The high-stakes gamble of a briefcase containing a championship contract

Cultures · Published 11 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In professional wrestling, a single ladder match can alter the course of a career. At the 2018 Money in the Bank, competitors fought to retrieve a briefcase that guaranteed a world championship match at any time within the following year.

The ninth Money in the Bank took place at Rosemont, Illinois's Allstate Arena on 17 June 2018, representing a singular occasion for WWE. While the promotion often utilizes a brand split, this event was the first since 2011 to feature talent from both the Raw and SmackDown rosters. The 2018 card was notable for its even distribution of participants, with eight men and eight women competing in their respective ladder matches, split equally between the two brands.

The mechanics of the event centered on the ladder match, where wrestlers use ladders to reach a briefcase suspended above the ring. The stakes were high: the men's winner earned a contract for either the Raw Universal Championship or the SmackDown WWE Championship, while the women's winner earned a match for either the Raw or SmackDown Women's Championship. The 2018 men's winner was Raw's Braun Strowman, and the women's winner was Alexa Bliss.

The event was not without its drama beyond the ladder matches. Alexa Bliss demonstrated the opportunistic nature of the 'Money in the Bank' concept by cashing in her newly won contract later that same night. During a title defense by Nia Jax against Ronda Rousey, Bliss caused a disqualification to seize the Raw Women's Championship. Other significant results included AJ Styles retaining the WWE Championship against Shinesuke Nakamura in a Last Man Standing match, and Carmella retaining the SmackDown Women's Championship against Asuka following a distraction by James Ellsworth.

While the event received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, the quality of the matches varied. The ladder matches and several championship bouts were highly praised, though matches such as Roman Reigns versus Jinder Mahal were less favorably received.

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