WWE’s annual Money in the Bank PPV is this weekend and with the match stipulation dating all the way back to 2005 (and the PPV dating back to 2010), there have been some interesting facts from the history of this career-changing match.
So, sit back and treat yourself to ten interesting facts from the history of Money in the Bank.
ONE: By the Numbers
Since Wrestlemania 21, there have been 24 individual winners of the coveted briefcase and there have been 20 successful cash-ins. that would make the success rate for a new champion to be crowned 83%, which is a pretty high odds that if you’re the champion when a cash-in happens, you’re in danger.
TWO: Unlucky John Cena
John Cena has been connected to Money in the Bank since its incarnation but didn’t compete in the match until years after it debuted. Cena has been cashed in on a record three times. The first winner Edge and the second winner RVD both successfully cashed in on Cena in 2006. Then Damien Sandow unsuccessfully cashed in on Cena in 2013.
John Cena also is the only winner to ever win his cash-in match but not win the championship he challenged for when he beat CM Punk at Raw 1000 via DQ.
THREE: Defending the Case
It doesn’t happen often but sometimes winning the case isn’t the end of the challenge. In the history of Money in the Bank, there have been seven superstars who have had to defend the right to be Mr Money in the Bank.
- Edge (Mr MITB) vs Matt Hardy
- RVD (Mr MITB) vs Shelton Benjamin (Intercontinental Championship and Money in the Bank ‘Winner Takes All)
- Mr Kennedy (Mr MITB) vs Edge (this would be the first time the briefcase changed hands)
- Dolph Ziggler (Mr MITB) vs Chris Jericho (‘Carrer vs Contract’)
- Dolph Ziggler (Mr MITB) vs John Cena (TLC Ladder Match)
- Braun Strowman (Mr MITB) vs Kevin Owens
- Otis (Mr MITB) vs The Miz (this would be the second time the briefcase changed hands)
FOUR: The Right Place at the Right Time
There have been some innovative ways to climb the ladder to the briefcase over the years, but in 2020 we saw the first winner of the case not even climb the ladder. The 2020 ladder match was unique enough with it being ‘cinematic’ but it seems all Otis had to do was stand in the right place and wait for the case to be dropped during the mad scramble on top of the ladder.
FIVE: The Longest and the Shortest
It’s not often you see Kane and Carmella in the same sentence but you’re about to, as they hold to a record-setting connection. Carmella owns the record for holding onto her briefcase the longest with an incredible 287 days until she finally cashed in on Charlotte back in 2018.
On the other side of the coin, Kane holds the record for holding the briefcase for a mere 49 minutes, wasting no time cashing in on World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio in 2010.
SIX: The Oldest and Youngest
I’m sure everyone can agree that age is just a number in wrestling but there is a vast difference between the oldest and youngest briefcase winners. The oldest has already popped up on this list, and at the ripe old age of 44, Kane is the oldest winner.
As for the youngest, this will be a surprise to no one that at just 24 Alexa Bliss looks to hold onto the baby crown for a while yet.
Although there is nearly a 20-year age difference they both had the same idea and successfully cashed in on the same night.
SEVEN: The Hollywood Dream Match
In the earliest ideas of what would become the Money in the Bank, the concept was brainstormed by WWE writer Brian Gewirtz. His thinking was a ‘Hollywood Dream Ladder Match’ where the winner would get one ‘wish’, and what they wished was WWE’s command.
Gewirtz’s idea was for RVD to win the ladder match and he would wish for the return of ECW. Vince McMahon wasn’t sold on this idea as he thought it was far too vague.
EIGHT: Enter Chris Jericho
During an interview with Jonathan Coachman on ESPN’s Off the Top Rope Jericho mentioned brainstorming the idea with writer and friend Brian Gewirtz
“It was for WrestleMania, and there were a bunch of guys with nothing to do, and some pretty big names, Kane, Edge, Christian, [Chris] Benoit, Shelton Benjamin, who was getting a push at the time,” Jericho explained. “[WWE] didn’t know what to do with us so they were trying to come up with a bunch of ideas. Then they said, ‘Well, maybe a multi [person] ladder match!’ Brian said, ‘Well, there’s nothing to go for.’ And I said, ‘What if we went for a piece of paper, like a contract, where you would get a title match the next night?’”
The idea was then tweaked by Vince McMahon adding that the winner can ‘cash in’ for a whole year and wanting there to be a visual representation for the winner to carry
“The contract for the world title shot must be kept inside of a briefcase, damn it!”
NINE: Two Time
Although history says that three superstars have multiple Money in the Bank cash-ins, those being Edge, CM Punk, and The Miz. It is only CM Punk who can boast that he is a multi-time Money in the Bank Ladder match-winner. Not only that but he also did it back-to-back years.
Although if you want to be technical you could add Carmella to this list as she would win two Money in the Bank matches but never cash in her first win as the second was a redo.
Both Edge and The Miz beat the case holder in matches where set at a later date
TEN: Super Grand Slam
With Asuka’s Money in the Bank win in 2020, she became the first woman to become not only a Grand Slam Champion but is the first woman in history to be added to the shortlist of superstars to win both the Royal Rumble and the Money in the Bank match.
With WWE introducing the ‘Queen of the Ring’, Asuka could potentially be added to an even shorter list of superstars who have won all three accolades.
How many facts did you already know? Do you have a Money in the Bank fact of your own? Drop a comment below or tweet us @SLTDWrestling.
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