When a wrestling ladder match handed out a championship instead of a contract

Cultures · Published 11 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Money in the Bank event is famous for its high-stakes ladder matches where winners earn a guaranteed title shot. However, the 2020 edition broke this fundamental rule, resulting in a unique historical anomaly that fundamentally altered the trajectory of the women's division.

Originally scheduled for Baltimore's Royal Farms Arena in May 2020, the event was forced to pivot due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WWE moved the primary ladder matches to its global headquarters, Titan Towers in Connecticut. This transition birthed a 'Corporate Ladder' gimmick: instead of a standard ring setup, wrestlers had to fight from the ground floor to the roof to reach briefcases suspended above an outdoor ring. The venue cancellation was triggered by a state stay-at-home order issued on March 30. Most other matches were held live at the WWE Performance Center in Florida without any fans present.

The 2020 event featured simultaneous men's and women's ladder matches. While the men's match resulted in Otis winning a contract for a future title shot, the women's match took a different turn. Asuka won the match, but rather than receiving a contract, she was awarded the Raw Women's Championship directly. Both ladder competitions featured only six participants each, a reduction from the eight wrestlers usually seen since 2018. The women's match concluded before the men's match finished.

This shift occurred because the reigning champion, Becky Lynch, had gone on maternity leave. Because of these 'unexpected circumstances,' WWE decided to place the actual championship belt inside the briefcase. This marked the first and only time in the event's history that a ladder match awarded a title immediately rather than a guaranteed future opportunity. The title was originally intended to be a mere contract for a future championship opportunity. This change was revealed on the following night of Raw programming.

By winning, Asuka became WWE's third Women's Triple Crown Champion and second Women's Grand Slam Champion. The show also marked a shift for various narratives, notably when a championship was granted directly via a Money in the Bank ladder match for once. This victory followed Asuka defeating Ruby Riott in her qualifying bout. The event also served as the final livestream on the American version of the WWE Network.

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