5 Times Money in the Bank Changed a Superstar’s Career and 5 Times It Did Nothing for the Winner

Not all Money in the Bank winners and cash-ins are created equally.

Since its inception in 2005, Money in the Bank has been a key storytelling device for WWE. While not all Money in the Bank Ladder Matches are created equally, there’s never been an objectively bad edition of the match itself. Moreover, each time the briefcase has been cashed in, it has created an electric moment, often with big storyline implications either for crowning a new champion, or at least for defusing the Money in the Bank bombshell that might have dropped at any given moment.

Not every Money in the Bank winner enjoyed a career-defining, explosive change to his or her fortunes. Take Dolph Ziggler. Winning the contract and cashing in in electric fashion offered memorable moments, and pushed him further out of also-ran status into surefire eventual Hall of Famer status. In the end, though, it didn’t really change the shape of his career, as he has continued to occupy the upper mid-card and fringe main event status since.

This article takes a look at five times winning Money in the Bank contract truly changed someone’s career and five times when winning ultimately meant nothing.

#10 Career Changing: Edge

Edge's first cash in redefined his career and established the Money in the Bank concept.

The original Money in the Bank cash-in established a template for years to follow. On his podcast with Christian, Edge has discussed that he pitched cashing in on a beaten down champion, thinking it was the most heelish way to use the briefcase. He claims that he still didn’t expect to win, and yet doing so against John Cena in early 2006 immediately shot The Rated R Superstar into the stratosphere.

While he would drop the WWE Championship before WrestleMania, he’d be in one world title picture or another for most of the last five years of his career.

Pre-Money in the Bank, Edge was a strong upper mid-card act with a history of being half of an all-time great tag team behind him. Via Money in the Bank, he became the kind of guy who could main event a WrestleMania and headline a Hall of Fame class, escalating his entire legacy in the process.