There are a lot of things that we know about WWE’s Money-in-the-Bank concept. We know that a host of Superstars take part in the multi-man Ladder Match with the winner getting the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase, earning the right to challenge either the WWE or World Heavyweight Champion for their title any time they see fit for up to one year. We know that WWE has turned the former WrestleMania match into an annual pay-per-view that features two Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Matches, but here are five things you probably didn’t know about Money-in-the-Bank
1. Kane is the first and only Superstar, to date, in the history of Money-in-the-Bank to have won a World Title before winning the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase. At the King of the Ring event in 1998, “The Big Red Monster” defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin in a First Blood Match to win the WWE Championship, only to lose the title the following night on RAW.
2. 2012 WWE Hall of Famer Edge is the only Superstar in history to successfully challenge the current Money-in-the-Bank briefcase holder to win the briefcase without having to win the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match. Edge did this by defeating Mr. Kennedy on the May 7, 2007 episode of RAW to take Kennedy’s opportunity. In reality, Mr. Kennedy was injured, so the briefcase was given to Edge. Ironically, after Edge cashed in the Money-in-the-Bank opportunity that same week on SmackDown to defeat The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title, Edge was forced to vacate the title due to injury two months later.
3. Edge also has the dubious distinction of having the shortest reign as WWE Champion in the history of the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase as, after cashing the contract in at New Year’s Revolution to win the title, Edge lost the WWE Title to the man he originally defeated, John Cena, just three weeks later at the 2006 Royal Rumble. Rob Van Dam comes in at a close second as RVD won the WWE Title at ECW One Night Stand and lost it on the July 3, 2006 episode of RAW (which is, technically, three weeks and one day after he won the title).
4. John Cena has twice been the victim of the Money-in-the-Bank winner as Cena lost the WWE Championship when Edge cashed in his contract at New Year’s Revolution 2006 and, later that same year, Cena again lost the WWE Title at ECW One Night Stand, this time to Rob Van Dam.
5. Rob Van Dam is the only Money-in-the-Bank winner to actually announce when and where he would be cashing in his title opportunity and followed through with it (Daniel Bryan claimed that he would cash in his contract at WrestleMania, but ended up cashing it in four months earlier at WWE TLC), defeating John Cena at ECW One Night Stand in 2006 in a scheduled match. RVD is also the only Money-in-the-Bank winner to simultaneously hold the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase, as well as a championship (RVD defeated Shelton Benjamin in a Winner-Takes-All Match at Backlash 2006 to win the Intercontinental Title while also keeping his Money-in-the-Bank briefcase).
