With the 8-man field apparently set for Sunday's World Heavyweight Championship contract Money in the Bank ladder match (that's a mouthful), it's time for my annual handicapping of said match.
Click here to read my preview of the field and potential additions for the WWE Championship Money in the Bank match, and check back Friday for my predictions on the entire card.
Here's the rundown. Warning! It contains some minor spoilers for this week's episode of Friday Night Smackdown:
100/1 -- Tyson Kidd
There are two people in this match that make me scratch my head a little bit, and Kidd is one of them. They needed to give him a brief TV winning streak to put him in this match, but I personally believe the only reason he is here is to take bumps and do some innovative offensive maneuvers. Afterward, it's back to the mid-card or lower for him. Which is a shame. He's too small and uncharismatic to be a contender for a world championship, but I think he'd be a nice choice for the U.S. or Intercontinental championship if they weren't already on babyfaces.
50/1 -- Christian
Am I really making Christian this much of a longshot? Yes, yes I am. Christian is in this match to provide a veteran presence, and there may not be a better, active veteran presence for a ladder match than Captain Charisma. He had his runs as World Champion last year, short though they may have been, and I don't see him reaching that level again any time soon, unless serious injuries or suspensions befall some of the top Superstars on the roster. He's settling in nicely as the Intercontinental Champion, and the upper mid-card is the best spot for him.
40/1 -- Sin Cara
The final qualifier for the Money in the Bank match, Sin Cara is here to be a spot machine, not entirely unlike Tyson Kidd. I'm not sure WWE feels as strongly about Sin Cara as they did a year ago, but pulling the trigger on this wouldn't be entirely out of the question. I do think Sin Cara has a lot to gain in this match by shining on offense and showing a willingness to take big bumps. If people are talking about Sin Cara after this match is over -- and I think they will -- it will go a long way toward him finally getting over with the crowd and moving beyond squash matches each week on Smackdown.
30/1 -- Tensai
When WWE decided to bring back the former Prince Albert/A-Train, it was clear they wanted to push him to the top quickly. It was an utter failure. On Monday, they seemed to tease the idea of partnering Tensai with heat magnet Vickie Guerrero. Could that, along with a Money in the Bank briefcase win, be enough to get crowds to care about Tensai? He'd make an interesting challenger for Sheamus, if the Great White hadn't already beat him cleanly on Raw about a month ago. I think it's a bad idea, but I think a lot of things WWE does are bad ideas. The fact they wanted him in the main event, to me, makes him a possible winner.
20/1 -- Santino Marella
Despite how the announcers might put him over, Santino is no longer an underdog and hasn't been for some time. In fact, according to PWTorch.com, Santino has more TV and PPV wins in 2012 (24) than pretty much everyone in the WWE except Sheamus (36). Granted, that's because the top stars don't wrestle as often, but Santino wins a lot more than he loses these days. And you know the United States Champion is going to get a big hope spot in this match, similar to the Royal Rumble in 2011 or the Elimination Chamber in February. Would WWE pull the trigger and give him the briefcase? Still not likely, but it honestly wouldn't surprise me.
10/1 -- Damien Sandow
Remember how I said there were two people in this match that made me scratch my head: Sandow is the other one. By all accounts, he shouldn't be in this high-profile of a match so soon, unless WWE plans to have him win the whole thing. I really thought he might get replaced by Zack Ryder (who, as general manager on Smackdown this week, would give himself another chance to qualify if he beat Sandow, with whom he's having a mini-feud) but that was not to be. With that said, I'm a huge fan of Sandow. He's already leaps and bounds ahead of other participants of this match on the microphone, he's got the look of a main eventer and he seems like a hell of an athlete in the ring. The briefcase could put him over the top quickly, and as long as WWE doesn't rush it, he could be primed for a World Championship run by the end of the year. If WWE wants to shock everyone, Sandow is the guy to win this match. He's my dark horse.
7/1 -- Dolph Ziggler
A little more than a month ago, I would've told you that Ziggler is my favorite to win Money in the Bank. Then his main event push was accelerated because of suspensions to Chris Jericho and Randy Orton, and an injury to Alberto Del Rio. And then he jobbed to World Champion Sheamus about 16 times in a row. He's a terrific in-ring performer, and he's getting a lot better on the microphone, but I think giving him the briefcase would just make it seem like we are going down that road again. If he did cash-in and win the title from Sheamus fairly quickly (possibly later in the show), would we really want to see Ziggler-Sheamus again for the next few months? I don't know. It could work, but I want to see someone new get the shot.
5/1 -- Cody Rhodes
Last year, I picked Cody Rhodes to win the Smackdown Money in the Bank match. Instead, he won the Intercontinental Championship shortly after this pay-per-view and entered a high-profile feud with Randy Orton (one he ultimately lost, but nevertheless got a nice rub out of) and then beat Booker T in a series of big matches. His IC title reign was one of the longest in years and he was involved in another high-profile feud and match against Big Show at WrestleMania. In order to qualify, Rhodes had to beat Christian -- the man who took the IC title from him -- clean. That was a huge victory. Rhodes is ready to take the next step, and that's challenging for the World Championship later this year. He could get there without it, but just carrying the briefcase for a few months raises his profile even more. Cody is the pick.
