<P> The primary gimmick of the Money in the Bank briefcase is that it can be cashed in at the holder's sole discretion, at literally any time on any WWE programming, unless the contract is brand specific . This enables the holder to take advantage of a moment's weakness in the champion, even if the champion had just finished a title defense for the night . This strategic use of the briefcase was popularized by Edge, the first Money in the Bank holder, who cashed it in at New Years Revolution in January 2006, immediately after defending champion John Cena had finished a grueling Elimination Chamber match against five other wrestlers . Because Cena was exhausted and barely able to defend himself, Edge made quick work of the champion, thus setting a powerful precedent for all Money in the Bank holders to come . </P> <P> The contract is valid for one year and the briefcase holder--dubbed "Mr. Money in the Bank" (or in the case of women, "Ms. Money in the Bank")--can cash in the contract at the date, place, and time of their choosing . The briefcase may also be defended in matches, similar to how championships are defended . All of the briefcase holders have successfully defended and cashed in the contract except Mr. Kennedy . John Cena, Damien Sandow, and Baron Corbin are the only Money in the Bank contract holders to cash in and fail to gain a championship . To date, Cena has had the contract cashed in against him the most (three times) as Edge, Rob Van Dam, and Damien Sandow have all cashed in against him . Cena was also involved in all instances where the championship failed to change hands after cashing in the contract, once as the challenger (which he won by DQ against CM Punk) and the second time as champion (defeating Sandow clean), and lastly as a distraction causing Corbin to lose to champion Jinder Mahal . Edge, Daniel Bryan, and Seth Rollins are the only Money in the Bank contract holders to be given a title shot for a championship without having cashed in the contract for the title shot (Edge won a championship tournament in 2005 on Raw to earn him a title match against Batista, Bryan faced then - World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry in a steel cage match on a live Christmas episode of SmackDown in 2011, and Rollins received a title shot in a triple threat match, also involving Cena and champion Brock Lesnar, at the 2015 Royal Rumble). </P> <P> In WWE storyline, the concept for the Money in the Bank match was introduced in March 2005 by Chris Jericho . Jericho then pitched the idea to Raw general manager Eric Bischoff, who liked it and promptly began to book the match for WrestleMania 21 . Edge won the inaugural match and held the contract until New Year's Revolution in January 2006 . There, he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract against WWE Champion John Cena, who had just successfully defended the title in an Elimination Chamber match . Edge defeated Cena to become WWE Champion . </P> <P> The Money in the Bank idea was revived by Carlito on a February 2006 episode of Raw . Mr. McMahon approved the suggestion and set up qualifying matches for the match that would take place at WrestleMania 22 . It was later announced that the match was to be interpromotional, and SmackDown general manager Theodore Long also set up qualifying matches to select three members of his roster to compete . In the Raw brand qualifying matches, Rob Van Dam defeated Trevor Murdoch, Shelton Benjamin defeated Chavo Guerrero, and Ric Flair defeated Carlito . On SmackDown!, Finlay defeated Bobby Lashley, Matt Hardy defeated Road Warrior Animal, and Bobby Lashley won a "last chance battle royal". </P>

Who won the first money in the bank