I've always floated the idea that yes, a Cash-In title reign DOESN'T magically elevate someone's kayfabe strength, hence why most cash-in reigns tend to suck.
What it does do is mix things up by throwing a non-main-eventer (usually) into a title mix he doesn't really "belong" in for awhile, and in many cases that experience SHOULD help him get back there eventually. See: Edge in 2006, Punk in 2008, and Miz in 2010. All three of those reigns sucked, but it forced all three guys into the main event scene for a taste, and they all eventually made their way back there without MitB. You can even say the same about RVD across company lines: his brief taste of the main event in 2006 helped prepare him for his 2010 TNA main event run.
And then you have some people who would never be World Champions WITHOUT Money in the Bank, i.e. Jack Swagger. I've always maintained that it's okay to have fluke champions sometimes, that actually get treated like fluke champions. It happens in boxing, and it happens in MMA. Sometimes some person is just a mid-level guy who gets in the exact right place at the exact right time, and then after losing that never has the skills to get back there without massive strokes of luck.
Bryan could fall into category A, or category B, but regardless, his reign will probably suck. As it SHOULD, in kayfabe. This is his first taste, and in kayfabe he's NOT ready for it. But that doesn't mean he will never be back.
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Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
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