Is WWE Money In The Bank Going Bankrupt?

Has the WWE Money In The Bank contract lost its credibility?

Brandi Wagner
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read

WWE began the “Money in the Bank” concept at WrestleMania 21 in 2005. It is a ladder match with anywhere from 5 to 10 participants and the goal is to retrieve the briefcase suspended above the ring to win the contract.

The rules of the contract and what title it may be cashed in for have varied greatly over time. As of the current incarnation, the event is exclusive to SmackDown Live, with one contract available for the male participants to cash in against the WWE Champion, and one contract available for female participants to cash in against the SmackDown Women’s Champion.

In my view, this can be used as a stepping stone to help build a title contender secondary to any ongoing storylines with the current champion. Back in the old NWA and early WCW days, this role was filled by the United States Championship. With the WWE’s incarnation of that title, it’s used more specifically for mid-card talent only, thus leaving the building block option open for the “MITB” briefcase.

Used strategically, it can help add an element of the unknown and unpredictability as the contract holder can cash in at any given time; as well as to be used as an avenue to build a new main event and championship star. I enjoyed the aspect in the old days of having a main event contender ready and waiting in the wings whenever the call was made to have them face the champion, I thought it tiered the roster a bit better instead of just one guy at the absolute top. There was a hierarchy, numbers one and two, sometimes three at the top, and it divided the workload in a way.

Today the roster is a bit of a jumble as there’s the champion at the top, and then it’s a crapshoot of trying to guess who may be the next contender.

So with the advent of the MITB contract, I enjoyed this sort of hearkening back to the old system of building a secondary contender simultaneously as the championship storyline goes on. However, as happens with a fan’s opinion on booking, I didn’t always enjoy what they did with this contract. As soon as the first person attempted to cash in and failed, it faded in legitimacy in my eyes. A second failed attempt came. And now a third.

The once golden briefcase is tarnishing a bit, possibly running out of steam as a vehicle in the landscape of WWE. While I do understand having a failed cash in add to the unpredictability, so many repeated failures can harm more than help. It can aid in fostering an apathy towards the gimmick, helping to desensitize the fans to its importance.

Only time will tell if Money in the Bank is truly bankable…or bankrupt.

Read more at YesWrestling.com
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