Money in the Bank History: Every Winner and Every Cash-In

The Concept

Money in the Bank debuted at WrestleMania 21 in 2005. Chris Jericho invented the match concept: six men climb a ladder to retrieve a briefcase hanging above the ring. The winner earns a contract guaranteeing them one world championship match at any time, any place, within the next 12 months. The briefcase becomes a dangling sword over every champion's head for the whole year.

The match was so successful it became its own standalone pay-per-view in 2010, replacing WWE's summer B-PPV. A women's Money in the Bank match was added in 2017. As of 2026, the men's and women's briefcases are considered two of the most important prizes in WWE outside of the world titles themselves.

The Original Five WrestleMania Matches

From 2005 to 2010, Money in the Bank was a WrestleMania multi-man ladder match:

• WrestleMania 21 (2005): Edge — became the first cash-in winner, defeating John Cena at New Year's Revolution 2006.
• WrestleMania 22 (2006): Rob Van Dam — cashed in at ECW One Night Stand, beating John Cena cleanly.
• WrestleMania 23 (2007): Mr. Kennedy — sold the briefcase to Edge when injured; Edge cashed in on Undertaker.
• WrestleMania 24 (2008): CM Punk — cashed in on Edge the next night on Raw, winning his first world title.
• WrestleMania 25 (2009): CM Punk (again) — cashed in on Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules 2009.

The Standalone PPV Era Begins

In 2010, WWE made Money in the Bank its own July PPV. The format changed: two separate matches, one for each world championship (Raw's WWE Title and SmackDown's World Heavyweight Championship). This doubled the briefcase supply and turned cash-ins into a year-round story device.

The 2011 event is generally considered the greatest Money in the Bank PPV ever, thanks to CM Punk's WWE Championship match with John Cena in Chicago — the “Summer of Punk” apex. Alberto Del Rio won the Raw briefcase that night and cashed it in immediately after Punk beat Cena, winning the WWE Title in one of the most shocking finales in PPV history.

The Most Successful Cash-Ins

Most MITB winners successfully cashed in for a world championship. A selection:

• Edge (2005): The first-ever cash-in. Attacked an exhausted John Cena after an Elimination Chamber. Proved the concept worked.
• The Miz (2010): Cashed in on Randy Orton while Orton was recovering from a match. Triggered The Miz's only WWE Title reign.
• Dolph Ziggler (2013): Cashed in on Alberto Del Rio the night after WrestleMania 29, winning the World Heavyweight Championship to one of the loudest pops in Raw history.
• Seth Rollins (2015): Cashed in DURING the Triple Threat main event of WrestleMania 31, turning a Roman-vs-Lesnar match into a triple threat and stealing the WWE Championship. The only WrestleMania cash-in.
• Dean Ambrose (2016): Cashed in on Seth Rollins moments after Rollins beat Roman Reigns for the title, winning the WWE Title without Rollins ever getting to enjoy his reign.
• Carmella (2018): The first successful women's cash-in, beating Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship.
• Bayley (2019): Cashed in on Charlotte Flair at the same Money in the Bank event she won it. The fastest cash-in in history.
• Otis (2020): Held the briefcase for 118 days before losing it to The Miz in a wrestling match — one of only a few cases where a briefcase changed hands without a cash-in.
• Big E (2021): Cashed in on Bobby Lashley. His entire reign coincided with Roman Reigns' Tribal Chief run on SmackDown.
• Damian Priest (2024): Cashed in at WrestleMania 40, becoming World Heavyweight Champion minutes after Drew McIntyre beat Seth Rollins for the title.

The Failed Cash-Ins

Not every cash-in succeeds. In the history of the match, three failed cash-ins stand out as definitive moments:

• John Cena vs CM Punk (Raw, 2012): Cena cashed in on Punk at a live Raw, only for Big Show to interfere and Cena to lose by DQ. The only WWE/Universal Title briefcase cash-in ever to fail. Cena never got another briefcase.
• Damien Sandow vs John Cena (2013): Sandow cashed in on Cena after a grueling Hell in a Cell match with Alberto Del Rio. Cena still won. Sandow's career never recovered.
• Baron Corbin vs Jinder Mahal (2017): Corbin cashed in on Mahal but was interrupted by an injured John Cena returning. Mahal retained. Corbin became the only MITB winner to visibly botch his own cash-in on live TV.

The Women's Briefcase Era

The women's match debuted in 2017. Carmella won the inaugural match in controversial fashion (James Ellsworth climbed the ladder for her and dropped the briefcase), then won a re-match a month later to claim it legitimately. She later cashed in on Charlotte Flair in 2018 to become SmackDown Women's Champion.

Since then, women's winners have included Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Asuka, Nikki A.S.H., Liv Morgan, IYO SKY, and Tiffany Stratton. The women's cash-ins have produced some of the biggest moments in the division — Liv Morgan's 2022 SummerSlam win (beating Ronda Rousey) and Tiffany Stratton's 2025 cash-in on Nia Jax being the most memorable.

Ranking the Briefcases

The most important MITB wins of all time, ranked by long-term career impact:

1. Edge (2005) — Established the entire concept. Won his first world title. Career took off.
2. CM Punk (2008) — Launched his first world title run. The start of his main-event career.
3. Seth Rollins (2014) — The WrestleMania 31 cash-in is still the single biggest moment in MITB history.
4. The Miz (2010) — Took Miz from mid-card afterthought to main event champion.
5. Damian Priest (2023) — His WrestleMania 40 cash-in solidified Judgment Day's dominance.

Why Money in the Bank Matters

Money in the Bank is the best booking tool WWE has ever invented. It creates instant main-eventers without requiring months of build. It gives mid-card winners a believable path to the world championship. It adds paranoia to every champion's reign — any moment could be a cash-in moment. And it gives fans a year-long “when will they cash in?” storyline that generates week-after-week intrigue.

More importantly, MITB proves that pro wrestling storytelling doesn't need complicated backstory to be compelling. A briefcase, a ladder, and the promise of a title shot produces more memorable moments per year than any other concept in the business. That's why it's lasted 20 years, and why it will last 20 more.