Ranking the Top 5 Money in the Bank Matches
It all began with a quest for immortality via a WrestleMania moment.
Way back in 2005, Chris Jericho lamented the fact that he had no WrestleMania opponent heading into the twenty-first annual mega event. He pitched the idea of a multi-man ladder match where the prize would be a guaranteed contract for a WWE championship match.
Then Raw general manager Eric Bischoff loved the idea and booked the match. Edge would wind up the winner of the very first Money in the Bank Ladder match, holding the contract for over nine months before finally cashing in on a weary and beaten John Cena, who had just defended his strap in an Elimination Chamber match.
For the next several years, the MITB match was a WrestleMania mainstay, until it became its own branded pay per view in 2010. The Money in the Bank ladder match has quickly established a reputation as a stepping stone to the main event and the world title.
Since the MITB match has become a tradition, it's possible to look back on the past matches and determine which of them was the best of the best. Here are the top five Money in the Bank Ladder matches in ascending order.
Greatest MITB match #5: 2014
In 2014, the biggest wrestling story was the destruction of the Shield faction at the hands of Mr. Crossfit Jesus himself, Seth Rollins.
Part of what makes the 2014 SmackDown MITB match so memorable is that it was an important chapter in the Shield saga. Seth Rollins had sold his soul to the Authority in exchange for being the top guy in the company. In order to fulfill his destiny, he was placed in the MITB match.
However, Dean Ambrose wouldn't leave Rollins alone and promised he would disrupt the match in any way possible to prevent Rollins from winning. Seth demanded that Dean be made part of the match since he was going to interfere anyway.
What followed was one of the better contests in MITB history. From the compelling storyline, to Dean Ambrose coming just that close to getting the briefcase, to the final screw job by Kane make this a can't miss edition of the series, and our number five top choice.