Wrestle Mania is the biggest event of WWE, and this mega event starts off with The Money in the Bank ladder match. The match can feature anywhere from six to eight participants, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended above the ring. The briefcase contains a contract, which guarantees a match for any of WWE's three world titles: the WWE Championship, ECW Championship, or the World Heavyweight Championship.The contract is valid for one year up to the next year's WrestleMania, and the briefcase holder—dubbed "Mr. Money in the Bank"—can cash in the contract for a world title match (any of the three), at the date, place, and time of their choosing.The briefcase may also be defended in matches, similar to how championships are defended. All of the briefcase holders have defended the contract except for CM Punk.
The Money in the Bank ladder match was first contested in 2005 at WrestleMania 21. Since the match's inception, four additional Money in the Bank ladder matches have been held at WrestleMania; the most recent being held at WrestleMania XXV. The first winner of the Money in the Bank ladder match was Edge, who won at WrestleMania 21. He is also the only wrestler to cash in a contract he did not win in the actual ladder match by defeating Mr. Kennedy, who won the WrestleMania 23 Money in the Bank match, for his briefcase in May 2007, and as well as the first to compete in any no. 1 contender's match style match. The most recent winner, CM Punk, won at both WrestleMania XXIV and XXV, making him the only Money in the Bank participant to win the match on multiple occasions, the second to have earned multiple Money in the Bank contracts, and the first to win the Money in the Bank match in consecutive years. The 2006 winner Rob Van Dam is the only winner to announce the date as to when he will cash in the money in the bank contract and to compete in a regular match (as opposed to Edge and CM Punk defeating a defenseless champion immediately after the champion has been weakened by a prior match or attack). So far there has yet to be a champion to succesfully retain his world championship against a money in the bank winner, which adds more value to the match.
The first such match at Wrestlemania 21 was won by Edge. Edge cashed in his contract in January 2006 at New Year's Revolution, where he defeated WWE Champion John Cena in less than two minutes just after Cena had retained his title against five opponents in an Elimination Chamber match.
Rob Van Dam won the WrestleMania 22 Money in the Bank ladder match after pushing Benjamin and Hardy off a ladder, while he was on another ladder, and retrieving the briefcase.Rob Van Dam announced in May 2006 that he would cash in his contract at One Night Stand against Cena. The match ended with Cena losing after Edge, the #1 contender to the title, interfered on behalf of Van Dam and speared Cena through a table. RVD then performed a Five-Star frog splash and Paul Heyman counted the pinfall.
The third Money in the Bank ladder match was held at WrestleMania 23, and was the first to feature eight participants from Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW.Mr. Kennedy won at WrestleMania 23, after ramming CM Punk off the ladder using another ladder.During the next few weeks, he kept declaring that he would cash in the briefcase at WrestleMania XXIV. Kennedy, however, suffered an injury, and on the May 7, 2007 episode of Raw, he lost the Money in the Bank briefcase to Edge. As of WrestleMania XXV Kennedy is the only wrestler to lose the briefcase. The following night at the taping for the May 11, 2007 SmackDown, World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker and Batista fought to a draw in a steel cage match, after which a returning Mark Henry assaulted Undertaker and left him injured in the ring. As Henry was leaving Edge came to the ring with his briefcase, handed it to referee Jim Korderas, and defeated the Undertaker after a spear to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.
The fourth Money in the Bank ladder match took place at WrestleMania XXIV and was intended to be another eight-man match-up, consisting of wrestlers from Raw, SmackDown, and ECW.CM Punk won the match after trapping Jericho's leg in a ladder and then climbing the ladder. Punk cashed in his title shot on the June 30 edition of Raw. A farewell speech by Jim Ross was interrupted by then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge who had him removed from the ring and then began to insult the crowd, saying that they will never get to see a world championship being defended on Raw (as at the time both Edge and WWE Champion Triple H were members of the SmackDown brand). When he was about to leave the arena, Batista came out and assaulted Edge in retaliation for Edge cheating in a title match the previous night at Night of Champions. Punk then immediately ran to the ring to cash in his contract, then performed a GTS on Edge to win the World Heavyweight Championship, making it Raw-exclusive in the process.
The fifth annual Money in the Bank ladder match was announced for WrestleMania XXV.CM Punk won the match and became the first wrestler to win two Money in the Bank ladder matches, and the only one to win the match for two consecutive years.After Jeff Hardy defeated Edge to win the World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules, CM Punk cashed it in defeating Jeff Hardy to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time.
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