Seven of WWE's top male and female superstars will battle it out in Money In The Bank ladder matches at the O2 Arena in London tonight - with golden opportunities on the line.
In the men's match, Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, LA Knight, Santos Escobar, Butch, Damian Priest and Logan Paul will all try to climb a ladder to snatch the famous briefcase suspended high above the ring.
Whoever emerges victorious will walk away with a WWE world championship contract, enabling them to challenge one of either Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, newly-crowned World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, or NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes.
Meanwhile, the female Money in the Bank (MITB) contest sees a clash between Zelina Vega, Becky Lynch, Zoey Stark, Bayley, Iyo Sky and Trish Stratus. WWE Women's Champion Asuka, Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley and NXT Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton will all find themselves potentially in the contract holder's sights once the match is done.
The beauty of the MITB contract as a plot device is that the winner can cash in the contract at any time, in any place. Aside from the excitement of the actual ladder match, it has created some of the most surprising, jaw-dropping moments in WWE history, helped reinvigorate and redefine characters and set rising talents on the path to greatness.
Since six-time world champion Chris Jericho, Raw head writer Brian Gerwitz and WWE chairman Vince McMahon developed the idea for WrestleMania 21, there have been 28 cash-in attempts - 23 of them successful.
For sheer shock value, none is likely to ever surpass that of Seth Rollins, who stunned the world during the main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31. He cashed in his briefcase, pinned Reigns and became the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for the first time.
It's therefore hard to look beyond Rollins as the overall number one in terms of significance. But which other MITB cash-ins will stand the test of time due to the sheer excellence of their execution?
5. The Miz cashes in on Randy Orton on Raw, November 22, 2010
Back in 2010, The Miz was still very much a rising star within WWE and, despite his limitations in the ring, an effective and truly hated heel. After winning the contract in July, he attempted to cash-in his briefcase on several occasions, but was continually interrupted by other superstars before the matches could happen. He still made the most of the briefcase, regularly using it as a weapon after his lackey Alex Riley carried it to the ring. However, by the time Raw rolled around on a Monday night in November, few were expecting The Miz to try and redeem the contract.
In the main event the Nexus leader Wade Barrett was set to pin Randy Orton and win the WWE Championship, after his cronies had attacked the champion like a pack of dogs. But the recently-fired John Cena emerged and broke up the pin, hitting Barrett with an AA, which led to a weakened Orton winning the match with an RKO.
As Orton hobbled around the ring, The Miz's entrance music hit. In the short match that ensued the must-see superstar targeted Orton's weakened knee, before countering an RKO into his Skull-Crushing Finale, to becomes the 40th WWE Champion. The reaction of 'Angry Miz Girl' - a furious young fan in the audience - summed up the crowd's anger and disbelief. Over the next six months beatings at the hands of Cena and The Rock combined to bury The Miz's hopes of becoming an established main-event player, but this was a great moment in his career.
4. Randy Orton cashes in on Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam 2013
When WWE Champion John Cena chose to face crowd favourite Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam in 2013, it felt like Bryan was finally getting the opportunity his astonishing talent deserved. After Vince McMahon expressed his disdain for both competitors, Triple H was introduced as the special guest referee, for reasons that initially seemed unclear.
However, he called it straight down the line as Cena and Bryan produced one of the best matches of the year - a red-hot contest that had the crowd on the edge of their seats. The much-maligned Cena put on a great performance and more importantly, put Bryan over clean. When the best worker in the company finally won the title with a huge running knee, it was the definition of a feel-good moment. Cena shook his hand, Triple H patted him on the back, and the fans went wild.
That is until Randy Orton emerged. For months the Viper had portrayed a bland face on television, and when he held his briefcase aloft before turning around and walking away, it appeared he was simply sending a message to the new champion. But out of nowhere Triple H kicked Bryan in the gut, gave him a Pedigree and allowed Orton – the man he had warred with for almost a decade – to become the new corporate champion.
It was shocking, it was controversial, and it was the ideal move for Orton, a natural heel who had seemed an odd choice as the MITB winner. It also set in motion the chain of events that led to Bryan winning back the title at WrestleMania 30 in spectacular fashion and capping off what retrospectively formed a fantastic eight-month story arc – despite the fact WWE hadn't actually planned for Bryan to become champion until audience reactions forced their hand.
