Who Gets The Final Money In The Bank Spot?

[Detective Comics 0]

When I first heard they were doing MITB again this year I thought I had it all figured out. Carlito, RVD, and Benjamin would be a lock in for RAW and I thought Hardy and MNM would do it for Smackdown! 6 guys willing to kill themselves for the sake of Wrestlemania. But then Flair got a spot in the match and I was sure Finlay and Lashley would have a 1 on 1 at Wrestlemania. But Finlay won, which meant one spot remains, and the person who takes that spot will have to win a Battle Royal on Friday night.

 

Lashley makes sense, since he can continue his feud with Finlay. But Lashley is a big guy and I don't think he'd do too well in a ladder match. I'm sure Finlay is going to have some awesome road agent spots involving the ladder as a weapon, but no huge bumps. Flair is going to be limited as well. Hardy has experience, but RVD and Benjamin have been so terrible lately that they need someone who can fly to make the match more appealing. I'm not sure if Lashley is the type of guy who is capable of taking those bumps because he is enormous. Don't get me wrong, Bubba Ray Dudley was able to take some great bumps in the TLC matches, but that also went along with his persona.

 

I thought Booker T might be put in the match before the announced he was going against Boogeyman. I honestly though for Wrestlemania we were going to see a 8-man tag pitting Hardy, Lashley, Burchill and Boogeyman against Animal, Finlay, Regal and Booker T. That didn't happen either. But Booker T has his match now so he won't be in the MITB. I seriously doubt they would have anyone do double duty on such the biggest show of the year.

 

Anyone of the cruiserweights would make for a few good spots, but they wouldn't be a credible contender for the World Title. Someone like London or Super Crazy would steal the show if given the chance but it seems unlikely that they would even be given a chance. Hardy, Finlay, RVD, Flair, or Benjamin are all credible contenders and are over as single wrestlers at the very least.

 

I've run down the Smackdown roster and I've come up with one wrestler who I think is going to take the spot (if it isn't Lashley). That man is Paul Burchill. Now, if you've been following anything I've been saying on the 'Link over the past few days you know my disdain for the man. But let me quickly run through the Smackdown roster to give you an idea of who is even available for the match.

 

Batista - Injured

Boogeyman - vs. Booker T

Booker T - vs. Boogeyman

Brian Kendrick - Cruiser

Chris Benoit - vs. JBL

Daivari - Managing Henry vs. Undertaker

Doug Basham - Off TV

Eddie Guerrero - Run-in during the Main Event

Finlay - MITB

Funaki - Cruiser

Gregory Helms - Injured

Gymini - Tag Team

Hardcore Holly - Injured

Jamie Noble - Cruiser

JBL - vs. Benoit

Jillian - Female

Joey Mercury - Tag Team

Johnny Nitro - Tag Team

Josh Mathews - Commentary

Ken Kennedy - Injured***

Kid Kash - Cruiser

Kristal - Female

Kurt Angle - vs. Orton & Rey

Lashley - Possibility

Mark Henry - vs. Undertaker

Matt Hardy - MITB

Melina - Female

Michael Cole - Commentary

Nunzio - Cruiser

Orlando Jordan - Squash Guy

Paul Burchill - Possibility

Paul London - Cruiser

Psicosis - Cruiser

Randy Orton - vs. Rey & Angle

Rey Mysterio - vs. Angle & Orton

Road Warrior Animal - Possibility

Scotty 2 Hotty - Cruiser

Sharmell - Female

Simon Dean - Possibility

Steve Romero - Commentary

Steven Richards - Injured

Super Crazy - Cruiser

Sylvan - Possibility

Tatanka - Possibility

Tazz - Commentary

Theodore Long - GM

Undertaker - vs. Mark Henry

Vito - Tag Team

William Regal - Possibility

 

That leaves Lashley, Burchill, Animal, Simon Dean, Sylvan, Tatanka, and Regal (and Kennedy but I'll get to that in a bit). To level things out, there should be three heels and three faces in the match, but I don't think it is possible or necessary. RVD, Flair, and Hardy are the faces with Benjamin and Finlay in the role of the heels. From this list, only Animal, Simon Dean, Sylvan, and Regal could fill that role. Animal is terrible and has the worst gimmick, Sylvan hasn't been on TV recently, and Regal is being used to put over Burchill. I think Simon Dean could pull it off by having the Gymini help him win the Battle Royal and he'd do some awesome things in the match for sure, but he's not really getting a push right now so that seems like an unlikely option.

