Goody Bag XXV: Ladder Match - Reaching for Glory

 

WWF Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels: From Portland Maine on July 21 1992, as a dark match during a TV taping. This is historically significant for being the first Ladder match run in the WWF, and was originally supposed to a part of SummerSlam '92, before the show got moved from Washington DC to London. Interestingly, this is the version from the old 'Smack 'Em, Whack 'Em' Coliseum Video (with the corresponding graphic and everything), and I wish they'd upload those full videos onto the Network already. I'd probably take a sick day, honestly. Feeling out process to start, with Shawn trying to be slick, but eating a pair of clotheslines and a backdrop early on. Cross corner whip and an uppercut are both nicely sold, but Michaels clips the knee when Hart tries to head out for the ladder, as the commentators (Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes) make cracks about Sensational Sherri's weight. That would not fly in 2017. Shawn hammers him for a bit before dragging the ladder down the aisle, but Bret punches him at ringside before he can bring it in. Hart whips him into the post, and takes the challenger in for a headbutt to setup a pointed elbowdrop. Bret retrieves the ladder, but Sherri gets involved, allowing Shawn to steal it away. He starts to climb, but Hart pulls him off in time. Bret climbs, so Shawn swipes at the leg again, and the Hitman falls off. Michaels drives the ladder into Hart's midsection a few times, then cross corner whips him into it, but Hart hooks the ankle to prevent a climb. Shawn stomps him and ascends, but Bret tips the ladder over to cut that off, and it falls on top of HBK in the process! Bret climbs, but Shawn bashes his head into the upper rungs to knock him off, and then rams his skull into it a few more times in the corner for good measure. Michaels with a corner whip, but a charge hits boot, and Bret nails him with a 2^nd rope flying clothesline. Hart keeps coming with a catapult into the ladder, and a backbreaker follows. The Hitman climbs, but Shawn is able to drag him down, and we have a double knockout spot. Both guys end up climbing, but an altercation at the top of the ladder results in it tipping over. Slugfest ends in Sherri tripping the champion on the ropes, allowing Shawn to throw a superkick, and hit the Teardrop Suplex! That's enough to allow him to climb, and he quite nearly gets the belt when Bret dropkicks the ladder - knocking Michaels off, and out of the ring! With Shawn down on the floor, Bret is able to climb, and retain at 13:46. Good enough for the time period, though it doesn't really hold up at all today. Hell, when I saw it for the first time in 1994 (after I had already seen WrestleMania X), it felt like it didn't hold up. But then, this was essentially a dark match tacked on at a TV taping - I'd bet they'd have kicked this up a notch had they done it on pay per view as originally envisioned. Still interesting as a historical oddity, though. ** ½

