Women's Money In The Bank 2021: Who Deserves It the Most?

For the fifth straight year, WWE's Money in the Bank PPV will feature a women's match under that same title, but it will be the sixth such match overall. The Money in the Bank Ladder Match first came to be back in 2005, with Edge winning the first ever match at WrestleMania 21. The prize, as we know, is a briefcase containing a contract for a World Championship match at any time within the next year, and per tradition, the briefcase is actually "cashed in" when said winner hands in the briefcase and usually does so against a prone and beaten champion. The two times it wasn't: 2006 (the contract was actually taken out and signed; Rob Van Dam was the holder) and 2012 (the holder--John Cena--announced his plan to cash in a week later).

The MITB Ladder Match was a WrestleMania staple until 2010, when WWE debuted the Money in the Bank PPV that featured the titular match. It wasn't until 2017 that the women competed in that exact match, and Carmella made history by becoming the match's first winner. However, after having the briefcase taken from her due to James Ellsworth getting it for her, a rematch took place, with Carmella winning again. Joining Carmella on the list of Women's MITB winners was Alexa Bliss (2018), Bayley (2019), and Asuka (2020). Bayley's MITB win saw her cash in on Charlotte Flair and win the SmackDown Women's Championship, and it was that reign, the loss of the title, and the regaining of the same title that led to Bayley's memorable heel turn later that year. And as for Asuka's win, the following day saw two reveals, one of them being that Asuka was actually competing for the Raw Women's Championship in the match, due to Becky Lynch (the longtime titleholder) revealing that she was relinquishing the title due to being pregnant.

The field for this year's match is now set, and the eight women competing in this match are as follows. From Raw: Asuka (last year's winner), Alexa Bliss (2018 winner), Nikki A.S.H. (Almost a SuperHero), and Naomi. From SmackDown: Liv Morgan, Zelina Vega, Natalya, and Tamina. Originally, Carmella was supposed to participate in the match, as she was the first SmackDown representative announced by Sonya Deville; however, Bayley's crippling injury forced plans to change, as she was set to again challenge Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at the event. Sonya announced that Carmella will now compete for the title on SmackDown, and that Liv Morgan will replace Carmella in the ladder match.

So with all of that, this fan is having a heck of a time deciding which particular competitor to go for. Because of that, I'm just going to tell you which three of the combatants deserve that briefcase the most.

Nikki A.S.H.

To this indy wrestling fan, she'll always be Nikki Storm, the greatest in the galaxy. She had been Nikki Cross since her WWE debut in 2016, and she had gone through quite a few changes in the five years she's been in WWE. Originally, she was the unhinged wild card, though she did have a voice when she was paired up with Alexa Bliss, which saw her serve as one half of the Women's Tag Team Champions with Bliss on two occasions. We have seen her blossom with Bliss, and even after their partnership came to an end with Bliss' demonic transformation, but for a while, we hadn't really seen Nikki Cross on WWE TV.

It was very recently that Nikki returned with the superhero costume, though she referred to herself as Nikki A.S.H., claiming that she's "Almost a SuperHero." The gimmick might seem silly to some, and it can be seen as a desperate reach, but it is working. It's because of this that Nikki really deserves MITB. Other than the tag title runs with Alexa Bliss, Nikki hasn't really been elevated due to her own merit. That time should come with MITB.

Liv Morgan

Liv Morgan has been in WWE now for seven years; at age 27, she's a veteran! She debuted on the main roster as one-third of The Riott Squad with Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan, but now, she is the last one standing. Liv is another one who had really been on the short end of the stick in her time in WWE. After splitting up the Riott Squad trio, we didn't see much of Liv on WWE TV, and it wasn't until the end of 2019 that Liv resurfaced and began a gimmick that saw her revealed as Lana's former flame, a gimmick that died as quickly as it began. Liv later feuded with an evil Ruby Riott, though the two later reconciled and reformed the Riott Squad as a duo, but with Ruby gone from WWE, Liv is on her own once again.

Liv is another one who is definitely worthy and deserving of the MITB briefcase, because she's had way too many bumps in the road in the last year and a half in WWE. She appeared to have a storyline one in the form of Sonya Deville, but that appears to be kiboshed...for now.

Zelina Vega

The big story in this thing is...Zelina Vega's back! We all know what happened; Zelina was let go due to WWE's refusal to let her do her thing on Twitch. To say their decision was knee-jerk was an understatement, especially since Zelina was basically Melina 2.0--just shining and showing out as a scheming and diabolical manager. She was originally sent to SmackDown prior to her unjust firing, but WWE made it up to Zelina by bringing her back as an announced competitor in the MITB Ladder Match.

However, the question is: is WWE not finished making it up to her? Could we see Zelina win MITB? She definitely deserves something, especially with how wrongly she was canned months ago. I'm definitely not ruling it out; pretty much anything is possible.

I still don't know which one of these three that I am going for the most, but I'll be happy with any of them winning it. Basically, as long as the winner isn't someone who didn't need it (Alexa and Asuka), I'm pretty much set.

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