I haven't made a post in forever, so this one is probably going to be pretty long. Sorry.
Well, there's one thing for very certain: with only one world title, and one world champion, whoever holds Money in the Bank isn't just A future champion, should they win they become THE future champion. This means two things :
1) They have to pick the winner very, very carefully. You can't swing and miss with guys like Jack Swagger - no offense to the Real American, who's been doing a ton of good work lately in my opinion. You would think you'll see a few up-and-comers and a lot of former champs.
2) If they do put the briefcase on somebody, and they don't get over as expected in the next few months, there's a much greater chance they'll lose their match. That all depends on who the champion is, who has the briefcase, and if they can recover from the loss. But now that John Cena and Damien Sandow have both lost briefcase matches, it's clearly not off the table.
In terms of people on, or who have been on a main event level - guys who could win the title and wouldn't be a total stretch - I think the list is Batista, Big Show, John Cena, Kane, Mark Henry, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and Sheamus. RVD, Alberto del Rio, Christian, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler are at the very end of that list, and Jack Swagger is pretty much a non-player. In terms of up-and-coming guys, Big E, Bad News Barrett, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, maybe Seth Rollins, Ryback.
So take out all the guys you KNOW aren't getting anywhere near that title, and you're left with Batista, John Cena, Kane, Mark Henry, Randy Orton, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, Roman Reigns, and...maybe Bad News Barrett, because apparently Vince McMahon is "really high" on him.
We're not even sure Batista will be at Money in the Bank, or how long he'll be sticking around, or what his work load will be later this year, next year, and beyond. So let's tentatively scratch him off the list. I can't imagine Batista walking around with a briefcase in 2014, can you?
John Cena doesn't need a briefcase. Then again, he didn't need it the last time either. Still, he's been really active in working with younger stars recently, so I doubt he gets it.
I like Kane, but with only one title I don't think WWE takes the risk with one more run for him. Mark Henry is fantastic and has been for quite some time, but as much as I'd love to see him get a real title run, I don't think it's happening with how infrequently he's been used. Randy Orton is a possibility. I've always been a fan of heel Miz. Dolph Ziggler never wins important things anymore, but you never know. Flair wants to work with him. I think they need to keep pushing Bray Wyatt naturally, but you can't eliminate him. Cesaro makes the list because he's a Paul Heyman guy, who will make sure "his client" is in that match. The Shield will need something to do without Evolution around as a unit, so maybe Roman Reigns. Could be the start to Ambrose turning on him. Not necessary, but it's easy. I'm going to say "no" on Barrett, just because he's the current IC champ.
So we're down to The Miz, Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt. That's a great list. Hell, I'd make the match with just those guys, and maybe a few others for name value.
Out of those guys, my pick would either be The Miz or Dolph Ziggler. Orton simply doesn't need it, plus he had it last year. It's too soon for Cesaro, and I don't think they can build him up naturally between MITB and when he'd have to cash it in. And with Reigns and Wyatt, I just dont' want to see either of them go too far, too quick. When they DO win the world title, and I'm sure they will eventually, it should be a big moment when you can sit back and say "yeah...they deserved that". Roman Reigns is a fucking tank, and doesn't need a briefcase to main event WrestleMania. Just my two cents. So...
The Miz: I know a lot of people will probably roll their eyes, gag, throw up, or jump off a cliff at the idea of another Miz title run. But let's be honest - that guy knows how to draw heat. Was WrestleMania 27 the most memorable PPV? No. Was The Miz the greatest WWE Champion. Eh. He wasn't a great, or even good worker, but he drew heat with every promo, and I constantly wanted to see him beaten. That's the mark of a good heel, I think. Since then he's gotten his timing down, he's had a bit more exposure with extra curricular activities, and given a proper heel turn and attention, I would not mind him taking another run at the big time.
Dolph Ziggler: The Dolph Ziggler who won the world title all that time ago (the real time, not the first one-night-only time), wasn't ready to be the guy. I mean, maybe he was ready, but THEY weren't ready for him. He got concussions, which definitely hurt him, but that title run wasn't going to last long. But given proper time at the top, wins that actually put him over, and proper affiliation with somebody like, oh I don't know...Ric Flair...Ziggler could be the guy. He could be SUPER over too, if they let him. Personally I think the title "Nature Boy" Ric Flair has a good ring to it.
So those are my two picks. Thanks for sticking with me whilst I pick apart the entire roster for potential winners. I'm sure there will be a lot of Reigns picks, Wyatt picks and others, maybe a few Cesaro picks, but I stand by what I said about all of them.
