On Sunday night, eight men and eight women go into battle in hopes of securing the briefcase at the top of the ladder to become the Money in the Bank (MITB) holder, giving them a chance to become champion down the road. The opportunity to cash-in whenever you desire is one that has become a custom for the WWE since 2005 as it has created world champion after world champion, as well as new women’s champions back to back years. And now 14 years down the road, the men will have their 20th Money in the Bank ladder match and the women will look to continue building on their own Money in the Bank history. Let us look at the overall history of Money in the Bank and how it has made dreams come true while also hurt others in their failures to succeed, especially in recent years.
Stats & Facts – MITB
Money in the Bank was a match thought out and invented by Chris Jericho to give a wrestler a brand-new opportunity to become a world champion someday in their career. There has been 19 Men’s Money in the Bank matches dating all the way back to 2005 at WrestleMania 21 and took place at WrestleMania all the way to 26 before the Money in the Bank PPV was born in the summer of 2010. Out of those 19 male winners, there have been 15 successful cash-ins giving it a 79% chance of being successful. The four failed cash-ins were done by John Cena (2012), Damien Sandow (2013), Baron Corbin (2017), and Braun Strowman just last year. Two of those failed cash-ins were planned out matches that gave the champion time to prepare for at least a week.
Here is how each cash-in has gone down:
Edge (WrestleMania 21, 2005)
The Rated-R Superstar won the first ever Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania 21. There have been plenty of stories as to how the first briefcase was handled behind the scenes, with Edge even discussing it on his podcast. No one backstage knew what to do with the briefcase which led to Edge holding it for almost an entire year. Edge brought up on his podcast how he pitched the idea to cash-in on John Cena at New Year’s Revolution on January 8th of 2006 following the Elimination Chamber match where he defended the title. On day 280, he’d cash in to defeat John Cena, winning the WWE Championship and creating the aura behind the Money in the Bank briefcase and what it could do for a superstar. Edge was made into a main event star that night when he won his first world championship, forever changing his career for the better.
Rob Van Dam (WrestleMania 22, 2006)
RVD went into WrestleMania 22 as the fan favorite to win the Money in the Bank ladder match and managed to do exactly that. The cash-in by RVD would be completely different from Edge months prior, however, but also the same. RVD would do the same as Edge, cashing in on John Cena but with a catch. He would announce it prior, giving him a chance to prepare as they would battle in the main event of ECW One Night Stand in 2006. This would not only mark the return of ECW as a brand but a return to the vintage feel of ECW in the Hammerstein Ballroom. RVD would ultimately beat John Cena, winning the WWE Championship while also being crowned the ECW Champion at the same time. This would be RVD’s only world title in the company, but it would also move him to a brighter light in the world of wrestling.
Mr. Kennedy / Edge (WrestleMania 23, 2007)
For months, Mr. Kennedy was built up as the next big star in the WWE. He would defeat multiple world champions one-on-one including the Undertaker. Kennedy would head into WrestleMania 23 with tons of momentum and would carry that momentum to a Money in the Bank victory. He would then let the world know that he planned to cash-in the following year at WrestleMania 24. Of course, plans change in wrestling as Kennedy was injured in what was thought to be serious but turned out to just be a simple sprain after the fact but the plan was set in motion for Edge to beat him in a one-on-one on the May 7th edition of Raw in 2007. Edge would cash-in the day after at the Friday Night SmackDown taping following the Undertaker vs Batista Steel Cage match and the beat down of the Undertaker by Mark Henry following the match. Edge would win the World Heavyweight Championship and make SmackDown his show for the foreseeable future.
CM Punk (WrestleMania 24, 2008)
The indie darling and straight-edge enthusiast would win the MITB match at WrestleMania 24. CM Punk would hold the briefcase for 92 days before cashing in on Edge and beating him for the World Heavyweight Championship, bringing the championship over to Raw for the first time since 2005. Punk has said in his own DVD done by WWE that he expected to be the first to fail but was pleasantly surprised when he was told he was cashing in successfully. Punk’s prestige would only get bigger from this and in years later.
CM Punk (WrestleMania 25, 2009)
CM Punk would be the first and only superstar to win back-to-back Money in the Bank matches, as well as the only one to win two actual Money in the Bank matches. At WrestleMania 25, he accomplished the feat while standing tall over his opponents at the top of the ladder. Following Jeff Hardy winning back the World Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match against Edge at Extreme Rules 2009, CM Punk’s music would hit as he’d cash-in on fan-favorite Hardy and win the world title for a second straight year with the briefcase.