Stairway to Hell Match: Sabu v Sandman: From ECW House Party on January 10 1998 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. The concept is that it’s a ladder match, but you don’t climb for a belt, but instead for some barbed wire, which you can then use of your opponent. Sabu baseball slides through the ladder at his knees right away, then throws the ladder at him a couple of times to draw blood. He sandwiches Sandman between the ladder and a chair to setup an Arabian Skullcrusher for two, then delivers an Arabian Facebuster in similar fashion for two. Sandman bails, so Sabu knocks him into the crowd with a baseball slide, then dives after him with a wildly dangerous springboard bodypress into the stands! That earns an 'ECW' chant, of course. They brawl around the arena through the stands, with Sabu dominating him. They end up over at the eagle's nest, where Sabu puts Sandman through a table with a flying legdrop, and we see that there are literally dozens upon dozens of folded up tables stacked there. I guess they were buying them in bulk for future use, which may be the single sound financial decision in the history of the promotion. Back to ringside, Sandman nearly kills half the front row by suplexing the ladder from inside the ring onto Sabu out there, then vertical suplexes Sabu onto a table. That was ugly, and looked like it put a dangerous amount of strain on Sabu's neck. Sandman adds a flying legdrop off the apron, then bridges the ladder between the side of the ring and the guardrail - putting Sabu on the plank to setup a slingshot legdrop. The ladder they are using is super cheap and rickety, too - not like the pro ladders the WWE uses. Inside, Sandman climbs for the wire, but Sabu tips the ladder, and he takes a big bump through a pair of tables on the floor. Ouch! Sabu grabs the wire and tries springboarding after Sandman, but ends up wiping out on the rail, and looks like he might have legit hurt himself on that one. To the surprise of no one. He lugs himself back in, where Sandman hits a sloppy elbowdrop - one that looked more like he tripped and fell in Sabu's general direction more than it did offense. Sabu manages to use the wire on Sandman in the corner, as the match starts to fall apart, probably due to legit injury. Sabu wraps the wire around Sandman's head and hangs him in a tree of woe, then springboard dropkicks a chair into his skull. Nasty! Air Sabu misses, however, and he crashes right into a bunch of wire. That allows Sandman to crack him with the cane, and he hits another one of his 'elbowdrops.' Bill Alfonso steps in to tape up Sabu's jaw, and he is able to reverse Sandman into some corner mounted wire, then deliver a sloppy triple jump moonsault. He landed on Sandman's knees more than anything else there. Flying legdrop with the wire follows, but another Arabian Skull Crusher misses. Sandman - still covered in wire - staggers to his feet for a swing with the cane, and that's enough for the pin at 17:49. Not good in the classical sense (poor execution, poor timing), but an entertaining, engaging brawl for what it was, and it certainly delivered what their paying audience was looking for in those days, so you'd be hard pressed to call it anything but a success. ***

WWF Title Ladder Match: Mankind v Rock: From RAW is WAR on February 15 1999 in Birmingham Alabama, the night after their inconclusive Last Man Standing Match at In Your House St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Rock is still in the thick of his 'wrestle while wearing a shirt' phase here, which is hilarious considering the fact that it's almost hard to imagine a situation where Dwayne Johnson DOESN'T take his shirt off today. Steve Austin acts as the guest commentator for this, and that distracts Rocky, allowing Mankind to attack. Rock is able to take control as they brawl around ringside, and once in the ring, he uses a chair on Mankind's leg. Rock brings the ladder in, but Mankind uses the chair to knock it over onto him, and then uses the chair to lay the smackdown on his challenger. Bodyslam sets up his own version of the people's elbow, and Mankind climbs, but Rock uses the chair to knock him off. It should be noted that the crowd is insanely hot for this - into everything they do in ways that modern crowds just don't engage. Rock uses the chair to work Mankind's leg, but an attempt to climb goes awry, and Mankind uses the chair for his own devious purposes. He climbs, but once again Rock uses a chair to the leg to stop him, so Mankind mulekicks him in the people's coin purse. To the outside, they brawl through the crowd a bit, and Rock vertical suplexes the champion on the ramp. Rock chokes him with some electrical cable at ringside, but a whip into the steps gets reversed, and Mankind slams them down onto Rock for good measure. They fight onto an announce table for a piledriver, but Rock blows him low to block, and puts Mankind through it with a Rock Bottom! Hey, maybe he was just looking for Mr. Socko? Rock goes in and climbs, but Mankind recovers, and hits yet another low blow to bring him down, then adds a double-arm DDT. Socko comes out for the Mandible Claw, but Rock shoves the ladder into him to block, and delivers a DDT. He climbs, but Mankind follows suit, and they slug it out at the top. Mankind applies the Claw at the top of the ladder, but that draws out Paul Wight (who had debuted the night before) to Chokeslam Mankind off, and Rock grabs the belt at 13:00. Like a lot of Attitude Era stuff, this was exciting in the moment, when you didn't know where the story was going to twist or turn next, but doesn't really hold up on its own as a match almost twenty years later. Also, HOLY FUCK, it's been that long?!?! * ¼

