Austin: Who Should Win WWE Money In The Bank 2021?

WWE Money In The Bank is around the corner, and that means it’s time to pick potential winners! What better way for Austin Harrach to debut at The Chairshot?!?!

WWE Money in the Bank 2021 will take place in Fort Worth, TX on July 18. There are already some major matches slated for the event, with Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns both defending their world championships against Kofi Kingston and a recently returning Edge, respectively.

Of course, the highlight of the event is the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches, where the winner claims a briefcase with a contract guaranteeing a world title shot that can be cashed in whenever they choose. WWE is thankfully giving us MITB qualifying matches once again on Raw and Smackdown, rather than announcing the participants without rhyme or reason. At the time of writing, those who have qualified for the men’s MITB match are: John Morrison, Ricochet, Riddle, Big E, and Drew McIntyre.

Spots will continue to be filled, as it was recently announced that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will battle in a Last Man Standing match on Smackdown to determine who qualifies. As a promising field of young talent assembles for the ladder match, here are the top three best candidates to win the briefcase. 

Close but not Top 3: Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn is one of the most talented members of the WWE roster, whether it be in-ring, on the mic, or just character work. Zayn’s current character, a paranoid conspiracy theorist, has been rather entertaining and given the fans some great segments on Smackdown. However, the creative direction looks to be rather stagnant, as WWE continues to throw himself and Kevin Owens into matches. Giving the briefcase to Zayn would give new life to the character, and would give what is already an annoying persona a reason to turn it up to 10. Honestly, Sami Zayn winning a world title with his cash in would be great, but Zayn losing the cash in and using it as fuel to reignite the whole “WWE is out to get me” act would be all the better. 

3. Riddle

Riddle is on quite a hot streak as he continues to climb up the card, winning 22 of his 30 matches in 2021, most recently pinning former world champion Drew McIntyre on Raw to qualify for the MITB match. Riddle was a character that WWE seemed high on when he was called up from NXT, but he quickly grew stale with some fans. Winning the United States title from Bobby Lashley was a step in the right direction, only to lose it a little over a month later to Sheamus at WrestleMania. Since then, he has paired with Randy Orton and created the tag team “RKBro,” which has been one of the more entertaining storylines on Monday Night Raw. It wouldn’t be surprising if WWE has future world championship plans for Riddle, as he already has wins over former world champions such as Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Randy Orton. He would be as entertaining as any with the briefcase in his possession, and would spice up the storyline with himself and a potentially jealous Orton. 

2. Big E

Fans have been demanding a push for Big E for some time now. Ever since his split from the New Day due to the draft, there has been nothing keeping WWE from making him an absolute star. It couldn’t come at a better time, with Roman Reigns already ripping his way through the entire Smackdown upper card. Big E remains in an Intercontinental title feud with champion Apollo Crews, though the feud hasn’t really gone anywhere in recent weeks as Big E has created an alliance with Kevin Owens in an attempt to take down Crews and sidekick Commander Azeez. Giving Big E the briefcase would help his character and storylines tremendously, and give Reigns something to worry about as the Universal Champion. It is often speculated that either he or Cesaro will be the one granted the major push of dethroning Reigns for the title, so it would be very interesting to see Big E win the contract. 

1. AJ Styles

AJ Styles has accomplished almost everything there is to accomplish in WWE. The current Raw Tag Team title reign with partner Omos makes Styles a Grand Slam Champion, something that only 21 wrestlers have accomplished. The only accolades that Styles has left to add to his resume in WWE are winning the Royal Rumble and winning the Money in the Bank briefcase. While he has yet to slow down in the ring, Styles is already 44 years old. The two-time WWE Champion deserves to have another reign before his time with the company comes to an end. Similar to the Big E situation, it couldn’t come at a better time, since WWE is clearly struggling to find contenders for Bobby Lashley’s WWE Championship on Raw. Styles taking his talents to the tag division was a good move, but it’s time to thrust him back into the main event scene. Styles competed for the WWE title only six months ago at TLC 2020, but it has felt like years without him in the world title picture. Someone as talented as Styles should always be in the hunt, and giving him the MITB briefcase is the best move.