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Money in the Bank has proven to be one of the best creations in WWE. The ladder match disputed by the briefcase containing a guaranteed world title opportunity and the suspense of when the winner will choose to cash in have combined for one of the central focuses of WWE’s narrative over the course of a year. And that has only increased with the addition of a female Money in the Bank game starting in 2017.
While the exhilarating action of the Money in the Bank ladder car accident has brought some great moments, nothing to do with the briefcase compares to the thrill of seeing someone choose the perfect time to collect their title. And 83 percent of those swap attempts have been successful. But not all attempts at change are the same. Let’s take a look at the top five moments when someone took their chance to become a world champion in WWE.
Edge takes advantage of John Cena – 2006: Edge won the first game of the Money in the Bank ladder at WrestleMania 21, beating Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Kane, Shelton Benjamin and Christian. That was the first in a series of moves that led The Ultimate Opportunist to win its first world championship. In June 2005, the SmackDown and Raw headlines changed brands with John Cena moving to Raw and Batista heading for SmackDown, aligning Cena in Edge’s sights. But first, Edge had to defend his briefcase on a ladder with Matt Hardy in October. Finally, after 280 days, Edge had the perfect time to cash in. In the New Years Revolution in 2006, Cena had just survived a violent Elimination Chamber game, beating Carlito, Chris Masters, Shawn Michaels, Kane and Kurt Angle when Vince McMahon announced the show was not over yet and that Edge was charging. Two lances later, Edge was a WWE champion. It was the first cash payment, and it remains one of the best to this day.
The Miz takes advantage of Randy Orton – 2010: Out of sheer chaos, The Miz swap is one of the best in history. Miz had struggled to successfully seize his chance at Sheamus when the Irishman held the title, but things finally worked out on the November 22, 2010 edition of Raw against WWE champion Randy Orton. Orton was brutally attacked by Nexus before his title defense against his leader, Wade Barrett. The game went on, only to see John Cena run to prevent Barrett from winning the title. Cena, who was an involuntary member of Nexus, was “fired” from WWE after he failed to help Barrett win the Orton title at Survivor Series. While Nexus was chasing Cena, Orton hit Barrett with an RKO to escape with his title. But Miz, seeing the damage already inflicted, ran to the ring and handed the referee his briefcase. The opportunity almost escaped Miz when Orton went for an RKO, but it was invested in a crushing Final to allow Miz to become WWE champion. This entry gets extra points for bringing the “Angry Miz Girl” meme to the world, but it stands out as an almost perfect example of knowing when and where to collect the contract.
Dolph Ziggler takes advantage of Alberto Del Río – 2013: Nothing adds to a great moment in pro wrestling like a hot crowd, and these fans were on fire when Ziggler cashed in his contract on the April 8, 2013 issue of Raw. Ziggler held the contract for 267 days, having to defeat Chris Jericho in a “contract vs. career” match and then retaining the briefcase in a ladder match against John Cena. After numerous frustrated attempts to cash in on his contract, the time was finally right, as world heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio had just survived a two-on-one disadvantage match against Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter, which was hindered in the process. When Ziggler’s music came as doctors were treating Del Rio, the crowd exploded and the noise didn’t stop until a few minutes later, when Ziggler hit a Zig Zag to mark the pinfall in arguably the biggest change of all time.
Randy Orton takes advantage of Daniel Bryan – 2013: While Ziggler’s moment electrified the crowd, Randy Orton cashing in on Daniel Bryan later in 2013 was a daunting time. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as Bryan’s story as WWE’s last loser feeds on these moments. Bryan defeated John Cena at SummerSlam with Triple H as a guest referee to become WWE Champion and celebrated with a crowd when the confetti fell and thanked his parents in what felt like a perfect time for Daniel Bryan. When he and the music of Money in the Bank award winner Orton walked slowly into the ring, it seemed clear that Bryan’s reign was going to be short-lived. With Bryan urging him to enter the ring and fight, Orton turned and started walking away before turning to give Bryan a knowing look. Triple H spun Bryan in a pedigree, leaving the new champion down and out for Orton to slide down the pin and rob Bryan of his moment. This helped set up an incredible race for Bryan to the top of the WrestleMania 30 card.
Seth Rollins takes advantage of Brock Lesnar – 2015: To say that Rollins charged Lesnar is a bit misleading. Rollins was actually the first man to cash out his contract in the midst of an active game, and he joined the WrestleMania 31 main event between Lesnar and Roman Reigns. Rollins was also the first to successfully collect by failing to immobilize the reigning champion. Rollins had held the contract for 273 days before deciding to use the briefcase on the largest possible stage. It almost failed when Lesnar countered Rollins ‘second stomping attempt, but moments later, “The Architect” was able to hit Shield Reigns’ former brother with the stomp to catch the challenger. Rollins closed WrestleMania 31 as world champion for the first time in his career in what many consider to be the Bank’s best cash.
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