WWE Title Ladder Match: Undertaker v Jeff Hardy: From RAW on July 1 2002 in Manchester New Hampshire. Hardy disrespects Undertaker's bike during the entrances, which suckers 'Taker into going out after him - thus giving up the high ground, and allowing Jeff to baseball slide the ladder into him, then add a plancha! Hardy blasts him with a chair next, but throwing the ladder at the champion backfires, and Undertaker hits a clothesline on the outside. Is that Nick Hogan in the front row? Undertaker gets reversed into the ladder out there, and Hardy slams it down onto him to setup a flying legdrop off of the steps. Jeff hustles in to try and climb, but he's pretty battered, and Undertaker manages to seesaw the ladder into his face. Undertaker knocks him off the apron with the ladder, and he's got a clear path to the gold, but suddenly changes his mind. He heads out after Hardy for more punishment, slamming him onto an announce table, then casually tossing his ass into the timekeepers table. Inside, Undertaker puts the boots to him, then sandwiches his challenger between the ladder for a legdrop off the apron. That looked as painful for 'Taker as it did for Hardy. Undertaker with a cross corner clothesline, but an avalanche against the ladder misses, and Jeff hits the Whisper in the Wind. They spill back to the outside, where Hardy hits a somersault plancha, then whacks Undertaker with the ladder. The crowd is hot for this one. Jeff climbs, but Undertaker recovers. He tries to bring Hardy off the ladder with the Last Ride, but Jeff counters with a rana, and starts climbing again - only for Undertaker to stop him with a chair. Last Ride onto the chair, but Jeff counters by grabbing it on the way up, and he bashes the champion with it. He climbs, but Undertaker follows up the opposite side, and chokeslams him off before he can get the belt - grabbing it himself at 14:05. Basically your usual slow, lazy Undertaker match from the summer of 2002, only with a few ladder themed spots and bumps added into the mix. * ¾

#1 Contender's Ladder Match: Rob Van Dam v Sabu: From ECW on Sci-Fi, August 15 2006 in Washington DC. I've never really watched a lot of the WWECW TV shows, but I have to say I really like how they made the set look unique. Both guys try springboards almost right away, and Rob gets the better of the exchange by sidekicking Sabu's leg. He covers, and the referee actually forgets himself, and counts two. Whoops. Surprisingly, I don't think I've ever seen that happen before, actually. I'm always waiting for it to happen in Submission matches though. Legdrop follows, but a sloppy exchange ends in Sabu getting crotched on the top, and Rob trying to jump from the top rope to grab the contract. Not surprisingly, it doesn't work out. Was he high? Sabu clotheslines him over the top and follows with a plancha, then inside, he delivers a springboard tornado DDT. He goes for the ladder, but Van Dam baseball slides it into his face. He tries his own plancha, but Sabu smacks him out of the air with the ladder, and they brawl out there. Rob drapes him across the barricade to setup a flying legdrop off of the apron, but Sabu dropkicks his ankle on the way back in, and delivers an Arabian Skullcrusher. He follows with a camel clutch, but Rob tips the ladder to block a climb attempt. Sabu tries a triple jump moonsault off of the ladder, but slips and wipes out, allowing Van Dam another legdrop. He whips Sabu into the ladder, then monkeyflips it into him. Rob puts Sabu on the ladder to setup a Rolling Thunder, but Sabu rolls out of the way, and Van Dam thunders onto the ladder himself! Sabu with the triple jump moonsault, but the Arabian Facebuster misses, and Sabu crash lands on the ladder! Ouch! Rob climbs, but Sabu yanks him off, and tips the ladder onto his leg. Rob shrugs it off and delivers the Five Star Frogsplash anyway, but Big Show runs in to prevent him from climbing, and slams him out of the ring through a table! I'm sensing a pattern for Show in these matches. Sabu then dives at him with a flying seated senton, but Show catches him - only for Sabu to reach up and grab the contract while riding on Show's shoulders at 14:48. Super energetic, and never boring, but also sloppy. Didn't really care for the finish, either. ** ½

