Austin Theory’s WWE Money in the Bank Cash-In Fails as WWE Changes the Briefcase’s Rules

Austin Theory is no longer WWE’s Mr. Money in the Bank thanks to a wild final few minutes of this week’s Monday Night Raw. The show initially planned to have Seth Rollins defend his United States Championship in an open challenge, but the bout was thrown out when Bobby Lashley repeatedly attacked him before the bell rang and slammed him through a table. Theory then walked out with his Money in the Bank contract, and after a commercial break, he chose to cash it in. 

This marks a major rule change for the briefcase, as the men’s version has only ever been used on world championships. Theory tried to cash in on Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns multiple times on pay-per-view only to get attacked before the bell could ring, then teased using it on current NXT Champion Bron Breakker. It now appears that the contract can be used on any title, not just a world championship.

Austin Theory’s Failed Money in the Bank Cash-In

It looked as if Theory was going to pick up an easy win over an injured Rollins, but the champ quickly started to rally. Theory eventually hit his A-Town Down finisher, only for Lashley to reappear and yank the referee out of the ring. He then locked Theory in The Hurt Lock outside the ring. The referee eventually woke back up and started making the 10-count, but Theory hopped back in right at the last moment — only to be met with a Curb Stomp from Rollins and the pin. 

Theory now joins John Cena, Damien Sandow, Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman as the only men to ever cash-in the MITB contract and fail to win the title. Mr. Kennedy and Otis also won the briefcase and never became champion, though they lost the case to other wrestlers (Edge and The Miz, respectively) before even getting the chance to use it. 

@comicbookwrestling

#WWE just changed the rules for the #moneyinthebank contract, but did they just ruin the gimmick? Here’s what happened on #WWERaw when #AustinTheory failed to win the #US title by cashing in on sethrollins! #wwe #wwefan #wwetiktok

♬ The Second Coming (Burn It Down) [Seth Rollins] – WWE & CFO$ WWE Raw Results (Nov. 7)

The match not only took away Theory’s chance at instantly becoming a pay-per-view main eventer for the foreseeable future, but it also solidified Rollins as a babyface and Lashley as a heel going forward. Lashley indicated he was turning after attacking Brock Lesnar after their match at Crown Jewel, while Rollins has been teasing the idea of becoming a babyface for the first time since 2019 once fans started embracing him again.

What did you think of WWE’s booking decisions tonight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!