WINC Watchlist: WWE Money In The Bank Ladder Matches

Whenever there's a big show coming up, like WWE Money in the Bank this weekend, it can be instructive (not to mention fun) to go back and watch some older, related matches in the lead-up to the event. There are as many different ways to watch wrestling as there are individual wrestling fans, but here at Wrestling Inc., we love to cut up and rearrange wrestling history in interesting and unique ways, selecting a variety of matches with some sort of through-line connecting them and placing them side-by-side. This time around, WINC Watchlist invites you on a journey through the history of the Money in the Bank ladder match.

To be clear, we are talking the ladder match itself here, not Money in the Bank briefcase cash-ins. We have a whole other article for those. There have been 34 MITB ladder matches so far (with #35 and #36 coming this Saturday) and these are five of the best and most notable ones, though for the record, we're not going to talk about the first one, because it has a murderer in it and we didn't want to. Similarly, while it might be technically historic, we're not going to talk about the first women's MITB ladder match either, because it was won by James Ellsworth and we didn't want to. We did take ladder matches from what have really been three eras of the match's history — the six years it spent as an annual WrestleMania staple, the institution of the Money in the Bank PLE and the era of multiple briefcase holders, and finally a brief return to single holders of the contract before the debut of the women's MITB match and the modern era, which we are admittedly favoring here. With all that in mind, here are five MITB ladder matches to get you ready for Money in the Bank this weekend!

The fourth iteration of the Money in the Bank ladder match took place at WrestleMania 24 in Orlando, Florida in March 2008, and despite Mr. Kennedy telling celebrity guest host Kim Kardashian he would be the first WWE star to win back-to-back Money in the Bank ladder matches, it was CM Punk to get the victory that night. Punk would actually be the star to go on to become the first man to win consecutive MITB matches, with his second coming in 2009. The 'Mania 24 match saw Punk compete against Chris Jericho, the creator of the concept, Kennedy, John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, and MVP, who was United States Champion at the time.

All MITB matches are certified spot fests, and the 2008 bout was no different. Morrison had an impressive showing with a moonsault off the top rope with a ladder. Benjamin hit a sunset flip to powerbomb combo off another to Kennedy and Morrison, and "The Shaman of Sexy" later was caught in a Lion Tamer across the top of a ladder by Jericho. MVP was so close to having the match won before Matt Hardy, who had been out of action for five months with a knee injury at the hands of the US Champion, interfered and took him out with a Twist of Fate. Instead of Hardy grabbing the briefcase himself, the match rolled on until Punk and Jericho battled on a ladder to reach the case. Punk was able to get one of Jericho's legs through the ladder, stringing him up in an epic Tree of Woe spot to grab the briefcase and contract for the guaranteed title shot.

Following his win, Punk would wait almost 100 days to cash in the contract on then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge. When Punk did cash in, it would be on the June 30 episode of "WWE Raw" and he would successfully capture his first World Heavyweight title. He'd hold the belt through until the beginning of September that year until he was forced to forfeit the title after taking a punt from Randy Orton at Unforgiven, leaving him unable to compete in the championship scramble match that night.

Punk may not be in the 2025 Money in the Bank ladder match, but his 2008 MITB win was historic, marking a turning point in his career. Without his first briefcase win, Punk of course wouldn't have captured the gold as soon as he did, if at all, and might not have risen in a such a meteoric way.

Written by Daisy Ruth

The 2014 edition of Money in the Bank saw a total of three future WWE Champions compete for the golden briefcase, ending a spell of brand-separate ladder matches on the same night the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was on the line in a later six-man ladder match. 

The focal storyline heading into the match was the growing animosity between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose (current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley), given Rollins imploded The Shield just weeks beforehand. The man now known as "The Visionary" had aligned with The Authority and thus got to declare himself the first participant in the match, with Paul "Triple H" Levesque rounding out the field with reigning Intercontinental Champion – and future "SmackDown" commentator – Wade Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, Rob Van Dam, eventual WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, and Jack Swagger. Barrett unfortunately missed the match through injury. While Ambrose managed to coerce his way into the match, threatening to disrupt the entire pay-per-view, Death Riders-style, and prompting Rollins to request him to be put in the bout. 

