Ranking the Best Runs with the WWE Money in the Bank Briefcase (2024)

In the wake of Clash at the Castle, WWE Superstars and fans alike have already shifted their focus toward Money in the Bank on July 6.

Monday's Raw saw Jey Uso and Iyo Sky became the first to qualify for the men's and women's ladder matches, respectively. Additional qualifiers will determine the rest of both fields in the coming weeks on the main roster.

Capturing the contract guarantees the winner a shot at any championship of their choosing for up to one year. In the past, the concept has been responsible for catapulting careers and giving various promising prospects their first big break as well as their first top title.

There have been some stellar cash-ins over the years, but the time spent holding the briefcase is of equal importance. Only an elite few have managed to stand out and benefit from being in possession of the contract before ultimately cashing it in.

There was an extended period where Money in the Bank lost a fair amount of its luster due to various victors not amounting to much and being booked poorly. Last year's Mr. and Ms. Money in the Bank—Damian Priest and Iyo Sky—bucked the trend and successfully breathed new life into the gimmick.

In the near-20 years since MITB's inception, these are the five winners who have had the best runs with the briefcase.

WWE finally introduced a Money in the Bank ladder match for the female stars of SmackDown in 2017, a logical step in the ever-expanding Women's Evolution.

They put together a quality matchup, but it was Carmella who reigned supreme in the end. In addition to being the one with the most to gain, she was amid an organic ascent as a terrific heel and was ready to hold gold for the first time.

Her stooge, James Ellsworth, retrieving the briefcase for her caused then-SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan to strip her of the contract and put it up for grabs again in another ladder match, which was also won by The Princess of Staten Island.

She went on to reign as Ms. Money in the Bank for a record-setting 287 days—longer than anyone else to date. In that time, she remained relevant, racked up wins and gradually worked her way to the top of the division.

That culminated in her cashing in on Charlotte Flair two nights removed from WrestleMania 34 to become SmackDown women's champion. Her title run was largely subpar, but WWE did an effective job making a new star out of her while she was Ms. Money in the Bank.

Say what you will about The Miz not being a true main event player, but his rise from lower-level enhancement talent to world champion was handled exceptionally well.

It wasn't until 2010 that he began to build real momentum as a singles star. That led him to the United States Championship, Unified WWE Tag Team Championship and eventually the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Being the U.S. champ and Mr. Money in the Bank in the final few months of 2010 gave him maximum exposure on Raw. He feuded with his protégé, Daniel Bryan, for the star-spangled prize and was involved in countless main events against John Cena, Randy Orton and others.

Despite his strong buildup, fans were still surprised to see him cash in the contract successfully. He did so on a downed Orton on the post-Survivor Series Raw and immediately established himself as the new face of the flagship show in the process.

The Miz has long been criticized by fans for his weak run as WWE champion, but the MITB briefcase gave him the boost he needed to be taken (somewhat) seriously as a threat at the top of the card.

It was a common occurrence for WWE to drop the ball on Dolph Ziggler from 2009 through 2012, but following multiple reigns as intercontinental and United States champion, he was long overdue for an opportunity at the main event level.

Winning Money in the Bank in July 2012 provided him with just that.

Ziggler wasn't immune to losing during this period, but he did score some of the biggest wins of his career as well. He beat Chris Jericho to send him packing from WWE, emerged as the sole survivor over Team Orton at Survivor Series, and he even retained his possession of the briefcase with a win over John Cena at TLC.

All of those milestone moments sent the message that he was earmarked for a world title win.

Despite doing little of note in the opening months of 2013, Ziggler's drawn-out tenure as Mr. Money in the Bank proved to be worth the wait when he cashed in on Alberto Del Rio in remarkable fashion on the post-WrestleMania Raw to clinch the World Heavyweight Championship.

Unfortunately, his subsequent title run was cut short by a concussion, but the cash-in itself will go down as one of the best ever, along with the run he had as Mr. Money in the Bank that preceded it.

When June 2014 started, Seth Rollins was riding high as one-third of The Shield coming off their dominant defeat of Evolution. When the month ended, he was Mr. Money in the Bank after betraying his teammates and aligning with The Authority.

Rollins' rapid transformation from tag team specialist to singles star on the rise was fascinating to follow. He settled into a ruthless rivalry with former friend Dean Ambrose that summer, found his footing as a heel and made an enemy out of every babyface on the roster.

For the remainder of the year and into 2015, he waged war with the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar. While Mr. Money in the Bank, he had the rare opportunity to challenge for the top title at the Royal Rumble but fell short in a tremendous Triple Threat match with Cena and Lesnar.

It always a matter of when and not if he'd turn his title shot into a world title run, and sure enough, his cash-in was greater than anyone could have expected.

Before Lesnar and Roman Reigns could fight to a finish at WrestleMania 31, Rollins interjected himself to steal both the pin and the World Heavyweight Championship.

The title reign that stemmed from his time with the briefcase was the most memorable of any Mr. Money in the Bank to date.

Unlike others in the years that followed, Edge as Mr. Money in the Bank was hardly a case of "zero to hero." Rather, it was apparent well before he became the first-ever winner that he was bound for bigger and better things than just the midcard scene, to which he had been relegated in early 2000s.

The Rated-R Superstar was consistently and prominently featured on WWE TV from the moment he captured the contract at WrestleMania 21 up until he cashed it in the following January.

In those nine months, he feuded with Chris Benoit, Kane and most notably Matt Hardy. It was during that pivotal period that he was joined by Lita, who only added to his aura as a main event player in the making.

Edge's stock skyrocketed to a point where winning the WWE Championship wasn't what elevated him; he was already a made man by then through his opportunistic antics, great matches and compelling promos.

He held the prestigious prize for all of three weeks before dropping it back to John Cena, but he set the standard for all future MITB winners because of how much he stepped up his game to an elite level in the months leading up to his iconic cash-in.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.