Money in the Bank 2026 Loaded With First-Time Appearances

WWE Money in the Bank takes place in New Orleans on Saturday, October 10, and the five-match card is stacked with milestones for several stars heading into the ladder matches and title bouts.

The show opens with Roman Reigns defending the World Heavyweight Championship against LA Knight, marking the first time the two have met in singles competition since Crown Jewel in 2023. It’s also notable for Reigns specifically — he hasn’t opened a Money in the Bank show since he was actually in the men’s ladder match back in 2015. For Knight, it’s the first time he’s wrestled a singles match at this particular event after being a Money in the Bank ladder match fixture since 2023.

The men’s ladder match itself brings in two new names in Je’Von Evans and Trick Williams, joining a field that includes CM Punk, Bron Breakker and Penta. Williams has been candid about the challenge of prepping for his first-ever ladder match given his admitted discomfort with heights, which made for one of the more unusual training stories heading into the show.

On the women’s side, the ladder match welcomes four first-timers in Sol Ruca, Jacy Jayne, Lola Vice and Lash Legend, while Tiffany Stratton and Roxanne Perez each bring just one prior Money in the Bank appearance apiece from 2024 and 2025. Oba Femi and Bronson Reed, both competing in separate singles matches on the card, are also making their first appearances at this particular event.

Elsewhere, Stephanie Vaquer defends the Women’s World Championship against Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch — her first time defending gold at Money in the Bank after competing in last year’s ladder match rather than a title bout.

All these firsts matter beyond trivia. Money in the Bank has long functioned as a proving ground, and WWE loading the ladder matches with newer or rising names like Evans, Williams, Ruca, Jayne, Vice and Legend signals a deliberate push to build fresh stars around established veterans like Punk, Breakker and Stratton. A ladder match win — or even a standout performance in a losing effort — can meaningfully alter a wrestler’s trajectory, and several of Saturday’s first-timers appear to be auditioning for exactly that kind of leap.

The Reigns–Knight opener also carries intrigue given WWE’s broader plans for Reigns, who is already confirmed for Crown Jewel on November 7 and Survivor Series: WarGames on November 28, along with Raw appearances in between. How he comes out of his match with Knight could shape whatever direction those shows are building toward.

With the briefcase matches historically shifting championship pictures for months afterward, Saturday’s outcomes in New Orleans could produce still more first-time moments — new contenders, new champions, or new rivalries — well beyond the ones already locked in before the bell even rings.