3 AEW stars who won the Money in the Bank ladder match
Several current and former AEW stars have been part of the Money in the Bank match in its almost two-decade history. This has become one of the most iconic match types as it features a ladder match with a guaranteed world title match contract hanging from the rafters.
With this contract being legal to use at any moment, the wrestling world has witnessed several incredible "cash-ins" and several stars become world champions in the most dramatic of ways.
Former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho is credited with conceptualizing this match, although he has revealed that he wasn't exactly the one who came up with the name. Now let us look back and see which other current AEW stars are part of the match's long history.
#1 Adam Copeland (fka Edge) was the inaugural winner of this match
In 2005, Chris Jericho created the Money in the Bank match and pitched this to RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff. He liked the idea and booked the match for WrestleMania that year. Edge ended up winning the match and being the first MITB contract holder.
Nine months later, the AEW star cashed in his contract on John Cena at New Year's Revolution to become the WWE Champion. Copeland ended up being the one to start the idea of "cashing in" when the champion was in a vulnerable state, often after a grueling bout.
#2 AEW star Bryan Danielson's cash-in was the first in history to be reversed
In 2011, Bryan Danielson won SmackDown's edition of the Money in the Bank match during the eponymous pay-per-view. He wished to cash this in during WrestleMania XXVIII a few months later, but an opportunity opened up way before that.
In November 2011, an injured Mark Henry came out and was confronted by The Big Show. He ended up being knocked out by The World's Largest Athlete and Bryan took the chance and tried cashing in his contract.
The AEW star pinned Mark Henry and was awarded the world title, but the General Manager of the brand at the time, Teddy Long came out to reverse the match, as the champion wasn't cleared for action. The American Dragon eventually became the world champion a month later as he cashed in on Big Show to capture the World Heavyweight Championship.
#3 Jon Moxley and the former SHIELD members all held the world title in the same night
Back in 2016, Dean Ambrose won the Money in the Bank ladder match, besting the likes of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, and Alberto Del Rio.
In the main event of the night, Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. But moments later, he was blindsided by Ambrose, who had won the contract just an hour prior. He then cashed in his contract and pinned Rollins to become the world champion.
This made the Shield the first faction in history to have all members hold the world title on the same night. Eventually, this would benefit Ambrose as the brand split happened a few nights later and he would head to WWE SmackDown as their world champion.
With the match's long history, several well-known names in the industry have seen their fair share of action in the match, with others going on to become winners and world champions in the end.
Some former AEW names or affiliates have also won the match including the likes of CM Punk, Jake Hager, and RVD. It remains to be seen who else adds to this list and becomes the winner this year. As of writing, Jey Uso, Carmelo Hayes, and Andrade have qualified for the match.