Money In The Bank has become one of the most exciting matches over the past ten years, not just in terms of the high-flying action, but in the resulting drama that comes from a wrestler owning a guaranteed championship match that he can cash in at any time. The briefcase with a guaranteed championship opportunity wasnt always the original prize however, and the match went through numerous revisions before it was debuted at WrestleMania 21. The original idea was for a Hollywood Dream Ladder Match that was a similar concept, but the winner would be able to cash it in to have their dream fulfilled by the WWE. Rob Van Dam was to be the first winner and would use it to bring back ECW, but was unfortunately injured in the run-up to WrestleMania, which resulted in some retooling of the match. There is some dispute over who truly created the match, with Chris Jericho, Brian Gerwitz and Vince McMahon all credited with having a hand in its creation, but the truth is simply that each man contributed ideas towards what would eventually become the Money in the Bank ladder match. Edge would go on to win the first iteration, and would shock the world nearly a year later when he cashed in championship opportunity on a beaten and bloody John Cena to win the WWE Championship.
