The History of the Ladder Match in WWE

41. Kane vs. Christian vs. Matt Hardy vs. Big Show vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes – SmackDown Money in the Bank Match

WWE Money in the Bank | July 18th, 2010 | Kansas City, MO

This was Kane’s last great singles run and it came from winning the MITB contract and cashing it in in the same night. It was a different kind of win giving it to an established star instead of an up and comer and it worked out quite nicely.

42. The Miz vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge vs. John Morrison vs. Evan Bourne vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Mark Henry – Raw Money in the Bank Match

WWE Money in the Bank | July 18th, 2010 | Kansas City, MO

The Miz was made on this night as he won the MITB and went on to defeat Randy Orton for the WWE Championship later that year. The Miz hasn’t quite reached the same heights since, but it’s fun to look at how highly they thought of him then as opposed to now when he’s arguably 100 times better.

43. Dolph Ziggler (C) vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

WWE TLC | December 19th, 2010 | Houston, TX

Any time you add Kofi Kingston to a Ladder Match, it’s going to be decent, but that’s all you can say about this one. This is when WWE was all in on the themed PPVs and it made everything feel forced.

44. John Morrison vs. Sheamus to Become #1 Contender to the WWE Championship

WWE TLC | December 19th, 2010 | Houston, TX

Speaking of forced, that’s exactly what this match was. Why have John Morrison face off against Sheamus in a Ladder Match? It’s definitely skewed more towards Morrison.

45. Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio for the Vacant World Heavyweight Championship

WWE Extreme Rules | May 1st, 2011 | Tampa, FL

This was shortly after Edge retired and vacated the World Heavyweight Championship so the emotion her was high. Christian would go on to win his first World Heavyweight Championship and it wouldn’t be too long before he would join Edge in retirement.

46. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett vs. Kane vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Sheamus vs. Sin Cara vs. Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater – SmackDown Money in the Bank Match

WWE Money in the Bank | July 17th, 2011 | Rosemont, IL

Daniel Bryan’s journey to the top would start here as he won the SmackDown MITB contract. He’d also become the World Heavyweight Champion within the year. It’s crazy to think that this was only 6 short years ago. 

47. Alberto Del Rio vs. The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger vs. R-Truth vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Evan Bourne vs. Alex Riley – Raw Money in the Bank

WWE Money in the Bank | July 17th, 2011 | Rosemont, IL

Alberto Del Rio would win the MITB contract for Raw and I’ll admit, I remember absolutely nothing about this. 

48. Triple H vs. Kevin Nash in a Sledgehammer Ladder Match

WWE TLC | December 18th, 2011 | Baltimore, MD

A Sledgehammer Ladder Match. Yep. This was a weird one and it was more of a “sledgehammer on a pole” match than an actual Ladder Match.

49. Dolph Ziggler vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow vs. Christian vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Sin Cara vs. Tensai vs. Santino Marella – SmackDown Money in the Bank

WWE Money in the Bank | July 15th, 2012 | Phoenix, AZ

Dolph Ziggler had his best run when he won the SmackDown MITB contract and cashed it in the night after WrestleMania 29 to a thunderous ovation. Ziggler never reached those same heights again, but it was one of those moments that continues to live on.

50. John Cena vs. Chris Jericho vs. The Miz vs. Kane vs. The Big Show – Raw Money in the Bank Match

WWE Money in the Bank | July 15th, 2012 | Phoenix, AZ

John Cena won the Raw MITB contract and failed to cash in after Big Show interfered in his championship match. He became the first man to lose his championship match which made the IWC incredibly happy at the time…