At "Money In The Bank" 2017 in June, five competitors will battle it out in a Ladder Match for the MITB briefcase. They'll include just one superstar who has won the match before and only two who have been participants in the match before. Whoever ends up climbing a ladder in the ring and retrieving the briefcase obtains a contract for a WWE Championship match at any time and any place of their choosing. Here's the latest on which "SmackDown" superstars will be participating in this year's field.
Who are the competitors?
At the beginning of Tuesday's episode of "SmackDown Live," Commissioner Shane McMahon arrived to the ring to hype up the big pay-per-view.
"Shane-O-Mac" made the official announcement to reveal the five competitors one-by-one. Each superstar made their ring entrance as they were introduced.
This year's field will be highlighted by "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles, "The Showoff" Dolph Ziggler, "The Underdog" Sami Zayn, "The Lone Wolf" Baron Corbin, and the "King of Strong Style" himself, Shinsuke Nakamura. Of those stars, Ziggler is a former winner who captured the briefcase and cashed in for the championship.
Tensions are certainly rising between the #MITB #LadderMatch competitors... #SDLive @iLikeSamiZayn @AJStylesOrg @FightOwensFight pic.twitter.com/2hknVbz4Y1
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 24, 2017
While there were five superstars announced, another superstar made his case for why he should be involved in the field of competitors for the match.
The United States Champion Kevin Owens arrived to interrupt the proceedings, and complained that he defeated Styles at "Backlash" yet Styles is in the match. Shane told Owens he had a spot in the match as well, making it six competitors total. Ironically, all of these competitors faced one another in different matches at this past Sunday's WWE "Backlash" pay-per-view.
'Money in the Bank' history
Over the history of "Money in the Bank" matches, most winners who snatched that briefcase from above the ring went on to cash in for the championship. Only two men have failed to do so in history. They were John Cena and former WWE star Damien Sandow. Former WWE star Mr. Kennedy was also an MITB winner but his briefcase was taken from him when he lost a match to Edge.
Previous winners of the popular match have included Edge, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, The Miz, Randy Orton, and most recently, Dean Ambrose. "The Lunatic Fringe" won at the 2016 edition of the "Money in the Bank" pay-per-view and then cashed in during the main event title match between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. As Rollins had just defeated Reigns for the title, Ambrose used the briefcase to hit Rollins, knocking him down for a pinfall to walk away with the title.
One has to think that AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Kevin Owens are the early favorites to win, although WWE rumors have suggested it could be "The Lone Wolf" Baron Corbin who walks away as "Mr. Money in the Bank." Who is your pick to win the big match this year?