Ladder Match: Big Show v Rob Van Dam: From ECW on Sci-Fi, October 24 2006 in St. Louis Missouri. Big Show is the ECW World Champion, but this is non-title, which makes the ladder stipulation seem kinda pointless. Or, you know, very pointless. If Rob wins, he gets a shot at the title at a later date. Van Dam goes right for the ladder, but Show knocks it away from him, and chokes away in the corner. Rob slugs him off and hits a springboard sidekick, then a flying sidekick. That knocks Show into the ropes, and Van Dam adds a slingshot legdrop, then brings the ladder in. Show jumps him before he can get it setup though, and cross corner whips him into it. Show dumps him to the outside, then hoists up the ladder - Show trying to swat the contract down without climbing! Ha! I've never seen that before, and it's pretty funny. Rob uses another ladder to stop that effort, however, and Show is busted open. Van Dam keeps coming by flying sidekicking a ladder into Show's bloody face, then adds a Rolling Thunder onto a ladder! That earns a few full screen replays, which I thought was something they only started doing in recent months. I guess ECW was always ahead of the curve then though, weren't they? Rob climbs, but Show tips over the ladder, and tosses Van Dam into it a few times for good measure. He slams Van Dam onto the ladder to setup a 2^nd rope pump-splash, but Rob dodges - Show taking an awkward bump into the ladder. That didn't look good. Van Dam rallies by pounding Show in the corner, but quickly gets put back down with a Chokeslam. Show climbs, but he's slow, and Rob rushes up the opposite side - coming down at him with a seated senton! That ends in both guys tumbling over the top, and Van Dam hustles in to snag the contract at 9:24. This was pretty alright. ** ¾

OVW Women's Title Ladder Match: Katie Lea v Beth Phoenix: From OVW TV on December 23 2006 (taped December 15) in Louisville Kentucky. Katie dives off the ladder with a flying bodypress in the aisle to jumpstart things, but Beth cuts her off from bringing the ladder in for a climb, and seesaws it into her face! Phoenix brings it in and climbs, but Lea knocks her off with a flying dropkick! She tries a bodyslam onto the ladder, but Phoenix reverses. She goes up for a flying splash onto Lea, but Katie dodges, and Beth crash lands on the ladder! Ouch! Lea traps her under the ladder as she makes a climb attempt, but Phoenix bench presses the ladder off of her to knock Katie down! Beth abuses her with it in the corner before making a climb attempt, but Lea is nipping at her heels, and brings her down with a neckbreaker! Katie climbs, but Phoenix is following up the opposite end, and they slug it out atop the ladder! Beth manages to knock her off, and she has it all but won, when Katie tips the ladder over at the last second! That leaves Beth down on the outside, and Lea climbs for the 'gold' at 8:32. 'Gold' because they're using replica belts, like the kind you can buy from ShopZone. Really abbreviated, but they made the most of their time. ** ¾

WWE Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: Jeff Hardy v Carlito: From Bridgeport Connecticut on December 10 2007, as part of RAWs 15^th Anniversary episode. Carlito goes right after the ladder, so Jeff tries to baseball slide into him, but the challengers sees it coming. He whacks Hardy with the ladder on the outside, then rushes in to climb before he can recover, but Jeff cuts him off. Twist of Fate, but Carlito counters with a clothesline - only to miss a charge in the corner. Jeff tries slingshot legdropping the ladder into a seesaw, but Carlito evades, and they spill to the outside. Carlito tries to blast him with the ladder against the apron, but now Hardy evades, and he dropkicks his challenger off the apron onto the ladder! Jeff heads in to climb, but Carlito springboards onto the opposite side of the ladder, and brings him down with a vicious sunset bomb! That was pretty awesome! Jeff is up first and tries a slingshot legdrop off the ladder, but Carlito moves, and he capitalizes by going to work on Hardy's leg. Weird lighting tonight on the belt tonight. Carlito keeps hammering the leg, but a charge goes badly when Hardy backdrops him onto the ladder! Jeff heads up for the Swanton Bomb, but overshoots, and ends up smashing up his leg on the landing. He still hobbles to a vertical base first, and climbs, but Carlito tips the ladder over. Hardy responds with a Twist of Fate onto the ladder, but Carlito counters with a sitout rear matslam onto it instead! Carlito climbs, but Jeff is able to knock him off at the top, and he grabs the belt to retain at 12:00. The finish was kind of anticlimactic, but the match was good. ***