Jack Swagger (WrestleMania 26, 2010)
The “All-American American” Jack Swagger would successfully win the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania 26 by defeating the biggest field of all time, as it included 10 superstars in the matchup. Swagger would have the quickest cash-in of all-time at this point when he would do so just two days later at the Friday Night SmackDown taping on Chris Jericho to become the World Heavyweight Champion following an attack by Edge on Jericho prior. One Gutwrench Powerbomb later and Swagger would be world champion, his only world title reign during his time in the WWE.
Kane (MITB, 2010)
A story created where Kane went on a mission to avenge his brother who had been put in a vegetative state would hit a key part of the story when he’d dominate the SmackDown MITB match at the first Money in the Bank PPV. He would quickly turnaround and cash-in the same night, holding the briefcase for just 49 minutes. He’d cash-in on a weak Rey Mysterio, hitting a Tombstone and winning the World Heavyweight Championship for his brother as he tried to blame Mysterio for what happened.
The Miz (Money in the Bank, 2010)
Sometimes the Money in the Bank makes a star from just having the briefcase. This was one of those times, as The Miz won the match and was almost guaranteed to someday win the WWE Championship as no one had failed before. Many fans believed Miz would blow the opportunity, but instead would successfully cash-in on WWE Champion Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship on the November 23rd Raw. Orton made it difficult for The Miz as he came close to hitting an RKO but would be caught in a Skull Crushing Finale to officially win the title. He would go on to main event WrestleMania 27 against John Cena and walk out still champion.
Alberto Del Rio (Money in the Bank, 2011)
During the second “Summer of Punk”, Alberto Del Rio successfully won the Raw MITB briefcase and became the help Vince McMahon needed to keep the WWE Championship out of CM Punk’s hands. Following the main event that same night, Vince would call for Alberto to cash-in but Punk would stop him and leave through the Chicago crowd. When Punk would return to decide the true WWE Champion at SummerSlam, he would defeat Cena. Following the match, he would be attacked by Kevin Nash which would allow Del Rio to cash-in his briefcase and win his first world title in the company. This would create a new main event player for Vince McMahon’s WWE as he would go on to win multiple world titles following this big win.
Daniel Bryan (Money in the Bank, 2011)
While many give credit to the 18 second loss at WrestleMania for Daniel Bryan to slowly develop into a huge favorite, it is fair to say it all started with his Money in the Bank victory when he grabbed the SmackDown briefcase in 2011. Bryan would first try and cash-in on the November 26th episode of SmackDown. He would pin world champion Mark Henry but would be ruled invalid as Henry was not medically cleared to compete. Bryan would then wait less than a month to cash-in again, pinning Big Show who had been laid out by Mark Henry following their chairs match at the TLC PPV to become the World Heavyweight Champion. This would be his first world title in his WWE career.
John Cena (Money in the Bank, 2012)
After being cashed-in on twice in his career, John Cena would get his first opportunity at winning the Money in the Bank for himself in the smallest field. It would be a field of just five former world champions battling for the Raw briefcase, in which Cena would manage to win by breaking the briefcase off the chain that it was secured on. Cena would then announce ahead of time that he would challenge the WWE Champion CM Punk on the 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw. He would manage to be the first to fail cashing in when Big Show would interfere, making the match a no contest.
Dolph Ziggler (Money in the Bank, 2012)
Dolph Ziggler would win the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase that gave him a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship whenever he wanted. For months he would carry that briefcase as it became smashed and seemingly broken at times. He would be the only one to defend the briefcase twice, once against Chris Jericho and another against John Cena. Ziggler would finally cash-in on the Raw After Mania in 2013 on an injured Alberto Del Rio as the live crowd rose to a deafening level. Ziggler would become the world champion in one of the most memorable cash-ins of all-time.
Randy Orton (Money in the Bank, 2013)
In the All-Star MITB ladder match, Randy Orton would finally capture his first briefcase that would give him a shot at the WWE Championship. Following Daniel Bryan’s first WWE Championship win at SummerSlam over John Cena, Orton would make his way to the ring. Triple H, who had been the special guest referee, would turn Bryan around and hit him with a Pedigree. “The Apex Predator” would slide into the ring and pin Bryan, successfully winning his 10th world title, holding the briefcase for just 35 days.
