly event on the WWE calendar.

Is Money in the Bank Getting Stale?

Steven Jackson

I don’t think the concept is getting stale. On the contrary, I think it’s one of the most exciting aspects of WWE all year. I can see why certain people may feel it has run its course, but I’m fully behind it.

Russ Good

I think the Money in the Bank briefcase is an effective storytelling tool. I’ve always preferred when it’s held by a heel, and when they use the case as a constant threat to any champ rather than calling their shot or immediately cashing in after winning.

And this new development where wrestlers would rather go for a second- or third-tier title rather than the big one seems like it’s missing the point of the case – something about cashing a title shot in on the U.S. Champion when said champ is holding weekly open challenges doesn’t sit right with me.

I’d like to think there’s still some creative potential for the cases. Obviously the women have a lot of ground to cover, with the vast majority of their cash-ins coming shortly after the Money in the Bank match, and all of them  being successful. But it’s a good plot device regardless, and one that WWE should continue to use. If nothing else, the matches for the cases are reliably entertaining

Tathya Sachdev

As much as I hate the expression, yes & no. As a concept, Money in the Bank is one of the best WWE has ever come up with. Certainly one of the best ones Chris Jericho has ever come up with considering his past three years in AEW. Now that the obligatory shot has been fired… It’s the execution of the concept that has really sucked over the past five years. 

Since it’s my first time at the roundtable, here’s a little factoid. I started watching wrestling in 2018. So I’m not going far beyond that. Braun Strowman – weirdly announces his cash-in date after having just turned heel, doesn’t win the title due to a no contest in a HELL IN A CELL match, courtesy of Brock Lesnar. Alexa Bliss – cashes in on the same night, which has gone on to become a recurring theme in the women’s division since. 2019. Lesnar – originally wasn’t even in the match, cashed in on the same night. Bayley – also cashed in on the same night. 2020. Otis – won the briefcase, lost it to The Miz, who cashed in on Drew McIntyre only to lose the WWE Championship the following week. Asuka – turned out the briefcase actually had Raw Women’s title belt in there. 2021. Big E – announced his cash in. Nikki Cross – cashed in the next night on Raw. 2022. Austin Theory – I don’t even want to get into that mess. Liv Morgan – cashed in on the same night.

That’s a clear pattern. WWE has no idea what to do with the guys and usually back themselves into a corner. With the women, no one has even held the briefcase for more than 24 hours. Even the Carmella-Ellsworth fiasco was weird, but I guess it was entertaining. Anyway, come to think of it, the concept really IS getting stale. That’s because it is now more of an obligation to crown a Mr. & Miss Money in the Bank. The concept works best when a slimy, opportunistic heel holds the title for long periods of time. It makes for great runs for the contract holder, compelling TV and eventually memorable cash-ins… Edge and Seth Rollins being prime examples. It’s also great for a heel to undergo some major character development and legitimize them if they are not already a main event talent. And WWE has a great opportunity this year…

Jack Goodwillie

Money in the Bank – the concept of a wrestler carrying around a guaranteed title shot in a briefcase they can cash in at any time – is not stale. The booking behind it, however, is. Personally, I think Edge cashing in the way he did back in 2005, as cool of a moment as it was terrible for the WWE as a whole. It became the standard, lazy way for heels to cash in the briefcase when there are plenty of scenarios yet to be uncorked.

For all the years we have had Money in the Bank, not a single wrestler has taken their briefcase after winning it and committed to cashing in at WrestleMania. Why would they not? We’ve all heard about WrestleMania paydays. In storyline, it only makes sense to guarantee yourself a spot in the biggest match of the year, yet it has never happened. I’d also like to see more of Mr./Mrs. Money in the Bank trying to leverage their briefcases for prizes along the way. We saw a bit of this when Rob Van Dam had that winner take all match against Shelton Benjamin at Backlash 2006, but there’s so much more meat on this bone. Despite what John will tell you below (SPOILER ALERT), not all scenarios have been played out.

John Corrigan

The Money in the Bank concept has been stale for years. Every scenario has been played out, and only a few recipients have really benefited from it, such as Edge, RVD and Seth Rollins. 

Here’s your chance to vent about Logan Paul “declaring” himself for the men’s match. Have at it!

Steven Jackson

Look, it’s Logan Paul. He’s a celebrity making a ton of money with WWE and he can do what he wants. It does cheapen the method of gaining entry into the match though, so Logan’s actions may have detrimental impact in the future.

