Adam Copeland looks back on the history that almost wasn’t his.
At WrestleMania 21, WWE introduced its very first Money in the Bank ladder match, with six names competing for a guaranteed future world title match. Amongst the inaugural field was Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, Kane, Christian, Chris Benoit, and Adam “Edge” Copeland. According to Copeland, he initially expressed reluctance to partake in it.
“I said, ‘I don’t want to be in it,’ that the ladder thing felt like a crutch. It definitely for me, like, you don’t have anything for me, so just chuck me in a ladder match,” Copeland told Inside The Ropes Magazine (H/T to ITR Wrestling for the transcription). “Feel like Christian was put in that. I feel like after the Money in the Bank, Shelton got put into that role. It’s not a bad role, but at a certain point, you go, okay, I gotta move past this. I got to get past these to get to where I want to get to, which is the main event.”
Prior to WWE’s first Money in the Bank match, which took place in 2005, Copeland had already competed in several high-profile bouts involving ladders. Notable examples include the triple-threat tag team ladder match at WrestleMania 16 and the triple-threat TLC match at WrestleMania X-Seven, both of which were for the WWE World Tag Team Championships. With this in mind, Copeland wanted to transcend beyond them, namely to the main event scene. Ironically, he did just that with his Money in the Bank win and subsequent cash in on WWE Champion John Cena.
“I didn’t realise that Money in the Bank would be the springboard to that,” Copeland said. “So I had to be talked into it. I’m glad I was [laughs]. And truth be told I just got sick of bumping off of ladders too, because it hurts. [laughs] There’s no good way to do it.”
