World Wrestling Entertainment

2021 WWE Money in the Bank ladder match predictions

Updated Jul. 29, 2021 9:37 p.m. ET

By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst

The 2021 Money in the Bank ladder matches are filled with possible outcomes that could lead to interesting cash-in opportunities, so let’s fantasy book a few.

Those of you reading this probably already know how MITB works, but in case you don’t, I’ll remind you that the winner gets a contract for a future World Title opportunity that they can cash in at any time over the next year.

That means it can be done in a noble manner by calling the match ahead of time or in sneaky fashion when a champion is in a weakened state.

The field of competitors in this year’s women’s ladder match are Zelina Vega, Asuka, Naomi, Alexa Bliss, Nikki A.S.H., Liv Morgan, Natalya and Tamina Snuka.

While a case could be made for any of them to win, two Superstars stand out to me based on how their stories could transpire: Alexa Bliss and Nikki A.S.H.

I'll start with Alexa Bliss.

Bliss has been one of the focal points of Raw throughout the ThunderDome era, but with fans back in the building, the cinematic horror elements of her character will likely have to be toned down.

Giving Alexa the briefcase could provide her character with a tool that helps retain some of that, though, by teasing cash-ins with cool effects.

This would be no different than the type of visuals used for characters like Undertaker and The Fiend, but without the hokey mind-control stuff.

Then, after a few months, Alexa could kick-start a feud with Rhea Ripley by ending The Nightmare’s first reign as Raw Women’s Champion via some kind of spooky cash-in.

Bliss hasn’t held the women’s title since 2018, and given the amount of screen time her character has gotten since undergoing a drastic overhaul, I could see this being the year that finally changes.

As for Nikki A.S.H., I think her story with MITB would be focused on building this new version of her character into an actual superhero worthy of being a champion.

It would take a bit more time, but I’d love to see her win the Money in the Bank contract and begin learning all the lessons to get her spidey senses tingling.

Think of how fun it would be to see vignettes of Nikki getting trained by The Hurricane and Mighty Molly on how to be a real superhero.

She could start utilizing parts of her training in matches and allow the viewer to see they’re actually working – just like in comic book movies when the main character first learns how to use their powers – which could get fans to rally behind her.

This would also give her character something to do the next few months, rather than just pointing out that she isn't a full-blown superhero.

Then, when the time is right, she could cash-in on a villainous character to begin a comic book-like rivalry.

Alexa Bliss seems like the best adversary in this scenario due to her devilish character and their history as friends, but she’d have to win the title first for that to happen.

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The competitors in the men’s ladder match this year are Ricochet, John Morrison, Riddle, Drew McIntyre, Big E, Kevin Owens, King Nakamura and Seth Rollins.

In my opinion, the three competitors who seem most likely to win are Drew McIntyre, Big E and Seth Rollins. Let me explain why.

In the case of Drew McIntyre, it’s fairly simple.

The former WWE Champion lost his right to challenge Bobby Lashley for the title again after being cheated out of a victory at Hell in a Cell. Winning Money in the Bank would be a way around that, and Drew could get another opportunity to win the title back in front of fans.

I think McIntyre getting another WWE title match might not be as well-received from the audience as they’d like, though, so a better option for Mr. Money in the Bank this year would be Seth Rollins.

Think about it. They’ve been low-key setting the stage for this for weeks by having Rollins interact with Roman Reigns and talk about wanting to challenge him for the title in the near future.

It’s also obvious at this point that WWE is paving the way for Seth vs. Edge at SummerSlam.

Since their program will be calling back to 2014, too, when Seth first had a Money in the Bank briefcase, having him hold it again for their program in 2021 would be a nice throwback.

This scenario would also allow Edge to get his revenge on Rollins by winning the match, but without Seth losing much in the grand scheme of things because he still holds a future title opportunity.

Seth could then challenge Reigns for the Universal title at an event such as Survivor Series – likely called ahead of time given that he and Roman are former Shield brothers – and fans can get a match they’ve been waiting for since Reigns first returned as "The Head of the Table."

Easy money.

As perfect as all that sounds, though, the most intriguing option out of everyone in the match, to me, is Big E.

"The Powerhouse of Positivity" should be primed for a future World title run over the next year, and giving him the briefcase on Sunday would be a great way to start that journey.

SmackDown would also benefit from having a Superstar built up over the next year as someone fans believe has the potential to defeat Roman Reigns for the title.

In my opinion, Big E should be that guy.

During our conversation this week on "Out of Character," Big E himself noted that Reigns would be the champion to beat in order to establish a legacy for his character. So this whole scenario isn’t out of the question.

There’s another wild fantasy booking option I have in mind, but for that to happen, Brock Lesnar would need to return and defeat Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship.

Since we’re fantasy booking, though, I’ll share.

Let’s say Big E wins this year’s Money in the Bank contract and the above scenario plays out with Brock — imagine how cool this would be:

Following the match in which Brock has to give everything he's got to defeat Bobby Lashley for the WWE title, Kofi Kingston appears at the top of the entrance ramp and begins a slow stroll to the ring.

A confident but weakened Lesnar laughs him off — thinking back to when he quickly defeated Kingston back in 2019 — but when he turns around to grab his new title from the ref, he’s instead met with a chair shot from Xavier Woods.

The duo then team up on "The Beast" and beat him with weapons until he can barely stand.

Big E’s music hits, and he runs to the ring, cashes in his briefcase, delivers the Big Ending a few times to Lesnar and gets the pinfall victory for his first World title.

This would get a massive pop from the crowd, in my opinion, and the heelish tactics wouldn’t be a problem since they’re being done to the biggest heel in the whole company by a beloved faction.

This would be a great way for New Day to finally get revenge on Brock while at the same time springboarding Big E to the next level.

Do you like these ideas? Do you think they stink?

Hit me up on Twitter @RyanSatin and let me know.

Money in the Bank airs at 4 p.m. ET Sunday LIVE on Peacock in front of the WWE Universe in attendance at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.