Possible reason why WWE chose to make Otis the Money In The Bank winner instead of AJ Styles
Otis surprised the world when he became the latest MITB contract holder by winning the ladder match at the WWE Headquarters. While Otis was the man who was holding the MITB briefcase when all was said and done, the win wasn't free of controversy.
Otis managed to become the MITB holder without even climbing the ladder. That may sound astounding but it was AJ Styles who had grabbed the briefcase by climbing the ladder which unfortunately slipped from his hands and landed right with Otis.
This finish led many fans to believe that a story between Styles and Otis may follow as AJ Styles could be argued to be the actual winner of the match even though WWE announced Otis as the winner.
It has been argued that if Asuka was declared the winner as soon as she unhooked the briefcase then by that logic, AJ Styles should have been declared the men's MITB winner.
The reason why WWE may not have a storyline with Otis and AJ Styles
Wade Keller of PWTorch revealed on his podcast why WWE did not address the controversial finish and decided to go with Otis as the official winner of the match instead of the former WWE Champion AJ Styles:
AJ Styles has an argument, they didn't make it last night though. So, I think they are going to stick with this. The argument is like the NFL, did he ever have sole possession of the briefcase or was he fumbling with it since the moment Corbin lost grip after Elias hit him from behind.
He further cited NFL's example stating that no sole possession would mean that it won't be counted. He also stated that it could just be that WWE is not paying attention to it like they have done several times in the past including Ronda Rousey not being pinned.
He said that WWE will just conveniently ignore it if it doesn't make sense. So if they don't make a storyline of it, then the explanation would be that you need complete possession of the briefcase when you pull it down. Find out here what WWE could have in store for Otis' future after winning MITB.
Otis' plans after winning the MITB match
There had been speculation that Otis may choose to cash-in his MITB contract for the SmackDown tag-team Championships as he had mentioned in an interview that he would be interested in doing so.
While speaking on WWE's The Bump, Otis talked about what he plans to do now that he has become the MITB holder, saying that he plans to cash-in 'sooner rather than later'.
There is not much to bask in. It’s just, in my personality, sooner the better. Sooner or later, this bad boy is getting cashed in. I don’t care if the opponent sees me coming, or sees it from the side, see me coming from behind, which I usually never do.
On the topic of which Championship the Heavy Machinery member would go after, here is what he had to say:
I don’t know what title yet, I haven’t decided yet but my brain just does this [motions his finger around his head]. So it is basically whatever comes next but I am going to say sooner [rather] than later. Oh yeah! I ain’t waiting, never been a patient man!”
It will be interesting to see what direction WWE will take with Otis in the coming time and if AJ Styles challenges Otis for the MITB briefcase.
AJ Styles wasn't too pleased with the finish of the match and had tweeted that he was 'cheated.'