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The Money in the Bank Ladder Match is supposed to be the match that permanently elevates a WWE Superstar to the top of the card. It's worked for several competitors like Edge, Seth Rollins, and Daniel Bryan.
That is, of course, if you succeed at cashing in the contract. Even then, though, sometimes that trip to the top is followed by a long fall off a cliff to the bottom of the card.
Still, Money in the Bank is a clear indicator that WWE believes in someone and is ready to go all-in on them as a top star. Whether it works out in the end or not is irrelevant.
Today we'll be taking a look at some Money in the Bank winners that are no longer with the company. Whether they succeeded or failed on the cash-ins, these are competitors that WWE expected to be major players for years to come. We'll kick things off with a current member of one of AEW's top factions.
#5 Jake Hager- 2010 Money in the Bank winner
Before he was known as Jake Hager of The Inner Circle, this All-American American was known as Jack Swagger. During his WWE run, Swagger picked up a few major championships, including the World Heavyweight Title.
At WrestleMania XXVI, Swagger bested Christian, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Evan Bourne, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Matt Hardy, MVP, and Shelton Benjamin to be crowned as Mr. Money in the Bank.
He only held the case for two days (five due to tape delays) before cashing in on Chris Jericho, his Inner Circle leader.
Jericho was attacked by Edge on SmackDown, allowing Swagger to cash in and hit the gutwrench powerbomb to elevate himself to the top of the card. Swagger would go on to hold the World Heavyweight Championship until, oddly enough, the first-ever Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July of 2010.
He'd lose the gold to Rey Mysterio, who would then be immediately cashed in on by that night's winner, Kane.
#4 Damien Sandow- 2013 Money in the Bank winner
At Money in the Bank 2013, Damien Sandow shocked the WWE Universe when he won a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. He managed to defeat Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Fandango, Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, and Cody Rhodes.
Rhodes was pegged by many fans as the next Mr. Money in the Bank, and it seemed like he was destined to fulfill those hopes at the event. Unfortunately, he was betrayed by his Rhodes Scholars partner, Damien Sandow.
The Intellectual Savior of the Unwashed Masses would eventually model the briefcase to better suit his character. A fancier leather case definitely fits the bill. Eventually, he'd cash in on John Cena and lose following a pretty great match between the two.
Following that, he became Damien Mizdow before ultimately leaving the company in 2016. He's now working with NWA as one-half of the tag champions alongside JR Kratos as Aron Stevens.
#3 Brock Lesnar- 2019 Money in the Bank winner
Remember when Brock Lesnar won a match that he wasn't even involved in and aggravated the entire WWE Universe?
Now, remember when he turned the Money in the Bank briefcase into a boombox and repeatedly danced to the ring? With the bad comes the good, and Boombox Brock is definitely good.
At Money in the Bank 2019, Ricochet, Finn Balor, Andrade, Mustafa Ali, Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, and Randy Orton all battled for a chance at the briefcase. Unfortunately for all of them, they forgot the fine print of every match in the company. Brock Lesnar does what he wants!
With almost everyone down around the ring, Mustafa Ali had his hands on the briefcase when Lesnar's music hit. Instead of finishing the match and pulling the prize down, Ali stared in stunned silence. Lesnar would climb up the ladder to claim the briefcase.
Lesnar would cash in on Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules in 2019 before losing the Universal Title back to The Messiah at SummerSlam. Currently, Lesnar is no longer under a WWE contract. However, he's expected to join back up as soon as the company begins touring again.
#2 Jon Moxley fka Dean Ambrose - 2016 Money in the Bank Winner
Money in the Bank 2016 will go down as one of the greatest in the events' history because of one simple, yet wildly impressive stat. In one night, all three former members of The Shield held the WWE Championship.
Heading into the pay-per-view, Dean Ambrose (now Jon Moxley) was added to the Money in the Bank ladder match. Roman Reigns would defend the WWE Title against Seth Rollins in the main event. Ambrose bested Alberto Del Rio, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn to win a shot at that same belt.
Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns in a fantastic main event match-up, leading to the crowd erupting for the Architect. However, they only grew louder once we saw Ambrose was cashing in on him. The Lunatic Fringe dropped Rollins with Dirty Deeds, capturing his first and only WWE Championship during his run with the company.
He'd leave WWE in 2019 and would quickly join AEW, where he'd become the second-ever World Champion of Tony Khan's promotion.
#1 Braun Strowman- 2018 Money in the Bank winner
Man, nobody expected Braun Strowman to be let go by WWE this year. The Monster Among Men was a major attraction for the company for years and was a part of some incredible storylines with Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, and more.
In 2018, after his fantastic feud with Reigns, Strowman captured the Money in the Bank contract. Strowman plowed through the competition which included Bobby Roode, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Kofi Kingston, Rusev, The Miz, and Samoa Joe. Strowman's target? His number one rival, Roman Reigns. On August 27th, he made it clear he'd challenge The Big Dog for the Universal Title at Hell in a Cell.
That would wind up being one of the worst Money in the Bank cash-ins of all time. Not because of Strowman or Reigns, of course. Their chemistry was always fantastic. But their Hell in a Cell match ended in a no-contest when Brock Lesnar broke the cage door and laid everyone out.
That would leave Strowman as the only Money in the Bank winner whose cash-in ended in a no contest. It was also the second Hell in a Cell match to end without a definite result. Strowman would go onto win the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36 by beating Goldberg.
Strowman was one of many WWE releases in the past few months, and the biggest name to be included.
