The expansion and shock wave coexisting failure theory has been widely recognized. However, it is not clear whether the main cause of rock mass blasting failure is the shock wave or gas pressure. In this paper, the contribution proportions of both loads to rock mass failure were investigated in bench blasting. First, the blasting damage in rock mass was simulated with a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) method. Then, a novel method to quantitatively distinguish between the rock-breaking effects (RBEs) of the shock wave and gas pressure was proposed that was based on the damage results. In addition, under different free surface conditions, the blasting failure volume that was caused by both loads was obtained for three typical rock masses, which included poor, middle, and good rock masses. The results showed that the range of the tensile failure zone by reflected waves was small, and the favorable effects of free surfaces on the failure induced by shock waves were limited. The free surface had a minor beneficial influence on the rock mass failure that was induced by the shock waves. In addition, it had a more favorable influence on the failure that was induced by the gas pressure. Finally, the influence of the free surface and rock mass conditions on the contribution proportions of both loads was discussed. A higher proportion of the RBEs of the shock wave was in the good mass with large wave impedance compared with the poor rock mass with small wave impedance. According to the contribution proportions under different rock masses and free surface conditions, the main cause of rock blasting failure was the gas pressure action, which was verified through the field high-speed photography data. The findings revealed the main cause of rock mass failure in bench blasting and could provide a theoretical basis when seeking effective engineering measures to give full play to the gas pressure action.