How Did Chris Jericho Create The Popular “Money In The Bank” Match In WWE?

2020 is finally ending! The year started off really well for the WWE with Drew McIntyre winning the Royal Rumble and Edge returning. However, WWE lost momentum as it neared another exciting annual match – Money In The Bank – a match type ‘Le Champion’ Chris Jericho created in 2005.

Fans know Chris Jericho created the Money In The Bank, but not all know the story behind how it came to be.

How Chris Jericho created the Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Jericho revealed on Talk Is Jericho last year how and why the MITB ladder match was created. He said that many high-profile wrestlers including him, Edge, Chris Benoit and Kane didn’t have matches at WrestleMania 21. WWE wanted to include all these guys on the card, but creative came up with stupid ideas.

Finally, Jericho came up with his idea of the MITB ladder match. He explained how it was his idea that became a reality with three people’s vision – him, Vince McMahon, and writer Brian Gewirtz.

“So I came up with the idea to do a match, like a ladder match. A six-way ladder match. And Brian Gewirtz, who was a good writer at the time said, ‘well what’s at stake?’ So I said, ‘well why don’t you have a contract where the winner gets a title shot the next night?’ Then Brian said, ‘Well, why don’t you make it you can use it any time over the following year and you can cash it in at any time?’”

“We took that [MITB ladder match concept] to Vince and Vince agreed, loved the idea. His only concession was that the contract had to be in a briefcase.” He continued, “So it was a really cool kind of a three-way invention of this match because even though Vince’s little thing was just the briefcase, the briefcase has become synonymous with the show.” H/t 411 Mania

Money In The Bank ladder match is now a staple of WWE programming. So much so that it is now one of WWE’s Big 5 PPVs which was once only Big 4 PPVs. The match made its debut in 2005 and hasn’t disappointed with jaw dropping moments.

Winners like Edge, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins added value to the contract, but with the fiasco WWE’s done with it over the past few years, it’s time they push the reset button and give the briefcase to a talent that’ll do what few previous MITB holders have done.