WWE Money in the Bank: All 16 Winners, Ranked
By Tim Sherry
credit: wwe.com
2. CM Punk – WrestleMania 24 and 25
So here’s the deal with Punk and Money in the Bank. Of the matches he was in, one was really good (WM24) and the other, not so much (WM25). And with both of his two cash in title reigns, he only held that world championship for a combined 118 days. But for the simple fact that he’s the only guy to win 2 MITB matches and produce 2 cash-ins in back to back years, he absolutely needs to be near the very top of this list.
For Punk, Money in the Bank was his statement to the wrestling world that he had arrived. Sure he had been an independent wrestling darling and former ECW Champion, but when he captured the briefcase at WrestleMania 24, Punk officially moved into the next phase of his career. And although he dropped his first world title only 69 days later, it was because he was attacked by Legacy before his scheduled title defense at Unforgiven and was stripped. After he repeated the MITB feat the following year at WrestleMania 25 and subsequently became champion again, he was firmly cemented as a main event star. In fact, he headlined the following SummerSlam.
Punk seemed tailor-made for MITB. He was fast, agile, fearless, and cunning. All the traits necessary for success in the ladder match. When it was all said and done, 2 MITB wins, 2 cash-ins, and 2 title wins. Quite the feat. After that Punk would capture 2 more world titles, one of them containing a staggering 434-day title reign as Punk carried the company on his back. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I see a world where Punk wins a third briefcase. We can all dream, right?