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Money in the Bank has been a staple in WWE since 2005. It has earned a reputation for creating new stars, stemming from its perfect success rate in its first seven years. Every superstar who cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase became a world champion in the company until 2012.
And while we see the occasional failed attempts, chances are the winner of the ladder match will win the world title. But how often does that translate into the winner turning into a superstar and reaping the rewards beyond the title win?
The biggest examples of this case include Edge and CM Punk, both of whom won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania. However, WWE has also created a few gems through Money in the Bank since it became its own pay-per-view event in 2010.
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Some of them went on to scale incredible heights while others used it to save their careers. These five success stories might appear different, but they have a common base: the Money in the Bank briefcase. They represent WWE's best use of the star-making concept.
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#5 Dean Ambrose ended years of hurt at WWE Money in the Bank 2016
Success stories involving the Money in the Bank briefcase come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them manifest over multiple years, while others are more short-term. Dean Ambrose's win in 2016 represented the latter.
The former WWE Superstar won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, while Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns faced off in the main event of the namesake pay-per-view. After Rollins stunned everybody by pinning Reigns, Ambrose ruined his moment. This was the culmination of years of hurt at the hands of The Architect.
This was revenge for Dean Ambrose, after the way Seth Rollins betrayed him and ended The Shield. The ensuing WWE title reign may not have been the best, but this moment was magical. And it was through Money in the Bank did we finally saw Ambrose get one over on Rollins.
Also, this night saw all three members of The Shield holding the WWE Championship within a five-minute window. More than Dean Ambrose, this was a story of the success of The Hounds of Justice. Not every faction produces three future WWE Champions.
#4 The Miz became WWE Champion and silenced his haters thanks to Money in the Bank
The first-ever WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view saw The Miz win the RAW MITB ladder match. He is the definition of a Money in the Bank-made star, as there was no way he would come anywhere close to the WWE Championship without the briefcase.
In fact, The Miz is the only Money in the Bank winner since 2010 whose only world title victories have come via cash-in. He did so twice, over a decade apart from each other. The A-Lister won his first WWE Championship in November of that year.
His run wasn't the greatest, but The Miz did silence a lot of haters along the way. Also, he main evented WrestleMania 27 against John Cena. Nobody can take that, or his "Hate Me Now" video package, from him.
After losing the WWE title, The Miz would continue to win titles year after year. He eventually became one of the most reliable stars on the company's roster, coming a long way from being kicked out of the locker room. Money in the Bank played a pivotal part in making the two-time WWE Champion a star.
#3 Seth Rollins saved WWE WrestleMania 31 by cashing in Money in the Bank
WWE successfully killed two birds with one stone thanks to the 2014 Money in the Bank briefcase. It created a new top star while saving the main event of WrestleMania in the process.
Seth Rollins won Money in the Bank weeks after betraying his brothers and ending The Shield. He was set up for major success right off the bat, as the new poster boy of The Authority. The Architect became the top full-time heel in WWE and found the perfect setting to cash it in - right at the end of WrestleMania 31.
Rollins interrupted an incredibly hard-hitting contest between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, turning the match into a triple threat and winning the WWE Championship. It was unique and creative, with the company escaping a potentially ugly reaction for the babyface Reigns upon his supposed victory.
The "Heist of the Century" remains the greatest Money in the Bank cash-in of all time, while Seth Rollins did well as WWE Champion. The Architect is still a huge star, having become a four-time world champion in WWE. However, the peak of his career so far has to be that Money in the Bank cash-in.
#2 Bayley took the first step towards a career resurrection at WWE Money in the Bank 2019
It may have not been through this direct reign, but Money in the Bank 2019 was the first step towards Bayley's incredible transformation into WWE's top female heel.
It began a slow-burning heel turn, with her babyface run having gone stale a few years earlier. The Role Model would win and cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase on the same night, defeating Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship.
While the cheers were deafening, this was not a rebirth of Bayley as the loveable babyface. She slowly got closer and closer to a turn to the dark side. Bayley completed her heel turn by cutting her hair a few months later, as she regained the title after briefly losing it to Flair.
Bayley grew as a character during this reign, especially when the 'Pandemic Era' began. She and Sasha Banks dominated WWE's women's division for a few months before The Role Model brutally turned on her best friend.
Bayley lost the SmackDown Women's title to The Legit Boss after a year-long reign with it, but remains one of the biggest stars on the Blue brand to this day. Her character work has improved leaps and bounds since her Money in the Bank win two years ago.
#1 Daniel Bryan is the biggest star WWE created through Money in the Bank since 2010
Money in the Bank has created several new stars in WWE since 2005, but it may not have been more important to someone's rise as it was to Daniel Bryan's. It provided him with the base to take his career to unthinkable heights.
Bryan's victory in the 2011 SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match came as a huge shock, as he looked nowhere near a typical world champion in the company. He would become one by the end of the year, picking up the World Heavyweight Championship.
This reign truly opened Bryan up as a top-tier character, but it was the end of it that ensured he would remain one of WWE's biggest stars. Sheamus defeated him in 18 seconds at WrestleMania 28 and the fans protested this with "Yes" chants at every turn.
Despite being a heel, Daniel Bryan was adored by the WWE faithful. The Yes Movement was becoming undeniable and he was eventually a babyface again. WWE had no choice but to push him into the WWE title scene, which came to a head at WrestleMania 30.
The heroic babyface was added to the main event after the fans wouldn't accept anything less, defeating Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista to stand tall as the Champion. This one moment was the result of a unique set of circumstances, which can be traced back to when Bryan started saying "Yes" as a heel.
That came a few weeks after he cashed in Money in the Bank. So, while it took a few years, the briefcase eventually created the biggest babyface in modern WWE history.
