Hello! This is in effect Part Two with the blog that came directly before it looking at 10 Years of the Money in the Bank match, so I thought it would only be right if I ranked every cash-in so far.
Money in the Bank cash-ins can become an instant highlight of the calendar year, and the one's at the top end of the list most definitely were. That said, not all of them have gone to plan; and this list is ranking them all- and because it's my opinion it is of course fact.
14. John Cena on CM Punk
Perhaps surprisingly I haven't ranked a certain Stunt Double's Cash-In last, but the reason for this match being last is because it was just a normal match. He cashed in ahead of time, and we just got a normal match. That said, it could still have ranked high-up on the list if the match was extraordinary- with a great finish as one that'll be a lot higher on the list did. But it was just a normal match, a good match, but a normal match nonetheless- and it ended with Big Show interfering after Cena had beaten Punk twice. This is my least favourite just because it never really felt like a Money in the Bank cash-in.
13. Alberto Del Rio on CM Punk
CM Punk was arguably the most popular guy we've seen since the Attitude Era at the height of the Summer of Punk in 2011- and when he came back with his WWE Title, to face John Cena who also had a WWE Title at Summerslam with Triple H as the Ref it seemed as though we would get Punk going from strength to strength as WWE Champion. Instead Punk won under questionable circumstances, which in a way was fair enough because it protected Cena- but then in limped Kevin Nash to Jacknife Powerbomb Punk, before Del Rio came to cash-in. All of this wouldn't have been so bad if Del Rio hadn't gone on to lose the belt ridiculously quickly to Cena, while they wasted Punk on having Triple H go over him.
12. Damien Sandow on John Cena
Almost everyone would have had this Cash-In last, the reason I haven't ranked this last- was because I really liked the actual Cash-In. Sandow really made the segment with the viciousness with which he beat Cena and his "Rise Above This" line was great. However for obvious reasons it has to be low down on the list- and considering the way they booked Sandow both before and after the Cash-In you have to say it would have been better had they have given the Briefcase to Cody Rhodes, Cesaro or Ambrose.
11. Jack Swagger on Chris Jericho
This was the Cash-In that arguably had the least impact of any of the Cash-Ins on this list. While I can't remember exactly- I think Swagger won the MITB at Mania, tried to cash-in on Cena unsuccessfully on the RAW after Mania- before he successfully cashed-in on Jericho after Edge had killed him. Swagger just wasn't WHC Material at this stage of his career- and while I respect WWE's attempt to get Swagger over, having him feud largely with Big Show didn't do anyone any favours; and they thankfully they took the belt off him pretty quickly- leaving Swagger with one of the least impactful WHC runs in history.
10. Randy Orton on Daniel Bryan
The benefit of MITB is that you supposedly won't see it coming, and with some of them even if you do it still makes it great because of the anticipation in some cases. This was arguably the most obvious cash-in, and I saw pretty much half a year's worth of stuff coming before it had even happened. If anyone didn't see this Cash-In coming they need to be checked, and it lead to one of the most frustrating storylines in recent memory- and had WWE have had their way Bryan wouldn't have had a sniff at the WWEWHC once that storyline was over, which would've had this a lot lower on the list.
9. CM Punk on Edge
This was the first sniff of the Main Event scene Punk was given, and when you watch his DVD you realise that it meant a lot to Punk, and rightly so. With that said a Batista Bomb and a G2S later and Punk was World Heavyweight Champion. The actual moment was really good- and for us supposed "smarks" it was good to see a Wrestler get his due. However looking back it really wasn't great- with hindsight being 20/20 Punk as a Babyface cashing-in on a vulnerable heel was pretty stupid, and then to give Punk's whole reign effectively centered around the fact of whether his run was a fluke or not meant this Cash-In meant very little. The fact Punk's run ended via a Backstage Attack was in a way fitting, as much as it was frustrating.
