Ranking the Best Picks for Men's and Women's WWE Money in the Bank 2020 Winners

How WWE pulled off recording WrestleMania 36 will be talked about forever, but the machine clearly has no plans to stop, as Money in the Bank 2020 was promoted as the next pay-per-view during the biggest show of the year.

It will no longer take place at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore as originally scheduled, yet whether it takes place at the WWE Performance Center or another location, it seems the event will still happen May 10.

Everything changes on a daily basis these days because of the coronavirus pandemic, so it's unknown how and in what shape Money in the Bank will happen, which Superstars will be available to compete and what the landscape of WWE will be like. However, that shouldn't stop us from trying to look ahead to figure out what may go down.

Like previous years, we should expect a briefcase up for grabs for both the men's and women's divisions. But who should walk away with those guaranteed title shots?

Here are the top three picks for both ladder matches and some honorable mentions of who may be Mr. and Ms. Money in the Bank 2020.

Plenty of Superstars can win Money in the Bank. Some have seen claiming the briefcase kick off the best push of their career, while others have been complete duds. It depends on how WWE uses them.

Some honorable mentions for Ms. Money in the Bank who could work out, but it might not be the right time, are as follows.

Nia Jax made her return Monday after a year away healing from double ACL surgery. Someone of her size holding a random title opportunity is an immense looming threat to Becky Lynch's Raw Women's Championship reign.

However, she could fight Lynch for the title without that briefcase. She's a former champion and is the largest female athlete on the roster. It wouldn't take much convincing for her to get a title shot naturally.

While Shayna Baszler could use this as a means to get another crack at winning the title, she would be better off earning that conventionally, not stealing the belt.

Sonya Deville would be interesting if the SmackDown Women's Championship were on a babyface. She would never cash in on a heel Bayley, as there's no story there. Instead, she will be busy with Mandy Rose, who could be a great option for this if she didn't already have her feud featuring Otis and Dolph Ziggler to be wrapped up in.

Liv Morgan may be on some people's radar, but it may be too fast to give her that big of a push. She's progressing, for sure, but unless the plan is to keep her with the briefcase until the end of the year or longer, it would be premature to put her in that prominent of a spot.

Sometimes, the best thing to do in times of uncertainty is to stick with what's trustworthy.

Natalya is as much of a rock for the women's division as anyone could ask for. She is one of the most respected, longest-tenured women in the company and is extremely reliable.

Admittedly, The Queen of Harts isn't the most out-there pick. She's not in the midst of some red-hot major gimmick change, particularly after losing on the kickoff of WrestleMania.

But that's OK. Money in the Bank shouldn't be about the immediate payoff. It's better when it's a slow burn.

What Nattie would bring to this position is a stability that is needed in this time. She's not going to fly off the rails and ruin plans for the briefcase. Perhaps most important of all, if and when WWE needs a new champion on either brand, she can be trusted to cash in at a moment's notice, which is invaluable.

Likewise, she's someone who could cash in and lose without it ruining her career. She's sympathetic enough that fans wouldn't consider that a burial.

As a former champion, she's more than worthy of winning this and adding more to her legacy, if not also upgrading the briefcase's credibility in the process.

Bianca Belair has had "star" written all over her for a while. Even early in her NXT career, she stood out as a potential future champion with the ability, work ethic and it-factor to go far.

Now that she's on the Raw roster, the sky's the limit.

It may seem strange to give her such a huge role in the division so soon after her exit from NXT, but there's no set formula everyone has to follow for success. Some Superstars wait more than a decade to win their first world title, such as Drew McIntyre, while others are pushed to the moon immediately, such as Brock Lesnar.

Belair has played both babyface and heel well, which gives her flexibility as Ms. Money in the Bank. She could cash in on The Man and be the next champion or hold on to that title shot and take the belt from a heel who wins it from Lynch.

As she makes her own ring gear, it would also be interesting to see what designs Belair could come up with to spruce up the briefcase and make it her own. She has the flair to maximize that gimmick and get the most out of it before even winning the title, which she also deserves.

Given her name and status on the women's division hierarchy, how has Sasha Banks not been Ms. Money in the Bank yet?

The Boss, particularly as a heel, screams perfect pick. She could carry around that briefcase and call herself Ms. Money in the Banks. It writes itself in how obvious it is.

This would also give us the added bonus of WWE finally pulling the trigger on the Bayley-Banks feud that has been consistently teased for two years.

The blue brand is devoid of a story for this title hunt. It desperately needs something compelling in order for fans to care about the SmackDown Women's Championship. They don't want to see Bayley fighting Naomi or Lacey Evans some more.

Banks cashing in on Bayley, sacrificing their friendship in favor of winning the championship and reigniting their bitter rivalry from NXT is the way to do it.

