The logo of WWE Money in the Bank. (WWE)
Tonight at Money in the Bank, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, and Shinsuke Nakamura will compete in a ladder match to determine who will receive an opportunity to have a WWE World Championship match.
This is part of a pay-per-view series that began in 2010, but the Money in the Bank ladder match has been around before that, beginning at WrestleMania 21 in 2005. Over the years, a wide variety of performers have won the ladder match, sometimes up-and-coming wrestlers and sometimes wrestlers who have been around for years but who are about to receive a major push.
Ahead of this year’s Money in the Bank, here’s a look at all of the winners thus far.
2005: Edge – Edge defeated Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, Kane and Christian in the ladder match at WrestleMania 21. He held the contract for 280 days, not cashing in until New Year’s Revolution in 2006. To this day, this is the longest time that anyone has held onto the Money in the Bank contract.
2006: Rob Van Dam – Van Dam defeated Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Ric Flair, Finlay and Bobby Lashley in the ladder match. He held the contract for 70 days, cashing in to defeat John Cena at One Night Stand 2006.
2007: Mr. Kennedy – Kennedy defeated Edge, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, King Booker, Finlay, Matt Hardy and Randy Orton in the ladder match. He held the contract for 36 days, but on an episode of Monday Night Raw, he lost the contract to Edge. Edge subsequently used it literally the next night to defeat The Undertaker on SmackDown. Edge is therefore the first person to win a Money in the Bank contract twice, although the second time wasn’t through traditional means.
2008: CM Punk – CM Punk defeated Mr. Kennedy, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, John Morrison and Montel Vontavious Porter in the ladder match. He held the contract for 92 days, cashing in on an episode of Raw in June and defeating Edge.
2009: CM Punk – The very next year at WrestleMania 25, CM Punk again won the Money in the Bank contract, defeating Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Kane, Finlay, Montel Vontavious Porter, Kofi Kingston and Mark Henry in the ladder match. This time, he held the contract for 63 days, cashing in at Extreme Rules 2009. Punk is still the only person who has ever won two Money in the Bank ladder matches.
2010: Jack Swagger – At WrestleMania, Jack Swagger defeated Shelton Benjamin, Christian, Kane, Matt Hardy, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Montel Vontavious Porter, and Dolph Ziggler in the ladder match. He tried to cash in the contract on the Raw after WrestleMania, but he changed his mind at the last minute. He ended up cashing in on an episode of SmackDown, defeating Chris Jericho.
2010: Kane – At the first ever Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Kane defeated Christian, Matt Hardy, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes. He cashed in the contract less than an hour later, defeating Rey Mysterio (who had just defeated Jack Swagger that night). This was a contract specifically for an opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship.
2010: The Miz – The Miz won the other ladder match at the Money in the Bank 2010 pay-per-view, with this giving him an opportunity for a WWE Championship match. The Miz defeated Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Edge, Evan Bourne, John Morrison, Mark Henry, and Ted DiBiase. He held the contract for 127 days, cashing in on an episode of Monday Night Raw and defeating Randy Orton.
2011: Daniel Bryan – In the ladder match to determine who would have an opportunity for a World Heavyweight Championship match, Daniel Bryan defeated Kane, Sin Cara, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, and Sheamus. He held the contract for 154 days, cashing in at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs and defeating Big Show.
2011: Alberto Del Rio – In the WWE Championship ladder match, Alberto Del Rio defeated The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Jack Swagger, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne and Alex Riley. He held the contract for 28 days, cashing in at SummerSlam to defeat CM Punk. Del Rio had previously won the Royal Rumble, and so he became the first wrestler to win Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank in the same year.
2012: Dolph Ziggler – In the World Heavyweight Championship ladder match, Dolph Ziggler defeated Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Christian, Tyson Kidd, Sin Cara, Tensai and Santino Marella. He held the contract for 267 days, cashing in on the Raw after WrestleMania in April 2013.
2012: John Cena – In the WWE Championship ladder match, John Cena defeated Chris Jericho, The Miz, Kane and Big Show. Cena held the contract for eight days, cashing in on the 1000th episode of Raw in an attempt to defeat CM Punk. However, Big Show interfered in the match, resulting in John Cena winning by disqualification but not getting the title. This was the first time that someone won the Money in the Bank contract but did not go on to win the title.
2013: Damien Sandow – In the World Heavyweight Championship match, Damien Sandow defeated Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, Dean Ambrose, Jack Swagger, Fandango and Antonio Cesaro. He held the contract for 106 days, cashing in on an episode of Raw in an attempt to defeat John Cena. However, John Cena ended up winning the match, making Sandow the first person to lose the Money in the Bank cash-in match.
2013: Randy Orton – In the WWE Championship ladder match, Randy Orton defeated CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Christian, Sheamus and Rob Van Dam. He held the contract for 35 days, cashing in at SummerSlam to defeat Daniel Bryan and turn heel.
2014: Seth Rollins – In 2014, Money in the Bank went back to just having one ladder match. Seth Rollins won by defeating Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Rob Van Dam and Dean Ambrose. He held the contract for 273 days, cashing in at WrestleMania 31 during a match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.
2015: Sheamus – Sheamus in the ladder match defeated Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Neville, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. He held onto the contract for 181 days, cashing in at Survivor Series and defeating Roman Reigns.
2016: Dean Ambrose – Last year at Money in the Bank, Dean Ambrose defeated Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio. He held onto the contract for just 57 minutes, cashing in during the same pay-per-view and defeating Seth Rollins. Ambrose is the second person to cash in on the same night that he won the contract, after Kane in 2010.