Otis is headed to the most unique WWE Money In The Bank Ladder Match ever–can he win it? Steve Cook thinks he can…and he should!

The stage has been set for the most unique Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match of all time. The circumstances are like nothing we’ve ever seen before. You’ve got a one-of-a-kind setting in WWE Headquarters, with six men poised to fight their way from the ground floor to the top.

And six women will be doing the same thing at the same time, just to complicate things further.

The lineup of talent is impressive. You could make an argument for any of them to win.

AJ Styles & Rey Mysterio are two legendary competitors that are missing a Money In The Bank win from their resume. Rey especially wants one because he hasn’t forgotten the time Kane cashed in on him at the event. Now he has a chance to right that wrong years later, and he knows he doesn’t have too many chances left.

Styles is coming off a big loss to Undertaker in the Boneyard. He got the last slot into the match though, so momentum is on his side. A cagey veteran like Styles would be dangerous with the briefcase at his disposal. He’s also competed in more different types of matches than anybody else here. Years in TNA ensured that.

Daniel Bryan, like Styles & Mysterio, has years of experience and credibility behind him. He’s also won the match before. The man that’s spent much of his life fighting against the machine climbing the corporate ladder to victory would have multiple meanings to it.

King Corbin has also won the MITB Ladder Match before. The less said about his cash-in attempt on Jinder Mahal, the better. People will get mad about it, but there’s no doubt that Corbin is a future WWE or Universal Champion. He wins too many things, and we can argue about what kind of heat he gets, but the guy gets heat. Is now the time? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

Aleister Black is a man that people have predicted big things for since he arrived in WWE. He’s got that dark look & persona that WWE fans & officials love. Unlike the other men listed so far, Black doesn’t have a laundry list of main roster accomplishments. This would serve as a springboard to something more.

And then you have Otis.

Otis didn’t spend years and years busting it in the indies to get noticed. Hisn’t a guy like Aleister Black that came up from NXT with a ton of buzz. He was (still is, in fact) a tag team guy. One-half of Heavy Machinery, a team that hasn’t been taken very seriously as a threat to championships. Let’s just say they’re known more for steaks & weights than anything else.

You’d see them pop up here & there in backstage segments for laughs, but their 2019 wasn’t much to speak of from an in-ring perspective. They were bit players looking for a chance. While serving in that role, it became obvious that Otis was the standout of the team, at least from a personality perspective. No disrespect to Tucker, but Otis’s personality stands out anywhere. You don’t see people with Otis’s appearance, vocal chords or general demeanor very often, if at all.

Don’t get me wrong, Otis is a legit beast. Dude can lift weights & grapple with the best of them. He’s got amateur wrestling credibility. He looks like a dude that can kick your ass, and he most certainly would. At the same time, he doesn’t really have that look that WWE favors for its champions. He doesn’t have a scuplted physique. The weight is there, but the height isn’t. Not to mention the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a WWE Champion rock the cut-off t-shirt before. Maybe Shawn Michaels back in the 90s?

Shawn’s #1 Fan back then might be Otis’s #1 Fan now.

There was a report that came out this week that Vince McMahon is heavily behind Otis, and that doesn’t surprise me one bit. Vince has always loved hillbillies and other comedy characters. Doesn’t mean he’ll feature them in main events, but the guy likes to laugh and he thinks people that sound different are funny. I imagine the whole reason Heavy Machinery got called up to begin with was that Vince watched an NXT episode, caught one of their promos and thought it was funny. He probably also noticed that they were pretty large by human standards, which always helps.

From everything I’ve ever heard, Otis in real life is just like Otis on television. The man isn’t playing a part, he’s simply turning up the volume. When that’s the case, it’s a lot easier. He got over with people by doing that, and worked his way into a romance storyline with Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville & Dolph Ziggler that got over pretty well. The classic love story of the not-so-attractive guy with feelings for a girl in combat with the attractive guy who should probably get the girl based off how America works.

It’s not surprising that the angle worked. Got Otis over like a million bucks. Now is the time to make the next step. He’s got another big WWE Network match coming up this weekend. If he wins it, he gets a briefcase that entitles him to a title shot. He’s already teased using it for a tag team title shot, which shows he’s not quite sure how it works, but that’s fine.

I’ve always said that during times when people aren’t watching wrestling as much, promotions should experiment. They should try things they wouldn’t usually do. Obviously, what they would usually do isn’t working.

Why not try something different?

AJ Styles wouldn’t be different. Rey Mysterio wouldn’t be different. Daniel Bryan wouldn’t be different. King Corbin wouldn’t be different. Aleister Black would be kind of different, but can you imagine that guy carrying a briefcase for months on end?

You could imagine Otis carrying a briefcase. He’d probably put some sandwiches in it, but that’s part of his charm. He’s also completely unpredictable. Most MITB winners would strategize for when a champion is down & out. Otis? He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy. He’d probably go a different route with it, which is what the briefcase gimmick needs.

Otis needs to win this match. For heaven’s sake, his girl Mandy just lost her first match against Sonya Deville. We need to keep this couple credible, so they need to get some big wins. Sunday would be a big step in that direction.

PUT OTIS OVER, YOU COWARDS.