Money In The Bank 2018 Will Be A Co-Branded Event Alongside 'Big 4'

WWE's full 2018 PPV schedule was revealed today, as per a report by

. They are currently planning to hold 14 main roster pay per view events, consisting of five Raw shows, four SmackDown shows, and five co-branded PPVs.

The biggest story here is that Money In The Bank seems to have received a boost in importance. The only other co-branded shows are the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series - or WWE's traditional 'Big 4' pay per views. This has already prompted several fans to speculate that Money In The Bank could be regarded as the final member of a new 'Big 5'.

Next year's Money In The Bank will be held in Chicago, Illinois, which is particularly noteworthy as it was the site of CM Punk's hometown triumph in 2011. The show is widely regarded as one of the best WWE pay per views of the modern era - perhaps even of all time.

The full list of planned dates and locations for next year's PPVs is as follows:

• Royal Rumble, January 28th, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Elimination Chamber (Raw), February 25th, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Fastlane (SmackDown), March 11th, Columbus, Ohio
• WrestleMania 34, April 8th, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Backlash (Raw), May 6th, Newark, New Jersey
• Payback (SmackDown), May 28th, Baltimore, Maryland
• Money In The Bank, June 17th, Chicago, Illinois
• Battleground (Raw), July 15th, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• SummerSlam, August 19th, Brooklyn, New York
• Extreme Rules (Raw), September 16th, San Antonio, Texas
• Hell In A Cell (SmackDown), September 30th, Nashville, Tennessee
• TLC (Raw), October 21st, Boston, Massachusetts
• Survivor Series, November 18th, Los Angeles, California
• Clash Of Champions (SmackDown), December 16th, San Jose, California

Another curious aspect of this list is the fact that there is one less SmackDown-exclusive pay per view than Raw, leaving a sizeable gap without a solely blue-branded show between late May and late September.

Perhaps another PPV will be added, or perhaps SmackDown will play host to a Network Special such as Starrcade or a big overseas show. There is no word on that yet, however.