Preview:Scaling Success: The Money in the Bank Ladder Match
The Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania has become one of WWE's most coveted opportunities because of its golden track record – almost all previous winners have ultimately won a World Championship.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, a collection of Superstars battle for possession of a briefcase that’s held high above the ring and contains a contract for a World Championship Match. The winner of Money in the Bank can cash in the contract at any time over the next year – and previous victors have used that opportunity to win gold. Edge and Rob Van Dam have used the Money in the Bank Ladder Match victories to etch their names in World Heavyweight and WWE Championship history. (Watch: Money in the Bank Ladder Match Highlights)
But you have to be in it to win it, and Superstars on Raw, SmackDown and ECW have battled for the opportunity to compete in the Money in the Bank Match at WrestleMania. Video Preview
Shaman Cinches Final Spot
Just 16 days before WrestleMania, the Shaman of Sexy secured the final spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match with a hard-fought victory over his own fellow WWE Tag Team Championship partner, The Miz. (WATCH)
John Morrison is no stranger to encounters involving ladders, himself, and most certainly not unfamiliar with championship opportunities. A former ECW Champion and Intercontinental titleholder as well, the athletic Superstar will bring his acrobatics and cut-throat mentality to the high-stakes war at WrestleMania.
Can the Tuesday Night Delight spread his aura to the biggest Sunday night in sports-entertainment? Can the WWE Tag Team Champion take the next step in adding more gold to his chiseled waist?
Second Straight for Straightedge
In front of a sold-out hometown crowd in Chicago’s Allstate Arena, former ECW Champion CM Punk made a big climb on ECW on Sci Fi by defeating the 500-pound Big Daddy V. With a mammoth victory over a foe twice his size, the Straightedge Superstar secured entry into his second straight Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania XXIV. (WATCH)
Stating earlier in the night that he had absolutely nothing else left to lose, CM Punk needed to find a way to get past a quarter-ton roadblock known as the Extreme Mastodon. Unsure of how to even get Big Daddy V off his feet, let alone pin him, the Straightedge Superstar also contended with rival – and fellow Money in the Bank competitor – Shelton Benjamin preaching on commentary at ringside. Extremely close to hoisting his gargantuan foe for the GTS, Punk found a way to win by count-out then dropped Matt Striker with his signature hold, personally punching his ticket to The Granddaddy of Them All.
Since losing the ECW Title to Chavo Guerrero in January, Punk has relentlessly sought to reclaim the Land of the Extreme’s top gold. At the Biggest Spectacle of Them All, the tattooed Superstar will have a chance to quench his craving for competition, but more importantly, the opportunity to earn a future World Title Match. If he can climb the fateful ladder and clinch the contract bearing briefcase, CM Punk will get his chance – but would the Straightedge Superstar elect to stay within ECW or might his sights be at a different prize?
(Even) Mo' Money?
After defeating Jamie Noble to qualify for Money in the Bank at a SmackDown live event, United States Champion MVP will make his second WrestleMania appearance since signing one of the most lucrative contracts in sports-entertainment history in 2006. No stranger to money, the Franchise Playa will need to bring his highly touted 'A' game if he wants to bank on a future World Title opportunity. Will MVP outshine an assemblage of WWE's top performers and reach the final rung to World Championship success?
WrestleMania Is Jericho Again!
Chris Jericho is riding an incredible wave of momentum going into WrestleMania. He defeated Jeff Hardy in a hard fought battle on Monday Night Raw to qualify for his opportunity for Money in the Bank, and then defeated the daredevil again to claim the Intercontinental Championship for the eighth time. Y2J, the first Undisputed Champion in WWE history, could renew his mission to regain the WWE Championship with a victory at WrestleMania XXIV. Jericho created the Money in the Bank Ladder Match and would love to make his first appearance at WrestleMania in three years a memorable one.
Mr. Money in the Bank Again?
And what about last year's winner, Mr. Kennedy? The Green Bay, Wis., loudmouth not only wants to make history by becoming the first to win back-to-back Money in the Bank Ladder Matches, but he also wants a chance at redemption. Kennedy lost his Money in the Bank opportunity last year when an opportunistic Edge took advantage of his injury (and sizable ego) and eventually defeated Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Kennedy believes he is entitled to a World Title opportunity. He is desperate to prove that he is what he says he is – the future of sports-entertainment. By winning the Money in the Bank Ladder Match again at WrestleMania XXIV, Kennedy can skyrocket himself back into the title hunt – and put all world champions on notice. He also wants to eradicate the dubious distinction of being the only Money in the Bank winner to not win a World Championship. But he must face other equally-hungry Superstars.
Setting the Gold Standard
Hunger has never been a problem for one of the purest athletes in WWE, Shelton Benjamin. Like his fellow competitors, Benjamin is hoping that his dreams of championship gold will come one step closer after WrestleMania XXIV. ECW's "Gold Standard" has the experience necessary, having been a part of two previous Money in the Bank matches. But for Shelton to climb the ladder and achieve his dreams, he will have to go through seven other Superstars looking to do the same thing.
One Cool Customer
No stranger to championship competition, Carlito is a past holder of the United States and Intercontinental Championships. He has climbed the title ladder on several occasions in the past, but can the cool Caribbean Superstar rise to the top of the 15-foot-high ladder in the center of sports-entertainment’s grandest stage to claim the Money in the Bank briefcase and its championship contract?
Who will seize the ultimate opportunity, like the Rated-R Superstar himself, and a few elite others have done in past WrestleManias? Catch the Biggest Spectacle of Them All on March 30, live on pay-per-view.