WWE Money in the Bank 2012: 10 Things to Know About Championship Ladder Match

The WWE is adding a new twist to Money in the Bank.

This Sunday at the third annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view, one of the show's two MITB matches will feature only four competitors, all of them former WWE Champions.

On the line? Well, a contract for a future WWE title match, of course.

The match is shaping up to be one of the oddest in WWE history and appears to be one of the most unpredictable ones in recent memory, too.

No one seems to know just who is going to win it and walk away with that coveted briefcase.

But here are 10 things you will know, all of them having to do with this highly anticipated WWE Championship Contract Money in the Bank Ladder match (what a mouthful).

10. It Features Fewer Competitors Than Any MITB Match in History

A lot of the buzz surrounding this match has centered around the number of competitors involved.

The reasoning is simple, too: It's currently slated to feature only four competitors, which is at least two fewer than every previous Money in the Bank match.

We've seen previous MITB with matches with six, seven, eight (the most common number) and even 10 competitors.

But just four?

That's exactly half the typical amount, which obviously adds a lot of intrigue to this match.

Whether that will end up being a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen, though.

9. John Cena Has Never Participated in a Money in the Bank Match

Another factoid that has wrestling fans buzzing is that this is John Cena's first-ever Money in the Bank match.

In a way, that's pretty surprising because one would assume that Cena would have worked his way into a MITB match some way at some point.

But when you consider that Cena's been a main eventer essentially since the first MITB match in 2005, it's not that shocking after all.

Regardless, the fact that Cena's going to be in a Money in the Bank match for the first time in history is, as we all know, going to be treated like a big deal.

In fact, some think it's such a big deal that Cena's bound to win it because the creative team wouldn't have him lose his first Money in the Bank match.

I wouldn't even be remotely surprised if that were true, either.

8. Chris Jericho Is Credited with the Invention of the Money in the Bank Match

Chris Jericho is the inventor of the Money in the Bank Ladder match.

That's true both in the storyline sense and, according to his second book, in actuality as well.

So, why's that matter?

Just think about it: Jericho inventing the MITB match and never winning it would be like Eli Whitney never properly using the cotton gin.

If you invent a match type and can't even win it, then that's something that is going to haunt you for the rest of your career and, well, make you look stupid, too.

It's not like the very unselfish Jericho to demand that he wins this match and he won't, but it would be very fitting for the man who invented the Money in the Bank match to win what is probably the last MITB match that he'll ever compete in.

7. Every Participant Has Been Involved in a Cash-in in Some Way

Not every superstar involved in this match has won a Money in the Bank match, but that hasn't stopped Money in the Bank from playing a major part in each individual's history.

In fact, every participant in the WWE Championship Contract Money in the Bank Ladder match has been involved in at least one cash-in in some way.

Edge cashed in his briefcase on John Cena at New Year's Revolution in January 2006, and Cena also faced CM Punk at SummerSlam in 2011, a match that led to Alberto Del Rio's cash-in on Punk.

Then, there was Chris Jericho, who lost his World Heavyweight title on April 2, 2010 after Jack Swagger cashed in his briefcase.

Also, the other two competitors in this match, Kane and Big Show, were involved in cash-ins themselves.

Daniel Bryan cashed in on Big Show at WWE TLC in December 2011 to end Show's 45-second World title reign, and Kane cashed in on Rey Mysterio at the Money in the Bank PPV in 2010 to become World Heavyweight Champion.

Just thought I'd pass along these fun pieces of info here to help everyone remember that Cena, Jericho, Show and Kane are no stranger to being involved in MITB cash-ins. 

6. Where the Match Falls on the Card Will Probably Foreshadow What Happens

The placement of a match on a pay-per-view card is something that often gets overlooked, except when it pertains to John Cena.

So, maybe you shouldn't be surprised that I think the placement of the WWE Championship Contract MITB Match (which obviously features Cena) could foreshadow its result.

If it happens early on in the card, we could see a heel like Kane or Big Show win and then cash in on a beaten and battered (but victorious) CM Punk later in the night.

