JEFF’S FAB FIVE (Debut Column): Top Five Worst Money in the Bank Cash-Ins from Sheamus to Sandow to Swagger and more

Since its inception in 2005, the Money in the Bank has become a staple of the WWE. What once was an annual match featured at WrestleMania has now evolved into its own successful Pay-Per-View event. As of present time, there have been 19 winners of the Money in the Bank, which allows the wrestler to cash in a contract for a World Championship match at any time. Some winners have become main event players following the victory, while others didn’t find much success at all. This week, I’m going to look at the Top Five worst Money in the Bank cash-ins. Considerations include not only the actual moment, but the result of the match, storyline progression, and how the winner’s career faired afterwards.

#5: Jack Swagger (2010): Jack Swagger made his debut in the WWE version of ECW in 2008, and immediately made an impact by becoming the ECW Champion less than five months later. With his amateur wrestling background and arrogant attitude, the future seemed bright for the All American American. At WrestleMania 26, Jack defeated nine other men to become the sixth winner of the briefcase. He wouldn’t hold onto the contract for very long, as he cashed it in five days later on Chris Jericho to become World Heavyweight Champion. Following the victory, Jack’s championship run was received as more of an afterthought, and he would lose the title less than three months later to Rey Mysterio. Following the loss, Swagger would move back down the card, and while he did have a championship feud with Alberto Del Rio in 2013, Jack never won the World Championship again, and left the WWE in 2017.

#4: Alberto Del Rio (2011): Alberto Del Rio was another wrestler who seemed destined for greatness when he debuted on Smackdown in 2010. After successfully winning the only 40 Man Royal Rumble, Del Rio would lose his match to Edge at WrestleMania 27. He then would attempt to climb up the ladder (literally and figuratively) again when he won the Raw Money in the Bank contract. This led to Alberto successfully cashing in on CM Punk after the Straight Edge Superstar’s match with John Cena at Summerslam 2011. This was met with disappointment from fans as Punk’s popularity was at an all-time high, and his championship reign was cut unreasonably short. Del Rio’s reign was also disappointing, as he would lose the title to John Cena one month later, win it back the next month, only to lose it once again to Punk the following month at Survivor Series.

3: Sheamus (2015): Sheamus was already a three time World Champion when he won the contract in 2015, but it felt like he could never make it to the next level in terms of main event popularity. His time with the briefcase was somewhat forgettable, and after holding the contract for 160 days, the Irishman cashed in on Roman Reigns at Survivor Series after Reigns had won a tournament to win the vacant WWE Championship. While Sheamus tried to make the victory work with the “5:15” gimmick (a play off of Austin 3:16, as Reigns was only champion for 5 minutes and 15 seconds), the truth was that fans did not want him or Roman to be the champion.  Sheamus would then lose the title to Roman less than a month later, and move into the tag team division, finding eventual success with Cesaro.

#2: Damien Sandow (2013): With an arrogant character that was described as the “intellectual savior of the masses,” Sandow would slowly gain popularity as one of the top heels in the company. In 2013, it appeared that the WWE agreed, as he would win the Money in the Bank contract by turning on his tag team partner, Cody Rhodes. While the case would be featured prominently in future storylines, Sandow’s victories occurred less and less. In October of that year, he confronted champion John Cena, questioning Cena’s ability to compete following an arm injury, and cashed in his contract. The match went back and forth, until Cena defeated Sandow, thus making him one of the only ones to unsuccessfully cash in the Money in the Bank. This defeat did nothing for the competitor, and his push never recovered. Sandow would float towards the bottom of the card from then on, and while he did regain some popularity as The Miz’s stunt double, it also eventually led to nothing, and he was released from the company in 2016.

#1: Baron Corbin (2017): Corbin was the most recent recipient of the Money in the Bank briefcase, but his time with the contract, and subsequent booking following the cash-in left a lot to be desired. After winning the contract, Baron moved into a feud with Shinsuke Nakamura, which left him on the losing end. It was during a match between WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and John Cena that Corbin felt was the opportune time to cash in his contract. He attacked Cena, and after contemplating what to do next, decided to direct his attention towards Mahal. Cena would then provide a distraction, which led to Mahal quickly defeating Corbin. This made Baron look foolish in many ways, as it really didn’t make sense for him to cash in, and when he did, took his time, and was easily distracted. To make matters worse for the Lone Wolf, he lost his match to Cena at Summerslam five days later, and has not been placed in the main event scene since. The overall story of him carrying the case was poorly booked, and is the worst Money in the Bank cash-in to date.

Jeff has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was knee high to a grasshopper (little kid), after coming across the Wrestling Challenge episode after WrestleMania 7, and has not looked back. His passion has led him to winning wrestling trivia contests in his city, and even won him his Senior Talent Show by dancing to Shawn Michaels theme song. When not annoying others with wrestling talk, he loves spending time with his family and friends, and focuses on his other passion: movies. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @the_Indel or send me an email at indelpw@gmail.com. See you next week!