Wrestlemania XXVI Preview: Money in the Bank Ladder Match

‘I look up to the sky and now the World is mine’

A line from this year’s Wrestlemania theme ‘I made it’ and I think it quite aptly describes the Money in the Bank ladder match. A briefcase hangs above the ring and the first person retrieves it get a title match at any time from the moment they unhook it till Wrestlemania the next year. Every person that has cashed in MitB has won one of the World titles (however as we all know not everyone who won money in the bank went onto cash it in. Mr Kennedy won the briefcase but lost it to Edge who went on to cash it in.

Anyway that is enough of history lesson now it is time to look forward to tonight’s MitB match. 10 men are all vying for the briefcase. How do they rate? Well let’s take a DSHD look at what we think their chances are. The two number factors are chances of winning in our opinion, which seems pretty obvious and entertainment factor which is basically how many spills/ big spots they will be involved in or just how much will their involvement be remember. So for example at Wrestlemania XXV Mark Henry would score relatively high although not taking many big bumps he was involved with the ‘Tadpole Splash moment’ The Kofi ladder moment and the parting of the Ladders with Kane.

Christian
Captain Charisma making his Wrestlemania return and just like his last Wrestlemania with WWE he is in the MitB money match. The big difference is that this year lots of people have him down as the favourite to win. A former ‘WWEECW’ (thanks for that one Joey Styles) champion and a ladder match specialist it would seem that he has all the advantages going into this match. However, the only time Christian has headlined a company was TNA and would Vince trust him to be able to headline Smackdown or RAW as WWE or WHC? It is hard to tell also it seems that Vince is increasingly about developing new talent which is why the US, one half of the tag team titles, Women championship and Divas championship are all held by rising stars in the WWE as well as the fact that up until Elimination Chamber Sheamus was the WWE Champion and MitB has often been a match to give either a young star his break CM Punk and Mr. Kennedy even if he got injured and lost his chance, but paradoxically it has been used to give a veteran his break for example Edge and RVD all one the big prize for the first time after winning MitB.
Chances of winning 8.5/10
Entertainment factor 8.5/10

Dolph Ziggler
You can’t stop perfection? Well, really? I have to disagree. Ziggler sort of disappeared last summer after his feud with Rey and to be honest he resurfaced at the Royal Rumble as number one again ruining one of my predictions and since then he has been back on the scene with his new move the Sleeper hold, which he has been utilising with to good effect. But I just don’t see him winning MitB because he has not been given a consistent push and I have a horrible feeling he could disappear after Wrestlemania or float around like Shelton until the next MitB or Royal Rumble or a similar event. But I could see Ziggler hitting the Zig Zag off a ladder or something tonight and having a few good spots.
Chances of winning 1/10
Entertainment factor 5/10

Drew McIntyre
The Chairman’s choice, the current intercontinental and with only one lost to his name (sort of) looks destine for great things. But is he destined to win MitB? Perhaps, but it would be a long shot. The Scotsman is making his Wrestlemania debut this year’s as the extra 9th man to the MitB, which in itself suggests that he is not top on the list for people to win. As well as that as a current champion giving him the MitB would I feel be too much too young for this Superstar, who lacks the charisma and in my opinion the talent that someone like the Miz, has can and is currently pulling off holding two titles. But in a year or so I have a feeling I could be writing about MitB and Drew McIntyre could be the odds on favourite. Also with regards to his entertainment factor Drew is neither a powerhouse nor a high flyer and I feel he could get a bit lost in a ladder match with this many men.
Chances of winning 3.5/10
Entertainment factor 4/10

Evan Bourne
If I had to pick a winner based solely on personal opinion then Evan would be up there in the top two. He has bags of talent and when he is given the chance to speak he seem quite charismatic. The problem is WWE don’t seem to know how to use him properly, they don’t have a heel cruiserweight that has the same highflying ability to put him up against and it seems they don’t like Evan doing a David vs. Goliath sort of victory over the bigger competitors. So at the moment Evan is stuck in no man’s land and I really don’t see WWE even consider giving him a title match but what I do see is him stealing the show in the MitB tonight and showing everyone how to go Air Bourne properly.
Chances of winning 0.5/10
Entertainment factor 9.5.10

