The WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view takes place this weekend. On the go-home episode of Monday Night Raw, fans learned the identity of the sixth and final member of the men's match. The odds for the winner of the briefcase instantly changed.
Before Monday night, most odds listed Aleister Black as the favorite to walk out with the briefcase. However, according to Betonline.ag, the odds immediately switched and listed AJ Styles as the only wrestler favored to win the match. The other five superstars are underdogs. However, while that isn't a surprise, the ranking of the other members of the men's match has some slight surprises. Here is a look at the betting odds for the men's Money in the Bank match Sunday night.
AJ STYLES (-125)
The man who joined the Money in the Bank match on Monday Night Raw was AJ Styles. He replaced Apollo Crews, who won a spot by beating MVP, but then suffered a leg injury, causing him to surrender his spot. A gauntlet match took place on Raw, and Styles was the final entrant. He submitted Humberto Carrillo and earned the sixth spot.
There is a theory as to why Styles entered the Money in the Bank match. Recently, Vince McMahon made comments that it takes a while to build new stars in WWE, and he felt the low ratings were because the new superstars on top were not readily accepted yet by the fans. Some took this as a slam on the new WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre. If McMahon wants to take the title off McIntyre because he is "not ready," there is no way he puts it on someone with less experience.
No one in this match outside of Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan has more experience than Styles. With Bryan on SmackDown, that makes Styles winning the briefcase seem like a no-brainer.
ALEISTER BLACK (+200)
Before Styles entered the Money in the Bank match, the favored wrestler to win was Aleister Black. He is still second in odds to Styles, but the fact is that Black has less experience and less of a connection with the fans than McIntyre. If McMahon wants to put the title on a safe champion, that man would not be Black.
However, this match could create an exciting storyline. The one person Styles targeted in his promo was Black. The wrestlers even had back-and-forth promos, where Styles threatened to throw Black off the roof of WWE headquarters, and Black said Styles better hope he never gets back up if he does. It sounds like WWE is planning a feud between the two, and this could happen before the winner cashes in their MitB contract. Styles and Black are obvious favorites due to their status on Raw and the fact they appear ready to start a feud.
OTIS (+400)
Possibly the most surprising of all the odds for the Money in the Bank PPV is Otis being the third most favored wrestler to win the men's match. WWE has built up Otis to be the big, loveable oaf that fans can get behind. However, when it comes to the Money in the Bank briefcase, is there a less likely man to carry it than Otis? Unless WWE has plans to have Dolph Ziggler challenge him for it in an attempt to screw over the man who stole Mandy Rose from him, there is no reason to consider Otis as a favorite.
Even if the Ziggler scenario happens, it could result in a huge letdown for fans who get excited every year when it comes to the Money in the Bank PPV. Despite this, no one on Friday Night SmackDown has better odds of winning than Otis.
DANIEL BRYAN (+600)
Daniel Bryan ranks fourth for the best odds to win the men's Money in the Bank match this year and the second-best for the SmackDown competitors. With that said, Bryan is likely in this match due to his experience in ladder matches in general. He won the IC title in a ladder match at WrestleMania and is a former winner of the MitB match. With that said, if The Fiend beats Braun Strowman for the Universal title, it makes little sense to revisit the feud with Daniel Bryan.
Likewise, with Bryan as a babyface again, a feud with Braun Strowman makes no sense either, and a cash-in by Bryan on a babyface Strowman wouldn't help either wrestler. If anyone else were the champion on SmackDown, Bryan would be a legitimate contender. As it is right now, Bryan winning doesn't make much sense this year.
BARON CORBIN (+800)
One of the biggest surprises is that Baron Corbin is a longshot to win the Money in the Bank briefcase this year. Fans absolutely hate Corbin, and giving him the briefcase again would make them hate him even more. There is also the fact that he won in 2017 and failed in his cash-in. A win here could be a redemption moment for him and give him something other than the King of the Ring to rub in fan's faces.
REY MYSTERIO (+1200)
Finally, there is Rey Mysterio Jr., the man that oddsmakers believe has the least chance of winning this match. Mysterio is 45 and has slowed down drastically as he gets older. He is still a smart wrestler, and a Money in the Bank win is something he has yet to achieve in his career. However, he is past the age right now to become world champion, and Mysterio holding the briefcase seems the least likely way to get fans excited about it this year.