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The Money In The Bank pay-per-view is notably known for the classic ladder matches and every year we get to witness WWE crowning a brand new Mr. or Mrs. Money in the Bank.
However, despite being treated to some of the best ladder matches of all time over the past few years, the WWE Universe has also had the chance to witness some absolutely amazing singles or tag title matches throughout the prestigious Money in the Bank event.
Some of the classic WWE Championship matches have also been a part of the MITB PPV over the years and thus, with that being said, let us now take an in-depth look at 10 best championship matches from Money In The Bank.
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#10. Christian vs Randy Orton (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)- Money In The Bank, 2011
This 2011 feud between Christian and Randy Orton was arguably one of the best on-going feuds in WWE at that point of time, and both Christian and Randy Orton did a pretty good job with the WWE World Heavyweight Title.
Christian initially won the Championship belt from Alberto Del Rio in the first place, only to lose it to the latter in a clean manner just days later was another fine touch to this already intriguing storyline.
Orton and Christian’s match from MITB, 2011 was a very solid contest, with Christian perfectly portraying the role of a cocky heel, who did his best in order to make sure that Orton would somehow get disqualified and lose the World Title in the process.
And ‘Captain Charisma’s’ clever tactics eventually worked off brilliantly for him when he spit Orton in the face, causing ‘The Viper’ to lose his cool and kick the former in the groin, leading to a DQ World Title win for Christian, who successfully regained the World Heavyweight Championship in the most cunning way possible.
#9. Nikki Bella vs Paige (WWE Divas Championship) - Money In The Bank, 2015
Even just a few years ago, the Women of WWE were usually given 7 minutes to showcase their talent in pay-per-view events, but the fact that both Nikki Bella and Paige were given 11 minutes is an achievement in itself.
This Divas Title match between Paige and Nikki was an awesome back-and-forth match with a lot of solid spots to it, including a Cannonball dive to the outside by Paige, who in reply was slammed face-first into the barricade by Nikki.
However, at one point of the contest, it seemed like Paige had apparently sealed the win and the Divas Title after connecting with her Rampage DDT, but much to her shock, Nikki Bella once again managed to kick out at two.
In the closing stages, The Bellas pulled-off The Twin Magic, only for Paige to capitalize on the situation and pin Brie.
However, a freaked out Brie Bella then took tissues out of her top and also showed the tattoos below her stomach to the referee and prompted the official to overrule Paige’s win. This eventually allowed Nikki Bella to connect with the Rack Attack for the win.
#8. Sheamus vs John Cena (WWE Championship) - Money In The Bank, 2010
John Cena and Sheamus’ rivalry from eight years ago was pretty intense and hard-hitting and this 2010 showdown between both men was a typical Steel Cage match, where both men used the cage as a weapon and simultaneously also tried to escape the cage on several occasions to get the win.
‘The Celtic Warrior’ Sheamus would go on to dominate this contest for the majority of it and even manhandled John Cena at times.
Cena, however, ignited a comeback into this match, but eventually missed the attempt of hitting a 5 Knuckle Shuffle from the top rope, which subsequently allowed Sheamus to connect with the Brogue Kick, only for the former to hit an AA in a similar manner as well.
The outside interference from Nexus was also a very nice touch to this match and it eventually allowed Sheamus to sneak out of the cage door to pick up the win.
#7. AJ Lee vs Kaitlyn (WWE Divas Championship) - Money in the Bank, 2013
Kaitlyn and AJ Lee’s rivalry was truly one of the iconic feuds of all time and the two ladies did their absolute best to shine on the big stage, prior to the WWE Women’s Revolution. Kaitlyn came into this match as the challenger and with AJ Lee having the back-up of Big E, the former did have an uphill task ahead of her.
However, Kaitlyn did start this match in a very strong manner, throwing the champion on the outside, but, a clever AJ Lee outsmarted her opponent by and took advantage of an already injured elbow of Kaitlyn.
The challenger eventually picked up the pace of the match, using her immense strength to her advantage and connected with a Spear late on in the match.
But, Kaitlyn’s injured elbow once again came into play as she failed to get the pinfall win, allowing Lee to lock in the Black Widow submission for the win.
#6. Alberto Del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler (World Heavyweight Championship) - Money In The Bank, 2013
Another amazing contest for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, as both Ziggler and Del Rio, went at it right from the get-go.
Ziggler, who initially cashed in his MITB contract on Del Rio to win the World Heavyweight Title, eventually found himself the challenger’s seat as he headed into this match looking to regain the World Title yet again.
This match was arguably far better than Ziggler and Del Rio’s previous clash at Payback and despite a slow start early on, the match itself had some brilliant and notable exchanges between both men who picked up the pace of the contest as it gradually progressed.
AJ Lee’s last-minute interference was the icing on the cake to his brilliant match, as the then-Divas Champion made her way down to the ring and hit Del Rio with her title belt to cost Ziggler the match via DQ, making the entire stuff much more believable.
