I won’t fully believe it until the bell rings for the first match, but is WWE actually going to present a major PLE from New Orleans this weekend? Miracle! If another city offers up a big check in the next 12 hours, Nick Khan certainly would consider ditching The Big Easy again, but even he’s up against the clock now.
The event is WWE Money in the Bank 2026 and it will emanate from inside the Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans on Saturday night. This event was the consolation prize the city of New Orleans got when Khan yanked WrestleMania 42 from the Superdome. Money in the Bank isn’t WrestleMania, but WWE has stacked this show and put a strong foot forward in terms of big matches for storylines ready for payoffs.
Ladder Match season
Money in the Bank is of course led by the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches. You know the drill. Stars climb the ladder to try and grab the briefcase. If they do it, they win a guaranteed world championship match whenever they want it. A pretty damn good prize.
A lot of Money in the Bank ladder matches lately have gone through the motions. Stars are in the match for various reasons, but those reasons are typically disconnected and therefore make for a disconnected match by the time the ladders come out and the match begins. This year’s matches are the opposite.
The competitors in each match have a purpose for being there. For the men, the field is CM Punk, Kevin Owens, Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans, Penta, and Bron Breakker. Check this out. Punk and Owens are your veteran main event talents raising the tide. Williams and Breakker are the up and comers, Evans is the high-flyer set for some highlight reel stunts, and Penta is organically over babyface that the audience wants to see win.
Same thing on the women’s side. The field is Lash Legend, Sol Ruca, Tiffany Stratton, Roxanne Perez, Jacy Jayne, and Lola Vice. Stratton and Perez are the roster veterans. Legend, Jayne, and Vice are your up and comers, and Ruca is the wild action act set to take big bumps and hit high-risk moves.
In both matches, the fields make sense in the ring and from a storyline perspective. Both should be excellent. Picks? You want picks? Bron Breakker and Roxanne Perez. Boom. Take that to the bank!
Breakker needs a massive win. He’s seen some bad things in terms of booking since he began on the main roster and has yet to earn a signature victory. A Money in the Bank victory would change that. Not only would it get him a title shot down the road, but he’ll be able to spend time hovering around the title and the top of the card because of the briefcase. The win repairs Breakker and he’s still an important part of WWE’s future.
As for Perez? Same kind of thing. Her and Breakker aren’t anything alike in terms of character, but their main roster runs have been somewhat similar. Stunted. Like Breakker, a Perez win notches her a signature victory and plants her right in the middle of the top level action on Raw. Plus, she can move forward as a babyface or a heel with the briefcase because of her involvement with Liv Morgan, Becky Lynch, and Stephanie Vaquer. She gives the company options and they’ll take them.
The main event … yeah!
The Money in the Bank event is led by these ladder matches, but neither will be a main event this year. That distinction will go to Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
LA Knight has called this world title opportunity a last chance. He might be right, but that belt isn’t getting strapped around his waist. My guard is up for this match due to the fact that The Bloodline and 946 have been embroiled in a wildly personal feud that will inevitably reach Roman Reigns. Will that happen here? Maybe? I doubt it, but guard up! Nothing could add a hotter log to the fire of Bloodline vs. 946 than Royce Keys and Co. costing Reigns the match and his world championship.
Not out of the realm of possibility, but unlikely. First of all, what a waste of title win for LA Knight. His crowning moment is built on the shoulders of a heel faction? He begged Reigns during the match build to wrestle and try to win on his own, but then wins himself because of outside help? Knight would look awful after booking like that and they know it.
The 946 may mix it up with Roman Reigns at this event, but it’ll come after Reigns lays waste to and defeats Knight. You heard that right. Reigns over Knight to retain. Reigns goes on to 946 and Oba Femi business. Knight gets back down to the upper mid-card.
Watch out for Paul Heyman
Finally, Oba Femi vs. Bronson Reed rounds out the big matches on the show. It’s a big match literally and figuratively. Femi and Reed have been seconds away from destroying one another on Raw for over a month now. On Saturday, they’ll get in the ring and try to settle their differences.
The build to the match has been straightforward and clear. Cheer Femi and jeer Reed. Femi has continued to cut strong, likable promos, and Reed has fended them off well with his own out of touch heel attitude. The Paul Heyman factor will be important here. Heyman isn’t going babyface to manage Femi. They don’t mesh unless Femi is a heel and why would WWE make that move right now when Femi is about to hit a new stratosphere when it comes to popularity and momentum.
It’s time for my bold prediction for the night. Reed over Femi thanks to Paul Heyman. Bam. Conventional wisdom tells you that Femi shouldn’t be doing a job right now. He’s positioned as the next big thing and genuinely acts like it. You don’t slow that down for any reason. Well, except for this one.
WWE has a lot of content to produce between now and WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia. Television, social media, YouTube. They have a lot of mouths to feed. Even though Femi is a made guy with an incredible look, WWE clearly wants him to be inside of specific storylines that they can leverage later for matches. They can’t realistically do that with Femi if he simply wins every match. Heyman helping Reed get the victory puts Femi in a direct clash with Heyman — there’s plenty of story there. It also puts Femi on a journey to the world title that fans can join him on.
WWE Money in the Bank 2026 airs live on ESPN Unlimited on Saturday night. Full preview and predictions from The Takedown on SI and the full card is below.
WWE Money in the Bank 2026 Full Match Card
Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight - WWE World Heavyweight Championship
CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens vs. Trick Williams vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Penta vs. Bron Breakker - Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Lash Legend vs. Sol Ruca vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Jacy Jayne vs. Lola Vice - Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Oba Femi vs. Bronson Reed
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch - WWE Women’s World Championship Triple Threat Match
WWE Money in the Bank 2026 Preview
What match will be the match of the night at Money in the Bank? Let us know in the comments!
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