It has been over a month since MetLife Stadium in New Jersey hosted WrestleMania 35.
It was, as expected, quite memorable, and not just because it was so long that it left thousands of fans stranded.
That little transportation hitch was a downer, yes, but the actual show lived up to the hype, thanks in large part to exhilarating victories by Becky Lynch, Kofi Kingston, and Seth Rollins. Surprises in the WWE are all the better these days because we actually have U.S. sportsbooks now that post odds for every significant matchup. And in this particular case, all three of those winners – Lynch, Kingston, and Rollins – defied those odds to provide fans with unlikely outcomes. Now, we can’t help but wonder if there are more surprises in store for the next big event on the calendar: Money in the Bank, which will be held on May 19 at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.
So far, six matches for the event have been confirmed:
Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles
Seth Rollins will defend his Universal Championship against The Phenomenal One, AJ Styles, in a clash of two of the WWE’s finest performers. Rollins won the belt by besting a beast in Brock Lesnar, while Styles earned the right to face Rollins by going through a gauntlet: He beat Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio in a triple threat match, and defeated Baron Corbin thereafter. It’s a classic deserving champ-versus-rightful challenger matchup, and it should be a dandy.
Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans
Also confirmed is a championship bout between concurrent Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans. The latter has been a bit of a problem for Lynch ever since the champion conquered the mighty Ronda Rousey in WrestleMania 35. In this case, Evans earned the right to face Lynch by beating perennial contender Natalya at the Superstar Shakeup. The opportunity has been a long time coming for Evans, though this one looks like a coin flip.
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair
Lynch will in fact defend both of her titles at the XL Center. Challenging her for the SmackDown belt will be Charlotte Flair, who’ll be looking to add to her record eight women’s titles. However you feel for Lynch, this setup seems somewhat unfair to the champ, who could well be losing both of her titles outright – or after a Money in the Bank cash-in. The timing of the women’s version of that match is thus something to keep an eye on.
Roman Reigns vs. Elias
Reigns’s return has been a feel-good story, and he’ll get a high-profile opportunity here to build off of his WrestleMania win over Drew McIntyre. This match was a no-brainer given the back-and-forth between the two athletes of late. For those who may have forgotten the specifics, Elias (along with Shane McMahon) went at Reigns the week after Reigns attacked Elias at the Superstar Shakeup. Needless to say, there’s some bad blood for this particular bout.
Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens
Kingston was the surprise winner of WrestleMania 35, and he gets Kevin Owens as a reward. This matchup actually looked set in stone the moment Kingston replaced Owens in last month’s flagship. That’s also the reason why TWM thinks Owens and Kingston will be rivals moving forward. Wisdom suggests that the WWE Championship will change hands at Money in the Bank, but don’t count Kingston out just yet. As mentioned, he did defy the odds at WrestleMania.
The IIconics vs. Asuka and Kairi Sane
Paige followed through on his promise to bring a forceful tag team to SmackDown – in this case, Asuka and Sane. They’ve since been on a roll, whereas their opponents are in the midst of something of a slump. That’s why the Japanese duo looks primed to walk out of the event with gold.
That’s pretty much the preview for now, though we’ll undoubtedly be learning more details of what to expect at Money in the Bank in the days ahead.