5 Best Money In The Bank Cash-Ins

Image Source: WWE

With the Money In The Bank PPV coming up on Sunday, it’s a good time to look at the best cash-ins since its inception at WrestleMania 21.

 

5. Dean Ambrose – Money In The Bank 2016

Dean Ambrose had won the MITB briefcase earlier in the night, marking only the second time the MITB winner had cashed in on the same night they won it. Heading into the show, Roman Reigns was the WWE Champion, but he lost the title to the recently returned Seth Rollins in the main event. After the match, Ambrose’s music hit and while Rollins had his attention on the ramp, Ambrose snuck in from behind and hit him with the briefcase, followed up with a Dirty Deeds and won the title to a great reaction from the crowd.

It later transpired that Reigns had failed a wellness policy test and it was widely reported this was the reason he lost to Rollins. Ambrose’s WWE title run would be an underwhelming one, but that moment when he cashed in was a highlight of his WWE career. The image of all three former Shield members holding the title on the same night will be a lasting one.

 

4. Dolph Ziggler – Raw after WrestleMania 29

Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio
Image Source:
Wrestle Forum

That’s right, I’m putting this fourth. The Raw after WrestleMania always has a unique atmosphere, with a large portion of the crowd being made up of European fans who are enjoying the final days of their WrestleMania holiday. And by enjoying, I mean happily drunk. It’s a fun crowd to be in.

Ziggler had held the MITB briefcase for nearly a year at this point and the crowd was rabid for him to cash-in, chanting his name during the Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger World Title match. Del Rio, who was the face, won the match but was injured following it, this is when Ziggler’s music hit and the crowd erupted.

They teased a Del Rio victory but in the end Ziggler prevailed, much to the joy of the crowd. It was a superb moment, but it doesn’t rank higher due to a combination of Ziggler’s poor title reign and the greatness of what follows on this list.

 

3. Rob Van Dam – One Night Stand 2006

Rob Van Dam
Image Source:
StillRealToUs

While most cash-ins are short affairs that take advantage of the element of surprise, RVD called his shot. He walked into Raw and told WWE Champion John Cena he would take his title shot at the second ECW One Night Stand PPV. Cena had no idea what was in store for him.

The match features one of the most hostile crowds you will ever see. Cena makes his entrance to unanimous hatred. He tries to throw his t-shirt into the crowd and they throw it right back. Repeatedly. Then there are the chants, which are some of the most vociferous ever. There are dueling ‘Fuck you, Cena’ chants, ‘Cena swallows’ chants and a whole lot more colourful language from the New York crowd.

All of this wouldn’t matter if the match was terrible though, and luckily enough this match was great. When Edge turns up to screw over Cena, the crowd lose their mind. The moment the locker room empties to celebrate with the victorious RVD is the last great moment in ECW history.

 

2. Edge – New Year’s Revolution 2006

Edge
Image Source:
WWE

The original and (almost) best MITB cash-in. At this stage nobody really knew what to expect when Edge cashed in the briefcase, and he had held it for roughly 10 months. What people did know was that they didn’t want John Cena as WWE Champion.

This came at the height of anti-Cena sentiment. He had just won an Elimination Chamber match where even Chris Masters was cheered like hero in favour of him. Cena was a broken man though, and when Vince McMahon came out to make the announcement that Edge was cashing in his opportunity we knew that cash-ins could happen any time, any place.

Cena managed to kick out of one spear but he couldn’t kick out of the second, and Edge had his first world title. This was the moment Edge became a top star in WWE and the fact it came at the exact right moment means this will always be one of the best MITB cash-ins.

 

1. Seth Rollins – WrestleMania 31

Seth Rollins championship

Part of me still thinks I should have put Edge in this spot, but when you use your MITB title opportunity to headline WrestleMania, and leave the show with the title, you are going to be remembered.

There wasn’t a great deal of excitement heading into the WrestleMania 31 main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. The match itself was better than expected, but the fact that everyone expected a Reigns victory numbed the crowd. That is until Seth Rollins, who had lost earlier in the night to Randy Orton, ran down to insert himself in the match and the fans knew they were witnessing something special.

Rollins hit a curb stomp on Lesnar but as he went for a second, Lesnar caught him and attempted an F5. While Lesnar had Rollins on his shoulders Reigns hit him with a spear, Rollins then hit Reigns with a curb stomp and escaped with the title. This made Seth the man in WWE and is a moment that will live in WWE history. That is why it will probably always be remembered as the best MITB cash-in.

Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.