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WrestleMania 21 was indeed a Landmark event for the WWE. No, Not because WWE made bonafide superstars out of three of their homegrown talents in John Cena, Batista and Randy Orton and certainly not because it featured a long due clash between two of the best wrestlers in the world.
It was WrestleMania 21 that started the trend of bringing multiple top-tier superstars, without a prominent 'Mania program, together in a matchup together. It was WrestleMania 21 that gave birth to the phenomena known as Money in the Bank.
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Edge, Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Benoit, Kane and Chris Jericho - This was the illustrious sextet of wrestlers that made history that night by stealing the show in Los Angeles.
Who would have thought 13 years back, when Chris Jericho first pitched this idea on Raw, that it would become the staple of WWE's post 'Mania schedule in the coming years.
It started a new tradition, just like Royal Rumble, where a new superstar was born every year courtesy of a win in this match.
Money in the Bank has made careers, has destroyed careers and has seen various phases throughout its 13 years presence.
#1 2005-2010: Turning Superstars into Megastars
All the six superstars that participated in the inaugural match were superstars in their own right - three were former World Champions, and the other three were also established mid-carders. In my previous article in which I ranked all the MITB wins, I rated Edge win as the best among the lot.
Edge's victory in 2005 started a phenomenal main event career that ended with 11 World Titles in 2011 and was rightfully honoured with Hall of Fame inclusion in 2005. Not just Edge, all the remaining five superstars achieved superstardom, and so did the match.
RVD finally got the prize of his hard work and crowd support with a win in 2006, a win that lead to simultaneous reigns with WWE Championship and ECW Championship and a run as the top dog of the company.
CM Punk's double wins, first as an ECW superstar and other as a Raw superstar, launched his Main Event career that had five World Title Reigns, including the legendary 434-day reign between 2011 and 2013.
Jack Swagger's win in 2010, although underwhelming, gave the superstar a shining point in his overall dull career in the form of a World Title reign, even though it all went downhill for him afterwards.
Kennedy, on the other hand, had the biggest moment of his career when he won the match 2007, and what happened with him after that is well known to everyone.
The first six MITB wins led to four fresh World Title Reigns, and, realising the importance and success of the match, WWE gave the match its own pay per view in 2010.
#2 2010-2013: A Tale of Two Briefcases
The period between 'Mania 26 and 'Mania 30 was a very weird period for the Money in the Bank briefcase.
Having a pay per view bearing its own name, Money in the Bank became a match for all type of people and not just people without a proper storyline.
The number of matches every year also increased to two, One for each brand's World Title, and this is where MITB changed from an opportunistic contest to a stepping stone for the summer season.
A Tale of Two Briefcase - this is the best way to describe the circumstances surrounding the two MITB contest.
While the MITB ladder matches for the Blue Brand continued to concentrate more on elevating talent to the main event level, the red brand's match just became a battle between well established top tier superstars.
In fact, WWE publicly acknowledged this fact in 2012 by making the Raw MITB exclusive for Former World Champions, and we could see the effect on the match's quality and its aftermath as well.
Kane and The Miz deservedly took the two briefcases home in 2010, and this revitalized and kick-started their main event career respectively.
The Blue Brand's win in the next three years initiated a well-deserved run at the top for Daniel Bryan (2011) and Dolph Ziggler(2012), both of whom became WWE's workhorses and megastars in the future years.
The Raw Brand, on the other hand, had dull superstars like Alberto Del Rio (2011), and multi-time World Champions John Cena(2012) and Randy Orton(2013) as winners, and lower match quality as compared to previous years, with 2012 match probably being the world in the history.
#3 2014-Present: Continued Legacy..... and Making History
Things took a turn for good for WWE, its superstars, and Money in the Bank in 2013 when WWE unified the World Titles at TLC.
It was during this period that Money in the Bank, which started as a WrestleMania staple, made way for other Multi-Man matches at WrestleMania such as Intercontinental Title Ladder Matches and Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
With Royal Rumble matches giving unsatisfying and repeated winners, Money in the Bank became the platform for mid-card superstars to enter the big man's league.
This period saw a renaissance of the phenomenal in-ring action that was lacking in some of the previous MITB matches.
Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose achieved career changing wins in 2014 and 2016, and the two are the biggest superstars in the promotion right now. Sheamus was an awkward choice in 2015 considering he was way past his run as a main event player.
Baron Corbin's career, however, literally came to an end after his win in 2017 as he lost his opportunity without giving a fight and fell down the pecking order like a rock.
If 2017 brought an end to Baron Corbin's dreams of becoming a World Champion, it also brought a new ray hope of hope for the women superstars on the roster.
WWE took a big step forward in the Women's Revolution by scheduling the first ever Women's only MITB ladder match.
Even though the match, won by current Smackdown Women's Champion Carmella, was marred by controversy and took place again two days later, history was made that day by the six participants in that match.
Money in the bank is no longer a match. Just like Royal Rumble, it has become a tradition that won't disappear for decades. Money in the Bank has changed many lives and careers - some for good, some for bad - and will continue to do so in the years to come as well.
Who will win the MITB briefcase this time around? Sound off in the comments section below!
