Meet our Money in the Bank 2018 Predictors:
Simon Cotton – Sportskeeda Analyst and co-host of the “What You Mean?” Podcast on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.
Tom Gambardella – Social Suplex’s NXT reviewer.
Caleb Baldwin – Social Suplex’s Impact Wrestling reviewer.
Jeremy Donovan – Editor-in-Chief for Social Suplex and co-host of Keepin’ It Strong Style on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.
Rich Latta – Columnist for Lords of Pain and Social Suplex, and host of One Nation Radio on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.
Brian “Clive” Kinsella – Social Suplex’s 205 Live Reviewer and co-host of the Ricky & Clive Wrestling Show on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.
The Real “Perfect 10” Ricky – Co-host of the Ricky & Clive Wrestling Show on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (Kickoff Match)
Simon: You can’t beat down Anderson and Gallows for two years straight and expect anyone to believe in them. Especially me. Pick: The Bludgeon Brothers
Tom: I really want the good brothers to be more than just cannon fodder, but I think that’s all they are here. Bludgeon brothers going over. Pick: The Bludgeon Brothers
Caleb: It’s not the time to switch those belts just yet. Pick: The Bludgeon Brothers
Jeremy: I highly doubt we’ll see a title change on the Kickoff show, so I’m going with the champs to retain. Pick: The Bludgeon Brothers
Rich: I couldn’t possibly care. Pick: The Bludgeon Brothers
Brian (Clive): Bludgeon Bros (possibility of Sanity attacking them after the match). The Bludgeon Brothers
Ricky: While we wait for a credible opponent to emerge, possibly Sanity at Summerslam, Bludgeon Brother’s continue their dominant reign. The Bludgeon Brothers
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass
Simon: He hasn’t made any improvements to deserve it, but WWE’s gonna put him over anyway. Pick: Big Cass
Tom: I’m picking Bryan because Big Cass going over Daniel Bryan could just cause the crowd to turn on this entire show. It’s a Chicago crowd, it would be stupid to not give Bryan the win. Pick: Daniel Bryan
Caleb: Daniel Bryan beats Big Cass because dammit, low rent Test has no business beating this guy. Pick: Daniel Bryan
Jeremy: Personally would love to see Bryan squash this geek AGEEN (Matt Hardy voice), but I have a bad feeling Big Cass will steal the win continuing this horrible feud. Pick: Big Cass
Rich: Cass should go team up with Enzo. Bryan via heel hook. Pick: Daniel Bryan
Brian (Clive): Daniel Bryan will hook Cass’ heel and bury this man for good. Pick: Daniel Bryan
Ricky: Each week, I’m losing more interest in Cass, not that I was invested him from the get-go, but I think this feud concludes at Extreme Rules. Pick: Big Cass
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. Elias
Simon: Rollins has done a great job with the title, but he’s too over to stay with a mid-card title. Elias has a lot of momentum right now and the time is right if you ask me. Pick: Elias
Tom: Seth Rollins’s IC title run has been one of the few enjoyable things about WWE in 2018, and as good as Elias is I need IC champion Rollins to still be a thing. Rollins is my pick. Pick: Seth Rollins
Caleb: Seth Rollins retains in what is surely a solid match. Pick: Seth Rollins
Jeremy: I think taking the Intercontinental title off of Rollins right now would be a mistake. Rollins is getting red hot and shouldn’t be cooled down anytime soon. Pick: Seth Rollins
Rich: Is Elias the next Bray Wyatt? “MAN WE GON’ SEE!”::Drake Voice. Pick: Elias
Brian (Clive): Not very excited about this. Seth will retain before moving on to something more meaty in the summer. Pick: Seth Rollins
Ricky: Seth Rollins means so much to the Raw brand just now, I don’t see him losing the title until around Summerslam and it’s also good to see Elias is still in relevant feuds. Pick: Seth Rollins
Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn
Simon: Sami Zayn hasn’t won a pay-per-view match since Clash of Champions and Bobby Lashley just got here a month ago. Pick: Bobby Lashley
Tom: Just let Bobby Lashley pin Sami Zayn and end this feud. That’s all I can say. Lashley goes over. Pick: Bobby Lashley
Caleb: Sami Zayn somehow pulls a rabbit out of the hat, potentially thanks to outside interference. Pick: Sami Zayn
Jeremy: Sami Zayn win on a PPV? When is the last time that happened? Pick: Bobby Lashley
Rich: The frontrunner for 2018’s worst feud. Someone is trying to ruin Sami Zayn. Pick: Bobby Lashley
Brian (Clive): There are no winners in this horrendous feud. But Lashley will squash Sami. Pick: Bobby Lashley
Ricky: The build has not been very good, I’m being extremely generous with that comment, but the match itself should deliver. Sami deserves better than this but he’s never really been treated like a star he can be. Pick: Bobby Lashley
Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal
Simon: This one of the hardest matches to predict on the show, but I’ll air on the side of caution and pick dA bIG dOG. Pick: Roman Reigns
Tom: Nobody wins. We all lose. Life is meaningless. Reigns pins Mahal. Pick: Roman Reigns
Caleb: Roman Reigns beats the Trashbag but this feud still continues because IT’S WHAT WE NEED. Pick: Roman Reigns
Jeremy: It pains me to write this, but I’m going with Jinder. Why? Because at the end of the day the winner of this match doesn’t matter. There’s nothing at stake. Roman can lose and still be in the main event of Summerslam. Pick: Jinder Mahal
Rich: Rest holds and chops will be had. Chicago will feast. Pick: Roman Reigns
Brian (Clive): The Big Dog for the win, OOOWAAAAH!! Pick: Roman Reigns
