10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Money In The Bank
8. Bryan And Punk Played Second Fiddle To AJ (2012)
Even though Daniel Bryan was out of the World Heavyweight Title picture following his loss to Sheamus at Extreme Rules, the company knew they had something special in the star and wanted to prolong his main event run. He became the number one contender to CM Punk's WWE Championship, and the two had one of the best matches of the year at Over the Limit.
Two months later at Money in the Bank, Punk and Bryan would lock horns again. This time, AJ Lee - who had been dumped by Bryan and then developed an infatuation with Punk - would be the guest referee, and the match would be held under no disqualification rules.
Those bells and whistles ended up overshadowing the match. It was very good, of course - Punk and Bryan aren't capable of anything less - but what fans hoped would be the blowoff between two of the world's best wrestlers turned into the AJ Lee show. She showed favoritism to babyface Punk, making for a weird match dynamic. Punk ultimately won, but the whole thing was just a bit disappointing.