In the last five years the WWE has established an annual tradition at Wrestlemania. It is the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
What began as Chris Jericho’s idea as a Raw-only opportunity at the Raw world title has become a guaranteed show-stealer on the grandest stage of them all. This match creates many opportunities for six to eight men to steal the show on the Wrestlemania card. On top of that, it is usually the upper mid-card that compete for the MITB contract, thus giving an instant push to whomever happens to win it.
The first money in the bank winner also happened to be the man to hold the contract for the longest until he cashed it in. Edge held onto his guaranteed opportunity until January of the following year. The next man to win it was the only man ever to announce when he was going to cash in the money in the bank before he actually did so. Edge ended up being the next man to cash in, followed by CM Punk cashing in twice in a row.
The men who have won do not interest me as much as the way that the WWE has grown to use this contract. At first, it seemed that they had no idea what to do with a man who had a guaranteed opportunity. They let Edge walk to the ring with the briefcase for long enough that many people forgot what it meant. They would not make that mistake again. The WWE saw the ratings that a surprise title win gave them and ever since have allowed the Money in the Bank to be a surprise.
In the last three years, MITB has been used as a panic button for WWE booking. The 2007 MITB was used to get the World Heavyweight Championship off of the injured Undertaker and also to give Smackdown some much needed star power (Edge). In 2008 MITB was used to give Raw a world title after the draft (and the Night of Champions Pay Per View) took both championships to Smackdown. The 2009 Money in the Bank was used to create a top heel and begin a new rivalry on a Smackdown brand that could quickly become stale.
The concept of Money in the Bank has given the WWE one exciting option to pull out of their hat every summer in the post-Wrestlemania and post-draft slump that they often wind up in.
Two superstars owe their entire main event career to being crowned Mr. Money in the Bank; Edge and CM Punk. Edge was floundering in the upper mid-card with a heel character that just could not break through the glass ceiling. That all changed in January 2006 when he shocked the world by demanding a championship match after the Elimination Chamber match at New Year’s Revolution. It was said by many that they could never see Edge as a champion until they saw him hold that belt into the air that night.
CM Punk was stuck in a very similar situation to that of Edge. He had the case, but no one could see him as a world champion. He won the title the first time, but his character was buried upon cashing in his chance. The belt stayed with him until he lost it without being involved in a match in September 2008.
CM Punk then did the unthinkable. He won MITB again. Many people said that this meant he would be the first man to ever cash it in and lose the match. They said that the legend of Money in the Bank could not go on forever. CM Punk then proved them all wrong by perpetrating what has to be the most epic MITB cash-in yet.
It remains to be seen how Money in the Bank will go on. What is guaranteed is excitement. This is one of the few opportunities that the WWE has each year to create a new star. The Money in the Bank is not only a show-stealing match, but it is a show-stealing story-line every time it is cashed in.
