Every WWE Money In The Bank Winner Ranked Worst to Best

Oh hi, John, we were just talking about you!

John Cena finishes off the list of MiTB winners who didn’t win the title as a result. Here’s another example of a title being lame duck, and in this case, it’s the briefcase itself. In a rare bit of years-spanning long-term booking, WWE had set up a WrestleMania main event program that would span three shows. First, The Rock would confront John Cena (that happened at 27), the Rock would beat John Cena (28), and finally, Cena would beat Rock for the WWE Championship (as was the plan for ‘Mania 29). Part of this plan involved Rock beating CM Punk for the title at the Royal Rumble (or at Elimination Chamber to set up a triple threat, depends on who you ask), but the point is: Punk was not going to lose the title in a cash-in, and Cena was not going to win the title until WrestleMania.

Instead, WWE used the MiTB to set up the main event of RAW 1000 the week after. Cena, ever the babyface, announced his cash-in the week prior, and so challenged Punk. However, the Big Show ran in, forcing the DQ, and a brawl broke out which saw The Rock intervene to break up the chaos. In the show-capping swerve, Punk attacked The Rock and begun his heel turn.

Honestly, it’s not a bad way to use a cash-in if you have no plans for it to end with a title change. Still, given that Cena didn’t win the beltm and the fact that he never in a million years would need to win MiTB, he ranks low on this list.