3. CM Punk on Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules 2009
CM Punk won consecutive Money in the Bank ladder matches in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, during his first night on Raw after a roster draft, he was a face cashing in on a heel Edge. Batista had left Edge battered and bruised in the ring and Punk seized the opportunity to give him a Go to Sleep and capture the World Heavyweight Championship. While it was poetic for Edge to lose the belt in the same fashion he had twice won it, the scenario seemed a strange shortcut for a hero to take. Punk's subsequent run as champion was underwhelming and he lost the title by forfeit after suffering a backstage attack at the hands of The Legacy, which left him unable to compete.
Fast forward a year, and crowd favourite Jeff Hardy had just won the same title after an epic ladder match against Edge at Extreme Rules. The daredevil had put his body on the line to earn the gold and his selling of the gruelling impact of the bout made what followed all the more special. Good ol' JR entered the ring to interview the champion, but as Hardy lay collapsed and exhausted in the corner, clutching his well-deserved prize, Punk emerged.
A stumbling Hardy looked stunned, yet somehow kicked out when Punk gave him a Go to Sleep. JR was losing his mind on commentary and after Hardy teased a quick roll-up win, Punk kicked him in the head and drove his knee into his face a second time to capture the title amid a chorus of boos. It was oh-so unfair but sparked a great heel run for Punk, leading to his Straight Edge Society faction. And, after barbs on the mic thrown in Hardy's direction, real-life tension between the pair. Punk would never look back.
2. Edge cashes in on John Cena at New Year's Revolution 2006
The first cash-in was definitely one of the best. Despite the fact that Edge was reluctant to take part in the inaugural MITB ladder match at WrestleMania 21 due to his past injuries in such bouts, he won the briefcase and held onto it for months on end. At this stage we didn't know quite how the MITB briefcase would work. But the 'Ultimate Opportunist' set the template by doing the most logical thing of all – wait until the champion is in a weakened state, then snatch the title from him when he can offer little resistance.
WWE Champion John Cena had wrestled in a savage Elimination Chamber match at New Year’s Revolution and was lying bloodied in the ring. Vince McMahon came out and announced Edge was claiming his title shot, with the Canadian - flanked by the conniving Lita - handing over the briefcase. Nobody could quite believe what was happening and while Cena survived one spear, he fell to a thundering second. As Edge celebrated wildly, Jerry 'The King' Lawler announced on commentary, “he's stolen the damn title!”
It was brilliant booking, the catalyst for the fine Edge/Cena rivalry, and, after 10 months of Cena's new hideous spinning-belt championship reign - during which fans first started loudly jeering his Superman-like persona - a very welcome development. The following night Edge solidified his 'Rated R Superstar' character by bedding Lita in the middle of the ring.
1. Dolph Ziggler cashes in on Alberto Del Rio on Raw, April 8, 2012
Until Rollins' antics at WrestleMania 31, this was unquestionably the most dramatic cash-in ever. Ziggler - one of the most talented workers of his generation, yet consistently held back in the middle of the card - had held the MITB briefcase for almost a year. At WrestleMania 29 he had unsuccessfully challenged Bryan and Kane for the WWE Tag Team Championships, while Del Rio had retained his World Heavyweight Championship in a lacklustre bout against Jack Swagger. The following night on Raw, Del Rio defeated Swagger and his manager Zeb Colter in a two-on-one handicap match, during which Swagger had badly injured his ankle.
As the nominal crowd favourite Del Rio lay broken in the ring, the supposed heel Ziggler's music hit. Everyone knew by now what this meant – especially the hardcore fanbase who always attend the first Raw after WrestleMania. It provoked an incredible reaction from the fans in attendance, who wanted nothing else than to cheer for Ziggler and boo Del Rio. For many it felt like the most undervalued superstar on the roster, the man most deserving of a main event run, finally smashing through the glass ceiling.
The pair teased the eventual moment wonderfully – Del Rio avoiding pinfalls, fighting back and even locking Ziggler in his deadly arm bar submission. It was phenomenal stuff and when Ziggler escaped the hold by wrenching Del Rio's ankle and then nailed his Zig Zag finisher for the win, fans watching around the world jumped off their settees and punched the air in delight. The overjoyed reaction of not only Ziggler but also Big-E and AJ Lee signified what a fantastic effort this was – a victory that did not appear to be just a cheap win and pointed towards a bright future. While Dolph's title run didn't play out as hoped, in part due to him suffering an ill-timed concussion, this was the drama of WWE at its very best.
WWE's Money In The Bank is on at London's O2 Arena on Saturday, July 1. Tickets are still available on Ticketmaster here.
BT Sport is the home of all WWE programming in the UK and will be showing Money in the Bank live.
Money in the Bank is also available to subscribers of the WWE Network as part of their existing deal.
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