It also would be fitting for Bayley to lose the title one year after winning it in a similar way, as she cashed in on Charlotte Flair in 2019.

Sami Zayn is so good at running his mouth and then running away that he would be an amazingly obnoxious Mr. Money in the Bank. As he beat Braun Strowman for the Intercontinental Championship, there's no doubt he would lord this briefcase over his head.

Just as he only beat The Monster Among Men in a handicap match, he would know he could only beat him for the universal title by cheating with the briefcase and never in a true one-on-one match. Then, if WWE wanted to balance the scales from Strowman's title loss, he could flatten Zayn upon his cash-in attempt and put that to rest.

However, he's still the intercontinental champion and feuding with Daniel Bryan, so those two and their surrounding partners, Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura and Drew Gulak, aren't the best picks for this year.

If WWE could use Bobby Lashley as a legitimate fighter and not saddle him with oddball love triangles and groan-inducing storylines, he could work as Mr. Money in the Bank. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be in the cards.

Another honorable mention is Samoa Joe. The Samoan Submission Machine would be a fierce threat with this briefcase, but there's no telling when he will be back in action after his suspension and injuries.

Bray Wyatt could have a twisted take on the briefcase design, yet wouldn't it be strange for The Fiend to wrestle in this style of a match? Also, he wouldn't need to cash in to fight for the title. He can just attack the champion on a whim to start a feud.

Last but not least is Seth Rollins. He's been successful with the briefcase before, memorably cashing in to win the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31. However, he is another who could fight for the world title without having to use this as an excuse. The Monday Night Messiah can take umbrage with McIntyre as the new champion and start a feud that way. There's no need to overcomplicate things.

Andrade is indisposed because of a rib injury that kept him from competing at WrestleMania. There's no telling whether he will be ready to go by May 10, but if that's a possibility, he could be the perfect person to win this year.

Andrade has a swagger to him that would go well with being Mr. Money in the Bank. With Zelina Vega by his side to tout his success and an impending near-guaranteed WWE Championship victory, it's a match made in heaven.

He does have the United States Championship, but The Miz held that belt and the briefcase at the same time in 2010. Andrade would just have to lose it before cashing in, which could happen on any episode of Raw.

Winning this could be what propels Andrade to the main event level. Angel Garza and Austin Theory can fill the gap for the midcard while Andrade gears up to be one of the better potential options to take the WWE Championship from McIntyre.

Kevin Owens ended his feud with Seth Rollins at WrestleMania and has since cut a promo about how he wants to get back to being a prizefighter.

As a babyface, it's not wise to put him against McIntyre anytime soon. That would create friction with the WWE Universe, who would have to pick sides between two of the top heroes of the red brand. But Owens should have the WWE Championship in his sights in some fashion.

Money in the Bank would allow him to pursue that title but not in the immediate future.

WWE could even milk this for a while by having Owens say that he doesn't want a cheap win and won't steal the belt. Instead, he would wait for the right opportunity for a legitimate fight. But in the meantime, The Prizefighter would still have his prize, which he could even defend.

The briefcase has been on the line six times in the past—one of which was Owens trying to win it from Braun Strowman at SummerSlam 2018.

Edge even managed to win Mr. Kennedy's in one of those, which means this is a malleable pick. If Owens isn't in a position where WWE wants him to take over as the top babyface or to turn heel to beat McIntyre, he could drop it to someone else.

Ideally, Owens would ride this to great success. He's one of WWE's best storytellers and in-ring performers and has been criminally passed over for top spots in the past.

It doesn't get much better than giving a guaranteed title shot to someone as reliably great as Owens. You can trust that whatever needs to happen, win or lose, he will get the job done.

AJ Styles isn't called The Phenomenal One for no reason. He's earned that moniker after decades of being one of the best professional wrestlers on the planet.

He's also one of the best options to carry a world title. He's proved himself able to handle that responsibility when he was WWE champion for more than a year.

As a heel, he's even better suited for something like being Mr. Money in the Bank.

It would bring out his pompous attitude and self-assurance in every promo. He would also be able to pull off constantly teasing a cash in while backing off like a coward.

His intelligence and talent make him an incredible threat to the champion, as he could win the belt in a normal match on any given night, let alone with the element of a surprise cash in.

Styles is also a fan favorite, so WWE knows if he were to win, people wouldn't be upset. They would just look forward to his cash in and be happy when that happens, even while his character is one of the biggest jerks on the roster.

The Money in the Bank briefcase works best on a heel who can skirt the rules, dance on the line between being a wimp and a credible fighter, believably win the title 24/7 and be someone WWE can trust won't screw up the responsibility.

Styles is that guy for 2020 and should be standing tall atop that ladder with the briefcase in his hands come May 10.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.