The 2014 Money in the Bank was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the fifth annual Money in the Bank event and took place on June 29, 2014, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The event centered on the men's Money in the Bank ladder match, a multi-person ladder match where the wrestlers compete to retrieve a briefcase hanging above the ring which contains a contract for a guaranteed world championship match at any time within the next year.

Eight matches took place at the event. The main event was an eight-man ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which was won by John Cena. This was the first Money in the Bank event to only host one Money in the Bank ladder match, which was won by Seth Rollins. This was due to the unification of the previous World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship in December 2013, with the former being retired and the latter becoming the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, with the titular ladder match granting a championship match contract for the unified title.

This was the first Money in the Bank event to livestream on the WWE Network, which launched in February, and it was the first time for the event to be held in June as all previous events were held in July. The event received 122,000 pay-per-view buys (excluding WWE Network views), down from the previous year's 199,000 buys. The event is notable for the first WWE appearance of independent wrestler and future Money in the Bank winner, Luis Martinez, who would later sign with the company in 2018 as Damian Priest.

Production Background

Money in the Bank is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE since 2010, originally held in July. The concept of the event comes from WWE's established Money in the Bank ladder match. The fifth Money in the Bank event was scheduled for June 29, 2014, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This was the first Money in the Bank held in June as the previous events were all held in July. In addition to traditional pay-per-view outlets, this was the first Money in the Bank event to livestream on the WWE Network, which launched in February.

The Money in the Bank ladder match features multiple wrestlers using ladders to retrieve a briefcase hanging above the ring. The briefcase contains a contract that guarantees the winner a match for a world championship at any time within the next year. Previously, there were two such ladder matches contested at the annual event, with one granting a WWE Championship match contract while the other awarded a World Heavyweight Championship match contract. As a result of the unification of the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December 2013, with the former being retired and the latter becoming the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the 2014 event only had one Money in the Bank ladder match which granted a title match for the unified championship.

Storylines The card consisted of eight matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown.

On the June 2 episode of Raw, Alberto Del Rio qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match by defeating Dolph Ziggler. The following week, following Daniel Bryan being stripped of his WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to injury, Stephanie McMahon changed the match into a ladder match for the vacant title. The same night, Triple H placed Randy Orton into the match, while United States Champion Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett and Rob Van Dam, respectively, to qualify. On the June 13 episode of SmackDown, Bray Wyatt qualified for the match after defeating Dean Ambrose (with interference from Seth Rollins). On the June 16 episode of Raw, John Cena won a spot in the match by defeating Kane in a stretcher match, and Roman Reigns qualified for the match by winning a 19-man battle royal. On the June 23 episode of Raw, Kane was added to the match by Triple H.

During the feud between John Cena and Bray Wyatt, WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) inserted themselves in the rivalry alongside Cena to counteract Wyatt Family members Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. At Payback, The Usos were once again be in Cena's corner to even the odds and in the process, Cena defeated Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match to end the feud. The next night on Raw, Rowan and Harper shifted their attention to The Usos, defeating the latter in a non-title tag team match on the June 2 episode of Raw. Due to this win, they earned a match for the Tag Team Championship at the pay-per-view.

On the June 17 episode of Main Event, a Money in the Bank ladder match was added to the event, with Seth Rollins declaring himself the first participant in the match. On the June 23 episode of Raw, Triple H added Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, Rob Van Dam, Kofi Kingston, and Jack Swagger to the match. Later that night (after Dean Ambrose threatened to disrupt the pay-per-view), Rollins requested Ambrose be added to the match, to which Triple H agreed. On the June 27 episode of SmackDown, Barrett suffered an injury, causing him to be removed from the match.

At Payback, after a loss to RybAxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel), Cody Rhodes told his brother, Goldust, that he deserved a better partner than him. Following Payback, Goldust was unsuccessful in defeating RybAxel with his new partners, chosen for him by Cody. On the June 16 episode of Raw, Cody debuted as his new moniker of Stardust, and began teaming with his brother to defeat the team RybAxel. On the June 24 episode of Main Event, Rybaxel challenged Stardust and Goldust to a match at Money in the Bank, which they accepted.

On the June 17 episode of Main Event, Naomi defeated WWE Divas Champion Paige in a non-title match, setting up a title match between the two at Money in the Bank.

After Fandango had replaced his dance partner Summer Rae with Layla, Summer Rae attacked Layla on the May 19 episode of Raw. They continued to attack each other and interfere in Fandango's matches, thus setting up a match at Money in the Bank, with Fandango as the special guest referee.