#5. Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns (WWE Championship) - Money In The Bank, 2016
After having suffered a devastating knee injury in 2015, this was Seth Rollins’ big return to the WWE and for his first match back, ‘The Architect’ had the task of defeating his former Shield brethren Roman Reigns.
There’s no doubt in the fact that Reigns and Rollins have amazing in-ring chemistry with each other and the two once again proved why they’ve been labeled as WWE’s two big superstars of the next generation.
During this match, Reigns and Rollins crafted a very interesting dynamic with each other, with the latter being treated as the hero in this match despite being the heel.
Reigns, however, targeted Rollins’ injured knee, but that did not stop ‘The Architect’ from pulling-off all his high impact moves, which absolutely lit up the crowd as well.
However, the biggest pop of the evening belonged to Seth Rollins when he cleanly defeated Reigns following The Pedigree to win back the WWE Title and Dean Ambrose’s cash-in just moments later was the perfect way to cap off the night.
#4. The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) vs The Usos (WWE Tag Team Championships) - Money In The Bank, 2013
By this point, you might have probably just realized that the 2013 Money In The Bank pay-per-view was one of the best WWE shows of all time, as it has already made into this list for a staggering third time.
The Shield’s run as WWE Tag Team Champions was the perfect definition of dominance and despite being on the pre-show for this event, both Reigns and Rollins did an absolutely amazing job in defending their WWE Tag Team Titles against Jimmy and Jey Uso.
This match has got to be one of the best pre-show matches of all time and Seth Rollins’ in-ring work was tremendously smooth throughout the entire evening and the fact that the crowd started chanting “This is Awesome” during a pre-show match, speaks a lot.
A perfect definition to a good back-and-forth wrestling match, which also made The Usos look like credible title challengers.
However, the dominant duo of Reigns and Rollins was just a bit too much in the end, as ‘The Big Dog’ picked up the win for The Shield via a brutal Spear.
#3. Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose (WWE Championship Ladder Match) - Money In The Bank, 2015
Rollins and Ambrose’s rivalry was deeply personal and this brutal Ladder match from 2015 was another amazing chapter to their perfectly built rivalry.
Coming into this match, the crowd was absolutely hot for both men, as Ambrose played the role of an intimidating babyface, whereas, Rollins was equally brilliant in his heel role as well.
Now, this match apparently did not have any of the big signature ladder match spots as some fans would expect, but instead, we witnessed a match that was completely based on the perfect storytelling from Ambrose and Rollins.
The Champion’s heel mannerism throughout the match was brilliant and we also saw Rollins introducing several other notable weapons into this match, such as a steel chair and the fact that Rollins kept on brutally punishing Ambrose’s leg only for the latter to sell it perfectly throughout the contest was another awesome touch to this match.
The ending might be bit questionable, but there is no doubt that the match itself was absolutely awesome.
#2. CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Championship) - Money In The Bank, 2012
This match was the exact opposite of Punk and Bryan’s clash from Over The Limit, as both men managed to work a very different style on this occasion, but it was a great showdown nonetheless.
Both men focused much more on the strikes and weapons and brutally beat the living hell out of each other with every opening they found.
On the other hand, AJ Lee’s involvement in the match also turned out to be a big issue, but that did not affect the sheer physicality of this match.
Daniel Bryan’s brutal infamous kicks were also a thing of beauty in this match as well, as the champion, CM Punk fell on the backfoot all thanks to those devastating kicks.
The inclusion of the Kendo sticks and the Steel Chair shots was also another big example of how physical this match was and the final spot of the match with the Back Suplex from the top rope was another brilliant spot in the match, as we witnessed a fun brawl between two of the very best of this generation.
#1. CM Punk vs John Cena (WWE Championship) - Money In The Bank, 2011
The obvious one on this list!
CM Punk and John Cena’s clash from MITB, 2011 was the perfect definition of an instant classic and received the prestigious five-star rating from The Observer’s Dave Meltzer.
Punk, who came into the match as the hometown hero of Chicago, was fresh-off his infamous Pipebomb promo, which he cut on Raw just weeks prior to this showdown against John Cena.
Both Cena and Punk just instantly clicked with each other right from the start to this match and their chemistry inside the ring was just magnificent.
The match itself spoke brilliance right from Punk’s amazing entrance in Chicago, which of course received a huge ovation from the WWE Universe to the ending of an amazing 33-minute showdown between the ‘Second City Saint’ and ‘The Leader of The Cenation’.
The outside interference from both Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis eventually cost Cena the match and the WWE Title as well, as CM Punk successfully managed to pin Cena to win the WWE Title for the very first time in his career in what was a fitting end to an absolutely amazing MITB pay-per-view.
CM Punk and John Cena’s MITB clash from 2011 truly remains as one of the best title matches of all time and if you haven’t watched it already, then I suggest you to go check it out as soon as possible.