Russ Good

It’s…fine. He’s a heel, and (I’m told) a very famous Internet man. Why would he need to earn his way into the Money in the Bank when he’s rich and a favorite of corporate interests? It makes enough sense in kayfabe that I’m not too worried about it, and I’m sure he’ll have one or two really impressive spots in the match.

Tathya Sachdev

WWE has a great opportunity this year. And then again, WWE has a not-so-great opportunity this year. If it weren’t for WWE’s recent history with the contract and a certain megastar, dare I say, the true megastar, Logan Paul would make for a great Mr. MITB. No one knows when he’ll show up. He is a great promo. He’s a heat-magnet. He has immense mainstream popularity. He’ll essentially have a prop to market WWE. And yet, even though WWE may be insane enough to let him win the contract, they cannot be so insane as to let him win a world title. Then again, WWE IS crazy enough to create FOUR world titles, so who knows?

But another failed MITB cash-in in the Men’s division? That would just completely devalue the Money in the Bank contract.

Jack Goodwillie

I’m as big of a fan of Logan Paul – the wrestler – as anybody and I’ll be happy to let you know it. He might even have the best Buckshot Lariat in wrestling.

I kid, I kid. That said, my one golden rule in wrestling is “make it make sense,” and it felt as clear as ever that Paul’s announcement of himself in Money in the Bank was a Vince McMahon move as there are so many ways it could have been explained simply and effectively. Why couldn’t he just say he had a clause in his contract that mandated his involvement in the match? Boom! But hey, Vince is gonna Vince. We know that. Triple H knows that. Hell, even Nick Khan knows that at this point. It’s a shitty thing. I don’t think continuity in wrestling is too much to ask for, but hey, maybe it is.

All that said, I am excited to see him in this type of match. I think it’ll be a great test to see how far he’s come in the ring.

Do I think he’ll win? Read on.

John Corrigan

“Laaaaaazy booking,” as Jim Cornette would say. 

Who wins the Bloodline “Civil War?”

Steven Jackson

As the Usos have just recently broken the record as the tag team with the longest tenure in WWE history, I’m going with Jimmy and Jey!

Tathya Sachdev

Here’s the thing. Wrestling fans seem to find a problem with everything. Everyone thinks they could change something about some story. The Bloodline Saga is perhaps the only wrestling storyline in decades where fans haven’t had the urge to do that. And that is because they haven’t had the opportunity to do that. The Bloodline Saga has been weaved in a way where fans have finally accepted to go along on the ride, because they never quite know what’s coming, and in a good, nah, awesome way. Sure, we knew Sami would exit The Bloodline, but not how.

Similarly With Jimmy. And similarly with Jey. And probably with Solo and then Paul Heyman down the line. But we don’t know when, we don’t know where, and we don’t know how. So, as far as I’m concerned, it’s the fans who win.

Oh, and I can’t wait to see Heyman’s facials during this one.

Jack Goodwillie

At first thought, if Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns is the SummerSlam main event, then it would make sense to have The Usos get the win. Then again, for as predictable as The Bloodline saga has been as far as Reigns retaining his title at every turn, the ancillary pieces of the story have been difficult to predict at times. Having written that out, there is totally a world that exists where the Usos can lose the match while Jey earns walks through fire and wins a title shot the hard way.

However, I’m going to make a bold prediction here. I think this could be setting up for Jey to beat his cousin CLEAN in the ring, which would make him the first guy to do that, and put the two on a collision course for SummerSlam. Ultimately Jey is not taking the title from Reigns, but if an unintentional consequence of this storyline is pushing Jey into a permanent main event spot, this would go a long way toward doing it.

John Corrigan

As long as Roman remains champion, it feels like he can eat a loss. Therefore, I’ll say the Usos pick up the biggest win in their careers, which is truly saying something considering they’ve broken the Tag Team Championship record. 

Who wins the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match?

Steven Jackson

Given how much he’s been given time as of late, LA Knight seems the most obvious choice. He also seems like the talent who would make the most of owning the briefcase and being Mr. Money in the Bank.

Russ Good

I think the Money in the Bank briefcase is an effective storytelling tool. I’ve always preferred when it’s held by a heel, and when they use the case as a constant threat to any champ rather than calling their shot or immediately cashing in after winning. And this new development where wrestlers would rather go for a second- or third-tier title rather than the big one seems like it’s missing the point of the case – something about cashing a title shot in on the U.S. champion when said champ is holding weekly open challenges doesn’t sit right with me.