That decision almost came back to bite Rollins. Not only did Ambrose, understandably, direct most of his attention to ensuring Rollins couldn't get close to the briefcase. But even when it seemed like Rollins had ousted his rival, medical taking Ambrose to the back with a shoulder injury, he then returned and himself came inches away from retrieving the briefcase. But, setting the precedent for much of the next year, Rollins was protected by The Authority; "Corporate" Kane coming down to the ring, delivering a chokeslam to Ambrose from the ladder, hitting the Tombstone Piledriver and holding the ladder as Rollins claimed the briefcase. 

History marks this as the beginning of Rollins' reign as Mr. Money in the Bank, a reign that ended with "The Heist of the Century" for his first run as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. It's a bout that carried elements of the past but was ultimately won out by the future of the company, with Rollins now a five-time WWE World Champion. But it's also a relevant match to revisit, considering this was the first taste of post-Shield success that Rollins tasted. And he will be trying to mark his second run this weekend having not long performed the second WrestleMania screwjob over Roman Reigns.

Written by Max Everett

While the women's 2018 Money in the Bank match wasn't the first iteration of the concept involving women, the 2017 match was marred by controversy when it was James Ellsworth who took the briefcase down and threw it to the actual winner, Carmella. The first MITB match was so poorly received, it was re-done on an episode of "WWE SmackDown," and Carmella was once again the winner, this time taking the briefcase herself as Ellsworth was banned from the arena. The 2018 match in Rosemont, Illinois almost felt like a re-do of the beginning of the concept for women, and even in the recap package, only footage of Carmella's second victory was shown.

The 2018 bout featured eventual winner Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair (who had been cashed in on in prior months by Carmella for the SmackDown Women's Championship), Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Natalya, Lana, Becky Lynch, and Naomi all competing for the guaranteed shot at a championship. With the women having everything to fight for, as none had ever held the relatively new women's briefcase, the match was fast-faced and exciting. With a match where three out of the Four Horsewomen were competing, you'd expect them to steal the show, but everyone involved got their spots including, even Lana, who at one point hit an X-Factor to Moon onto a ladder in the middle of the ring and got Bliss into the Accolade before attempting to scale the ladder.

It was Lynch who looked to have the match won until Bliss slid in the ring and tipped the opposite side of the ladder, sending Lynch flying face-first into another ladder propped up in the corner. Bliss scaled the ladder, unchallenged, and unhooked the briefcase for the victory.

Bliss made history by becoming the first woman to cash in the same night as her victory. Bliss would successfully cash in during the Raw Women's Championship match between champion Jax and Ronda Rousey. Bliss cracked former friend Jax with her briefcase, causing the disqualification before taking the title for her own after beating both of the women in the ring down. The victory would mark Bliss' first time with the red brand's championship, though she had held the SmackDown Women's Title twice before. Bliss would hold the title for just over 60 days before her reign was ended by Rousey.

Written by Daisy Ruth

We are nearly four years removed from this event, and going back to watch the men's Money in the Bank ladder match from the 2021 Premium Live Event of the same name, one thing stood out to me immediately; everyone was really hyped to be in this match. On the surface, you can argue that all eight men in the match were just very eager to get going and potentially win the contract that granted them a WWE World Championship shot, but digging a little deeper, there's a very good reason why everyone was so amped up.

Money in the Bank 2021 was the first WWE event to have a 100% capacity crowd in 16 months as the COVID-19 pandemic had subsided, and life was beginning to return to what many would consider normal. WWE WrestleMania 37 had a limited capacity of around 40,000 fans across both nights, which was still better than nothing, but having a full sized crowd packed into an arena for the first time in well over a year added an extra level of sauce to this entire event, making it one of the most fondly remembered of the latter stages of Vince McMahon's time in charge of the company.

