The Let's Watch Some Wrestling WWE Money in the Bank and NXT Heatwave Preview!

 

Good Morning!

It’s been a helluva month! Last we talked I was dealing with the bummer that was my missing dog. Well we found her! She was spotted in the afternoon of the Fourth of July and an amazing bit of synchronicity led to us having our dog back after nearly a month of endless searching. I’m working on a longer post about that whole ordeal, but I wanted to write something, anything, to get back into the swing of things, and I figured this weekend’s WWE Money in the Bank and NXT Heatwave shows were a perfect way to catch up.

It may shock you to learn that I haven’t been as locked into pro wrestling over the last several weeks. Between feeling guilty whenever I wasn’t out there looking for little Zelda, and just being distracted trying to do the regular stuff I do around the house, it’s been a struggle. But we’re back, Zelda should be coming home today after a couple days of recovering from her trip in the animal hospital, and a preview with some predictions is a nice, breezy bit of writing. So let’s crack right in!

WWE Money in the Bank predictions

Money in the Bank is probably my second favorite of the “gimmick PPVs” that WWE puts on annually. The Royal Rumble is maybe my favorite event of the year, but these MitB ladder matches rarely disappoint, and there are always a few memorable spots during the show. WWE’s decision to start putting these “B-shows” in foreign markets – I know it’s just Toronto, but still – have been a real boon, giving what are generally more forgettable events between the big ones a sense of purpose and some extra pop from fans who don’t get as many live events. I think we’ll see some great summer storylines come from tonight’s show, and I’m looking forward to seeing where just about every match tonight leads.

Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens vs the Bloodline

I’ll start by saying I think there’s an argument for every outcome of every match on Saturday’s card. There are reasons for every participant to win their match, and stories that can be easily booked from those finishes. That being said, I feel like this might be the easiest match to call. You can’t spend months bringing in fresh talent like Tama Tonga, Jacob Fatu, and Tonga Loa and then let that faction lose. Even though Loa is on the sidelines for this fight, there’s no way he doesn’t get involved, and the Bloodline has thrived off of the numbers game since its inception. 

Good guys lose here, but it’s how they lose that’s gonna be important. Randy Orton has been eyeing Cody Rhodes and his WWE Championship for a while now, and Orton is never too far from another heel turn. I don’t think that happens here, but I do think it sets us on that path. For now, though, the recent betrayal of Paul Heyman by Solo Sikoa might mean the good guys pick up an ally that can bring in talent to even the odds. Whether that’s a CM Punk, a Brock Lesnar, or even a Roman Reigns remains to be seen, but if there’s one thing Paulie brings to the table, it’s his guys.

Sami Zayn © vs Bronn Breakker for the Intercontinental Championship

Bronn has been booked as a monster since his debut. He’s not really a face or heel, though – more of a “cool guy without a gimmick who does what he wants.” It’s not a bad thing, necessarily. If anything, it’s just a trope that Triple H has always liked. The bad guys you have to root for because they’re so cool.

But Sami Zayn is the opposite of that. He’s the goofy guy you have to root for because he’s so earnest, and beloved, and good. He won the IC belt at Wrestlemania despite a lot of fans pushing for Gunther to lose to Chad Gable, and he’s had a good run since then fighting against Gable, Bronson Reed,  and a host of other one-off matches. And while it might be too soon for Breakker to hold a title, and too soon for Sami to lose the one he has, I’m still gonna say that Bronn Breakker comes out on top here. Zayn is perpetually over and wouldn’t lose anything from dropping the title, and Breakker would look even more incredible as a young, explosive talent with a title. 

Jey Uso, Drew McIntyre, Carmelo Hayes, Andrade, Chad Gable, and LA Knight in the men’s Money in the Bank match

I have loved the booking of the tournament that put these guys in this match. Every one of them has a legit shot at winning, and every one of them is in the perfect position on the roster to make it seem like it could happen. Uso, Melo, Andrade, and Knight still have the fans on their side but haven’t had real rivalries of late. Drew has Punk to deal with, perpetually, and his quest to win (and keep) the World Heavyweight Championship. And Gable has been folded into the returning Uncle Howdy and pals storyline.

