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The Money In The Bank contract has been one of the best storytelling devices in the WWE over the past two decades. Following the success of the titular ladder match on WrestleMania from 2005-2010, WWE eventually decided to create its own pay-per-view based on the concept. This has resulted in the major event being considered one of the most anticipated of the year.
Although many of the Money In The Bank winners have had entertaining reigns that end with world championships, there have been quite a few that have failed to catch as well. Some reigns have been lackluster due to their length, booking or the eventual cash-in. Other reigns have totally halted the careers of the winners and caused irreversible damage to their characters.
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The majority of the winners have gone on to have magical runs as top stars like Edge, The Miz and Seth Rollins. There will always be those who look back on the more maligned reigns just as closely. In this article, let's take a look at the five worst Money In The Bank reigns in WWE history.
Honorable mentions:
- Mr. Kennedy
- Sheamus
- Asuka
#5 John Cena (Money In The Bank 2012)
The Raw Money In The Bank Ladder Match featured all former world champions battling out for the prestigious briefcase. This seemed to be against the point of the stipulation, which always seemed to put over a new star with the guaranteed title shot whenever they wanted. John Cena outlasted The Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane and The Miz to win the contract.
Being the top babyface in all of WWE, Cena decided to challenge WWE Champion CM Punk for the Raw 1000th episode with his Money In The Bank contract. This was similar to how Rob Van Dam cashed in on Cena years earlier at One Night Stand in 2006, but things didn't quite work as well for "The Face That Runs The Place."
The Big Show interfered in the Punk vs Cena WWE Championship Match, causing a disqualification. John Cena won the match, but did not win the title in one of the disappointing results to a Money In The Bank cash-in. This also marked the very first time that the MITB winner didn't result in a title change.
#4 Damien Sandow (Money In The Bank 2013)
In 2013, the Money In the Bank Ladder matches were split between the established main event babyfaces and up-and-coming heels. Dean Ambrose, Fandango, Cesaro, Jack Swagger, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow were the competitors in the opening matchup. This turned into a highly entertaining bout.
Cody Rhodes had a star-making performance, breaking through as the fan favorite for the crowd in attendance. It seemed like he would capture the briefcase, but his tag team partner, Damien Sandow, betrayed him and pushed him off the ladder before grabbing the Money In The Bank briefcase for himself.
"The Savior of the Masses" was viewed as a talented star who had the potential to be a top star with his terrific mic skills and serviceable in-ring ability. His Money In The Bank reign featured a decent mid-card rivalry against his former partner Cody Rhodes, which he lost. However, no one was ready for how detrimental his eventual cash-in would be.
Damien Sandow cashed in on John Cena on the Raw following his return at Hell In A Cell 2013 beating Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship. Cena returned from a shoulder injury to win another world title, so Sandow used this knowledge to attack the champ's injury and decided to cash in on the Money In The Bank contract.
However, Sandow's advantage wasn't enough on this evening. Cena overcame that setback prior to the match and beat Damien Sandow with a one arm Attitude Adjustment to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Sandow never recovered from this loss and was never able to elevate himself past the mid-card following this tragic loss.
#3 Baron Corbin (Money In The Bank 2017)
The 2017 Men's Money In The Bank Ladder Match was a star studded lineup of some of the best wrestlers on the WWE roster. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn continued their career rivalry in this contest, while AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura teased their eventual WrestleMania showdown. Dolph Ziggler was there as a former Money In The Bank winner and then there was Baron Corbin.
Corbin was the least experienced of the competitors, but also the man who would gain the most from the win. His victory was met with boos from the St. Louis crowd following an exciting car crash matchup. It seemed like "The Lone Wolf" would be on the fast track to the top of the SmackDown Live card. However, that is not what transpired.
Following his Money In The Bank contract win, Baron Corbin went into a feud with Shinsuke Nakamura. "The King of Strong Style" defeated Corbin by disqualification at the next SmackDown Live pay-per-view. Baron lost by pinfall to Nakamura a few weeks later on SmackDown Live.
Corbin's next feud would be with John Cena. This looked to be the perfect rivalry to set him up to get the rocket strap to the top heel in the company, but it just wasn't met to be.