With that in mind, the eight men in this match decided to go the extra mile in a ladder match that you don't often hear people mentioning when it comes to the greatest Money in the Bank matches of all time, but it certainly deserves its flowers. Seth Rollins and John Morrison (now known Johnny TV in AEW) work extensively as a duo in this match, working over the likes of Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, and Ricochet (now known as Ricochet, but more bald than usual in AEW). "King" Shinsuke Nakamura and Riddle after he lost his first name add some different dimensions to the match, with Riddle still in the early stages of his RK-Bro tag team with Randy Orton, meaning that a lot of RKO's get dished out in this match.

Then of course, there's Big E. This match takes place less than a year before his catastrophic neck injury that has kept him out of action for over three years at the time of writing, but it was clear as day that the fans were ready to see him get pushed to the top of the card. His spear through the middle rope to the outside might be a little harder to watch these days, but his eventual victory after hitting Rollins with the biggest Big Ending you've ever seen is a truly wonderful moment.

Throw in Owens taking a number of nasty bumps that make you think "maybe that's where his own neck troubles started," Ricochet flying around like a loose cannon, and a red hot Fort Worth, Texas crowd, this match is a fast-paced good time that has something for everyone, and deserves to be brought up in the conversation of greatest Money in the Bank ladder matches of all time.

Written by Sam Palmer

Corey Graves called this match "one of the most insane matches [he has] ever called." Michael Cole's voice cracked several times during this match from excitement and shock, and the veteran commentator said that he felt "sick" for enjoying the carnage. Despite its recency, the 2024 Women's Money in the Bank match is one of the most iconic iterations of the stipulation. The sixth installment of the historic WWE's iconic 6-Woman Ladder Match saw Naomi, Zoey Stark, IYO SKY, Lyra Valkyria, Tiffany Stratton, and Chelsea Green go to war, braving ladder rungs, insane heights, and tables in a thirty-minute epic to claim the Money in the Bank briefcase and the title opportunity contract within. With its infamous visuals, innovative offense, entertaining storytelling, and profound impact on the state of WWE's women's division, the 2024 Women's Money in the Bank match is a certified instant classic, and should absolutely be on your watchlist.

As soon as the opening bell rang, the acrophobic Green entertained the crowd with some futile attempts to vertical jump her way to the briefcase, only to be booted by SKY, who quickly brought the match back into combat territory with her early fight against Stratton.

As entertaining as Green is, however, this match is mostly known for its innovative, weapons-based offense. Tarantula Suplexes, Alabama Slams onto steel ladders, and creative DDT setups had Toronto on their feet. An Un-Pretti-Her onto a suspended ladder from Green to Naomi had fans cringing with pain. Cole demanded someone call the paramedics as SKY dropped Stark headfirst onto a rope-hung ladder. No expense was spared in this certified spotfest.

Even in a match full of gruesome spots, however, the highlight of the night came when Green, having just overcame her fear of heights, took a plunge from a 20-foot ladder into a collection of ringside tables, courtesy of Stratton. The match ended on that high as Stratton claimed her Money in the Bank briefcase in front of hundreds of thousands of cheering fans, ending what Cole called "one of the most incredible, one of the most physical, one of the most uncomfortable, one of the greatest Money in the Bank Ladder matches [he has] ever witnessed."

This match's results permanently altered the women's division. Stratton's six month reign with the briefcase ended with her cash-in on Nia Jax for the WWE Women's World Championship, which Stratton has defended against the likes of Bayley, Jax, and Charlotte Flair. This match also put competitors like Valkyria and Green in the public spotlight, and both competitors eventually became the inaugural Women's Intercontinental Champion and United States Champion respectively.

Another Women's Money in the Bank match is coming up, with match newcomers such as Rhea Ripley, Stephanie Vaquer, Giulia, and Roxanne Perez set to lock up with ladder match veterans like Alexa Bliss and Naomi. Saturday's ladder match holds plenty of promise, but whether it will live up to the insanely entertaining and impactful 2024 Women's Money in the Bank match remains to be seen.

Written by Angeline Phu