WWE Money in the Bank is an event known for its unpredictability.
Thousands of fans will pack into the Inuit Dome in California this weekend to watch the latest instalment of the WWE Premium Live event.
The Money in the Bank concept sees wrestlers battling to climb a ladder and secure a briefcase suspended from the ceiling that contains a contract for a guaranteed title match.
The match was a regular feature at WrestleMania for several years before becoming a spin-off event in its own right in 2010.
Since then, money in the bank has been used to elevate the careers of many a top name, with Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins and Asuka all among those to profit from snatching the coveted case.
Mustafa Ali was on such competitor likely on a path to bigger and better things when he was primed to win the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match in 2019.
He and his fellow competitors had rehearsed the match with the understanding he’d be winning it, only for a last-second switch from then boss Vince McMahon to throw those plans out of the window.
Ali explained in a 2024 interview with Chris Van Vliet that he was still due to stand tall at the end of the match even while his opponents’ entrances were taking place – it was at that point he was pulled over by McMahon.
The high-flyer explained: “He goes: ‘Change of plans. Do the match, everything you called. When the time’s right I want you to climb up the ladder and grab the briefcase. Someone’s going to come out. I want you to hold the briefcase and just have shock on your face. He’s gonna run down, tip the ladder over, and you stay down. Do you understand?’”
With their part of the show already underway, Ali had no time to protest or even ask questions of his boss as to why his own moment of glory was being taken away from him.
He did as he was told and, on cue, stood straddling the ladder as Brock Lesnar’s music hit to a thunderous ovation in the Connecticut arena.
As Lesnar charged to the ring to make his surprise cameo, however, disaster struck, with the former firefighter explaining that his rival barged into a ladder that ended up injuring a member of the ringside WWE camera crew.
WWEMustafa Ali was set to enjoy a career highlight at MITB in 2019[/caption]
“When I’m looking down, Brock hits a ladder out of the way,” Ali explained.
“It just completely annihilates a camera man named Rico, just hits him in the head, he goes down and he needs stitches.
“I’m watching and I’m like: ‘Ah, he’s gonna murder me!’”
Poor camera man Rico paid the price for perhaps unwittingly being in the wrong place at the wrong time as Lesnar caused immediate carnage on his unexpected return.
The Beast unseated Ali as planned before climbing the ladder and grabbing the briefcase himself, but did so as a consummate professional, according to the 39-year-old.
He went on: “I hope I’m not destroying the mystique of Brock here, but what a pro. He looks up to me and goes: ‘Hey kid, you ready?… Okay, nice and easy.’
WWE Money in the Bank top facts and stats
Longest time spent as MITB contract holder
- Carmella (287 days)
- Damian Priest (281 days)
- Edge (280 days)
Shortest time spent as MITB contract holder
- Kane (49 minutes)
- Dean Ambrose (57 minutes)
- Drew McIntyre (1 hour, 25 minutes)
Most used show for MITB cash-ins
- Raw (8)
- Money in the Bank (6)
- SmackDown (5)
Most MITB Ladder Match appearances
7 appearances = Kane, Kofi Kingston
6 appearances = Christian, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre
5 appearances = Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Shelton Benjamin, Becky Lynch, Natalya
Source: Smarkoutmoment.
“He was so nice about the push [of the ladder]…I was expecting this violent thing and I hurled myself off the ladder and I ended up hitting the top rope [and] cutting my mouth, totally my fault. He’s a pro’s pro, man.”
Incredibly, it seems the ringside camera man came off worse from his night at Money in the Bank than those who toiled in the ladder matches that gave the event its name, even if Ali was left a little bloodied.
If 2019 and the other instalments of the show have proved one thing, fans watching on Saturday night could be in store for another surprise or two.
