Evidently, Carmella is making some noise this week and she and her Money in the Bank briefcase make a trip to New Orleans for WrestleMania 34. Now that the blond bombshell has held the first ever women’s MITB briefcase, it remains to be scene if she will use the biggest night on WWE’s calendar to cash in her prize and possibly become the SmackDown Live Women’s Champion.
I sure hope not.
The whole storyline with Carmella winning the briefcase, with the aid of James Ellsworth and her teasing a cash-in the past few weeks leads me to believe it won’t be long before she truly takes a shot at winning gold, her first ever title in WWE.
The only problem is how the company will book such an event. I was going over several scenarios in my head as to how Carmella finally finds the chutzpah to make this happen. I had trouble coming up with a straight solution, so I called fellow wrestling writer Sarah Hirsch, who helped me smooth things out.
According to wrestlinginc.com, “WWE noted Carmella has held the Money in the Bank contract for 277 days. At a live event Carmella told Charlotte, “Ms. Money in the Bank! 277 days, baby! Charlotte better watch her back.” Carmella has attempted to cash-in twice, failing both times.”
This has disaster written all over it.
“The first time, she mistakenly kicked the referee out of the ring and the other Charlotte booted Carmella out of the ring before she could get the match started. At WrestleMania 34, SmackDown Women’s Champion will face Asuka, while Carmella is expected to be in the Women’s Battle Royal,” Joshua Gagnon added.
The Asuka-Charlotte confrontation at WrestleMania 34 must happen, but the outcome should determine how WWE moves forward. I could see a program where The Queen is booked to beat the “Empress of Tomorrow” to end the streak and keep her title. Carmella cashes in and wins the blue brand title. On Tuesday night, Asuka challenges Carmella and claims gold, and will face Charlotte once again in May with the title on the line.
Even if Asuka loses at WrestleMania and the streak ends, a match like this still allows her to look strong and part of a very elite main event picture.
There, problem solved. Not really.
The idea as we all know is for the MITB winner to claim the company title. Carmella hasn’t been booked as a strong character, more like an afterthought in the main event picture. The lack of depth in each women’s division makes it hard to come up with a legitimate program for Carmella because of the strength of both Asuka and Charlotte. Against Becky Lynch, Naomi or Natalya, she holds her own. Her cunning and deceptive ways are perfect in this type of situation. The real problem is she is not a believable champion.
There have been MITB winners that failed to claim their prize. Damien Sandow, Mr. Kennedy, Daniel Bryan, John Cena and Baron Corbin are the famous five who tried and did not succeed. Because Carmella’s MITB contract is the first of its kind, there must be a resolution to this growing issue. WWE must book the pay-per-view better this year. It’s also conceivable that a move to Monday Night Raw when the company has its ‘Superstar Shakeup” will provide more opportunities for her to shine.