This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown featured the final two qualifiers for this year’s Money in the Bank ladder matches, meaning we now have a complete field for both.
That means we can talk about who we think is going to win.
They loaded up both matches with exciting up-and-coming talent who absolutely have the chance to break through to the main event scene in the near future. But there are also a couple of veterans in the mix who could play spoiler on that.
Let’s start with the men’s match:
I really like this field and think it represents an ideal mix of hungry young lions and veterans who are getting a bit long in the tooth but are still being relied upon to carry the show on a week-to-week basis. It’s entirely possible and maybe even likely that CM Punk wins this match.
I would hate that.
Owens sits in a similar category. The others are the rising stars WWE is going to have to build around as we move into the future, and you could plug Je’Von Evans, Bron Breakker, Trick Williams, and Penta into a randomizer wheel, spin it, and be happy with the result.
For my money, I’m leaning Trick, but won’t be surprised if they go Penta.
On to the women’s match:
This one is all about youth. Look at the age of everyone in this match:
- Jacy Jayne – 30
- Lash Legend – 29
- Lola Vice – 28
- Tiffany Stratton – 27
- Sol Ruca – 27
- Roxanne Perez – 24
Stratton joined the main roster in Jan. 2024, Perez in May 2025, Legend in November 2025, and the rest were called up this year. Veteran mainstays like Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair aren’t going anywhere anytime soon but make no mistake about it, this right here is the future.
Based on television so far, it’s hard telling who is going to win. Stratton has done it before. Jayne is currently United States champion and has a faction to help her out. Legend has her tag team partner, Nia Jax, to assist her. Perez has The Judgment Day, if they so choose to get involved. There are many ways they could go with this.
I’ll throw a dart at the board and say Perez gets the push, seeing as they can take that many directions alongside Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. But there really isn’t a wrong answer in this match.
Who ya got, Cagesiders?
