The logo for Money in the Bank. (WWE)
Money in the Bank 2017 is now just hours away. This will be the 13th consecutive year that a Money in the Bank ladder match has taken place, with the winner always getting a contract that they can cash in for a title opportunity any time in the next year. Everyone who receives the contract has a different strategy for using it, with some holding on to it for nearly the full year and some cashing in almost immediately. With that in mind, what is the shortest Money in the Bank contract reign ever?
The shortest time that anyone has held a Money in the Bank contract is 48 minutes. The record-holder here is Kane, who in 2010 won the ladder match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view and cashed in to defeat Rey Mysterio less than one hour later.
Only one other person has cashed in the Money in the Bank contract on the same night that he won it: Dean Ambrose, who did so at Money in the Bank 2016. However, just because of the way the show was structured, it took slightly longer for Ambrose to cash in, and so he held the contract for 57 minutes, nine minutes longer than Kane.
Setting aside the people who cashed in the Money in the Bank contract the very night they won it, another short reign was that of Jack Swagger, who won the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 26 and cashed in five days later on an episode of SmackDown, defeating Chris Jericho.
John Cena also did not hold on to his contract for long. He won the Money in the Bank ladder match in 2012, and he cashed in about a week later. However, Cena actually ended up losing the match, making him the first person to win the Money in the Bank contract but not become champion. (That has only happened to two people, with the other being Damien Sandow, the 2013 winner.)
There’s also Edge, who in 2007 defeated the Money in the Bank ladder match winner, Mr. Kennedy, in a match, with the stipulation being that whoever won got to keep the briefcase. Edge won and cashed in the Money in the Bank contract the very next day.
With the Money in the Bank ladder match this year, the possible winners are AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura. There also will be a Money in the Bank women’s ladder match for the first time, with those competitors being Becky Lynch, Carmella, Charlotte Flair, Natalya and Tamina Snuka.
