WWE Money In The Bank Predictions 2017: Ranking Possible Winners Of The ‘SmackDown’ Ladder Match

The six participants in the 2017 Money in the Bank ladder match were revealed Tuesday night on the latest edition of “SmackDown Live.” Shane McMahon announced that AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn will all compete for the briefcase, which will give the winner a WWE Championship Match at the time of their choosing.

With Jinder Mahal having beaten Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Backlash, the briefcase holder could go on to challenge Mahal sometime during the summer. Dean Ambrose, Sheamus and Seth Rollins were the last three winners, all of whom went on to win the WWE Championship.

READ: Sami Zayn, John Cena Could Challenge Jinder Mahal For WWE Championship

Let’s rank all the potential Money in the Bank winners, starting with the least likely.

6) Kevin Owens

Owens is in the match because he’s the top heel on “SmackDown Live,” despite Jinder’s recent title win, but he’s not winning the ladder match. He still has the United States Championship, which he’s highly unlikely to lose before the PPV, and just about anyone else in the match would benefit more from having the briefcase.

5) Dolph Ziggler

The only participant that’s won the Money in the Bank ladder match before, Ziggler’s chances of becoming the world champion within the next year are slim. Perhaps the most underutilized WWE superstar of the past decade, Ziggler is what he is at this point in his career. WWE uses Ziggler to get other top stars over, and while he might be involved in the match’s most exciting spots, he’s not going to win.

4) Sami Zayn

Zayn seems like a longshot to win the briefcase. Since being brought up to the main roster last year, he’s been booked as an underdog that’s looked overmatched against the likes of Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and, of course, Kevin Owens. He seems to be getting over a little more each week, and his time as WWE Champion might eventually come, but probably not in the near future.

3) Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is an interesting case. WWE clearly has high hopes for him, allowing him to dominate NXT for a year. Giving Nakamura the briefcase right away would do even more to legitimize him among the fans that don’t know a lot about him, though there are two candidates that are more likely to win the match.

2) AJ Styles

Styles certainly doesn’t need to win the match, but he can’t be ruled out as becoming Mr. Money in the Bank 2017. He’s the most popular full-time member of the “SmackDown Live” roster, and Styles is arguably the best wrestler in the world. Giving him the briefcase could possibly set him up for a main event WWE Championship Match at SummerSlam.

1) Baron Corbin

The Lone Wolf has to be the favorite to leave Money in the Bank with a title opportunity. Corbin is a young heel that WWE has high hopes for, and his recent losses only fuel speculation that he will win the briefcase. Corbin might have lost to Dean Ambrose at WrestleMania 33 and Zayn at Backlash because he already has a big win coming his way on June 18.