10 Early Contenders To Win WWE Money In The Bank 2017
Who'll be leaving with the briefcase on June 18th?
Aside from the Royal Rumble, no WWE stipulation has more star-making potential than the Money In The Bank Ladder Match. Winning the briefcase is no guarantee of success (right, Mr. Sandow?), but earning the contract usually results in a title reign, and 15 of the company's 17 MITB victors have made successful cash-ins after winning the match.
Last year's Mr. Money In The Bank, Dean Ambrose, used his contract on the same night he won it, and left the building with the WWE Championship. He wound up taking the belt to SmackDown in the 2016 Draft, and the blue brand's superstars will compete for the right to follow in his footsteps on June 18th.
SmackDown have May's Backlash pay-per-view to come before then, and much of the roster is still finding their feet following the Superstar Shake-Up. Money In The Bank has become one of the most anticipated WWE shows of the year, however, and after several weeks of post-WrestleMania programming, it's not too early to start thinking about who might leave with the briefcase.
The participants are still to be announced, and things could change over the next seven weeks - but here are the current front-runners.
10. Tye Dillinger
Tye Dillinger has only been active on WWE’s main roster for a couple of weeks, and it’ll probably be awhile before he’s fighting for championships. Even then, there’s a strong chance that his ceiling is the United States Title, and he’ll never be able to break into the main event scene. ‘The Perfect 10’ is popular - but the gimmick likely has a limited shelf-life, and there’s no guarantee of a big push.
That being said, if SmackDown really is “the land of opportunity,” they could do a lot worse than give Dillinger a shock MITB victory. Nobody would see it coming, and if they’re going to make the most of Tye’s run, WWE may see Money In The Bank as a decent opportunity to capitalise on his popularity while it’s still high.
Dillinger would likely need a few credible victories beforehand, however, and with MITB less than two months away, the PPV will likely come too soon for him. Still, he’d make a good foil for any of SmackDown’s top heels, and while his victory is unlikely, it shouldn’t be ruled out entirely.