<P> The first match was contested in 2005 at WrestleMania 21, after being invented (in kayfabe) by Chris Jericho . At the time, it was exclusive to wrestlers of the Raw brand, and Edge won the inaugural match . From then until 2010, the Money in the Bank ladder match, now open to all WWE brands, became a WrestleMania mainstay . 2010 saw a second and third Money in the Bank ladder match when the Money in the Bank pay - per - view debuted in July . Unlike the matches at WrestleMania, this new event featured two such ladder matches--one each for a contract for the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship, respectively . </P> <P> Before the establishment of the annual Money in the Bank pay - per - view, wrestlers were allowed to use the contract to claim a match for any world championship in WWE . After the establishment of the pay - per - view, the Money in the Bank contracts were specifically aimed at one or the other championship . With the unification of the WWE and World Heavyweight titles into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in December 2013, there was only a single briefcase / contract in play . This went into effect beginning at the 2014 Money in the Bank pay - per - view event . </P> <P> The brand extension returned after the 2016 event along with a second world championship again, but the 2017 Money in the Bank pay - per - view was made a SmackDown - exclusive event where the winner of the namesake match earned a contract for its world championship, the WWE Championship (formerly WWE World Heavyweight Championship). The 2017 event also featured the first - ever Women's Money in the Bank ladder match where the winner received a contract for a SmackDown Women's Championship match . Due to the controversy surrounding the win of that match, the first non-pay - per - view Money in the Bank ladder match occurred on the June 27 episode of SmackDown Live . </P> <P> The Money in the Bank ladder match can feature anywhere from 5--10 participants, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring . The match was originally only for male wrestlers until 2017 when women began to have their own ladder match . The briefcase contains a contract that guarantees a match for a world championship, and beginning in 2017, a women's championship . Originally, wrestlers had the option between the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship, regardless of the brand the wrestler belonged to . In 2006, ECW's world title, the ECW Championship, became a third option until 2010 as in February that year, the ECW brand along with the title was deactivated . Beginning with the inaugural Money in the Bank pay - per - view in 2010, the event featured two ladder matches, one for the Raw brand and one for SmackDown; Raw's ladder match featured a contract for a WWE Championship match while SmackDown's contract was for a World Heavyweight Championship match . Although the brand extension ended after the 2011 event, a ladder match dedicated to each championship continued through the 2013 event . In December 2013, the titles were unified into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship . The next three years' events featured a sole ladder match with a contract guaranteeing a match for the unified title . The brand extension returned after the 2016 event . The WWE World Heavyweight Championship was reverted to WWE Championship and made exclusive to SmackDown while Raw established the WWE Universal Championship as their top title . Despite this, the 2017 event was made a SmackDown exclusive pay - per - view and the contract was for its world title . Also at the 2017 event, the first - ever Women's Money in the Bank ladder match occurred with its contract for a SmackDown Women's Championship match . </P>

Wwe money in the bank ladder match winners