10 Most INSANE Spots In WWE Money In The Bank History
A gorgeous, gratuitous, gory GIF gallery.
(Dis)honourable mentions are vast in a genre of match that is intent on one-upping itself with each passing year.
Increasingly, the immaculate, logical storyboarding of its never-bettered original - in which, tellingly, its best moments did not see the combatants collide with the thick, spray-painted wood - has devolved into a disconnected series of psychotic stunts separated by suspiciously protracted selling. That said, it remains an awesome spectacle that at least yields entertainment value from the ritual destruction of its performers, as opposed to the corrosive effects of WWE's awful episodic television.
The brainless fun of it has made clever use of Randy Orton in recent years; his catch RKO is glorious in this context because it's an actual strategy, and not a superficial moment executed many feet away from the briefcase. Less intelligently, Matt Hardy came inches from snapping his neck on the bottom turnbuckle after tumbling from a ladder at WrestleMania 23, while John Morrison somewhat unnecessarily used a ladder to assist a moonsault that would have received a pop regardless one year later. Even its oldest participant - Ric Flair - created hand-over-mouth moments in 2006 by taking superplexes from the "steel" in a year in which he also took to piercing himself with thumbtacks.
This list is reserved for the truly jaw-dropping moments of bravery, stupidity, and actual brilliance alike...
10. Swing And A Hit
Impossible to watch even in a loop without bracing yourself for the impact, this was a strange spot to green-light in this age of increased concussion awareness, regardless of the experience of the man on the receiving end of it.
It was, at least, dramatically effective. Ordinarily, the Cesaro swing is pure fun - a means of interacting with the crowd as much as an effective storyline weapon - but here, Cesaro invoked not a countdown but pure dread by subverting the end result. Jericho didn't drop to the mat but instead cracked the fragile back of his head against the ladder.
The Swing dazes the opponent. It did here too in an altogether more disturbing way.