So let’s say Drew and Gable are out of the running because of outside influence. It’s too soon for Hayes, and Andrade doesn’t seem like he’s quite at the level where a title shot would seem viable. And WWE has fumbled the timing on LA Knight’s ascension enough times to where it just doesn’t feel like he’ll ever get past the upper mid-card. So, in my mind, that leaves Jey Uso. He’s wildly popular, he’s already got a catchy nickname for the Money in the Bank YEET-case, and with the Bloodline getting stronger by the day it might be important for the good guys to have some kind of advantage on their side. 

Tiffany Stratton, Chelsea Green, Iyo Sky, Lyra Valkyria, Zoey Stark, and Naomi in the women’s Money in the Bank match

Again, I’ve really enjoyed how this match got assembled. It’s an interesting mix of talent, and all of the women involved could have some solid direction with a title shot in hand. While I think there are fewer potential winners in this crowd, there are definitely arguments to be made for the majority of the field. 

Let’s start by crossing off Zoey Stark, because she’s gold in the tag division with Shayna Baszler and I’d like to see them get another run. Iyo, she of the best entrance music in the WWE, won last year, and has issues with her Damage CTRL crew to deal with right now. Much like fellow NXT call up Carmelo Hayes, it just feels too soon for Lyra Valkyria to hold a title shot, even though I love that the fans seem to have really taken a liking to our beloved birdperson. 

Chelsea Green would be a really fun pick, and she’s done a lot of work to get the fans behind her as she’s molded her generic Karen character into a really funny bad guy. She’s also Canadian, giving her a bit of a hometown advantage. Naomi would be interesting, since she’s been friendly with champ Bayley since Naomi’s return to the WWE, allowing for some potential bad blood. Maybe a heel turn that leads to Naomi joining with the Bloodline? WHO’S TO SAY? 

With no women’s championship match on the card, we won’t get the overused same-night cash in that we’ve seen with the women’s briefcase, so whoever holds the case will likely have that accessory for a while. Who better, I ask you, than Tiffany Stratton to hold a pink, bedazzled version of the Money in the Bank case? She’s already positioning herself to be a princess to Nia Jax’s queen. She’s shown incredible talent in the ring, the fans love her, and she seems pretty well liked backstage. Despite some poor decision making on social media, she remains the best pick for the case.

Damian Priest © versus Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship

The stipulation for this match is interesting. If Rollins wins, he gets a fancy cummerbund AND Damien Priest has to leave the Judgment Day. If Priest retains, Rollins never gets to face Priest for the title again. HOWEVER, this is also likely to be the last match of the show, meaning whoever won the Money in the Bank match could also be a factor. 

If Jey Uso wins the briefcase, I don’t think he has a reason to get involved. If Drew McIntyre were to win, it’s a different story altogether. I could see him waiting until Seth stomps Priest, while Seth is also nursing his maybe-not-100% knee, and running in to whack said knee and get a pinfall. I could also imagine McIntyre setting himself up to win only for CM Punk to once again deny him that chance. Maybe Punk waits until Drew has officially announced a cash-in before laying into the big Scotsman with a chair? 

So now that I’ve talked myself into a Drew win and cash-in, let me back out of that again. Uso seems like he’ll win Money in the Bank. So Drew isn’t a factor. And Judgment Day has been having its internal issues with Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio, and Finn Balor as well. Let’s assume this is the catalyst for the group’s breakup and a Priest good guy run, while also moving the intrigue along in the soap opera love triangle. Seth wins clean, even if he’ll only hold the title until Summer Slam.

NXT Heatwave picks

I’ll be honest here – NXT has been the biggest victim of the missing dog saga. While I’ve kept up with results and even caught parts of the show, I’ve largely missed a lot of the storylines. And with NXT, with its developmental talent and telenovela-level narratives, missing the stories is the same as missing the shows. So I won’t go into much detail, but I’ll still pick winners because I have a good general idea of what’s happening. That being said:

Karmen Petrovic and Arianna Grace over Jacy Jayne and Jazmin Nyx

Chase U over Axiom and Frazier © for the NXT Tag Team Championship

Kelani Jordan © retains her NXT Women’s North American Championship, beating Sol Ruca 

Wes Lee defeats Oba Femi © to recapture the NXT Men’s NA Championship

Roxanne Perez © keeps her NXT Women’s Championship, winning over Lola Vice

Trick Williams © retains his NXT Championship in a Fatal Four Way match

And that’s it!

Man, it’s good to be back writing again. It’s been such a stressful month! I’ll let you know when that big Zelda recap blog gets posted via socials, and we’ll go over this weekend’s results later in the week. 

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram using the links on the right.

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