 

The match would still work with four faces and two heels. I've already discussed Lashley, and that only leaves Burchill and Tatanka. I seriously doubt they'd put Tatanka in a match that is supposed to be about crazy bumping since all he can do is chop as of late. So Burchill is the only person that remains. I think Greg Helms would have been a great choice (and was probably who was actually booked to be in it). Even though he is a Cruiserweight, he is the champion so that means he is a cut above everyone else. Three faces, three heels, and another awesome performer willing to take some dangerous bumps.

 

OK, I keep dancing around the issue. Burchill. Imagine the C4 from the top of the ladder to the outside through 4 tables. Yeah, it'd be some sweet shit. He's the only guy on Smackdown right now who is getting a push. Even though he sucks he is still well received because of his pirate antics. Even if he can't put on a great match he could still be willing to kill himself in a spot fest. Even the most limited of wrestlers can still get over in this type of match (like Kane).

 

So yeah, I think that he makes the most sense. They should really continue the feud between Lashley and Finlay, but they should have also done more with Hardy, Animal, Booker T, Boogeyman, Burchill, and Regal. It would have been a great way to transition the feuds. I'm not even sure if Lashley will be in the Battle Royal since he had his chance and he blew it. Burchill is the only guy left getting a push and I think he'd be able to get it done.

 

*** Now if I was allowed a wild card pick, Ken Kennedy would be my man. Not sure when his injury would be healed up and while it isn't a great idea to kill yourself on your first match back, he would instantly have heat again if he came out as a surprise Friday and won the match. The Green Bay Plunge off the top through tables would be awesome, too. It would mean three heels and three faces and give Kennedy (who was extremely over) a spot that he probably would have deserved had he not gotten injured. Hey, it is a long shot, but anything can happen in the WWE.

[cabbageboy 0]

Dude you are thinking WAY too much about this. The battle royale is simply a way for Lashley to get back in the MITB match after Finlay screwed him on SD. Nothing else makes any sense.

[NYU 0]

Burchill. Imagine the C4 from the top of the ladder to the outside through 4 tables

 

This shows he hasn't thought about it enough.

[foleyfanforever88 0]

Wasnt Carlito seen talking to Long at SNME? i bet he enters the battle royal and wins it just like Angle did a few months ago..but stays on Raw.

[Detective Comics 0]

Burchill. Imagine the C4 from the top of the ladder to the outside through 4 tables

 

This shows he hasn't thought about it enough.

 

I'll admit that while it is rather unlikely it is possible.

[razazteca 0]

Orlando Jordan - Squash Guy.

[Special K 0]

Eddie Guerrero - Run-in during the Main Event

 

That was a joke, right?

[Dandy 0]

A very poor joke.

[The Decemberists 0]

I laughed

 

[Slayer 0]

Eddie's corpse will come out in his hoopty-rider

[Enigma 0]

Lashley wins.

[RedJed 0]

Wasnt Carlito seen talking to Long at SNME? i bet he enters the battle royal and wins it just like Angle did a few months ago..but stays on Raw.

 

Highly doubtful since he's alraedy in the tag match against Show and Kane. Plus it would just flat out make no sense since Smackdown gets three spots and Raw gets three spots. I must have missed that Carlito/Long stuff on SNME completely as I saw neither man there at all on TV.

 

99 percent chance says Lashley, as there is really no other suitable spot he could be put on in the Mania card to justify him as one of their guys they are really pushing and focusing on. The only other option I could see was if Smackdown guys who already are in other matches could be put in the battle royal, that I would give Benoit a strong chance of getting the spot and essentially pulling double duty at Mania then. But thats also highly unlikely.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Wasnt Carlito seen talking to Long at SNME? i bet he enters the battle royal and wins it just like Angle did a few months ago..but stays on Raw.

 

Highly doubtful since he's alraedy in the tag match against Show and Kane. Plus it would just flat out make no sense since Smackdown gets three spots and Raw gets three spots. I must have missed that Carlito/Long stuff on SNME completely as I saw neither man there at all on TV.

 

99 percent chance says Lashley, as there is really no other suitable spot he could be put on in the Mania card to justify him as one of their guys they are really pushing and focusing on. The only other option I could see was if Smackdown guys who already are in other matches could be put in the battle royal, that I would give Benoit a strong chance of getting the spot and essentially pulling double duty at Mania then. But thats also highly unlikely.

 

Carlito was talking to Teddy Long when Booker T came out of the lockeroom running from the Boogeyman.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Carlito will be in the MITB match, and either get tossed out last by Lashley, or get ganged up on in the opening seconds and get tossed out then.

