Sorry Seth Rollins, This Superstar Had the Best Money in the Bank Cash-In

In the history of Money in the Bank, 24 men and nine women have won the ladder match, which promises the victor a title shot of their choosing any time they want it. Over the years, the gimmick match has seen some amazing cash-ins, creating new main event superstars. It has also seen some absolute duds who failed to cash in successfully or lost the briefcase in a subsequent match to someone else. Seth Rollins‘ WrestleMania 31 cash-in during the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns is often called the best ever. While this was an iconic moment, it wasn’t the top one of them all. For this, you have to go back two years earlier to 2013.

Dolph Ziggler Won the 2012 Money in the Bank Ladder Match

• Dolph Ziggler started out as Nicky in the Spirit Squad.
• His character was once romantically linked to Vickie Guerrero.
• His first world title run lasted only minutes before Edge regained the belt.

Dolph Ziggler goes down as one of the most underrated and underused WWE superstars in history. Nick Nemeth had it all in WWE. Being in the Spirit Squad as Nicky could have ruined him. He could have also been done in by the horrible Dolph Ziggler name. Instead, he gave it his all and had it all as a superstar with a great look, impressive mic skills, and in-ring talent like few others. He’s one of the best wrestlers of his generation, and often times WWE didn’t see it. Ziggler didn’t have a horrible run in WWE exactly. During his 20-year career with the company, he was a top midcard star, winning the IC title six times, the United States Championship twice, and four tag team titles. He’s a certain WWE Hall of Famer one day.

Ziggler also won the World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions. The first time was a disaster. Working as a heel, as he often was, in 2011, the character was romantically attached to Vickie Guerrero. Vickie also happened to be the GM of SmackDown, and on February 18 of that year she used her power to help her man. Going into the night, Edge was the titleholder, only for Vickie to strip him of it after he used the banned spear against Ziggler. With the title now vacant, Guerrero gave the gold to Ziggler. His unearned moment was short-lived though. That same night, Teddy Long returned and made a title match between Edge and Ziggler. Not even 12 minutes after he became the champion, he lost the gold back to Edge.

Many fans probably don’t even remember Ziggler’s first world title win. It feels like it doesn’t even really count. So the next year, at the 2012 Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Dolph went into the SmackDown ladder match with something to prove. As the match ended, it was Ziggler who pulled down the briefcase, beating the likes of Cody Rhodes, Christian, Damien Sandow, Tyson Kid, Sin Cara, Santiono Marella, and Tensai. Despite being a heel, with Vickie coming out to celebrate, the crowd cheered. They saw how good Dolph Ziggler was and wanted him to succeed.

Dolph Ziggler Cashed-In on Alberto Del Rio

• Alberto Del Rio took on Jack Swagger and Zeb Coulter on the Raw after WrestleMania 29.
• Del Rio was struggling with a knee injury after the match.
• Ziggler cashed in with AJ Lee and Big E by his side.

Dolph Ziggler succeeded indeed 10 months later on April 8, 2013, at the Raw after WrestleMania 29. The Show of Shows hadn’t been a great night for Ziggler, who lost a tag team title match with Big E against Team Hell No. On that same night, Alberto Del Rio had a better day, retaining his World Heavyweight Championship against Jack Swagger.

The next night, Swagger sought to get his revenge in a rematch which included his manager Zeb Coulter in a two-on-one bout. It ended with Del Rio getting Swagger to tap out for the win. However, with all the damage done to his knee by Swagger, he couldn’t stand. As he struggled to get up, Dolph Ziggler’s theme hit. He marched down to the ring, briefcase in hand, with Big E and AJ Lee at his side. Two minutes after the bell rang, Ziggler pinned the champion to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time. This time it felt like it really mattered.

An Enthusiastic Post-WrestleMania Crowd Made the Moment More Special

• Seth Rollins was destined to be a main eventer while Ziggler was always the underdog.
• The Raw after WrestleMania crowd was very loud and made Ziggler feel like the biggest star in the world.
• Dolph turned babyface but lost his title back to Alberto Del Rio two months later.

Part of what makes Dolph Ziggler’s Money in the Bank cash-in so great is the emotion of the moment. Ziggler was the underdog the fans rallied behind. Unlike Seth Rollins, who everyone knew was destined for greatness, it seemed like Dolph’s moment would never come. As great as it was to surprise everyone at WrestleMania, having a decade-long story of perseverance finally paying off meant so much more. Added to it was the wild Raw after WrestleMania crowd, who blew the roof off the building both when Dolph came out and when he won the title. For a night, he was the biggest wrestling star in the world.

Dolph Ziggler’s second world title run lasted for more than a day but it wasn’t much better. A real life concussion forced him to miss weeks, hurting his momentum. WWE did wisely turn Ziggler babyface, accepting that the crowd loved him too much to boo the man any longer. The sad thing was that the babyface turn happened on the same night he lost the gold back to Alberto Del Rio, just two months after he gained it. Dolph Ziggler would go the next decade without becoming a world champion again, but for one night, he showed the world.