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Money in the Bank is the midway between WrestleMania and SummerSlam, and though the event is still a week or so away, the buildup to it is telling us a few things about how the Biggest Party of the Summer will probably shape out.
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While big stars like Braun Strowman remain directionless, and John Cena is nowhere in sight, there's still a lot of question marks as to how the final card for August's spectacular will shape up. For other superstars, however, the direction that Money in the Bank has put them on makes their respective roads to Brooklyn far clearer.
With how things have been shaping up so far, the following nine matches are likely to take place in the Barclays Center on August 19th.
#1 The Bludgeon Brothers vs. SAnitY
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson aren't walking out of Chicago with the blue straps. Their purpose is to serve as a filler team to build up the credibility of the champions.
The roll-up of doom that Anderson used on Harper this past week was only a poorly-constructed red herring to throw us off of the scent.
In truth, both the Bludgeon Brothers and SAnitY have both been spinning their wheels to fill out the time until SummerSlam gets closer.
With SAnitY recently debuting on the SmackDown house show circuit, their television debut isn't far off, even if the vignettes promoting them have stopped.
After Money in the Bank is over, expect chaos to arrive on Tuesday nights, and from there, a rivalry between SAnitY and the champions to heat up until the big show in Brooklyn.
It will be exactly the feud that the neglected tag team division, which has been more about pancakes than championships since WrestleMania, needs so badly.
#2 The Deleters of Worlds vs. Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt are in much the same boat as their blue brand counterparts, except their opponents in Chicago are even less credible. Nobody expects the "B team" to walk out of the Windy City with the red straps.
With SummerSlam closing in, Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler have clearly positioned themselves to be the next serious challengers. Them laying out the entire division in the battle royal on Monday made that clearer. We should expect them to rise to number one contender status sometime in July.
At SummerSlam, the duo will become the new Raw Tag Team Champions. Their slow breakup and McIntyre's eventual elevation to the main event will start from there.
#3 Jeff Hardy vs. Andrade "Cien" Almas
The United States Champion hasn't been seen on SmackDown since losing to Daniel Bryan a few weeks ago.
In the meantime, Andrade "Cien" Almas has been making an impression in the lower mid-card. Even his backstage segments have been on point. He's set to crush Sin Cara next week, and from there work his way further up the card.
At the same time, it doesn't look like there are any feuds for Jeff Hardy right now. When he makes his return after Money in the Bank, who will step up to compete with him?
Perhaps Rusev, but everyone else on SmackDown looks slotted for something at the moment, and unfortunately, no one would take him as a serious contender. His momentum has completely stalled.
There's no one better positioned to be Hardy's challenger in Brooklyn right now than Almas. Almas is set for a slow, but meaningful, push to the top, and he'll take the gold in the Barclays Center.
#4 Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
Contrary to Carmella's talk, Asuka has been on an absolute role since joining the blue brand, bouncing back quickly from her loss to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania.
Even if Carmella does escape in Chicago through shenanigans, Asuka is set to shut her mouth for good at Extreme Rules in July.
It certainly doesn't seem likely that WWE will let as poor a worker as Carmella carry the SmackDown Women's Championship into its second biggest show of the year.
That leaves one possibility open, and it's already been hinted at on television.
The likeliest match will be the second encounter between Asuka and Charlotte Flair. This time, the boot will be on the other foot, as Asuka will walk into Brooklyn as champion.
The match at WrestleMania was excellent, but the ending was abrupt. This time, we'll hopefully get much more.
If done right, it would be the second chapter in a burgeoning rivalry that could well define both women's careers.
#5 Seth Rollins vs. Jason Jordan
No one has been on more of a role on the main roster in 2018 than Seth Rollins. He got started on this upswing after ditching his former tag team partner, Jason Jordan, who is already poised to return. The company is likely waiting for the right time.
The two former tag team champions have unfinished business. Jordan was slowly turning heel before his injury, getting nuclear heat from crowds anywhere he went.
Rollins and Jordan were tense with one another, and rumors indicated that the two would square off at WrestleMania, but injury intervened.
What better way to make Jordan's turn complete, and to have the match we expected than to attack his former partner, one of the most popular superstars in the company?
There's no better way to make a memorable heel turn, and the match in Brooklyn would be electric. It's a feud Raw badly needs.
#6 Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz
WWE is spinning wheels with both men, but this is the match that fans have been anticipating for two years.
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz could be a rivalry that defines the blue brand up to next year's WrestleMania, and we should see the first match between the pair in Brooklyn.
Whenever Daniel Bryan is finished with Big Cass (which unfortunately might not be until Extreme Rules in July), expect some kind of run-in or segment that blows this thing up.
This is a match I would expect Bryan to win after a red-hot build, but it would leave the door open for the rivalry to continue, because The Miz is the favorite to win the Money in the Bank contract, and that could be a massive plot device in the feud.
Should Miz lose this match, he could get his revenge in the most nuclear way possible whenever Bryan captures the WWE championship, likely from the winner of the WWE title match during the same show.
#7 Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles
AJ Styles is set to walk out of Chicago with his championship intact. All signs point to it. Shinsuke Nakamura's non-title win over Styles a few weeks ago basically advertised that he wouldn't be successful in wresting the title from his rival. He will bow out of the race after Money in the Bank.
Samoa Joe has already positioned himself as the next challenger, and WWE would be crazy not to do this match.
Joe has been low-key one of the company's best performers this year, despite being out with an injury for several months.
Styles' reign has run its course, and there's no one better than Joe right now to take the title from him. It's a no-brainer to book this match for SummerSlam.
Joe also already has beef with Bryan, which would serve as a nice bridge into another rivalry once he becomes the champion, as the "Yes Man" certainly won't be out of the title picture forever, assuming he signs a new contract, of course.
#8 Ronda Rousey vs. Natalya
Whether it's for the Raw Women's Championship or not, this match looks poised to happen at SummerSlam.
A stage as big as SummerSlam will demand a Rousey match. The ex-UFC champion is already advertised, and failing to make a match involving her would do even more damage to her hype than has already been done (these wooden segments aren't helping at all).
Natalya might well win the Money in the Bank contract and cost Ronda Rousey the match next Sunday, or she might just turn on her friend and join forces with Stephanie McMahon. However it happens, the two will collide in Brooklyn.
Rousey is still very rough around the edges, so Natalya is the best choice for her to work with.
She will be pushed either way, so the company would be very foolish not to have Ronda Rousey work with an experienced ring veteran who is already her own training partner.
#9 Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
There have been rumors to the contrary, but I'll believe in something else when I see it. Roman Reigns is being called the "uncrowned Universal Champion" for a reason. The screwy ending to their match in Saudi Arabia happened for a reason.
We may not like it, but all indications are that we'll be getting Lesnar/Reigns IV in Brooklyn on August 19th.
All indications are that the match will be as big a disaster as the previous two. If nothing else, the Brooklyn crowd will guarantee that.
Though it will be amusing to see how Brooklyn reacts. Perhaps the crowd will almost make the match worth it.
Let's just hope that this is the time the company finally pulls the trigger. Reigns must walk out with the title so that we can finally move on from this feud and Raw can actually have a top title that's competed over again.
Do you agree with our predictions? Sound off in the comments section below!