Damien Sandow (MITB, 2013)
Damien Sandow would win the SmackDown Money in the Bank match after dumping his best friend Cody Rhodes off the ladder following Rhodes’ coming out party in the match. Sandow would beat down John Cena on the October 28th edition of Raw after doing a fake out on his cash-in. Following the beat down, he would cash-in his opportunity on Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship. The two men would have a full out competitive match where Sandow came closer and closer to winning but Cena would continue to kick out. Cena would have enough left in him to hand Sandow an Attitude Adjustment and win the match, leaving Sandow as the first to lose a cash-in matchup.
Seth Rollins (Money in the Bank, 2014)
The Authority’s chosen one would win the sole MITB of 2014 thanks to Kane as Seth Rollins would climb to the top and win the briefcase as he was defended below. Rollins would hold the briefcase for 273 days when he would finally cash-in and create the most memorable ending to a WrestleMania in years at WrestleMania 31. As both Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns laid in the middle of the ring following a grueling match to that point, the music of Rollins would hit as he sprinted down the aisle way. Rollins would cash in mid-match to make it a Triple Threat for the WWE Championship. He would hit a Curb Stomp on Reigns following the Spear to Lesnar, pinning Reigns and becoming the new WWE Champion in one of the most memorable cash-ins of all time.
Sheamus (Money in the Bank, 2015)
What has become the forgotten MITB victory, Sheamus won it in 2015 to many fans’ surprise. Following Seth Rollins’ injury that would lead him to give up the WWE Championship, there would be a Survivor Series Tournament to crown the new champion. Roman Reigns would win in the finals and finally become WWE Champion. Triple H would head out to congratulate the new champion but be answered with a Spear. Sheamus would come from behind with a Brogue Kick. He would hit one more to win the championship and become The Authority’s new A+ player with Rollins out.
Dean Ambrose (Money in the Bank, 2016)
One night that would forever go down in history would be Money in the Bank 2016 when all three Shield members would be WWE Champion on the same night. Dean Ambrose would win the Money in the Bank briefcase and hold it for just 57 minutes. Roman Reigns would defend his WWE Championship against Seth Rollins that night, as Rollins would win in the main event to become the new champion. Following the match, the music of Ambrose would hit. Ambrose would nail Rollins from behind with the briefcase, cashing in on his former Shield brother and become the new WWE Champion following a Dirty Deeds to Seth Rollins.
Baron Corbin (MITB, 2017)
Since the day he was called up to the main roster, Baron Corbin was seen as a future world champion by the company and looked like he would be on his way to doing so. Winning the Men’s Money in the Bank in 2017 would lead to the chance of a lifetime for the “Lone Wolf”. On the August 15th SmackDown LIVE, Corbin would make his way to the ring as John Cena would seemingly defeat the WWE Champion Jinder Mahal in a one on one match days before SummerSlam. Corbin would hit his SummerSlam opponent, Cena, in the face before preparing to leave. He would notice Jinder still being down and spring back to cash-in. Cena would get the attention of Corbin, allowing Jinder to roll him up and keep his championship. This would be the third failure of the MITB.
Carmella (Money in the Bank / SmackDown LIVE, 2017)
Carmella would win the first ever Women’s MITB match twice as the first time James Ellsworth would go up the ladder and grab it for her. She would be forced to compete for it once again and win yet again on the following episode of SmackDown LIVE. Carmella would have the longest time with the briefcase, holding it for a record 287 days. Carmella would cash-in on the SmackDown after Mania on Charlotte Flair to become the new SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Alexa Bliss (MITB, 2018)
In a stacked Money in the Bank ladder match, Alexa Bliss would come out on top as the second ever Miss Money in the Bank. She would not wait long like Carmella though, as she would cash-in her briefcase just three hours later after disrupting the Raw Women’s Championship match between Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey. Bliss would cash-in on Jax and become the new champion, winning the fifth women’s championship of her career.
Braun Strowman (MITB, 2018)
Braun Strowman would officially become “Monster in the Bank” a year ago when he would win the Money in the Bank briefcase. Strowman would defend his briefcase against Kevin Owens at SummerSlam. He would then attempt to cash-in multiple times including the SummerSlam main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, as well as the night after on Reigns when he defeated Finn Balor. After being stopped both times, he would announce his cash-in ahead of time to challenge for the Universal Championship inside Hell in a Cell vs Roman Reigns. It ended in failure however as Brock Lesnar would show up that night as it would lead to a no contest when he would lay out both competitors. This would be two straight years of the Men’s briefcase being wasted.
Two names will be added to this historic list on Sunday, and hopefully they manage to use the briefcase to their advantage rather than failing. If you missed it, make sure to take a look at the preview for Sunday.
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