10 WWE Money In The Bank Firsts
Signature WWE match is still tallying new firsts.
When you talk about innovations that have had a lasting impact in the world of professional wrestling, you could make a list as long as both arms. Even when you narrow it to ideas and concepts WWF/E have created in the modern era, there still are many that bear mentioning.
One concept that definitely deserves mention is the Money in the Bank ladder match.
This month will feature the 21st and 22nd MITB matches in WWE history. During the past 13 years, we have seen some unreal moments, whether it’s in the Money in the Bank match itself or in the act of cashing in the briefcase for a title shot. For better or worse, Money in the Bank has become an integral part of WWE. Many storylines have been focused on the briefcase, and several characters have been defined by how they carried and ultimately used it.
Given all the history that has happened during the past decade-plus, it’s only fitting to take a look back at some of the firsts involving the Money in the Bank ladder match. Some of these won't be a surprise to many, and as this list will show, even though the MITB match is more than a decade old, there still is new ground being broken during these contests.
Let's get to it...
10. First Unsuccessful Cash-In
Let’s start with a downer, as WWE has been bragging recently that 16 of 19 Money in the Bank winners have gone on to successfully cash in and become a world champion.
After 10 straight successful MITB briefcase cash-ins, you had to know that eventually someone would cash in unsuccessfully. Even with most wrestlers taking advantage of a knocked-out champion, the law of averages said that one of those champs would manage to pull off the upset.
However, the first unsuccessful cash-in came from an unlikely source, and in an unlikely fashion. When John Cena won the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2012, he wasted little time in announcing the next night that he would cash it in the following week on Raw against WWE Champion CM Punk. The two had had epic battles in the past, and with this being Raw 1000, expectations were high for a PPV-quality match.
What we got instead was a 15-minute match that ended in a disqualification when Big Show lumbered out and attacked Cena. The aftermath saw Rock save Cena, and Punk turn heel by assaulting Rock. So basically, the MITB briefcase was used as a plot device to turn Punk heel and sow the seeds for the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania main events. Lame.