The 10 Best WWE Money in the Bank Cash-Ins, According to the Wrestling Classic

Summerslam - 08/18/13

The build up towards John Cena defending his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan painted Bryan to be the ultimate underdog, even though he had been a World Champion by this point already. John Cena got to pick his own opponent for Summerslam and he picked Daniel Bryan, who was a major fan favorite at the time. Vince McMahon didn't like the decision because he felt that Bryan didn't look like a WWE Champion. Triple H inserted himself as the special referee to make sure there weren't any shenanigans.

Bryan would go on to defeat Cena clean to win his first WWE Championship. The celebration was cut short when Randy Orton appeared with his MITB briefcase and Triple H turned heel again for the first time since 2006 by hitting the pedigree on Bryan. Randy Orton would cash-in to become the WWE Champion for the seventh time. This was the beginning of the Authority angle that dominated WWE television for the next 3-4 years and the first time Triple H and Randy Orton were on the same page since their Evolution days.

Raw - 11/22/10

Mike Mizanin was that guy from MTV's "The Real World" and nobody took him seriously. He had a rough start in the company both backstage in the locker room and on screen as a host/wrestler. He really didn't find his stride until he was paired up with John Morrison, after which they won the tag team titles and they started their web series "The Dirt Sheet." He would later become a United States Champion and even win the tag titles with Big Show again, but he still wasn't a guy the fans saw as a future WWE Champion.

The Miz won the Raw MITB briefcase in the first "Money in the Bank" PPV and might have been the first winner that most people didn't want to see successfully cash in. However, after Randy Orton defeated Nexus leader Wade Barrett to successfully retain his championship, the Nexus attacked him. The Miz capitalized on this moment to cash in, hit a skull crushing finale and won the championship for the first time proving all of his naysayers wrong. It also got us the "angry miz girl" meme.

Raw - 06/30/08

When CM Punk made his debut in the WWE in 2006, I don't think anyone expected him to become the World or WWE Champion in the first two years. The straight edge superstar made his debut on the ECW brand with a lot of buzz from his time in Ring of Honor and the Independents. I definitely did see him becoming an ECW Champion, which he did ultimately win in 2007.

Following losing the belt, he won the Money in the Bank ladder match at Wrestlemania 24. At this point, there hadn't been an unsuccessful cash-in and I really didn't want CM Punk to be the first. In the Summer of 2008, CM Punk was drafted to Raw. Another superstar drafted to Raw was "The Animal" Batista who was unsuccessful at beating Edge for the World Championship the evening before at "Night of Champions," so when Edge came to gloat on Raw the following evening, he was met with a Batista Bomb by Big Dave. CM Punk capitalized on this moment to cash in and one GTS later, he was the new World Champion.

Smackdown - 04/10/18

It was a big deal when it was announced that the women would be getting their own MITB ladder match in 2017. It was another big milestone in the women's revolution. The first one was extra special because the winner would always have the claim of winning the first ever women's MITB ladder match. Therefore, when the "Princess of Staten Island'' Carmella picked up the victory, I was excited. The victory was clouded with some controversy since James Ellsworth helped by obtaining the briefcase and dropping to Carmella.

There was a rematch held on Smackdown, where once again Carmella was victorious. Mella teased cashing in a bunch of times, which led to some exciting moments, but it wouldn't be until the Smackdown after Wrestlemania 34 that she cashed in. The IIconics made their debut by attacking Smackdown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair to make their presence known, thus allowing Carmella to take advantage of the situation to cash in. It was truly a great run; the briefcase helped create a new star, helped Carmella win her first championship and legitimized her as a threat in the women's division forever more. Mella has been money ever since.

Money in the Bank - 06/19/16

The Shield was one of the most dominant factions of the modern era. Until this day, they still run the wrestling world, even though they're in different companies. Seth Rollins was the first Shield member to win the WWE Championship—in a moment we'll talk about later. Roman Reigns had won the WWE Championship for the first time at Survivor Series until he was ultimately cashed-in on by Sheamus, only to go on to hold it a couple of more times after that. Ambrose was the only member of The Shield up until this point not to win the WWE Championship, but it almost seemed inevitable that he would win it one day. Dean Ambrose let us know ahead of time that if he was to win the MITB briefcase, he was not going to wait long to cash-in.

Seth Rollins would defeat Roman Reigns in the main event to win the WWE Championship, but Ambrose stayed true to his word by cashing in on Seth following the match. Ambrose won his first ever WWE Championship and it was even sweeter that it was in a situation that involved his former Shield brethren. It was euphoric. Another fun fact: on this very night, every member of the Shield was the WWE Champion at some point.

ECW One Night Stand - 06/11/06

It's always great when all the pieces fall together perfectly to tell an unforgettable story. That is what happened in 2006. Fan favorite Rob Van Dam won the MITB briefcase at Wrestlemania. The majority of the fans began to turn against John Cena, although WWE propaganda would like to convince us otherwise. There were plans to bring Extreme Championship Wrestling back full-time as a third brand under the WWE umbrella following the second "ECW One Night Stand" PPV. RVD was one of the first people to announce his cash-in ahead of time as he wanted Cena in the main event of the "ECW One Night Stand" PPV for the WWE Championship. It was truly a unique, but unforgettable atmosphere. The ECW fans inside of the Hammerstein Ballroom were strongly behind RVD and hostile towards John Cena. There was even a giant fan-made sign that said "If Cena Wins, We Riot!", which I genuinely believe they would have if he did.

RVD would come out victorious when Edge showed up under a mask, hitting a spear on Cena that was followed by a five star frog splash and Paul Heyman made the three count. If you have never watched this, I would highly recommend you check it out.

New Years Revolution - 10/08/06

On this day... we saw everything come to life. When Edge won the inaugural Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania 21, nobody really knew when he was going to cash-in, but we all knew it would be at the most opportune time as he is the "Ultimate Opportunist." That being said, the concept was still so new that I was caught off guard when he did cash in on John Cena at New Years Revolution. Cena had just survived defending his championship against five other superstars in the Elimination Chamber. As Cena was recovering from the brutality of the cell match, Vince McMahon appeared on the stage letting the people know that Edge wanted to cash-in.

Two spears later, Edge was the new WWE Champion for the first ever time. This moment really set the bar for the MITB concept. It also showcased how holding the MITB briefcase could create a new top star and give an opportunity to someone who might not be in the title picture that often a chance to be part of it whenever it works. The MITB concept has allowed 11 different superstars to win their first World Titles and it all started with the "Rated R Superstar."

Raw - 04/08/13

Dolph Ziggler has been—and still is, to his die-hard fans—that guy who is so good but always gets overlooked when it comes to World Title opportunities. Looking back, he had a lot of World Title opportunities, but was always the guy who came so close to winning the big one but never did. Therefore, when he won the Money in the Bank, the fans waited patiently for the day he would cash-in at the opportune moment. In the 267 days that Ziggler held the contract, he defended it two times. Dolph put the contract on the line in a "career vs. contract" against Chris Jericho on Raw and in a Ladder Match against John Cena at TLC. Cena had been unsuccessful with his cash-in during the Summer and it was very believable that he could lose his contract to John Cena.

However, when he beat Cena at TLC, it made me more of a believer that he could successfully cash-in. At Wrestlemania 29, Dolph Ziggler was involved in a tag match that his team lost. Therefore, it was a bigger surprise when the following night on Raw he cashed-in on an already beat down Alberto Del Rio to win the World Championship. The pop was incredible from the moment his music hit until he went backstage as the new champion.