Jack Swagger
The All American American is the person I want to win and it is not wholly unlikely but I would say that if he did win it would be a big surprise. The former ECW champion was teased as having a feud with Cena when he helped Mr. McMahon the other week (walking to the ring in somewhat comical fashion) likewise in the past when Cena and Swagger have locked horns it has been an epic contest between the two superstars and if they were allowed to go at it again it could really make Swagger’s career much like The Miz. Also it would seem that Cena or a RAW superstar has to win the WWE championship match because technically Batista is a Smackdown Superstar and both titles cannot be on the same brand. Could it be Swagger? Maybe but either way I think this athletic Oklahoman could be quite entertaining in MitB regardless of the outcome.
Chances of winning 5.5/10
Entertainment Factor 7/10

Kane
The Big Red Monster the only former WWE/WHC champion in this match. He has Wrestlemania and Money in the Bank experience which might give him an edge in tonight’s match. Also he came ridiculously close at winning MitB at Wrestlemania XXV which could drive him forward at Wrestlemania XXVI also the man that knocked him off the ladder is not in the match so could this mean it will be Kane’s year? Probably not, WWE seem not to want to give Kane a World title or any title for that matter and I just don’t see MitB making a difference this year but who knows, I have been wrong before?
Chances of winning: 4/10
Entertainment factor 6.5/10

Kofi Kingston
The Ghanaian Buzzsaw was Jamaican in the last MitB that is not particularly relevant on the face of it but actually after reverting back to his actually nationality and ditching the Jamaican accent Kofi actually was given a main event push against Randy Orton and look destined for great things. Then that push sort of died for some unknown reasons and Kofi went into the grey area between mid-carder and main eventer. But also like Swagger during the Mr. McMahon vs. John Cena match it was teased that Kofi could be feuding with Batista in the future. However, Kofi’s ability to bust people open all the time seemingly by accident could put him in lots of people’s bad books a prevent him winning MitB or getting the final push fully into main event status, this seems pretty clear since he was the 10th man to qualify for a 8 man match.
Chances of winning 7/10
Entertainment factor 9/10

Matt Hardy
After a up and down 2009 Matt Hardy has vowed to reinvent himself and set the record straight in 2010 and MitB could be his way of doing just that. A bit of a dark horse and sort of forgotten in the run up to MitB because of NXT, but do not let this fool you Matt Hardy could surprise everyone and finally climb to the same heights as his brother Jeff (no pun intended.) The only drawback is that Matt Hardy has always been second fiddle to Jeff and whenever I look at Matt Hardy I always put him as the second brother. He is a very gifted and talented wrestler but he seems to be never quite reach the level needed to be WWE/WHC champion. But perhaps he can win MitB and shake off the shackles of his brother’s legacy and finally reach the top of the food chain.
Chances of winning 4.5/10
Entertainment factor 6.5/10

Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP)
One half of the World’s Strongest Tag Team (he is the half with the talent and Charisma) MVP has always been a consistently good performer and his Wrestlemania matches are very good. Who can forget his U.S. title match with Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania 23 when he took the Crippler to his limit? MVP has been feuding with The Miz for quite a long time now and to be honest every time the two of them met one on one they have had amazing matches. A truly talented individual that has not quite yet been give the chance to prove himself at the highest level since his debut feud with Kane. Wrestlemania XXVI will probably not be his year but his performance on the grandest stage of them all will be up there with everyone else and who knows this year could well be a good year for MVP.
Chances of winning 4/10
Entertainment factor 5.5/10

Shelton Benjamin
The Gold Standard, a nickname which is perhaps not very apt as the last time Shelton held a title was March 20th 2009 when he lost his US title to MVP. The best analogy I can think of to describe Shelton’s role in MitB is ‘always the bridesmaid never the bride’ as Shelton has been in 4 of the 5 Money in the Bank matches and at Wrestlemania XXVI he will be entering into his 5th. Shelton will not win tonight, however if he is lucky he might be able to earn a feud with McIntyre over the IC title after MitB depending on how the match pans out.
Chances of Winning 0/10
Entertainment Factor 9.25/10

What is interesting about this year’s MitB is that one of the WWE PPVs later this year is called MitB which would suggest that the briefcase will be cashed sooner rather than later. This could be at Wrestlemania or at the April Pay Per View which at the moment is Extreme Rules a PPV that bodes well for MitB winners. But also this year more so than other years there is no clear winner or even a group of people you could pick to win for example at Wrestlemania XXI Kane, Y2J, Edge and Chris Benoit all looked like viable winners or at Wrestlemania XXIV Y2J, Punk and Mr. Kennedy all looked like they could win. So one of the many reasons why Wrestlemania XXVI will be off the chart this year is that like most of the matches on the card MitB is just too close to accurately call despite my best efforts.