Cena faced WWE Champion Jinder Mahal on SmackDown Live ahead of Summerslam. Corbin interfered in causing a disqualification, attacking both men and proceeded to cash in his Money In The Bank contract.
Cena distracted his Summerslam opponent, which led to Jinder Mahal rolling up Corbin to beat him. This failed Money In The Bank cash-in sent Corbin right down the card.
He then went on to lose to John Cena in humiliating fashion at Summerslam. Although Corbin has stayed in the upper mid-card since this loss, he has never felt quite at the level that he was when he won the briefcase.
#2 Otis (Money In The Bank 2020)
Money In The Bank 2020 presented WWE with a unique opportunity. With this being the first pay-per-view since WrestleMania 36 during the pandemic, the company wanted to try something new. The titular ladder match would be a cinematic match with both men and women competing at the same time in a race up to the top of WWE Headquarters.
This was a wild, ridiculous contest that saw a Brother Love and Paul Heyman cameo, a random clown, a food fight and superstars being thrown off the roof. Otis was the man to retrieve the briefcase following AJ Styles having it slip out of his hands. This was a surprise winner for many.
Otis had momentum after his entertaining feud with Dolph Ziggler that saw him defeat his rival and kiss his crush, Mandy Rose at WrestleMania 36. However, his victory at Money In The Bank 2020 felt like a huge jump up the card. He was featured throughout his reign with the briefcase, but it never felt like he was on the cusp of becoming a world champion.
He was mostly featured in tag team matches with his Heavy Machinery tag team partner, Tucker, or side character in the rivalry between Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Otis eventually found himself against The Miz, who felt like he was not deserving of the Money In The Bank contract.
The feud with The Miz felt very low-brow and beneath what they were fighting over with the Money In The Bank briefcase made into a lunch box by Otis and a goofy court case that set up a match at Hell In A Cell 2020 with the contract on the line. This is where Tucker turned on Otis and cost him the contract.
This killed any elevation that Otis got during his time with the briefcase and broke up a successful tag team in Heavy Machinery. WWE simultaneously split the babyface tag team, devalued the Money In The Bank contract and killed an organically over-babyface with one reign with the briefcase.
#1 Braun Strowman (Money In The Bank 2018)
Heading into Money In The Bank 2018, Braun Strowman was one of the biggest babyfaces in WWE. He competed in the titular ladder match against Bobby Roode, Finn Balor, Kofi Kingston, Rusev, Samoa Joe and The Miz. The contest presented many intriguing options for holding the briefcase.
However, Money In The Bank 2018 proved to be Braun Strowman's night with his dominance leading to him becoming "Monster In The Bank." Strowman went into a rivalry against Kevin Owens. The two superstars faced each other in a steel cage match at Extreme Rules 2018.
Strowman dominated the encounter as well, but he lost due to Owens hitting the floor first after Braun gave him a chokeslam from the top of the steel cage through the commentary table below. This led to a rematch at Summerslam 2018 with the Money In The Bank contract on the line.
Braun won the match and later looked set to cash in after the Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns Universal Championship Match. Brock Lesnar beat down Braun and tossed his Money In The Bank briefcase up the stage to avoid the cash-in. Roman took advantage and speared Lesnar to win the WWE Universal Championship.
The following night on Raw, Roman Reigns defeated Finn Balor to successfully defend his Universal Title, but it looked like his night wasn't over. Braun Strowman came down to cash in the Money In The Bank contract. However, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose reunited The Shield with Roman Reigns and beat down Strowman to halt the cash-in.
A week later, Braun Strowman turned heel and aligned himself with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler to counteract The Shield's numbers advantage. This seemed like a strange decision that was never fully explained. Strowman cashed in his Money In The Bank contract on Roman Reigns in a Hell In A Cell Match at the next pay-per-view.
The showdown between Reigns and Strowman had interference from Rollins, Ambrose, McIntyre and Ziggler, but it was Brock Lesnar who ripped the door off the Hell In A Cell and caused a no contest. This was the first Hell In A Cell Match and Money In The Bank cash-in match to end in a no contest.
Braun Strowman's reign with the briefcase was absolutely disastrous. WWE turned a red hot babyface heel, had him punked out by Brock Lesnar several times and never allowed him to look like the Monster Among Men that they built him to be. That is why Braun Strowman's Money In The Bank reign is the worst in WWE history.
