Remembering the first ever 'Money in the Bank' Ladder Match

A star-studded match delivered the first and the best MITB Ladder Match ever
A star-studded bout delivered the first and the best MITB Ladder Match ever

Outline of the match:

The first ever MITB ladder match had a runtime of 15mins 17secs. If we count the pre-match brawl before the bell rang, then we can consider it a 16-minute match. Not that long compared to other matches of its kind, right?

But despite it, or probably because of it, this ladder match had tons of high-spots and jaw-dropping moments from start to end.

The match could be summed up with these 12 highlights:

1. Before the match even started, all superstars targeted Kane outside the ring just as he entered. The brawl continued for less than a minute. Kane dismantled everyone and fight shifted to the ring.

2. Jericho kicked the ladder onto the face of Christian and the match officially begun with the bell.

3. Jericho jumped over the top rope to the outside of the ring to knock down Edge and Chris Benoit. Christian, Benjamin and Kane would then follow him by jumping over the top rope themselves onto the pile of their opponent bodies.

4. Jericho performed a drop-kick off the top rope onto the ladder held by Kane.

5. German Suplex by Chris Benoit on Jericho holding the ladder. The ladder landed outside the ring and Jericho landed in a corner.

6. Kane played the part of monster in the match pretty well. He destroyed Chris Benoit’s arm by slamming the ladder hard on it multiple times.

7. Edge and Christian sandwiched Kane by ramming both of their ladders onto his body.

8. Every Superstar except Kane got on top off the ladder and beat each other up. But everyone came crashing down sooner than later. The last ones to fall were Shelton Benjamin and Edge. Shelton Benjamin performed a perfect T-Bone suplex off the top of ladder on Edge here.

9. Shelton Benjamin continued to be great in this match. Just a few seconds after the T-Bone Suplex, he performed a Clothesline on Jericho off the top of the ladder. He did so by using a inclined ladder as a ramp to run upwards.

10. Kane and Jericho lost the balance and simultaneously fell off the ladder.

11. Benoit delivered an insane Diving headbutt off a ladder onto Kane. The stitches from his previous injury opened up after the violent collision with the floor and Kane.

12. Edge struck Chris Benoit hard on his back with a steel chair and then climbed up to get hold of the briefcase and became the first ever ‘Mr. Money in the Bank’.

Edge made history by becoming the first ever 'Mr. Money in the Bank'.
Edge made history by becoming the first ever 'Mr. Money in the Bank'.

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