Cook’s Money in the Bank 2017 Prognosis: Women’s MITB Ladder Match

Money in the Bank has been one of WWE’s top annual events since 2010. There were two women’s matches on the very first show, one for Raw’s Divas Championship & one for SmackDown’s Women’s Championship. Alicia Fox battled Eve Torres for the Divas Championship while Layla defeated Kelly Kelly in the Women’s Championship match while Michelle McCool & Tiffany looked on at ringside. I was writing for 411mania.com back in 2010, and I think I can safely say that nobody on this site or any other site was pushing for a women’s Money in the Bank ladder match at the time of the first MITB event. The talent pools on both shows were pretty dry, and frankly nobody thought that most of the women employed by WWE at the time would be up for it. It just didn’t seem like a good idea, or something that WWE would even think of doing.

OK, maybe somebody here was. We’ve always had our share of odd ducks at 411. But I don’t remember anybody pushing for women’s ladder matches in 2010.

Eight years later, it’s time for the SmackDown women to take their share of Money in the Bank ladder match history. Five will enter the match in an attempt to earn a future shot at the SmackDown Women’s Championship, which will be defended by Naomi against the Ravishing Lana on the very same night. I must say it’s a shame that Naomi won’t be in the ladder match, as she would have added a lot to the presentation. Nevertheless, here are the five that will be, and the reasons why each one will win or lose.

Carmella
Age: 29
Height: 5’5
Weight: 110 lbs

Why She’ll Win: There have been a lot of reports lately suggesting that big things are in store for Carmella. She’s defeated Naomi in a non-title match and has scored a pinfall over her in a tag team match, so she sure seems to have the champion’s number. She also has James Ellsworth on her side…ok, so he can’t do much to help her except take punishment from her opponents and distract them, but that might be all she needs.

Why She’ll Lose: Remember when we were hearing all those reports about how Lana was the future of the women’s division awhile back, and she ended up doing nothing for months afterwards? That could be exactly the same thing that happens to Carmella. WWE gets all excited about somebody, then they get cold feet when they realize that the talent has weaknesses and isn’t perfect. The main thing Carmella lacks is experience. She’s never been in a match this big, and sometimes you have to lose the big matches to learn how to win them later on.

Charlotte Flair
Age: 31
Height: 5’10
Weight: 144 lbs
Titles Held WWE Raw Women’s Championship (4 times), WWE Divas Championship, NXT Women’s Championship

Why She’ll Win: She’s Charlotte. When does she lose? Not very often. You see that laundry list of championships she’s held. She went over a year without losing on PPV, and she competed on the majority of them. When there’s history to be made, Charlotte’s always involved. She made the Divas Championship the Women’s Championship. She won the first women’s Hell in a Cell match, which was the first women’s match to main event a PPV. I’m sure I’m missing some things there, but the bottom line is that when there’s a chance for a woman to be the first woman to do anything in WWE, it’s usually Charlotte.

Why She’ll Lose: Eventually everybody goes on a losing streak in WWE. Charlotte’s already in a bit of a slump as she wasn’t able to get Smackdown’s Women’s Championship on the first attempt and her team with Becky Lynch & Naomi has been unsuccessful against the Welcoming Committee. Charlotte is the most talented competitor in this match, but the most talented wrestler doesn’t always win, especially in things like ladder matches that can be totally random.

Becky Lynch
Age: 30
Height: 5’5
Weight: 135 lbs
Titles Held: WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship

Why She’ll Win: Becky has more guts and tenacity than any of her opponents in this match, and probably any other woman in WWE. She’s gone through a lot of adversity and hasn’t always come out on top, but she always gives 110% and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. She’ll take more risks than anybody else and will probably be involved in the most dangerous spot in the match that will get replayed over and over again afterwards.

Why She’ll Lose: You can copy the previous paragraph and paste it here. Taking the wrong chances in a ladder match can lead to fame, but it more often than not leads to losing the match. And if we’re being honest, cashing in a Money in the Bank briefcase would be the wrong way for Becky Lynch to become SmackDown Women’s Champion again. It’ll be more fun and a better story if she has to scratch and claw her way back to the top.

Natalya
Age: 35
Height: 5’6
Weight: 136 lbs
Titles Held: WWE Divas Championship

Why She’ll Win: Natalya is the seasoned veteran in this match without any doubt, and her family history comes into play here as well. Her uncle Bret Hart was in WWE’s first ladder match, and the concept originated in her grandfather Stu Hart’s promotion: Stampede Wrestling. There would be no finer tribute to her family than to become the first woman to win the match that they invented.

Why She’ll Lose:

Tamina
Age: 39
Height: 5’9
Weight: 170 lbs

Why She’ll Win: Tamina’s father Jimmy Snuka was never in a ladder match to the best of my knowledge, but it’s the kind of thing he would have thrived in. That inherited mentality, combined with Tamina’s ability to shrug off her opponents’ attempts at offense, will make her very tough to beat in this match. Ladder shots should also have less of an effect on Tamina than they will on smaller competitors.

Why She’ll Lose: Tamina’s never really been a priotity for WWE Creative. She’s been backup for AJ Lee, Team BAD & now the Welcoming Committee. It’s a good role for her, but at the same time it makes it hard to believe that she’ll get a sustained push at the top of the women’s division.

This match is really a toss-up, but if I had to pick two favorites I’d go with Carmella & Charlotte. If Carmella’s getting the type of push people think she will, a ladder match is a really good way to get her into the title picture. I think she & Ellsworth would probably make for the most entertaining recurring segments on various shows if they go the route of having the heel challenger trying to cash in at opportune times. Charlotte might be too obvious of a choice to go over here, but I think that giving her the briefcase would be a good way to increase tension between her & Naomi, assuming Naomi is still the champion. If Lana is the champion, she would spend most of her time living in fear of Charlotte. Unless, of course, the women’s ladder match takes place before the title match and Charlotte or whoever cashed in on her then. The match order will reveal a lot about what happens.

I think the smart play here is to try to use this match to elevate somebody, rather than give somebody another accomplishment to add to their record. With that mindset, Carmella seems like the proper choice. Is she ready for it? I don’t know, but people had that same question about Jinder Mahal before SmackDown’s last PPV and he wound up winning the WWE Championship. SmackDown Live is in the business of trying to create new stars, and having the Princess of Staten Island win this match would continue that philosophy.