5 Greatest WWE Money In The Bank Main Events

Money in the Bank originated as a gimmick match at WrestleMania 21 in 2005. With a World Title contract inside a briefcase atop a ladder, the stakes were high and the stunts were chaotic and devastating.

Such was the success of the Money in the Bank ladder match, the contest earned its own eponymous pay-per-view in 2010. It has been a fixture on WWE’s premium live event calendar ever since. Money in the Bank is one of the company’s flagship shows and a highlight of the summer.

This feature looks back at the five greatest main events in Money in the Bank PLE history.

#5 Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose – Money in the Bank 2015 (June 14, 2015)

With Roman Reigns rivalling John Cena for most unpopular babyface ever, WWE switched gears and had his buddy, Dean Ambrose feud with their Shield turncoat, WWE Champion, Seth Rollins instead.

The crazed and vengeful, Ambrose was a terrific foil for the corporate sellout, Rollins and the pair rocked the house in the scorching top liner of the 2015 Money in the Bank event.

Ambrose and Rollins fought in a ladder match and there were lots of tense false finishes, as it seemed at different points, that either man could win.

They brawled all around the ring and nailed each other with big shots. The highlights of which were an Ambrose Dirty Deeds to Rollins through a table and a Rollins running powerbomb to Ambrose through a pile of chairs.

After both men had fallen from the ladder, Rollins recovered fastest to retain the belt.

Intense and exciting, this was an excellent encounter.

#4 Brock Lesnar vs Ali vs Andrade vs Baron Corbin vs Drew McIntyre vs Finn Bálor vs Randy Orton vs Ricochet – Money in the Bank 2019 (May 19, 2019)

The 2019 Money in the Bank premium live event was headlined by the Money in the Bank ladder match itself. It was one of the best Money in the Bank ladder match contests ever held.

There were a number of huge ladder spots. Finn Bálor in particular took some painful bumps, not least when Andrade climbed up the ladder and hit a sunset flip over a ladder onto another ladder that was bridged across the ropes.

Near the end of the bout, Brock Lesnar sauntered out to the ring as a surprise entrant. Lesnar batter Ali who was close to claiming the briefcase for himself.

‘The Beast’ ascended the ladder and grabbed the contract to win the bout. He would later cash in to set up a bout with Kofi Kingston on the SmackDown 20th Anniversary show, which he won in a matter of seconds.

Dangerous, heated, packed full of huge moves and daredevil performances from all the participants. This was a terrific headliner, though you could argue, the choice of winner didn’t help the long-term future of the promotion.

#3 Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins – Money in the Bank 2016 (June 19, 2016)

Roman Reigns had won the WWE Championship from Triple H at WrestleMania but had still struggled to gain acceptance from the audience as the company’s figurehead.

At Money in the Bank 2016, he clashed with his former Shield ally, Seth Rollins in an intense grudge match, based upon Rollins’s betrayal the previous year. Rollins had recently returned from injury and wanted to regain the belt he had never lost in the ring.

All of those emotions, made for an incredible atmosphere and a memorable match. After superb back-and-forth action, highlighted by a spot in which Rollins reversed a Spear into a Pedigree, ‘The Architect’ nailed the champion with another Pedigree to regain the gold, with a spotlessly clean pinfall.

That would have been a suitably fine ending to a top-tier match, but what set this apart was the aftermath. Dean Ambrose, who earlier that night had claimed the Money in the Bank briefcase, cashed in and beat Rollins to win his first World Title.

That victory ensured that all Shield members held the WWE Championship on the same night.

#2 John Cena vs CM Punk – Money in the Bank 2011 (July 17, 2011)

With CM Punk’s WWE contract legitimately expiring over the summer of 2011, WWE expertly introduced that fact to their television storytelling.

Punk cut his famed worked shoot promo on WWE, Vince McMahon and other senior management figures in a brutal verbal assault on the June 27, 2011 Raw.

That ultimately set up a title clash between Punk and WWE Champion, John Cena in the headline collision of the second annual, Money in the Bank event.

Held in ‘The Straight Edge Superstar’s’ hometown of Chicago, Illinois, the electric crowd roared Punk on as he attempted to win the title on his final night in the company.

After half an hour of intense and crisp, back-and-forth action, WWE management intervened to try to ensure Cena retained. However, the distractions backfired and Punk put Cena away with the GTS.

When McMahon tried to get Money in the Bank contract holder, Alberto Del Rio to cash in, Punk laid him out as well and walked out of WWE with the WWE Championship.

An electric match with an all-time great atmosphere and superb storytelling. This was the match that cemented Punk as a headline act and draw; a position he has held ever since.

#1 The Usos vs Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa – Money in the Bank 2023 (July 1, 2023)

London, England played host to the Bloodline: Civil War as the company’s premier faction imploded. The Usos faced the Undisputed Universal WWE Champion, Roman Reigns and their brother, Solo Sikoa in an ultra-heated contest which delivered thrills and spills almost from the outset.

Reigns played to the crowd and refused to wrestle due to the fans booing him. The bout was packed full of big moves and a mix of technical wrestling and brawling. When the match kicked into sixth gear, the action never let up and the contest peaked at the finish.

Jey nailed Reigns with a top rope splash to deal Reigns his first pinfall loss in three and a half years. That victory would earn Jey the SummerSlam main event with ‘The Tribal Chief’ where the soap opera continued when Jimmy shockingly turned on his brother and cost him the belt.

The bout had an incredible atmosphere and was a perfect storm of several years of storytelling, culminating in a phenomenal contest. One of the greatest matches of this decade. Unquestionably, the finest main event in Money in the Bank history.

You can watch all of these events exclusively on the WWE Network.