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Ronda Rousey has looked very strong in the build-up to Money In The Bank
WWE turned the final corner on the road to Money in the Bank this week and now the favourites have been declared for both the male and female Money in the Bank ladder matches.
Of course, this weekend’s show also boasts a number of championship matches and this week was the final time for the challengers to send a message before they stood across the ring from their champions.
Good Week
Ronda Rousey (Raw)
Ronda Rousey walks into her Raw women’s championship match on Sunday night against Nia Jax knowing that this is her first ever singles match on WWE television; this time she has no partner as back-up and she’s in the ring with someone who has much more experience than her.
The build-up to the match over the past few weeks has focused on the fact that the former UFC champion isn’t ready for someone as powerful as Nia Jax, but she proved this week that she is more than ready when she not only locked on her patented armbar submission, but she also made Jax tap.
If the champion taps to that move this weekend, then Rousey will be walking out of Chicago with her first WWE title.
Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown)
At WrestleMania, The Greatest Royal Rumble, and Backlash, Shinsuke Nakamura was unable to dethrone AJ Styes, but will a Last Man Standing match finally see Nakamura crowned champion?
The King of Strong Style took on Jeff Hardy this week on SmackDown and used the United States champion to send a message to his former friend after he low-blowed him and hit the Kinshasa to keep him down for a 10 count.
Will the result be the same at Money in the Bank?
Bianca Belair (NXT)
Bianca Belair has certainly proved her worth in the NXT women’s division over the past few months and she was impressive once again this week when she was easily able to defeat Aliyah.
Belair is far superior to any of the females that NXT has right now and she will be watching Shayna Baszler’s TakeOver match against Nikki Cross this weekend with a vested interest.
Even though Belair is scheduled to face Dakota Kai next week, the EST of NXT has to be considered front of the queue for a title match moving forward and given her resume, it’s hard to see anyone being able to stand in her way.
Bad Week
Kevin Owens (Raw)
The former Universal Champion picked the wrong enemy this week on Raw when he decided to talk Finn Balor and Bobby Roode into teaming up with him in their fatal four-way match and taking out the biggest threat, Braun Strowman.
The three men tried their best and Owens even frog splashed The Monster Among Men through the announce table but this still wasn’t enough to keep him down.
It was Owens that Strowman later made a beeline for when he returned to the ring, choke-slamming the former NXT Champion and then hitting a running powerslam on a ladder for the win.
What kind of shape is Owens going to be in on Sunday night? That’s if he is even able to make it to Money in the Bank…
Carmella (SmackDown)
The Princess of Staten Island defied the odds back in April when she successfully cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on Charlotte to become SmackDown women’s champion and she’s known for the past two months that she has been on borrowed time with that title.
Asuka was the woman who stepped up to challenge Carmella at Money in the Bank and after her attack from behind last week, The Empress of Tomorrow asked for a match with the champion this week on SmackDown, only for Paige to put the two rivals in a 10-woman tag team match instead.
Asuka sent a brutal message to the champion when she forced her to tap to the Asuka Lock and won the match for her team. After all of the taunting Carmella has done over the past few weeks, she should definitely be worried about her chances against the former NXT Women’s Champion this weekend.
The Undisputed Era (NXT)
The Undisputed Era has been on quite a run ever since they made their debut in NXT – until they decided to cross Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch.
The trio has caused The Undisputed Era a number of problems over the past few weeks and now the NXT tag titles will be on the line this Saturday night at NXT Takeover: Chicago.
This week on NXT, Dunne was able to defeat Kyle O’Reilly in a United Kingdom championship match, before Adam Cole and Roderick Strong decided to attack and Lorcan and Burch then evened the playing field.
Lorcan and Burch seem as though they have gotten under the skin of The Undisputed Era and could easily be the ones walking out of Chicago with the belts this weekend.
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