Winning a Money in the Bank Ladder Match virtually guarantees that a Superstar will become a World Champion, which is why this weekend’s multi-man melees are, simply put, among the most important matches of the year.

In total, 14 Superstars ( maybe 13?) will be vying for two World Championship Match contracts on pay-per-view Sunday. One field, competing for a WWE Title Match contract, is made up of veritable all-stars, established warriors who have excelled under the bright lights of the main event. The other contest, with a World Heavyweight Title Match contract hanging in the balance, consists of seven brash Superstars on the rise, four of whom weren’t even on the WWE radar before last year.

But which of these warriors needs to win a World Title Match contract the most?

That’s the question we posed to you, the WWE Universe. Now that the votes have been tallied, see which five Superstars you believe should view this weekend’s ceremonies in the direst terms.

Winning a Money in the Bank Ladder Match virtually guarantees that a Superstar will become a World Champion, which is why this weekend’s multi-man melees are, simply put, among the most important matches of the year.

In total, 13 Superstars will be vying for two World Championship Match contracts on pay-per-view Sunday.  One field, competing for a WWE Title Match contract, is made up of veritable all-stars, established warriors who have excelled under the bright lights of the main event. The  other contest, with a World Heavyweight Title Match contract hanging in the balance, consists of seven brash Superstars on the rise, four of whom weren’t even on the WWE radar before last year.

But which of these warriors needs to win a World Title Match contract the most?

That’s the question we posed to you, the WWE Universe. Now that the votes have been tallied, see which five Superstars you believe should view this weekend’s ceremonies in the direst terms.

5. Wade Barrett

The lone competitor from this Sunday’s World Heavyweight Title Match Contract Money in the Bank Ladder Match to land in the top five vote-getters is Wade Barrett. Ever since winning the first season of WWE NXT in 2010, The Bare-Knuckle Brawler has carved out a mean reputation as a fighter who is more than capable of hanging with WWE’s elite.

That said, Barrett hasn’t exactly broken through into the top tier, despite having competed in WWE pay-per-view main events and holding pinfall victories over some of WWE’s biggest names. A former three-time Intercontinental Champion, Barrett has not received a single World Title opportunity this year. (He twice fought World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio, but both matches were non-title.)

Given that recent track record, it may be some time before The Barrett Barrage is granted a World Title Match by SmackDown General Manager Booker T or Senior Advisor Theodore Long, making this Sunday’s match all that more important.

4. Daniel Bryan

Although it is barely halfway through, 2013 has been a watershed year for Money in the Bank All-Star Daniel Bryan. He rebounded swimmingly from Team Hell No’s WWE Tag Team Title loss, competing in several of the early candidates for “match of the year” honors. He made Randy Orton tap out on Raw, perhaps finally shedding the “weak link” complex once and for all.

Watch Daniel Bryan's bold briefcase grab

Still, the submission specialist — considered among the most complete wrestlers today — finds himself battling headwinds that seemingly emanate from the C-suite of WWE Headquarters. In backstage conversations with former Raw Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon repeatedly alluded to Bryan being an unlikely fit for WWE’s main event. One way WWE’s “Yes!” man could guarantee himself a WWE Title Match would be by scaling the ladder and reaching the Money in the Bank briefcase before the six other All-Stars can get their hands on it this Sunday.

3. CM Punk

He may have been the longest-reigning WWE Champion of the modern era, but that doesn’t mean a quick return to the WWE Title scene is a given for CM Punk. Think about the major developments that have occurred for The Straight Edge Superstar since his last WWE Championship Match. He no longer has Paul Heyman, one of the squared circle’s savviest negotiators, in his corner. Plus, Punk has drawn the ire of Brock Lesnar, as dangerous a distraction as there could be for a possible World Title contender.

A win in the Money in the Bank All-Stars Ladder Match would go a long way in offering Punk some sorely needed solace. It would bypass the need for him to devote attention to convincing an authority figure he’s deserving of an opportunity (effectively offsetting the loss of Heyman), and that luxury, in turn, could free up Punk to focus on the threat looming in the distance: The Anomaly.

2. Randy Orton

Rare is the occasion when a nine-time World Champion can be considered in severe need of a guaranteed title opportunity, but such is the strange case of Randy Orton.

The Viper has a sterling record against top-notch opponents, he elicits as stirring a reaction from the WWE Universe as any other Superstar and his unsettling ability to snap at a moment’s notice makes him among WWE’s most dangerous fighters.

Yet, if he were judged on title accolades alone, Orton hasn’t looked a whole lot like WWE’s Apex Predator of late. Orton’s last World Heavyweight Championship reign ended in September 2011, and he hasn’t had the WWE Title around his waist since November 2010.

Add in his recent high-profile loss to Daniel Bryan on Raw and resurfacing questions that The Viper has, indeed, “lost his bite,” and the Money in the Bank All-Stars Ladder Match might as well be thought of as a must-win for Orton.

1. Rob Van Dam

It might not come as much of a surprise that the returning Rob Van Dam garnered more votes than anyone else. A one-time WWE Champion (thanks, in large part, to his Money in the Bank Ladder Match victory in 2006), RVD will be competing in his first WWE match in more than four years this Sunday. What better way for the in-ring innovator to make a (Five Star Frog) splash in WWE — and just as importantly, reestablish himself as belonging in the World Title conversation — than by grabbing hold of the briefcase Sunday?

Other than amazing, mind-blowing aerial stunts and death-defying maneuvers, it’s unclear what to expect from RVD’s performance against a group of Superstars with whom he is not all that familiar. Yet, you can be sure Van Dam is amply motivated to remind fans why he once owned the moniker of “Mr. Pay-Per-View.”