WWE’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view takes place a week from Saturday. This is always an exciting event that can dictate the next year of wrestling. This event holds a special place for me as it was the first pay-per-view I attended back in 2017. I had been to a few house shows, and while I found them entertaining, I was not interested in watching WWE regularly. Well, once James Ellsworth interfered in the first women’s Money in the Bank match and Daniel Bryan announced the situation would be addressed on the following SmackDown Live, I knew I would need to tune in to see what happened. Well, eight years later, I have become a whole fan. Funny how that works?
With Money in the Bank 2025 right around the corner, it would be fun to rank the women’s winners since they got their ladder match in 2017. Who was the best Ms. Money in the Bank?
Ranking the Women’s Money in the Bank Winners
Criteria
As with any rankings, we need first to establish criteria. The following will be considered when ranking these winners:
- Did it make sense for the winner to win? Was the right woman booked to win, or did it come out of left field?
- How was their run as Ms. Money in the Bank? A good run with the briefcase can help outweigh a seemingly random winner. At the same time, a poor run can outweigh a logical winner.
- What was their cash-in like? Cashing in a Money in the Bank contract needs to trigger excitement. Did it do that? Did it make it feel like something big was happening?
- Where does the storyline go once Ms. Money in the Bank cashes in? Was it good? Were they just a transitional champion?
These criteria are not listed in any particular order. They are just the things I will consider when making this list.
Ms. Money in the Bank #8- Nikki A.S.H (2021)
What makes this not work at all is Nikki Cross’s “almost a superhero” gimmick. She was more comic relief than anything. The moment she won the briefcase even felt random, as she reached over some other women and nonchalantly unhooked the briefcase. This felt like the equivalent of Patrick Star’s pet rock winning the snail race.
If Nikki has been in her usual gimmick, or even the one she was using when she was paired with Alexa Bliss, this could have worked. But the “A.S.H.” gimmick ruined any credibility this could have had. She cashed in the following Monday Night Raw to win the title from Charlotte Flair, only to lose it back to Flair a few weeks later. I do not even think I can label Nikki as a transitional champion in this case. This did not work, which is a shame, because Nikki Cross could have been an excellent Ms. Money in the Bank in the right situation.
Ms. Money in the Bank #7- Asuka (2020)
Asuka is the victim of circumstance here. She won the briefcase after an exciting ladder match at the WWE corporate headquarters during the COVID-19 Pandemic. She was not an out-of-left-field winner by any means. One could argue that Shayna Baszler should have gotten the briefcase, but what the WWE was doing with the briefcase made Asuka the best choice.
At the same time, however, what the WWE was doing with the briefcase makes Asuka a weak Ms. Money in the Bank. Asuka did not become Ms. Money in the Bank. The next night on Raw, Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch announced she was pregnant and that the briefcase had the title inside. The ladder match winner became the champion instead of having a guaranteed title shot. Asuka won the title by capturing the briefcase. Still, we did not get the moment when Asuka plotted her cash-in with the briefcase. Asuka would have been perfect in that role. The fact that we did not get that does put her lower on this list, even though I fully understand why the WWE did it this way.
To Asuka’s credit, she went on a long run as champion, which was entertaining. She had a good feud with Bayley and Sasha Banks, and a good match with Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 37.
Ms. Money in the Bank #6- Liv Morgan (2022)
This is where ranking these gets difficult. The remaining women on this list had intense moments as Ms. Money in the Bank. From this moment on, all these spots are good, if not great. That makes my job even harder.
Liv winning the briefcase was not out of left field, but an interesting choice. However, we did not have much time to think about what a Liv run as Ms. Money in the Bank would look like. The same night she won, Liv cashed in on an injured Ronda Rousey to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship. The moment was exceptionally executed as well. Rousey put Liv into a submission hold, making many wonder if Liv would tap out. However, Liv used Rousey’s injury to her advantage, rolled up Rousey, and scored the pin. The crowd’s pop was great. However, was that a pop for Liv, or a pop that Rousey was no longer champion, as Rousey was not getting over with the fans at this point?
Her run as champion makes Liv’s cash-in a little stale. She had a controversial win against Rousey to retain, a reasonably solid win against Shayna Baszler, and then lost the title to Rousey. I do not know if the WWE was trying to get a feel for what Liv could do as champion or if they were trying to make Rousey a more sympathetic character. Regardless, Liv’s moment here did pave the way for the title run we saw last year, which was great.
Ms. Money in the Bank #5- Tiffany Stratton (2024)
It was Tiffy time indeed! I was so glad WWE put the briefcase on a reasonably new face. I wish they had done the same with the men’s match, but I digress. Stratton’s time as Ms. Money in the Bank was not the greatest we have seen. At times, she looked more like a fool than she did a threat. However, I did like her alliance with Nia Jax and how they used the briefcase in that alliance.
