8 Worst WWE Money In The Bank Cash-Ins EVER

5. Nikki A.S.H. (2021)

Nikki ASH Charlotte Flair
WWE

For the newer fans, that’s not pronounced “Nikki Ash,” it’s an acronym for “Almost a Super Hero.”

You see, Nikki Cross underwent a character change in mid-2021, donning a cape and mask to become a superhero-themed wrestler. She debuted the character to silence at Money in the Bank in July 2021, which was the first WWE PLE after the company returned full-time to performing in front of crowds.

The next night on Raw, Nikki, like any good superhero-in-training, waited until Charlotte Flair was injured by Rhea Ripley and then rushed out to cash in, hitting a diving crossbody and winning the title in mere seconds. Nikki would lose the title back to Flair a month later with no successful title defenses, and she would turn heel a few months later.

This first Raw with crowds back should have been a triumphant return to normalcy for WWE, but instead it was one bad decision stacked on top of another. That Raw featured the return of Keith Lee!... and then he was jobbed out. It featured the debut of then-NXT Champion Karrion Kross!... and then he was jobbed out. Lilly returned! Goldberg returned to challenge for the WWE Championship… because his losses to Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre during the previous 16 months validated a title shot.

Nikki A.S.H. being a superhero and employing an opportunistic heel maneuver – cashing in on an injured opponent – was just another questionable booking choice in a series of them just on that one night. The fact that Nikki’s character was DOA before it ever got off the ground and Vince still put the title on her made it even worse.

Contributor
Contributor

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.