Michael Cole believes Money in the Bank is closing the gap on WWE’s biggest annual events, with its career-changing opportunities making it a key date on the wrestling calendar.

Speaking to OutKick ahead of tonight’s show at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Cole placed Money in the Bank just below Royal Rumble and Survivor Series. He feels it still has ground to make up on WrestleMania and SummerSlam, but its importance continues to grow.

“Money in the Bank, for us, is right up there. Almost at the same level as the Royal Rumble, Survivor Series. Not quite WrestleMania or SummerSlam, but it’s getting there. It’s such an important part of our calendar because it’s an opportunity for a man and a woman to change their entire career and change their lives.

“When you climb the ladder and grab the briefcase, a contract is inside that you can cash in for a title opportunity whenever you want it. And this year’s field is so great. There’s some veterans. There’s a lot of rookies. So it’s going to be amazing to see who has an opportunity to really change their life around.”

That unpredictability also plays a part in how Cole approaches commentary. He explained that Money in the Bank is one of the matches where he would rather discover the winner alongside the audience, allowing his excitement to come naturally.

Cole pointed to two major WrestleMania moments as examples of his reaction being entirely spontaneous.

“Sometimes, I don’t like to know the ending of matches. The Money in the Bank match is a great example. I want the excitement to take over. There have been some great matches over the years where I didn’t know the finish for: The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar when Brock Lesnar defeated Undertaker and ended his undefeated streak at WrestleMania. I didn’t know that was going to happen. I didn’t know that Seth Rollins was going to cash in the Money in the Bank at WrestleMania. ‘Heist of the Century’ I came up with on the fly.”

According to a Saturday morning update from WrestleTix, 12,282 tickets had been distributed for tonight’s event. The cheapest standard admission ticket was listed at $71.90.

Tonight marks WWE’s 17th Money in the Bank premium live event, following the first standalone show in 2010. The ladder match itself began at WrestleMania 21 in 2005.

Do you agree with Michael Cole, or has Money in the Bank already overtaken Royal Rumble or Survivor Series? Share your thoughts in the comments.