I’d like to think there’s still some creative potential for the cases. Obviously the women have a lot of ground to cover, with the vast majority of their cash-ins coming shortly after the Money in the Bank match, and all of them  being successful. But it’s a good plot device regardless, and one that WWE should continue to use. If nothing else, the matches for the cases are reliably entertaining.

Tathya Sachdev

WWE has evidently noticed that the WWE Universe has been catching on to LA Knight for quite a while now.. They kept jobbing him out. Was that deliberate? YEAH! Was that intentional? Maybe not at the start, but since Mania? YEAH! Because the jobbing has seemingly only gotten worse, right? But what is the nature of these alleged intentions? I think that WWE has presented LA Knight and simultaneously trained their audience in a way that LA Knight’s popularity only continued to soar.

Think about it. He’s on TV. He’s on the mic (with everybody saying LA Knight (YEAH!)). It’s not like he’s been in catering. He has gotten the rub from The Undertaker. He outshone Bray Wyatt, arguably the hottest man in the company at the start of their feud, to the point that Wyatt faded into darkness (YEAH!). Fans have continued to get behind this man because firstly, he is off-the-charts good, and secondly, because the evil empire has seemingly been burying him. That’s the genius of it. All I hope is he has a long run with the MITB briefcase. And that cashes in successfully. At this point, the briefcase won’t elevate him as much as he would elevate the briefcase.

Jack Goodwillie

This is the LA Knight show. I firmly believe Logan Paul’s inclusion in the match is to be a red herring, create buzz and take people’s eye off the ball. His year-long title program is still two or three years away.

That said, I do not believe Knight is a lock. For me, this match is an American roulette table. There are three colors you can land on: red, black and green. There is about a 47 percent chance of landing on red or black, and thus just under a three percent chance of landing on a green number (0 or 00). Let’s say Knight is red and Paul is green. That makes Damien Priest black, in my opinion. It’s no secret WWE loves this guy almost as much as I do. He has quietly been the darkhorse of WWE for a while now, being trusted in big spots with guys like Bad Bunny, and he’s been a bit of a breakout star in The Judgment Day. I think Priest has broken out so much so that a turn could be coming soon, whether it’s himself alienating himself from the group, the group turning on him or he and Rhea Ripley staging a coup on the less successful Finn Balor, creating a Judgment Day civil war of sorts.

Still, I want to say this is LA Knight’s time. So I will.

On a side note, WWE NEEDS to license Randy Newman‘s “I Love L.A.” and make it Knight’s new theme song. It’s an irreverent, quirky song for an irreverent, quirky guy, and particularly if it’s a cover version, it might be the missing piece this guy needs.

John Corrigan

Logan Paul will win in a last-ditch effort to revitalize the Money in the Bank concept and get some mainstream publicity. However, as a fan of Eli Drake from the dark days of Impact, I hope LA Knight wins. 

Who wins the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match?

Steven Jackson

Zelina Vega definitely deserves to win the briefcase and eventually win the women’s championship at some point in the future. Do it for the Latino World Order!

Tathya Sachdev

Since this is before SmackDown, I don’t know what’s gonna happen with Charlotte Flair & Asuka. How will Bianca Belair factor in? Will the title be on the line at the pay-per-vi… I’m sorry, the Premium Live Event also? I feel Belair might somehow weasel her way into the match either on SmackDown or at Money in the Bank itself.

And of course, that would mean she’d go on to win the contract. I have never liked babyface Bianca… the attitude, the facials, the promos; they have always kept me from digging her, despite her obvious in-ring prowess. These past few weeks, she has just been an entitled, arrogant beeyatch, albeit with a legit gripe. I might get invested in a heel EST. She’d be a natural. But that would likely mean another immediate cash-in.

Besides that, I could see WWE doing something with Iyo Sky and Bayley if the former wins. It would propel Sky further. She’s obviously terrific in the ring. Damage CTRL has never even been on the cusp of working right, and down the line, a Bayley babyface turn feels long overdue. In the meanwhile, she could be the promo for Sky, all the while teasing dissent.

Jack Goodwillie

I’m seeing an Iyo Sky Money in the Bank victory to complete her exodus from Damage CTRL and spin off into a HUGE title match with Asuka at SummerSlam. Make no mistake, that is the pick, but maybe a part of me DOES want to see Trish Stratus get a hold of the briefcase. Having her name on the women’s briefcase history could be a good long-term move, and in the short room double the intrigue around this recent run of hers.

John Corrigan

Trish Stratus will win to cement her comeback run. What I like about her and Paul holding the briefcases is that they can disappear from TV, so whenever they do appear, it makes the surprise cash-in factor all the more exciting. 

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Jack Goodwillie

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