8. Kane on Rey Mysterio
This was a weird one, it was a good way to christen the first annual MITB PPV with a cash-in on the actual PPV- and it was quite a smart cash-in with Kane taking advantage of the beating Swagger had just dished out- and Kane had also saved him from just before. This cash-in arguably made the most sense of all of them because we had a weakened Rey Mysterio going up against a guy three times his size. Kane's run after was a bit iffy- but as I said before it was a great way to kick off the MITB PPV concept which is why I rank it as highly as I do.
7. The Miz on Randy Orton
I almost had this higher just because of the reaction of "Angry Miz Girl" but as such its bang in the middle, which is perhaps fitting given it involves the Miz. Miz's run with the Briefcase was definitely one of the better one's we've seen, he was the first guy to really use it as part of his character- by the time he'd cashed in it was basically flat. The actual Cash-In was good, I didn't like the match we had preceding the cash-in because as Punk point out numerous times how was Cena able to jump the barricades consistently to interfere in Nexus related activities. The actual Cash-In was entertaining- because it was somewhat of a match, a countered RKO later and Miz was Champion. Miz went on to Main Event a Mania- even though it was entirely focused on Rock/Cena and eventually Supercena prevailed and doomed Miz to eternal midcard hell- which be briefly poked his head out from with Awesome Truth before Cena & Rock sent him packing once again.
6. Edge on Undertaker
I've seen some people not like this cash-in and while it was far from the best, and Cole tried his best to ruin it with his Piranha related commentary I really liked it. It gave Undertaker's character an added toughness which had been lost to an extent at this stage in my opinion- the fact he'd been through hell against Batista, and then been killed by Mark Henry- and he still had the energy to kick out a couple of times against Edge was great, and it had enough suspension of disbelief for you to think this could be the first time a MITB Cash-In failed. That said Edge won and he had a really good run with the belt which makes this in the top-half of Cash-Ins in my opinion.
5. Daniel Bryan on Big Show
As with the Punk Cash-In on Edge this was a Cash-In that meant a lot for us "Wrestling" fans. It was a cash-in years in the making on Bryan's part- and this would be higher if the run they'd given Bryan hadn't been a pretty iffy one with a horrible ending. Bryan standing on the Announce Desk celebrating was oddly symbolic of where he was going- and it was around this time he started "Yessing" which as we now all know is one of the reasons we currently see Bryan as one of the Main Guys on the show whether WWE or does or not.
4. Edge on John Cena
This was the original cash-in and it set the precedent for all future Cash-Ins. I loved this one just because it was the first time we'd seen it happen; and while it wasn't necessarily the best Cash-In, and run after- it was the moment that set all future cash-ins up and the original always holds a certain value.
3. CM Punk on Jeff Hardy
I love this Cash-In just because it was the start of Punk's run as an amazing heel- when he cashed-in he was still a babyface, cashing-in on fellow babyface Jeff Hardy was an interesting move, which more than paid off. This cash-in led to one of the best and most personal feuds we've arguably ever had between Punk and Hardy, and would eventually lead to his SES run which had so much more potential than what WWE actually gave them.
2. RVD on John Cena
I was so tempted to put this at #1. I said with Cena declaring they'd be cashing in before they actually might have taken away from the MITB Magic- but it didn't have to- as was proven here. The crowd was electric, and was arguably the first time we had John Cena become John Cena. By that I mean "lets go cena, CENA SUCKS" John Cena. The great crowd combined with a really good match between RVD & Cena means this is as high on the list as it is- it would arguably be #1 had RVD not been busted and forced to drop the title pretty quickly after.
1. Dolph Ziggler on Alberto Del Rio
I realise its somewhat hypocritical having Dolph as #1 given I've talked about the run's they've had after the Cash-In, and Dolph had arguably the most anti-climactic run in history after his Cash-In. He got a concussion, and in his first defence he dropped the belt back to Del Rio. However the actual Cash-In was one of the moments of the year without a doubt, and every time I watch his cash-in I get goosebumps- which is why I rank it as the #1 Cash-In.
Thanks for reading as always, I hope you enjoyed these because there's a helluva lot more to come this week. I'm not expecting everyone to read all of these- but hopefully a few take your interest. So keep coming back over the next week, so stay tuned for those and thanks again for reading.
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