8 Ways Money In The Bank 2017 Could Shape WWE's Summer

8. Lana's Victory Spawns A Honky Tonk Man Reign

When Lana challenges Naomi for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Money In The Bank, it’ll be just the second televised match of her WWE career. Her last bout was a ten-person tag at WrestleMania 32 in which she played a minimal role, and with just 35 career house show matches to her name, she’s one of the least experienced wrestlers to ever compete for WWE gold.

This should theoretically give her little chance of taking the title on Sunday, but recent reports suggest that ‘The Ravishing Russian’ will inherit Eva Marie’s old role as SmackDown’s resident avoidance specialist. If this is the case, and WWE want to give her as much heat as possible, there’s a strong chance she could screw Naomi out of the title, though last week’s “we want Lana” chants suggest she might not get the desired crowd reaction.

If WWE are to make her the next Eva, they could book Lana’s run much like the Honky Tonk Man’s lengthy Intercontinental Title reign. Honky became one of the company’s biggest villains by constantly retaining his belt through count-outs, DQs, and other avoidance tactics, drawing monster heat in the process. This could be the ideal way to mask Lana’s in-ring shortcomings while pushing her as one of the brand’s top stars.