Since his debut, Rusev was presented as a Russian super athlete. His manager, Lana, insulted the United States many times. This included an attack on WWE Hall of Famer Jim Duggan, known for his patriotic gimmick, who was saved by Big E. Big E and Rusev had a match at Payback, but Big E was defeated by Rusev. After the event, they continued to attack each other, setting up a rematch at Money in the Bank.

Event + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:English CommentatorsMichael ColeJerry LawlerJohn "Bradshaw" LayfieldRing announcerJustin RobertsInterviewersMichael ColeByron SaxtonTom PhillipsRefereesJohn ConeCharles RobinsonChad PattonFandango Pre-show panelRenee YoungBooker TChristianAlex Riley

Pre-show During the Money in the Bank Kickoff pre-show, Daniel Bryan came out to speak about his health and being stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The former champion led the Boston fans in an echoing "Yes!" chant and said that his recovery was going poorly and that he didn't know when he'd be back. He promised to return better than ever and to win back his title. Bo Dallas entered the ring to try to cheer Bryan up. Bryan called Dallas a "Bo-ner" then mocked his "Bo-lieve" catchphrase, telling him "Bo-leave" before leading another round of chants.

Preliminary matches The actual pay-per-view opened with The Usos defending the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Wyatt Family's Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. In the end, Jimmy and Jey executed a double Superplex on Rowan. Jey performed a Samoan Splash on Rowan, which was followed by Jimmy performing a Samoan Splash on Rowan to retain the titles.

Next, Paige defended the WWE Divas Championship against Naomi. The match ended when Paige executed a RamPaige on Naomi to retain the title.

After that, Damien Sandow took on Adam Rose. Rose performed a Party Foul on Sandow to win the match.

The next match was the Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match contract, involving Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. During the match, Ambrose pushed a ladder, causing Kingston to fall off the top rope onto Swagger, Ziggler and Van Dam. Van Dam executed a Rolling Thunder Senton on Rollins, who was lay on a ladder wedged in the ring corner. Swagger performed a Powerbomb off a ladder on Van Dam, which was followed by Ambrose performing a Suplex off the ladder on Rollins. Ambrose injured his shoulder, leading to him being taken backstage by medical personnel. Kingston performed a Back Body Drop on Rollins atop a ladder, causing Rollins to fall onto another ladder bridged between the ladder and the ropes. Ziggler executed a Zig Zag onto a ladder on Kingston. Ziggler attempted to retrieve the briefcase but Rollins hit Ziggler with a chair. Rollins attempted to retrieve the briefcase but Ambrose came back out and hit Rollins with the chair. Ambrose attempted to retrieve the briefcase but Kane came down to the ring and executed a Chokeslam and a Tombstone Piledriver on Ambrose. Rollins retrieved the briefcase to win the match.

Next, Gold and Stardust faced Ryback and Curtis Axel. In the end, Stardust pinned Ryback with a roll-up to win the match.

After that, Rusev wrestled Big E. Rusev forced Big E to submit to The Accolade to win the match.

In the penultimate match, Summer Rae faced Layla with Fandango as the special guest referee. Layla performed a Roundhouse Kick on Rae to win the match.

Main event The main event was a ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship involving Alberto Del Rio, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, John Cena, Kane, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and United States Champion Sheamus. During the match, Cesaro and Sheamus fought atop the ladder but Wyatt pushed the ladder, causing Cesaro and Sheamus to hang onto the championship belts. Orton executed an Elevated DDT off a ladder bridged between the apron and a broadcast table on Sheamus. After everyone fought each other off, Sheamus controlled the match by performing a Diving Shoulder Block on Kane, an Irish Curse Backbreaker on Del Rio, White Noise on Orton and a Brogue Kick on Cena. After Orton and Kane removed the other participants from the ring, Reigns controlled the match by performing a Spear on Kane, Superman Punches on Orton and Sheamus, Running Front Dropkicks on Del Rio, who was draped on the bottom rope, and Wyatt, who was draped on a broadcast table, and a Spear on Cesaro. Reigns fought with Cena, ending by executing a Spear on Cena. After each men executed their finishers on the other participants, Reigns fought with Orton and attempted to retrieve the championship belts but Kane performed a Chokeslam on Reigns. Orton attempted to retrieve the championship belts but Cena executed an Attitude Adjustment on Kane and an Attitude Adjustment on Orton onto Kane. After that, Cena retrieved the championship belts to win the match and become the new champion.

Reception