The length of time she held the briefcase made Stratton stand out as Ms. Money in the Bank. Quite a few winners have cashed in on the same night or night after, but Stratton held it for many months. That built the suspense of the situation and allowed her to grow as a threat with the briefcase. Even if the story told was not the best, the length of time she held the briefcase boosted the story.
We all knew Stratton would cash in on Jax, but it was still a great moment when she did. The execution was excellent, suggesting that it was another ploy between Jax and Stratton, only for Stratton to cash in finally. Stratton’s career has taken off since cashing in. She beat Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania, and her stock is rising higher and higher.
Ms. Money in the Bank #4- Alexa Bliss (2018)
The second Ms. Money in the Bank wasted no time cashing in, doing it that night on Nia Jax. Bliss was fresh off losing her championship at WrestleMania, but was still a major heel. Having her win the briefcase kept her in the title picture, but as it turned out, we would not see Bliss hold the briefcase long.
The execution of her cash-in was well done. Jax was defending her title against Ronda Rousey. Bliss attacked Rousey to cause a disqualification, but in the process, the win was technically given to Rousey via disqualification. Bliss then attacked Jax and cashed in to win the title back. In the process, Rousey was allowed to remain undefeated until she was pinned at WrestleMania 35. This also set up the feud between Bliss and Rousey, which ended at Summerslam when Bliss tapped out to Rousey.
Bliss was a transitional champion, but it worked in this case. It built up Rousey, who was a hit with the fans at the time. Sometimes, the Money in the Bank briefcase does not need to be used to elevate the holder; it can be used to help elevate someone else.
Ms. Money in the Bank #3- Bayley (2019)
For the second year in a row, Ms. Money in the Bank cashed in the night she won it. Like I said earlier, many women have cashed in the same night. While it does work, it does take away from watching someone holding the briefcase for multiple months.
Bayley winning was the right move. While we did not see Bayley hold it long, what we did get was fantastic. Charlotte Flair had just beaten Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Flair beat up Lynch, who was still the Raw Women’s Championship. Bayley came down to make the save, or was she? Watching this live made me wonder if Bayley would cash in on Lynch for the Raw title. “Becky Two Belts” may quickly become “Becky No Belts.” We did see a cash-in, but on Flair, not Lynch.
Bayley went on quite the run as SmackDown Women’s Champion. She lost it briefly to Flair, only to win it back a few days later during a heel turn. Bayley would carry the title into late 2020 before losing to Sasha Banks inside Hell in a Cell. This was one of Bayley’s best runs in the WWE, and it all started as Ms. Money in the Bank.
Ms. Money in the Bank #2- Iyo Sky (2023)
After five years of Ms. Money in the Bank cashing in the same night or the next night, Iyo held the briefcase for over a day. It only ended up being 30-35 days before she cashed in, but given what we had been getting, this felt like a long time. Seeing the WWE do something different with Ms. Money in the Bank was also fresh air.
Iyo’s cash-in came grandly. At Summerslam, Bianca Belair won the title in an exciting triple-threat match against Asuka and Charlotte Flair. Bianca managed to win despite injuring her leg during the game. The match itself and conclusion was fantastic and it would have sufficed had it ended there. However, Iyo’s music hit and an already great moment got better. Iyo cashed in and pinned Bianca for the title. This may be the best cash-in by a Ms. Money in the Bank.
Iyo would go on to have a solid title run that took her to WrestleMania 40. Fast-forward a year, and she is a champion once again and just defended her title at WrestleMania 41. Like Liv Morgan, the Money in the Bank briefcase has elevated Iyo to the championship level.
Ms. Money in the Bank #1- Carmella (2017)
The first Ms. Money in the Bank takes the spot as the best Ms. Money in the Bank. However, the beginning was rocky. The decision to have James Ellsworth retrieve the briefcase and drop it to Carmella was not what the first women’s Money in the Bank match needed. The women’s revolution was about showing that women wrestlers were just as good and entertaining as men. So, why did a man win the first Money in the Bank match? The idea was to build heel heat for Carmella and Ellsworth, but it was not the right time.
Thankfully, the WWE struck gold the rest of the time Carmella held the briefcase. Carmella was a great heel. She had a few attempted cash-ins, but it was the perfect opportunity when the WWE finally pulled the trigger on her. Charlotte Flair (yeah, she gets cashed in on a lot) was attacked by the debuting Iiconics on the SmackDown after WrestleMania 34. With Flair down, Carmella took advantage and, almost a year after winning it, cashed in her briefcase and became champion.
Carmella’s title reign was alright. She had some “heel wins” against Asuka before losing the title at Summerslam. However, the briefcase did to Carmella what the briefcase is supposed to do. Carmella was elevated from a mid-card talent to a champion. Carmella was unlikely to get that level without some help.
Carmella’s reign as Ms. Money in the Bank has been the best. I hope the WWE does something similar with this year’s winner. At the time of writing this, I am unsure who has qualified for the match yet, but I am hoping we see a great match with a great storyline to follow for both the women and the men.
