John Cena vs. Edge

Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank contract immediately after Cena had completed the Elimination Chamber Match against Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels, Kane, Carlito, and Chris Masters to retain the WWE Championship.

This was the first Money in the Bank cash-in in WWE history. Cena was bloodied and exhausted when Vince McMahon announced that Edge was exercising the contract he had held since WrestleMania 21.

Edge attacked right away and hit Cena with a Spear, but Cena managed to kick out of the first pin attempt. Edge waited for Cena to get back to his feet and connected with a second Spear, this time scoring the pinfall to win his first WWE Championship.

The surprise title change sparked the rivalry between Cena and Edge that ran on and off through 2009. It also set the template for how the Money in the Bank contracts would be used going forward.

Edge didn’t wait for a fair shot at a fresh champion. He cashed in against a man in no condition to defend. Nearly every cash-in since then has followed that pattern, and the opportunistic heel champion became a defining part of the idea.

Cena pressured Edge early and repeatedly forced the champion to retreat outside the ring. Edge changed the match by using Lita as a decoy at ringside, allowing him to catch Cena and drive him into the steel steps with a Spear.

Edge followed with a baseball slide that sent Cena over the barricade, and he controlled much of the middle of the match with strikes, a missile dropkick, and other offense aimed at keeping Cena down. Cena tried to turn the match around with an FU, but Edge escaped by gouging his eyes and regained control.

Cena eventually recovered and began his finishing sequence. When Lita climbed onto the apron to distract him, Edge charged toward Cena, but Cena moved, and Edge collided with Lita instead.

Cena immediately hit the FU and applied the STFU in the middle of the ring. Edge couldn’t escape and submitted, giving Cena the WWE Championship back three weeks after Edge’s cash-in.

Cena immediately went after both opponents, but Big Show‘s size gave him control during several early exchanges. Edge and Cena each looked for ways to neutralize Big Show, including a sequence outside the ring where Edge dropkicked the steel steps into Show and Cena followed with a diving leg drop.

Back inside, Edge countered an Attitude Adjustment attempt with the Edgecution for a near fall. Chavo Guerrero later pulled Cena from the ring, but Cena caught him and gave him an Attitude Adjustment on the floor.

Cena returned and trapped Big Show in the ropes before turning his attention to Edge. As Cena went after Edge, Vickie Guerrero climbed onto the apron. Edge charged toward Cena, Cena moved, and Edge accidentally Speared Vickie from the apron.

Big Show eventually freed himself and overpowered both men, hitting Edge with a chokeslam and dropping Cena with a knockout punch. Edge later Speared Big Show through the ringside barricade, temporarily taking him out of the match. Cena caught Edge in the STF back inside the ring, but Big Show returned and broke the hold.

Late in the match, Edge climbed onto Big Show’s back with a sleeper. Cena lifted the 400-plus-pound Big Show onto his shoulders while Edge was still on him.

Edge slipped off, and Cena delivered an Attitude Adjustment to Big Show before immediately giving Edge another Attitude Adjustment that sent him down onto Big Show. Cena covered Big Show for the three-count and regained the World Heavyweight Championship.

Cena and Edge began by brawling aggressively and trying to wear each other down enough to force the first ten-count. The match became more physical when Cena brought part of the steel steps into the ring.

Edge used them against Cena first, but Cena recovered and later threw the steps over the top rope into Edge on the floor. Neither man could keep the other down, even as the attacks became more severe.

Edge connected with a Spear, but Cena still answered the count. Cena later lifted Edge for an Attitude Adjustment and threw him from the ringside area into the crowd, but Edge again managed to get back to his feet. Their fight continued away from the ring and through the arena.

Edge eventually regained control and hit Cena with a Con-Chair-To, a move that had become associated with Edge throughout their rivalry, but Cena still beat the count. The fight eventually reached the stage, where Cena appeared to have another opportunity to put Edge away, when Big Show appeared unexpectedly and started attacking Cena.

He grabbed Cena and chokeslammed him through a large arena spotlight, leaving Cena unable to answer the referee’s ten-count. Edge won the match and regained the World Heavyweight Championship, ending the final major chapter of the rivalry that had repeatedly brought Cena and Edge together over WWE‘s two world championships since 2006.

Cena was placed in a neck brace and taken from the arena on a stretcher after the match. Big Show’s interference then shifted Cena into a rivalry with him, while Edge left Backlash as World Heavyweight Champion.