I'm expecting the ECW Championship to be defended in a triple threat now between Christian, Finlay, and Jack Swagger. If you rule out the people with storylines heading into WrestleMania right now (such as Hardy/Hardy, HHH/Orton, Cena/Edge, Taker/HBK), here's the list of potential MITB people:
Umaga, John Morrison, CM Punk, Big Show, MVP, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Shelton Benjamin, Mr. Kennedy, JBL, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Rhodes/DiBiase, R-Truth, Vladimir Kozlov, Chavo Guerrero.
I eliminated a few names that are lower on the scale, like Jamie Noble and such, as well as people that most likely won't be on the card but could, like Mark Henry and Khali.
Let's look at what the MITB means. This is the opportunity to throw together 8 guys that have nothing to do but should be involved in the ppv. One of these guys is good enough that they can give the case to and show him that they trust that within the next year, he'll improve enough to be a worthwhile champion choice. At the same time, there's no point in giving that briefcase to somebody who is already a world champion or a main event guy for the most part. Why? Because its sloppy and useless. I'll explain when the names come down to it.
PEOPLE WHO DON'T NEED IT: Umaga, Rey Mysterio, Big Show, JBL, Kane = These guys are main event level talent for the most part. Did anybody question Mysterio and Kane being in the elimination chambers? Nope. Everybody questioned Kofi and Knox. Mysterio and Kane could challenge any champion at any time and it wouldn't seem like much of a filler title defense for the ppv. So why would you give the MITB case to someone who could just challenge for a title at any time without it? It makes no sense. Now, if you give it to someone who isn't in that position and you change your mind later on during the year, you can have someone like a Big Show or a Kane beat that person for the MITB and cash it in.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH: Rhodes, DiBiase, R-Truth, Vladimir Kozlov, Chavo Guerrero, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne = Rhodes and DiBiase won't be in it most likely in the first place and they're too young. They should be winning midcard titles this year though. R-Truth isn't even good enough to trust with a midcard title, so why would they have him win one of the two world titles? Vladimir Kozlov has no shot at winning this as they can't even keep him in the main event on Smackdown most of the time. Chavo Guerrero....c'mon. Kofi is a potential choice for next year but not this time around. Evan Bourne, same idea. He's really over with the crowd but he hasn't won a single title yet and he hasn't been around long enough for them to judge whether or not he can continue to improve. It'd be foolish for them to skyrocket him to the top so fast.
THIS LEAVES SIX PEOPLE:
CM Punk = Won it last year. He won't win it again. Plus, since he's already a former world champion now, he has more of a legitimate route to just challenge a champion. He's at the same level that Rey Mysterio is right now, except he's younger and has a better shot at winning a 2nd world title lol.
Mr. Kennedy = He won the Money in the Bank before and lost his opportunity because of his injury. As much as I hope Kennedy can get over his problems and become a main event guy in the future, the smart decision is to NOT give him this case a second time. He's so injury prone that if you did give it to him, you'd most likely have to make him lose it again. Its not worth the risk. Throw Kennedy into the match by all means, but he won't win it.
The Miz = A potential choice, but not really when you see that there are 3 bigger fish to fry. Miz has loads of charisma, is over with the crowd as a heel, and he's improved drastically, but he'd be much better suited for winning a midcard title and/or the King of the Ring if they have it again this year.
Shelton Benjamin/MVP = Two major possibilities. The fact that they're feuding might allude to them not being the winners though, similar to how last year we had MVP and Matt Hardy feuding over the US title around this time. Now, what's weird about these two is that they contradict each other. If you needed a new champion and you had to pick between these two, you'd most likely pick MVP...but that actually hurts his chances in comparison to Shelton. As I said above, if you're able to challenge a champion just by going up to him and saying "I want a shot at your title" and it sticks, you don't need the Money in the Bank. Shelton is someone who would actually need the MITB to win a world title and catapult himself into the main event.
BUT there's one guy that fits all the specifications...
JOHN MORRISON.
I keep beating the drum in every thread that debates who will win it haha.
Assuming Cena wins back his title and HHH retains his at Mania, could Morrison challenge either one of those guys and really truly be viewed as "oh shit, Morrison's gonna win" on the ppv? No. He'd need the MITB case.
Last year we had a face so it'd make sense to have a heel win it this year to spice it up a bit, correct?
Is he someone who will be a future main event star? Yes.
Is he someone that the WWE can trust? You'd better believe it. The guy had his suspension back with the ECW title but ever since then he's not had a single problem backstage, he hasn't been injured, he hasn't been suspended, and the guy's been working all 3 shows on a regular basis!
I'll be shocked if Morrison doesn't win it, and if by some chance he doesn't, I think its very safe to say that it'll be MVP or Shelton that does instead.
