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The Money in The Bank ladder match debuted at WrestleMania 21 back in 2005. Since then, eighteen WWE wrestlers have held the MITB briefcase, and we’ll see two more seize the case on June 17th.
The briefcase has provided us with many memorable moments: Dolph Ziggler cashing in the day after WrestleMania, The Angry Miz Girl, Rollins sprinting down the ramp at WrestleMania 31.
However, after 13 years, the once exciting ‘cash-in moment’ is in danger of becoming stale. Almost all cash-ins follow the same format; The champion is low on energy in the ring, out comes the MITB briefcase holder, running down the aisle, clutching a briefcase in one hand and a confused referee on the other.
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Here are five different ways this year’s Mr. and Miss Money in The Bank could cash-in that contract.
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#1 Cash-in at WrestleMania (but announced ahead of time)
Seth Rollins famously cashed-in during the main event of WrestleMania 31 to win the WWE Championship, but nobody has interfered in a championship bout ahead of time using the Money in The Bank contract.
Previously, two wrestlers have stated their intent to cash-in at WrestleMania; Mr Kennedy in 2006 and Daniel Bryan in 2011. A real-life injury curtailed Kennedy’s plan and he lost his briefcase to Edge (who cashed in the next day on The Undertaker).
Bryan announced that he would cash-in his briefcase at WrestleMania 28 but ended up reneging on his promise. He capitalised on a fallen Big Show to win the World Heavyweight title at the TLC PPV on Dec 2011.
The male or female who wins this year’s contract should declare the week after their intention to cash-in at WrestleMania 35 – but follow through with their promise.
Hence, the Road to WrestleMania would be a lot different. Would the Royal Rumble winner choose the champion that the Money in The Bank winner has already declared for? What if the MITB holder also wins the Royal Rumble?! They could wrestle for both Raw and Smackdown’s big belts at WrestleMania.
A great deal of long-term booking would be needed for this to be pulled off, on that point…
#2 Cash-in at the following year's Money in The Bank PPV
Carmella held the briefcase for a record 287 days, but nobody has kept it for the full 365.
Due to a storyline injury or constant foiled attempts, the briefcase holder would still be clutching that case when Money in The Bank 2019 rolls around.
This creates a scenario where there could be two MITB contracts at play at the same time. The MITB 2018 winner could cash-in on the champ but be thwarted by the MITB 2019 briefcase holder. The MITB 2018 winner could enter the 2019 match and hold two briefcases; they could cash-in on both brands champion on the same night. There are numerous possibilities.
Much like the previous idea of cashing-in at WrestleMania, this plan would require extensive long-term booking. WWE has had a patchy record with that, but they have been able to pull it off, The Rock/Cena feud from 2011-2013 is a great example. If WWE can hold off the urge to cash-in early, then this would be one of the most unique events in the company’s history.
#3 Cash-in at a live event
AJ Styles won the United States Championship at a live event in Madison Square Garden last year. The main reasoning behind this non-televised win was to attract more fans to live events. 99.9% of the time, titles don’t change hands at live events, and most fans know that, but when WWE does the occasional switch, it puts that seed in the fans mind that perhaps at the local show in their town, they may see something momentous.
A Money in The Bank cash-in would fit that bill. Whether the cash-in is successful or not is irrelevant, having that moment on a live event would create an unforgettable memory for those few fans and would show that anything could happen at a WWE event.
#4 Cash-in for a secondary title
There’s one wrestler who could pull off this storyline, and he’s in the Men’s Money in The Bank match this year, The Miz.
Miz repeatedly declared that he was “making the Intercontinental Title relevant” during his many reigns. What better proclamation then using the Money in The Bank briefcase to win back the IC Title. It would be a genuinely shocking moment because everyone until now has cashed in for one of the main titles.
It would be a perfect way for The Miz to break the record for most cumulative days as IC champion (he was only a few days off before he lost the belt to Seth Rollins) and this cash-in would create greater intrigue going forward. Now, no title is safe!
#5 Cash-in during a speciality match
So far, only one wrestler has cashed-in during a match; Seth Rollins when he turned the one-on-one WWE Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns into a triple threat. Wrestlers have cashed-in after speciality matches, the very first MITB cash-in occurred after an Elimination Chamber match, but no one has cashed-in during one of these bouts.
WWE has many specialities matches The Money in The Bank holder could cash-in during. A ladder match would be ideal. While both competitors are on the outside, Mr/Miss MITB could waltz in, climb up the ladder and take the title.
During a falls count anywhere match, Mr/Miss Money in The Bank could launch a sneak attack while the competitors are backstage to steal the title, a move reminisced of the old 24/7 Hardcore Championship days.
On the same night as this year's Money in The Bank match, AJ Styles will defend his WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura in a Last Man Standing match. The new Mr MITB could come in during the closing moments when both men are utterly exhausted; he would whack both Nakamura and Styles with the briefcase to pick up the win and the belt without pinning anyone.
Whoever pulls this off, would not just become a champion but they could claim Edge’s mantle of ‘Ultimate Opportunist’ for themselves.
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