Ricky: Smart decision to take Roman out the spotlight for now and could be a hard-hitting match. Pick: Roman Reigns
SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella vs. Asuka
Simon: The SmackDown Women’s Division can’t thrive under Carmella…that’s not gonna stop WWE tho. Pick: Carmella
Tom: Look, it really should be Asuka. Honestly. But with how nonsensical WWE’s women’s divisions get booked, I’m picking Carmella. Pick: Carmella
Caleb: Asuka wins and Carmella’s short reign is put to bed. Looking at Asuka/Charlotte II in August. Pick: Asuka
Jeremy: Mella is not money, she is trash. However, I seeing her retaining the title due to shenanigans. Pick: Carmella
Rich: They’re gonna beat Asuka aren’t they? Pick: Carmella
Brian (Clive): Carmella will retain with the help of her returning loyal lapdog, James Ellsworth!!! Pick: Carmella
Ricky: A champion shouldn’t be this green and ultimately learning on the job while holding the title but a returning James Elsworth helps Carmella retain. Pick: James Ellsworth
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Simon: Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks need this victory the most, but WWE seems intent on telling this story with Ronda Rousey and Natalya. Pick: Natalya
Tom: I’ll say, Natalya, because I think she cashes in on Ronda Rousey whenever Rousey wins the title. Pick: Natalya
Caleb: Becky Lynch wins the women’s briefcase and gets a much-deserved push towards a championship. Pick: Becky Lynch
Jeremy: WWE has been slowly planting the seeds of a Nattie/Ronda rivalry. With that in mind, I’m going with Nattie to take the women’s briefcase to Raw. Pick: Natalya
Rich: Sasha Banks because they can’t make the boss suffer more can they? Pick: Sasha Banks
Brian (Clive): The Lasskicker will scoop the prize in a great crowd popping moment (possibly cashing in on the retaining Carmella later in the night). Pick: Becky Lynch
Ricky: It will be a Raw winner and Natalya winning possibly cashing in on her “friend” Ronda Rousey to win the title at some point would be excellent storytelling but I will go with a heel Sasha eventually cashing in. Pick: Sasha Banks
Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey
Simon: I originally had Ronda Rousey picked to win, but WWE giving away the payoff this past Monday is a sign that she might not be getting the title this soon. But a lot of this depends on whether this match takes place before or after the Women’s Money in the Bank. Pick: Natalya via cash-in
Tom: I think Rousey wins and then gets cashed in on by Natalya at some point down the road. Pick: Ronda Rousey
Caleb: Ronda Rousey wins and begins a reign of terror. Pick: Ronda Rousey
Jeremy: I hate to break it to you guys, but Nia Jax is just not good. Ronda is the biggest star in the company and is being inducted into the UFC HOF. Put the belt on her and captialize on the publicity. Pick: Ronda Rousey
Rich: This shouldn’t go long at all. Expect all the gimmickry. Pick: Ronda Rousey
Brian (Clive): The Ronda Rousey Express is in full swing with WWE management. Rousey for the win. Pick: Ronda Rousey
Ricky: It’s too soon for Ronda and I have suspicion Stephanie McMahon will get involved in this match costing Ronda the title. Pick: Nia Jax
Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Simon: Braun Strowman needs this win to recapture that momentum that WWE abandoned TWICE. If he doesn’t win here, he might just end up the next Mark Henry (pre-Hall of Pain). Pick: Braun Strowman
Tom: I think it’s going to be someone from Raw winning this, because I think they’re gonna cash in on Roman, so I’ll say Kevin Owens wins it. Pick: Kevin Owens
Caleb: Samoa Joe wins the men’s briefcase but much like Dean Ambrose he won’t have the briefcase for too long. Pick: Samoa Joe
Jeremy: With my prediction of a Raw woman winning the briefcase, I believe a Smackdown man will win the other briefcase. Now is the time for WWE to capitalize on the Rusev Day wave and strap the rocket on Rusev. Pick: Rusev
Rich: Samoa Joe. I’d like for them to resist the low hanging fruit of The Miz. Pick: Samoa Joe
Brian (Clive): KO will have his hands on the briefcase, but Finn Balor will knock him off, grabbing the briefcase for himself. Pick: Finn Balor
Ricky: The best possible story that can be told in WWE, possibly in all of wrestling, is Miz winning the briefcase and cashing in on Daniel Bryan the very night he wins the WWE title thus leading to a rematch at WrestleMania next year BUT Sunday is Rusev Day! Pick: Rusev
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Last Man Standing Match)
Simon: WWE seems intent on ruining this feud and another draw sounds like the way to make it worse. Pick: AJ Styles via draw
Tom: I think this is finally the match where Nakamura wins the title, albeit probably not clean. My dark horse pick is Sanity beating up AJ to start that feud, and Nakamura winning, but either way, Nakamura wins. Pick: Shinsuke Nakamura
Caleb: AJ Styles beats Shinsuke Nakamura but he won’t be holding the title for much longer. Pick: AJ Styles
Jeremy: Nakamura really needs to win. If not he needs to immediately catch a flight to Japan and try to get into G1 Climax 28. Pick: Shinsuke Nakamura
Rich: They could save the feud with a blow away match. Pick: Shinsuke Nakamura
Brian (Clive): Hoping for a Shinsuke win, ‘cos if not, this last few months’ great character work is for nothing. Pick: Shinsuke Nakamura
Ricky: The end of the feud with this match (we all hope) will be the best match of the feud. I think it makes the most sense for Nakamura to win although do not rule out a double count out. Pick: Shinsuke Nakamura
