SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 15. The Undertaker enters the arena during WWE Smackdown at Acer Arena on June 15, 2008 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Gaye Gerard/Getty Images)
Since 2005, the Money in the Bank ladder match has been the perfect vehicle to launch promising WWE Superstars into title contention.
The premise is simple: climb the ladder, retrieve the briefcase suspended from the ceiling, and earn a world title shot at any time of your choosing. Want to cash in the briefcase immediately after the champion just competed in a brutal match? No problem! That's how most briefcase winners have successfully become world champions.
The Money in the Bank ladder match is heavy on highlight reel spots and low on narrative and emotional investment. The goal is to cram as many eye-popping, death-defying stunts as possible.
But in a more traditional format, and properly built to and performed well, the WWE ladder match is the perfect climactic last match to a hotly contested feud. It's what happens when two wrestlers have exhausted their more civilized options, and are now resorting to drastic measures, where the goal is not only to beat the opponent, but to shorten his or her career.
In preparation for the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view on May 19, these are the 10 greatest ladder matches in WWE history. We're including all permutations of the concept: the classic ladder match, the Money in the Bank ladder match, and the TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.
Contested for: WWE Intercontinental Championship
Event: WWE Wrestling Challenge
Date: July 21, 1992
In present-day ladder matches, the ladders are tucked under the ring, and are made out of wood or a light metal. But in the first ladder match, there was only one ladder—a real, heavy, industrial one—and it had to be dragged from the top of the ramp to the ring. Bret Hart, crafty as ever, took advantage of this, and let Shawn Michaels expend his energy dragging the ladder to ringside before flooring him with a punch.
Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels
Contested for: WWE Intercontinental Championship
Event: WrestleMania X
Date: March 20, 1994
For the 10th anniversary of WrestleMania, WWE went back to Madison Square Garden, where it all began. Surprisingly, the high point of the show was not the main event between Yokozuna and Bret Hart; instead, it was this classic between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels. For the uninitiated, it's easy to watch this match and not "get it"; the biggest spot was a simple splash off of the ladder, which is small potatoes compared to what WWE Superstars. But it's important to remember that this came first, and influenced every other ladder match to come.
Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz (Triangle Ladder Match)
Contested for: WWE Tag Team Championship
Event: WrestleMania 2000
Date: April 2, 2000
Together, the three teams of the Hardy Boyz, the Dudley Boyz, and Edge & Christian, had incredible match after incredible match. A particularly iconic one was this Triangle Ladder Match. Months later, the three teams would top themselves with the first TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. But prior to that, we thought this was the peak of creative violence; how wrong we were.
Contested for: WWE Intercontinental Championship
Event: Royal Rumble
Date: January 21, 2001
There's not much to say here, other than the obvious: at the time, Jericho and Benoit were two of the most skilled WWE performers, and they put on a master class of narrative fighting. This is what it looks like when the participants in a ladder match use the steel organically, rather than only using it to jump from high places. Unfortunately, because of Benoit’s later actions and death, this match is often forgotten. But it remains a classic.
Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Edge & Christian ( TLC II)
Contested for: WWE Tag Team Titles
Event: WrestleMania X-Seven
Date: April 1, 2001
You had three separate interferences by Lita, Spike Dudley, and Rhyno. You had Bubba Ray Dudley and Matt Hardy falling into a stack of tables on the outside. And of course, you had Edge spearing Jeff mid-air, as he clutched the titles suspended from the ceiling. All three teams became immediately associated with this match, and established a standard that no ladder-stipulated match has ever exceeded.
Contested for: WWE Tag Team Championship
Event: WWE SmackDown!
Date: May 24, 2001
Another iconic match "erased" from WWE history due to participant Chris Benoit's involvement, the third TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match was a phenomenal affair. That it occurred on weekly television was a rare, unlikely occurrence. Featuring a Twist of Fate from the top of the ladder by Matt Hardy to D-Von Dudley, and the sight of an injured Benoit, willing himself back into the match after being medically treated backstage, this was an incredible match with an "underdog triumphs against the odds” vibe.
Jeff Hardy vs. The Undertaker
Contested for: WWE Hardcore Championship
Event: Monday Night Raw
Date: December 17, 2001
This is the match that made people take Jeff Hardy seriously. He was always a tag team specialist, more concerned with doing the crazy high spot than anything else. But in this match against the Undertaker, Jeff put together a match with the Dead Man that was main event-caliber. Even Undertaker, who was working a heel role at the time, took a moment to pull Hardy to his feet and give him some grudging recognition.
"Money in the Bank"
Contested for: Money in the Bank briefcase
Event: WrestleMania 21
Date: April 3, 2005
The first Money in the Bank ladder match set some precedents.The best performer by far was Shelton Benjamin, who suplexed Edge off a ladder, and later ran up an inclined ladder to clothesline Jericho against a different ladder. But the winner was Edge, who grabbed the briefcase when everyone else was injured or unconscious on the ground. Standing out and dominating this match is usually a poor strategy. It's best, like Edge, to be an opportunist.
"Money in the Bank" III
Contested for: Money in the Bank briefcase
Event: Wrestlemania 23
Date: April 1, 2007
The third annual Money in the Bank ladder match was filled with spots that would be used in WWE video packages to come. Mr. Kennedy performed a Green Bay Plunge on Hornswoggle off the top of the ladder. Jeff Hardy performed a leg drop on Edge from atop a massive ladder, onto another ladder. Randy Orton gave CM Punk an RKO off a ladder. This was more stunt show than match, but what a stunt show it was.
The New Day vs. The Usos vs. The Lucha Dragons
Contested for: WWE Tag Team Championship
Event: TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs
Date: December 13. 2015
This ladder Triple Threat is the closest thing that we have to the classic Hardy/Dudleys/Edge & Christian matchups from years past. It was a power team, versus a high flying team, versus a lucha team; mayhem and violence was guaranteed from the start. The highlight came from Kallisto, who delivered a Salida del Sol through a ladder to Jey Uso. It was so impressive that it led to a mini-singles push for Kallisto afterwards. Kingston eventually climbed the ladder and retained the titles.
The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
Contested for: WWE Intercontinental Championship
Event: TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs
Date: December 4, 2016
The Miz was on a hot streak; with his wife Maryse by his side, and coming off a brutal, brilliant promo against Daniel Bryan (which nearly led to a real-life fight), the Awesome One fought with a renewed sense of purpose. This ladder match against Dolph Ziggler was a hard-hitting showcase for both men, and it affirmed, again, that Miz was more than a reality show contestant; he was a future WWE Hall of Famer, and deserved to be treated as such.