A comprehensive look at the history of Money-in-the-BankBy Cassidy| June 16, 2017 Wrestling Blogs Previous Page As a special ‘bonus’ to this article (and because I’m obsessed with statistics), here are some interesting facts about Money-in-the-Bank (as of 2016): 17 Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Matches have taken place in WWE history Debuting at WrestleMania 21 in 2005, seventeen Ladder Matches have been held to decide the holder of the briefcase. 52 Superstars have competed in Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Matches (as of 2016) Edge, Chris Jericho, Christian, John Cena, Kane, Shelton Benjamin, Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Rob Van Dam, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Cesaro, Big Show, Rey Mysterio, Matt Hardy, Mark Henry, and Ric Flair are just several of the familiar names who have competed to be “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” over the years. 16 Superstars have won the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match This whole article is about these 16 competitors, but to summarize, there have been 16 Superstars to date that can lay claim to being “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” and they are (in order): Edge, Rob Van Dam, Mr. Kennedy, CM Punk (twice), Jack Swagger, Kane, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, Damien Sandow, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Sheamus, & Dean Ambrose. Kane has appeared in more Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Matches than anyone else with seven appearances Kane competed in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match in 2005, 2009, twice in 2010 (a record within itself), 2011, 2012, & 2013 while Christian and Kofi Kingston both come in at a close second with six appearances in the match. 5 Money-in-the-Bank winners were former World Champions While the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase often means an opportunity for an up-and-coming Superstar to claim their first World Title, five former Money-in-the-Bank contract holders had previously held a World Title prior to their cash-in. The first “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” to do this was Kane in 2010 (Kane won the WWF Championship in 1998 and, twelve years later, he would cash-in and win the World Heavyweight Title). In 2012, Dolph Ziggler would cash-in to win his second World Heavyweight Title after his first, very brief reign as World Heavyweight Champion in 2011. That same year, ten-time former World Champion John Cena would cash-in his contract on CM Punk, but ultimately won by disqualification and failed to win his eleventh title on that occasion. In 2013, Randy Orton cinched his tenth World Title by cashing in on Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam to claim the WWE Championship. The most recent Superstar to achieve this feat was Sheamus in 2015 who cashed in and defeated Roman Reigns to claim the WWE World Heavyweight Title, his fourth World Title overall. 9 Money-in-the-Bank winners cashed in to win their first World Title Half of the Superstars who have won the Money-in-the-Bank contract have used that contract to win their very first World Title. The inaugural “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank”, Edge, was naturally the first to do this in 2005 when he defeated John Cena to claim his first World Title. In the years that followed, Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, Jack Swagger, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, Seth Rollins, & Dean Ambrose. Edge holds the record for longest time between winning the briefcase and cashing in At 280 days, Edge held onto the Money-in-the-Bank contract for the longest amount of time to date as “The Rated-R Superstar” won the contract at WrestleMania 21 on April 3, 2005 and held onto it until New Year’s Revolution on January 8, 2006. Second to Edge is Seth Rollins, who held the contract for 273 days from June 29, 2014 to March 29, 2015. Edge also holds the record for shortest reign as champion following a cash-in While Edge held the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase for a record-setting 280 days, Edge also has the unfortunate distinction of having the shortest reign as World Champion following his cash-in. After waiting 280 days to cash in his briefcase on John Cena to ultimately claim his first WWE Championship, Edge would lose the prestigious just 21 days later at the Royal Rumble. Randy Orton came close to this record in 2013, only holding the WWE Championship for 28 days while Alberto Del Rio’s 2011 reign as WWE Champion only lasted 35 days. As you can see, the Money-in-the-Bank concept is rich with a twisting, unpredictable history that, on more than one occasion, has shaken the WWE to its core and allowed Superstars to ascend to greatness and establish themselves as a World Champion. Without this game-changing idea, there’s no telling how the careers of names like Edge, CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose could have been altered. It’s a very real possibility that these marquee Superstars could have never clinched their first World Title in WWE had it not been for the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase. To date, sixteen Superstars have called themselves “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank”, but what does the future hold for the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase? Who will etch their name in the record books and provide a moment of a lifetime by cashing in the aptly named Money-in-the-Bank contract?
