2. The Debacle That Was 2010
WWE.comThanks to the sterling efforts of all involved, Wrestlemanias Money In The Bank ladder match and the resulting angles quickly became cemented as an essential part of the years WWE storylines. So naturally, WWE decided that overkill was the best way forward. Recent years have seen WWE pay-per-views positioned to centre around the companys most popular gimmick matches, bringing us a Hell In A Cell event, an Elimination Chamber event and of course a Money In The Bank event. Definitely the most successful of the bunch, MITB is now practically alongside the Big Four pay-per-views, and if Survivor Series keeps crashing and burning, it could soon take its place as the fourth biggest on the WWE calendar. However, this has diluted the effect of the Money In The Bank match itself upon storylines, with each pay-per-view giving us two matches, one for each main event title. Following the World and WWE title unification of late last year, with 2014 we should have seen only one Money In The Bank ladder match contested at the pay-per-view, but WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryans injury has prompted the decision to hold a second bout on the card for the vacant title. The loss of prestige of the Money In The Bank Briefcase can be traced back to 2010, when three MITB ladder matches took place one at Wrestlemania XXVI with Jack Swagger winning the briefcase, and two at the inaugural Money In The Bank event, Kane and The Miz. Not only was that at least one more briefcase in the calendar year than anyone really wanted to see, none of the resulting winners were WWE superstars that anyone really considered rising stars. Fans were left deflated by the end of each match, not excited by the prospect of storylines to come after all, Kane was a veteran upper midcarder years past his prime, while Swagger could work but not talk, and had mid card lifer written all the way through him (and still does). The Miz title reign was a dreary affair, with the WWE champion taking a significant backseat to other, more popular superstars on the roster. Although technically Miz headlined Wrestlemania XXVII against John Cena, the real stars of the show were Cena and the Rock, setting up their confrontation at the following years supershow. 2010 saw the Money In The Bank ladder match relegated to lesser importance in storylines. Perhaps, with one main event title to play for, 2015 can see a resurgence in the importance of winning the MITB briefcase.