The concept of the show came from WWE's established Money in the Bank ladder match that was originally held at WrestleMania from 2005 to 2010.

[3][4] It was the second event under the Money in the Bank chronology and the last to occur under the first brand split, which ended in August.

Punk defeated Cena in a non-title match on the June 13, 2011 episode of Raw (after a distraction from R-Truth on Cena),[10] and then became the number one contender by winning a triple threat Falls Count Anywhere match against Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio on the June 20 episode of Raw.

Punk called Cena an "ass-kisser" and insulted WWE management—including chairman Vince McMahon and executive John Laurinaitis and saying that Dwayne Johnson was main eventing next year's WrestleMania that made him sick.

[19] At Capitol Punishment on June 19, Orton defeated Christian to retain the title again by pinning him, after the referee failed to notice his foot under the bottom rope.

[22] The Raw Money in the Bank competitors were announced on the June 27 episode of Raw with no qualifying matches; these were Alberto Del Rio, Alex Riley, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, R-Truth, and The Miz.

[24] The event, featuring commentary by Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Booker T, began with the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match.

During the bout, Sheamus slammed Sin Cara through a ladder propped between the ring apron and the announcers' table with a powerbomb.

Punk did not submit, but McMahon signaled the referee to award Cena the match and sent Laurinaitis to ring the bell.

McMahon ordered the winner of the Raw Money in the Bank match, Alberto Del Rio, to cash in his contract on Punk.

After blowing a kiss to a distraught McMahon, Punk fled the arena and left as WWE Champion.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awarded the Cena–Punk main event five stars out of five,[33] the first WWE match since 1997 to receive such a rating.

[34] It was the first match in any promotion in over five years to receive the full five stars, and is the first of seven "main roster" (excluding NXT and NXT UK) matches to receive five stars in the 21st century, with the second occurring nearly 11 years later, the third achieved a few months after the second, the fourth and fifth happening at the following WrestleMania, the sixth accomplished over a year later at Backlash, and the seventh occurred at Bad Blood in a Hell In A Cell match also involving CM Punk.

He criticized the ladder matches as "dangerous spectacles" where many wrestlers "took plenty of painful-looking bumps" but often failed to score "a corresponding crowd reaction".

In contrast, Roberts felt that the two world title matches, which focused on "in-ring psychology and storytelling", were much more "memorable" or even "legendary".

Regarding the main event, Roberts said, "even a match-ending run-in bypassed the expected convoluted machinations and played perfectly to the narrative at hand".

[25] Dave Hillhouse at the Canadian Online Explorer's said Money in the Bank featured "exactly what a main event is supposed to be.

[40] Money in the Bank 2011 was released on DVD by WWE Home Video on August 16, 2011; it included Matt Striker interviewing Daniel Bryan as extra content.

[43] To crown a new WWE Champion, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon started an eight-man tournament on the July 18 episode of Raw, which included all the participants of the Raw Money in the Bank ladder match except Evan Bourne, whose place was filled by Dolph Ziggler.

The Miz and Rey Mysterio made it to the tournament finals, which McMahon postponed so he could fire John Cena as a result of the conditions imposed on the Money in the Bank match.

[44] On July 21, Punk gatecrashed the joint WWE–Mattel panel at San Diego Comic-Con with title belt in hand.

[45] Two days later, Punk made a surprise appearance at a show hosted by the All American Wrestling company without his title belt to endorse Gregory Iron, a wrestler with cerebral palsy, as an inspiration for overcoming his impediment.

[46] On the July 25 episode of Raw, Mysterio won the tournament to become the new WWE Champion, and immediately had to fend off Alberto Del Rio to prevent him from cashing in his Money in the Bank.

[48][49] Punk regained the WWE Championship from Del Rio at Survivor Series in November 2011; starting a 434-day reign until The Rock beat him at the 2013 Royal Rumble event.

[50] After losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Christian, Randy Orton was granted a rematch at SummerSlam, where he won a No Holds Barred match to win the title.

[54] Daniel Bryan initially declared that he would only cash in his Money in the Bank contract for a World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XXVIII.

However, on the November 25 episode of SmackDown, Bryan cashed in the briefcase after Henry had been knocked out by Big Show to become the World Heavyweight Champion.

The match was voided by General Manager Theodore Long as Henry was not medically cleared to compete, and the briefcase was returned to Bryan.

[55] At WWE's TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs PPV in December 2011, Henry lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Big Show.

In October 2011, he was appointed Raw General Manager, replacing Triple H as the on-screen authority figure.