The Successful History of the Women’s MITB Ladder Match

It is almost time for one of my favorite WWE events of the year – Money in the Bank. The women have been competing in their own Money in the Bank ladder match since 2017, and it is always an exciting match to watch. So far, as of this writing, Lacey Evans is the only woman to qualify for the match, but I’m sure there will be more qualifying matches in the weeks to come. I thought it would be appropriate to look back at past MITB winners and how they decided to cash in their briefcases in exchange for a championship opportunity.

Carmella Wins First MITB

The first-ever women’s Money in the Bank ladder match took place in 2017. The match involved Carmella, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Natalya, and Tamina. There was some controversy in this match due to James Ellsworth being the person to actually unhook the briefcase and drop it down to Carmella. The following week on Smackdown, it was announced that there would be a rematch for the MITB briefcase and Ellsworth would be banned from the building. The Staten Island native won again, solidifying her place in history as the first-ever winner of the women’s MITB match. Carmella held on to the briefcase for a while, she did not cash in until April of 2018 when she cashed in on Charlotte Flair (who had been attacked by the IIconics). Carmella pinned Charlotte and won her very first Smackdown Women’s Championship.

Alexa Bliss Wins 2018 MITB

The 2018 Money in the Bank ladder match expanded the number of competitors and featured Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, Lana, Naomi, Natalya, and Nikki Cross. Alexa Bliss was victorious. However, winning the briefcase wasn’t the highlight of her night. Later on, that night, Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey had a match for the Raw Women’s Championship. Alexa Bliss interfered during the match and hit Rousey with the briefcase, making Nia lose the match by disqualification, but allowing her to keep the championship. Alexa then attacked both Nia and Ronda and eventually cashed in her Money in the Bank contract and pinned Nia to win the Raw Women’s Championship for the third time.

Bayley Wins 2019 MITB

In 2019, the Money in the Bank competitors was Carmella, Dana Brooke, Ember Moon, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Naomi, Natalya, and Nikki Cross. Bayley was the winner, and much like Alexa Bliss, winning the ladder match wouldn’t be the only thing she had to be proud of when the night was over. Going into Money in the Bank, Becky Lynch was both Raw and Smackdown Women’s Champion. Her first match of the night was a successful defense of the Raw Women’s Championship against Lacey Evans.

Immediately after this match was her second of the night when she faced Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Due to interference from Lacey Evans, Becky lost the championship to Charlotte. Becky was furious and attacked both Flair and Evans, but she ended up losing due to power in numbers. Bayley came out to make the save and, in the process, took advantage of an injured Charlotte Flair and pinned her to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship just minutes after Charlotte had won it. This win also made Bayley the first ever women’s Grand Slam and Triple Crown Champion.

Asuka Wins 2020 MITB

COVID-19 shut down the world in 2020 and therefore changed the way the Money in the Bank match had to be done. It was announced that the match would take place in the WWE Global Headquarters in Stamford, CT. The women’s and the men’s ladder matches would take place at the same time in the same place. The match would start on the ground floor of the headquarters building and the objective was to make it to the roof of the building and then retrieve the briefcase that was hanging above a ring. The women’s match featured Asuka, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nia Jax, and Shayna Baszler. Asuka was victorious and added a MITB victory to her long list of accolades.

The following night on Raw, Raw Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch, stood in a ring with the briefcase and called out Asuka. She opened the briefcase and inside was the Raw Women’s Championship. Becky told Asuka that she hadn’t won a contract the night before, but instead had won the actual championship. Becky had to vacate the belt due to her pregnancy, and Asuka was awarded the championship, making her the second-ever women’s Grand Slam and Triple Crown Champion.

Nikki A.S.H. Wins MITB 2021

The 2021 Money in the Bank match was back to normal following COVID the year previously. This year saw Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Nikki A.S.H, Liv Morgan, Naomi, Natalya, Tamina, and Zelina Vega facing off to determine the next Money in the Bank winter. In a surprising twist, Nikki A.S.H was victorious. The following night on Raw, she even cashed in her MITB contract and defeated Charlotte Flair for the Raw Women’s Championship. Charlotte had just been hit with the Riptide after a brawl with Rhea Ripley that allowed Nikki to run to the ring and pin her for the championship.

As we have seen, all of the Money in the Bank winners have cashed in their MITB briefcases successfully, making every woman that has won a championship. Whoever wins this year’s Money in the Bank match may become champion at some time. I’m excited to see who will be added to the match in the weeks to come.

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