WWE: Early Favorite to Win This Year's Money in the Bank

By Connor Casey

La WWE's Money in the Bank pay-per-view returns on July 1, emanating from The O2 Arena in London. Given that WWE still has Backlash (May 6 in San Juan) and Night of Champions (May 27 in Jeddah) booked ahead of that, WWE obviously hasn't confirmed anything for the show as of mid-April. But, according to wrestling insider WRKD Wrestling, there is already a frontrunner to win this year's Men's Money in the Bank briefcase — LA Knight.

Knight spent the start of 2023 feuding with Bray Wyatt, culminating in their Pitch Black Match at the Royal Rumble in late January. But even as his popularity continued to increase, Knight was left off WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles. He's also only won one match on TV since the Rumble while racking up losses against the likes of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. 

And while winning the briefcase could give Knight a massive boost up the card, the gimmick itself is currently at its lowest point. Austin Theory broke from the norm when he won the briefcase last year, attempting to challenge Seth Rollins for the United States Championship in November instead of going after a world championship. He lost his cash-in attempt in unceremonious fashion. Meanwhile, the past four winners of the Women's briefcase have cashed in within 24 hours of winning the ladder match, indicating WWE wants the women's briefcase out of the equation as soon as possible. 

But while Paul "Triple H" Levesque has seemingly started moving away from gimmick-based pay-per-views, he has indicated the Money in the Bank standalone will continue. He was asked about gimmick pay-per-views like Hell in a Cell following Survivor Series last November. 

"Hell in a Cell stepping away, for me... I think there's a lot of feeling that Hell in a Cell is one of those things that it's a giant blow-off. If you're calling somebody out at the end of something, you can challenge them to the Hell in a Cell. I hear this speculation among fans a lot, and all of you (reporters) as well: Hell in a Cell, Money in the Bank, Elimination Chamber. Maybe those things should all go away," he said.

"No one is ever going to challenge somebody and go, 'That's it, I'm tired of you, I'm challenging you to an Elimination Chamber match with five other guys.' It doesn't work, right? Same thing, 'That does it, I challenge you to Money in the Bank.' Right? I feel like there's a difference there," he continued. "I think we have to re-evaluate all of that. I think we have to look at that. It's really looking at the overall calendar and saying what is the best place to put this? What is the best way to entertain our fans? What makes the most sense, one after the other?"

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