If it gets the main event slot, chances are that Cena will go over to end the night on a high note (for some at least).

These are both hypothetical situations, but I think you get the point.

The fate of this briefcase will depend largely upon what happens throughout the course of the entire Money in the Bank PPV, not just this match.

5. Kane Is the Only Competitor Who's Previously Won a MITB Match

This is the only Money in the Bank match in history that exclusively features surefire Hall of Famers.

But interestingly enough, the four competitors involved have only combined for one MITB win.

Between the four, they've participated in 10 MITB matches, but the lone win from this group came in 2010 when Kane won SmackDown's.

That's kind of crazy when you really think about it.

The MITB match has existed for seven years and happened 10 times now, but Kane was the only one who managed to get the job done so to speak.

That drought will obviously end this year, and it might be after Kane becomes only the second person in history (after CM Punk) to win the Money in the Bank match twice.

4. Kane Has Competed in More MITB Matches Than Anyone in History

Kane has accomplished quite a lot during his storied WWE career, and he can now add another accomplishment to his long list of accolades.

When the Big Red Monster competes on Sunday, it will be his sixth time participating in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

No one else can say they've done that, as that will set a WWE record.

Christian is a close second with five (after Money in the Bank, that is), but Kane tops the list with the most experience in Money in the Bank matches.

And as crazy as this may sound, six MITB bouts and one MITB win are quietly turning Kane into a dark horse in Sunday's match.

3. More Wrestlers to Be Added?

The WWE seems to constantly flip-flop on this.

There have been times when the company has stressed that it's set in stone that only four competitors will participate in the WWE Championship Contract Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

But there have also been times, like this, when the WWE has hinted or teased that another former WWE Champion or two could be added to the match.

The options here are certainly limited, but there are two very obvious ones that would both make a lot of sense: The Miz and Rey Mysterio.

Both Miz and Mysterio should be coming back soon, and with Chris Jericho as the only current participant who fits the ladder match prototype, I wouldn't be remotely shocked to see Y2J and/or Mysterio added to the bout.

If that's gonna happen, though, tonight's Raw might be the WWE's last chance to do it.

2. Every Participant Has Feuded with CM Punk or Daniel Bryan Recently

Chances are that, barring a cash-in, the WWE Champion heading into (and in) the fall is going to be either CM Punk or Daniel Bryan.

So, what's this mean for the WWE Championship Contract Money in the Bank match?

Well, maybe nothing, but I think it's interesting that every star involved in the WWE Title Contract MITB match has feuded with Punk and/or Bryan pretty recently.

Big Show feuded with Bryan over the World Heavyweight title earlier this year, and he faced Punk in an awful 3-on-1 handicap match at SummerSlam in 2010.

Cena hasn't feuded with Bryan, but he faced Punk in arguably the best feud of the year in 2011, one that resulted in two terrific pay-per-view matches.

Meanwhile, Kane just finished (or is still going on?) his WWE title feud with both Punk and Bryan.

Finally, Jericho just had a lengthy WrestleMania feud with Punk over the WWE Championship.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that no matter who wins this MITB Ladder match, one of two things are likely to happen: We're either going to see that superstar hold the briefcase for a while (to avoid cashing in on someone he's just feuded with), or we're going to see a recycled feud that we've probably seen recently.

Something to think about...

1. Both Big Show and John Cena Are the Rumored Favorites

I legitimately think that you could make a case for any of the four participants winning this match on Sunday.

But the two favorites appear to be Big Show and John Cena.

Big Show is rumored to be in line for a WWE Championship match against CM Punk at SummerSlam, and Cena is rumored to be in line for the same.

We all know that both of those situations can't play out, but do they seem to be the two most likely?

I'd say yes.

While I wouldn't really have a problem with any of these four superstars winning it, Big Show's push as a monster heel seems destined to take him to the WWE title picture while it's hard to picture Cena losing such a big match.

Although anything can happen on Sunday, I'm putting Cena and Big Show as the two favorites, with The Champ having a little better odds of walking away with that coveted briefcase.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions on Formspring.