Now were into the cash-ins that came fast and furious, before champions barely had time to look over their shoulder. John Cena broke the mold and screwed up the mojo surrounding the briefcases in 2012, when he won the smallest (number of participants five) Money in the Bank ladder match. He then came out on Raw the next night and announced his intentions to end what was becoming CM Punks historic reign, at Raw 1000 the following week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYRXCw6eat0 That night, Cena became the first superstar to unsuccessfully cash in his briefcase, winning the title match by DQ when the Big Show interfered. Thats when all hell broke loose. The Rock ran out to save Cena, only for Punk to slink away, then return to clobber the Rock and thus turn heel midway through his 14-month run on top. That failed cash-in (and Punks run in) is part of what revitalized Punks character and breathed new life into the title picture. And while things didnt turn out well for Cena, he did OK for himself in the ensuing year.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
