In early 2006, John Cena closed in on the full-year mark for his first WWE Championship reign. The problem was that fans had started to reject him as the face of the company. Just as the dynamic reached a fever pitch, Edge cashed in the first Money in the Bank briefcase and changed the picture at the top of the card overnight. Rather than the start of a historic run for The Rated R Superstar, though, he dropped the title back to Cena three weeks later, squandering much of the potential Edge’s first world title reign.

The First Money In The Bank Cash-In Was Electric

Edge Cashes In The First Money In The Bank For His First World Title Win

Nowadays, fans tend to take Money in the Bank for granted as a WWE institution. While cash-ins still tend to get a pop in the moment, there are also fans who think it’s time to end the Money in the Bank experiment for how many permutations of its execution we’ve already seen and the concept growing a bit stale after over fifteen years.

However, for the first cash-in, fans were electrified. John Cena retained the WWE Championship in a poorly received Elimination Chamber Match at New Year’s Revolution 2006—lackluster for its predictability and execution. The fans audibly booed, before Edge appeared, handed the briefcase to Vince McMahon himself on the stage, and challenged a beaten down Cena. Not only were fans excited about any title change, or for Cena to lose, but this was precisely the push The Rated R Superstar needed to cross over from perennial upper mid-carder to main event guy. The main event picture changed and, importantly, did so on the cusp of the road to WrestleMania.

Edge Was Already A Proven WWE Talent

Edge Vs Shawn Michaels And Matt Hardy 2005

When a fresh face to the main event wins the world title, there are always questions about whether he’s truly ready for his spot. Consider what happened when CM Punk or Jack Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank for their first world title wins. While neither man performed overtly poorly, it was clear management didn’t have complete faith in either of them. Punk would eventually get over as a legitimate top guy, but Swagger lost the title in a matter of weeks and his reign became more a point of trivia than a point of historic importance.

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Edge had been under WWE contract for nearly a decade, been half of an all-time great tag team with Christian, and proceeded to cement himself as one of the best upper mid-card workers on the roster for over three years, besides being good on the mic. While there may still have been justifiable questions about Edge as a main event draw, there was also reason to think he deserved a meaningful shot on top based on that track record of success and clear talent. As such, him only having a three-week title reign really underserved his potential.

WWE Fans Were Rejecting John Cena

John Cena First World Title Reign

John Cena distinguished himself as mid-card heel with his unlikely Dr. of Thuganomics gimmick and really caught fire when he turned face. As he graduated to the main event picture, though, and WWE edged toward its PG sensibility, it was understandably time to move away from rapping. Unfortunately, without that element to his act, he struggled to project a clear personality. Moreover, working main event matches on a consistent basis, his limitations as an in-ring performer grew more and more apparent.

A part of the success of Edge’s first world title victory was that fans were all too eager to see Cena lose the belt. Moreover, there was some pleasure in seeing the more predictable road to WrestleMania derailed. While Cena defending the WWE Championship against Triple H was logical enough and widely rumored at the time, Edge disrupted that booking. When he lost the title right back to Cena at the Royal Rumble PPV, it signaled a return to the status quo and effectively deflated a large segment of the WWE audience.

While Edge’s first world title reign was quite short, it was also distinctive. After the exciting title win, his controversial Live Sex Celebration segment on Raw was nothing if not memorable, turning the generic heel championship celebration on its head. From there, his first title defense came in the fun spectacle of a TLC Match with Ric Flair. It felt like a missed opportunity for the title reign to end there. Still, Edge did win out in the end. Though he didn’t work a world title match at WrestleMania that year, he did put on a star-making performance opposite Mick Foley on the show. Moreover, Edge spent most of the next year in and around the title picture, including a second, two-month reign. From there, it’s all the more telling that he was in world title matches for four out of the next five WrestleManias.