[Detective Comics 0]

I mean, it is entirely possible for the Lashley/Finlay feud to continue through Wrestlemania without putting Lashley in the match. He had his chance and lost during the Lumberjack match. Granted, Finlay cheated, but even if Lashley ran in during the match and just beat the crap out of Finlay it would be a way to get Lashley on Wrestlemania. They could give the final spot to someone else who could make an impact. I just can't see Lashley hitting his 450 off of the top of the ladder...

 

For the sake of discussion, does anyone else think that this year's Money In The Bank is going to involve using the ladder as a weapon moreso than just using it to jump off of? I mentioned this previously but I bet Finlay has some awesome tricks up his sleeve and I'm sure even Flair could pull out some unexpected tricks in what will surely be an overbooked match.

[Jericho2000Mark 0]

Eddie Guerrero - Run-in during the Main Event

 

That was a joke, right?

 

I can't really tell anymore. Ever since someone made a serious thread wondering if Eddie Guerrero's death was staged...

[Fökai 0]

Carlito jumps to Smackdown, gets eliminated by Lashley, then jumps back to RAW the following show to build to his tag match.

 

It's perfect, though it involves Carlito losing his MITB shot TWICE, as well as losing his Mania match in terrible fashion.

[cabbageboy 0]

Will you guys PLEASE drop this shit with Carlito and the MITB? I recall briefly seeing him on SNME but it wasn't anything even worth noting. It's got to be a battle royale of 20 SD guys I would think.

 

Besides, who says the Lashley/Finlay feud can't continue through WM anyway? It's not like either guy is going to win the MITB, so there won't be any real resolution.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

It's not going to be Carlito for the last fucking time, he already has an WM match.

[RedJed 0]

Will you guys PLEASE drop this shit with Carlito and the MITB? I recall briefly seeing him on SNME but it wasn't anything even worth noting. It's got to be a battle royale of 20 SD guys I would think.

 

Besides, who says the Lashley/Finlay feud can't continue through WM anyway? It's not like either guy is going to win the MITB, so there won't be any real resolution.

 

I tend to agree the same w/ Carlito. UNLESS the writers are trying to shift up that world tag title match and replace Masters and Carlito w. MNM and make that an interpromotional tag title unification match (which would be JUST fine). Which then would move Carlito to MITB and Masters off the card completely. I certainly wouldnt mind that scenario. Again it makes Smackdown look inferior though, but whatever.

 

Lashley/Finley has to keep going through Mania, they got a long distance they can go with that program - probably til at least mid summer I would think.

[Detective Comics 0]

As unlikely as that seems that would be an interesting angle since I expect Masters and Carlito to feud after WM anyway. Rather than losing the tag match and fighting they could feud since Carlito gets to wrestle in Money In The Bank and Masters loses his WM spot altogether. And MNM gets on the card. I approve.

[Guest hasbeen]

Eddie Guerrero - Run-in during the Main Event

 

That was a joke, right?

 

I can't really tell anymore. Ever since someone made a serious thread wondering if Eddie Guerrero's death was staged...

 

 

I think a lot of these references have been over the angle being used not over the man himself and they don't seem in bad taste to me actually.

[Ravenbomb 0]

CM Punk

[cabbageboy 0]

First off, Carlito and Masters need to win the tag belts and have a run before even thinking about breaking up and feuding. If anything their opponents, Kane and Show, are the ones destined for a post WM feud. I'm not sure what Carlito and Masters will do with the tag belts though. How about a feud against the Icon team of Flair/Michaels? Or bring someone up? I dunno. Or have them do what Carlito did with the IC title, which is namely nothing.

 

Either way, Lashley is the obvious pick for this MITB slot. It's a battle royale too so he can look really strong by tossing a bunch of guys. As I said, who else makes any sense?

[Guest OKCoyote]

They are calling it a "Last Chance" battle royal so it stands to reason that there will be guys in it that have already lost their qualifiers.

[chaosrage 0]

Bret Hart!

[SuperJerk 0]

Lashley won it, according to the spoiler thread.

[notJames 0]

Due to process of elimination*, I have no doubt that Black Lesnar will get the last spot, even though Finlay bested him in the Lumberjack match. I have a feeling they had him beat up all those lumberjacks as a precursor to his performance in this week's Battle Royal. Besides, who else is up the ladder enough on SD! to warrant the spot that isn't already in a WM match?

 

*(and yes, that's a veiled reference to the Battle Royal)

[The Czech Republic 0]

Who Gets The Final Money Shot In The Bank?

Ejaculation Inside

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Czech was saying what I was thinking. That was kinda weird.