Ranking all the failed Money in the Bank cash-ins

The Money in the Bank contract is one of the simplest ways to become the top champion in the company. All a superstar has to do to become Mr./Ms. Money in the Bank is to grab the briefcase before anyone else. From then on, it is a waiting game, and if they pounce at the right moment, it can elevate the WWE Superstar's career to the next level.

Throughout WWE history, plenty of superstars have successfully used their contracts to become champions. From Seth Rollins winning the big one at WrestleMania 31 to Randy Orton snatching Daniel Bryan's title away, fans have seen some iconic cash-ins. However, some superstars have also failed to capitalize on the opportunities.

Let's look at and rank all the failed Money in the Bank cash-ins in WWE history.

#4 On our ranking of all Money in the Bank cash-in failures: Braun Strowman

Lesnar ruined Strowman's cash-in

Braun Strowman becoming Mr. Money in the Bank (sorry, Monster in the Bank) was a bit of a surprise. He decided to take up an unconventional approach towards cashing in, and told then-Universal Champion Roman Reigns when and where he would do it.

Strowman cashed in at Hell in a Cell 2018, and both men went to war inside Satan's Structure. They took each other's best shots before their friends interfered. Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler arrived to help The Monster Among Men win, only to be interrupted by Shield members Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.

Unexpectedly, Brock Lesnar emerged, kicked down the cell door and took out both champion and challenger. By the time he was done, the contest was called off and Strowman had his guaranteed championship match taken away.

#3 Damien Sandow

Damien Sandow's failed Money in the Bank cash-in was the first time someone had cashed in the contract and lost the resulting match, which is certainly not something to be proud of.

Sandow won the SmackDown MITB briefcase in 2013 by beating Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Fandango, Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, and Cody Rhodes. Then, he attempted to become world champion by cashing in on John Cena. However, Sandow failed to beat Cena despite the latter nursing an injured arm, creating some unwanted history in the process.

#2 John Cena

Cena was the first one to not get the money inside the bank

John Cena holds many records to his name. However, one record he will not be proud of is the fact that he was the very first superstar to cash in the Money in the Bank contract and not walk away as world champion.

Cena did the honorable thing and announced beforehand when and where he would cash in. He challenged then-WWE Champion CM Punk on RAW 1000, and looked set to win once the match was underway. However, while The Champ had his opponent trapped in the STF, Big Show attacked him and caused a disqualification. The result meant Cena had won the match, but not the title.

The fact that one of the greatest wrestlers of all time holds such an unwanted record is truly astonishing. If anyone tells you wrestling is too run-of-the-mill, you only have to show them stats like this one.

#1 Baron Corbin

As embarrassing as John Cena and Damien Sandow's failures with the Money in the Bank contract were, we don't think they were as bad as Baron Corbin's. The reason Corbin's Money in the Bank contract failure makes it to #1 on this list is that he cashed in on a weakened champion, did it behind his back, and still failed to win the world title.

Corbin attacked Cena (yes, he was involved in three out of four failed MITB cash-ins) during his main event match with WWE Champion Jinder Mahal on SmackDown. He then cashed in his contract on Mahal as the crowd erupted, hoping to see a new champion.

The bell rang and The Lone Wolf took his eye off the champion to focus on the interfering Cena. The brief distraction allowed The Modern Day Maharaja to roll him up for the pin and the win. The result meant Corbin lost his contract, making his cash-in failure the worst of the lot.