4 Ways WWE Can Spice Up WWE Money in the Bank Ladder Matches

After 26 Money in the Bank ladder matches in 17 years, the basic formula still works well, but there is always room to experiment with tweaks that may spice things up.

The Royal Rumble was originally a 20-strong match but evolved into 30 entrants, had time intervals changed and entrance music added. MITB could have the same flexibility.

We've already seen some adjustments with the briefcase design being altered numerous times along with the number of competitors, but let's look some other ways the men's and women's ladder matches could be freshened up.

Add NXT to the Challenger Pool

Originally, Money in the Bank took place at WrestleMania as a cross-branded match. Eventually, it would get its own pay-per-view and be split into two matches; one for the Raw roster and one for SmackDown.

These days, there are still two matches, but it is divided into men's and women's contests, with Raw and SmackDown represented in both.

Back when NXT was treated as a legitimate third brand and even competed at Survivor Series in 2019, WWE missed an opportunity to keep the ball rolling by also including names from the black-and-gold brand in Money in the Bank.

These days, the NXT Championship doesn't have the same credibility or value it once had, but one way to change that perception is to put in the effort to boost its worth.

Imagine how much more attention fans would pay to Tuesday nights if someone from NXT 2.0 or even the main roster won the briefcase and cashed in on the NXT Championship.

Expanding the number of competitors to include the NXT roster would freshen up the challengers list and allow for new and exciting crossovers of wrestlers who wouldn't normally be able to fight each other.

Make Winners Eligible for Any Title

Credit: WWE.com

An even bigger way to make things more interesting for Money in the Bank would be to expand the limitations of what it means to win the match.

Championships are always in flux, so the rules of the MITB contract have been adjusted a few times over the years, but the basic premise has remained the same: The winner can challenge for any title of their choosing at any time over the course of the next 12 months.

However, "any title" has always meant "any world title."

To clarify, this year's winners could challenge for the Raw or SmackDown women's titles or the Unified WWE Universal Championship, although we remain unsure if Roman Reigns can defend one of his belts separately.

Why not be more flexible and open the challenge to any title across all divisions in WWE?

For instance, the men's winner should be able to challenge for the Intercontinental or United States Championship. They could pick a partner and challenge for the tag team titles, too. Perhaps, even the titles from NXT and NXT UK.

Similarly, the women's tag belts from the main roster and NXT should be up for grabs, too.

Both Money in the Bank winners could even cash in for the 24/7 Championship, although no one would really want to waste their contract on the most meaningless belt in WWE history.

This might not directly impact the ladder matches, but it would influence the ramifications. If all champions are in danger, there would be less certainty over who would win the briefcases.

Dedicated Midcard and Tag Team Ladder Matches

Perhaps you're thinking it would be too complicated for the briefcase to apply to all belts, even though the NXT Breakout Tournament has already shown WWE is willing to allow this sort of versatility.

Instead, how about having more briefcases for different divisions?

There can be two matches for the men's and women's world title contracts, one for the men's midcard titles (intercontinental and U.S. titles), one for the men's tag team belts and one for the women's tag team titles.

Would two briefcases need to be retrieved, or can one member of the team win it for both of them? If it is two, what happens if two members of separate teams win? Do they have to cash in together as a new tag team?

While those questions could lead to headaches for WWE and are likely why this hasn't happened, it wouldn't take much to figure out the answers and then adjust accordingly.

In the meantime, watching tag teams compete for the briefcase a la the classic Tables, Ladders and Chairs matches of the past would be great fun.

Stagger Entrants in Royal Rumble Style

All Elite Wrestling has a variation of Money in the Bank called the Casino Ladder match. While the winner doesn't get the opportunity to pick a cash-in at random, it is still a bout in which wrestlers grab a monetary-themed object for a title shot.

The other major difference is that every WWE Superstar starts the match at the same time, while AEW treats it like a Battle Royal with five groups of competitors entering at different times following a draw.

WWE could play with that formula, although later entrants would have to hope nobody has grabbed the briefcase before they even get into the ring.

Of course, if the company keeps everything as it is, Money in the Bank is still one of the most exciting matches of the year and doesn't necessarily need to be changed. If it ain't broke, why try to fix it?

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Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, Spotify and everywhere you find podcasts. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.