WWE Money in the Bank is this Sunday and here are my predictions for the championship and traditional MITB style matches that have been set on the card.

WWE World Championship Ladder Match
John Cena vs Kane vs Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton vs Sheamus vs Alberto Del Rio vs Cesaro vs Bray Wyatt

My Pick: John Cena
Wildcard: Cesaro

Now before the IWC goes apeshit listen to my reasoning. This this is the smart choice, if as expected Lesnar will face the champion and win the title at Summerslam, then the only logical choice is to put it on Cena. He and Reigns are the only two pure faces in the match. Sheamus doesn’t count becuase I think he’s going heel soon. So they need a face to go against Lesnar at Summerslam. If you put the title on Reigns and he goes and loses it again Lesnar then you basically kill any momentum he’s going to have.

The wildcard here is Cesaro and if they are ready to push him through the roof already. It’s a possibility that he wins and then turns face on Heyman the next night on Raw saying something like that he doesn’t need him or is tired of him talking about Lesnar when he is now the #1- as in world champion, One idea I could see happening is WWE putting the Briefcase on someone like Kofi Kingston or Dolph Ziggler with the way he’s been booked lately to actually lose the briefcase in a match on RAW. This could put things back on track for WWE’s original plan of Cesaro as Mr. MITB, which he would cash in and beat Lesnar turning face. I dunno, but it’s interesting. Either way, I think Lesnar will take the title at Summerslam.

The Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Seth Rollins vs Kofi Kingston vs Jack Swagger vs Dolph Ziggler vs Rob Van Dam vs Bad News Barrett vs Dean Ambrose

My Pick: Bad News Barrett
Wildcard: Dolph Ziggler

This was a real tough choice as I had Rollins to win until Ambrose was announced. I figure they will probably keep each other from winning the contract with some pretty cool ladder spots. Let’s face it, Van Dam like Kingston are in there for cool looking spots with the ladders. They are not going to win unless it plays out ala Cesaro beating them for the briefcase. After Rollins it was toss up between BNB and Dolph. Dolph has been in the doghouse of late apparently cos of his injuries, so maybe this would be moment he gets out- but if a face is leaving champion then Dolph I’m afraid I’ve got some BAD NEWS! (sorry, I had to do that quote)

They are probably going with a heel to win the contract and at the moment in WWE there is no one better that Bad News Barrett. He’s has been a revelation since he got back into the gimmick and it’s slowly starting to turning him face. His matches are getting so much better, his IC tournament match with Sheamus was a pure old fashioned brawl and I LOVED it. His match on last night’s RAW with Dolph was amazing too, they had the crowd into it, did great near falls, and some awesome moves. Barrett’s Bull Hammer has become my favourite finisher just ahead of the Cesaro uppercut. They are like Shawn Michaels’ Sweet Chin Music. They can hit them from anywhere and on anyone. No better feeling as a wrestling fan than to see someone who’s got all the momentum in the match to launch themselves off the top rope and then WHAM! Bull Hammer/Uppercut and match is over. Bottom line, I give this to Bad News Barett. He was supposed to win two years ago but got injured. Now is his time; he has the support and he has the great gimmick. Push him now through the ceiling, plus if the idea to is to turn him face then cash it in against Lesnar and that will be the moment that everyone will talk about!

(Disclaimer: I support BNB because I’m English. ’nuff said.)

WWE Divas Title
Paige vs Naomi

My pick: Paige

This is the easiest match to call. Paige will win. It’s a shame they are not putting her in the ring with credible divas like Natalya and AJ. They will need to start bringing up Charlotte from NXT soon to give the divas roster a boost with actual talent. It’s also stupid booking as I think Paige winning the match will rank second to the “Story line breakup” of the funkadactyls, does anyone actually care about that by the way? *listens for crickets chirping* Think that Paige will hold the title at least until AJ returns or confirms she’s pregnant. Then Paige will probably be put in a meaningful feud… well, one can hope anyway.

WWE Tag Team Championship
The Uso’s vs Harper and Rowan

My pick: Harper and Rowan

I feel for the Uso’s, they are a great team but they haven’t been in any meaningful matches since they really won the titles. No feuds (really) and relegated to being Cena’s back up against the Wyatt family. But this could be what they need. I think Harper and Rowan get the titles cheaply, maybe Bray interferes, or maybe a blackout, etc. This would kick start the feud between the two teams where the Uso’s would regain the titles at Summerslam in a gimmick match. Just my prediction.

I hope that you like my predictions, I’m expecting more matches to be announced… I expect Rusev with Ravishing Lana against Big E and possibly Bo Dallas. I don’t care about either match, but I could watch Lana all day long 😉 .

I will be making this a regular column before every WWE PPV.  Please feel free to leave you predictions in the comments as well.

The NXT program started as a crappy reality TV style show where the results were probably rigged. It was pretty bad. That didn’t stop me from watching it, because it showcased some of the up and coming talent that would form the future of the show. The first winner of NXT season one was Wade Barrett, who is still on the main roster, although I’ve got bad news for him, his new gimmick sucks.

The real story of season one was Daniel Bryan, aka Brian Danielson. Danielson was one of the biggest stars of the indie, Japan and Ring of Honor when WWE signed him. He was horribly misused at first but now he is the most over member of the WWE roster.

Over a year ago, NXT changed its format. Gone was the voting, the eliminations and the stupid ass challenges. Instead, NXT became a straightforward, hour-long wrestling show. Matches and promos were the same as regular shows and the show had its own home, Full Sail University. And, slowly and quietly, NXT developed into one of the best wrestling shows on TV today.

NXT now offers a chance for developmental talent to practice the skills they will need to be a star on WWE. NXT also has a singles, women and even tag team championships. These championships are a bit of a double edged sword. If one wins one then either one must quickly lose it in order to move up to the main roster, or one gets stuck in NXT as champion. Current NXT champion Bo Dallas may have held the title for close to a year; but he’s only had a sniff of the main shows.

Incidentally, Bo Dallas is actually Bo Rotundo, son of Mike Rotundo, aka Irwin R Shyster. Bo’s brother was once known as Husky Harris. But after a successful stint in NXT he has been incredible successfully repacked as Bray Wyatt, leader of the Wyatt family.

Repackaging stars is a big deal in NXT. It’s how Johnny Curtis became Fandango. It’s how Skip Sheffield became Rybak. There are some people with real potential in NXT at the moment. Alexander Rusev has already been in this year’s Royal Rumble and promos are running for him on RAW and Samckdown.

The tag team champions, the Ascension, have promise. New WWE Diva Emma has been showing up in the WWE crowd. Aiden English, whose gimmick is a Broadway actor and singer, is vastly entertaining. Tyler Breeze, a Milan model who constantly takes selfies with his smartphone and doesn’t like being hit in the face, shows a lot of promise. The problem with the NXT crowds, who are smart wrestling fans, is they tend to cheer the talented wrestlers rather than supporting the faces and booing the heels.

When the WWE network goes live NXT will be there. Four episodes of NXT every month is worth about half the price of a network subscription all by itself. In the meantime, find the show on the internet. If you have only one hour to spare for wrestling each week there are worse choices than NXT.