Ripped To Shreds: Stairway To Hell
If a person were to take a look back at the world of WWE from about ten years ago, it is clear that it was a much different wrestling world back then, to say the least. The Undertaker was just coming off the heels of a victory in what was then the much anticipated first meeting of he and his brother at Wrestlemania 14. After a double cross by Mike Tyson, Steve Austin was WWE’s new champion, and was now dealing with issues both on a professional and personal level with his boss Mr. McMahon. Long before he was King of Kings, Triple H was carrying the ball that Shawn Michaels had dropped by reforming his own revamped version of a DX Army. The wrestler formerly (and in due time, again) known as 2 Cold Scorpio was currently Flash Funk, The Godwins were still around, and Raw was finally starting to beat Nitro after over a year of consecutive losses in head to head meetings. It is apparent that things were different back then, and very little room for doubt is present. However, if you look a little closer, you will see that there were more contrasting aspects than meets the eye. Hardcore wrestling was still semi taboo back then, as was the increasing levels of strong language and sexual overtones. And, if you a look even a little closer, you will see that, while this is not the biggest dissimilarity, it has played a decently large effect. That is, the concept of the value of gimmick matches. Yes, gimmick matches. Steel cage matches, though outshined by the new Hell In A Cell, were still a special treat for wrestling fans. No holds barred matches were starting to increase, yet were not yet played out. And, possibly importantly of all, the ladder match was still the most revolutionary and phenomenal gimmick for a wrestling match that had ever been conceived.
However, in 2008, that is no longer the case. In the not too distant past, the ladder match was like a collection of expensive, fine cigars that you only broke out of the box on special occasions. Now, the ladder match has become much more like a pack of Black and Milds that you can get at your local Sunoco station. When we saw Triple H take on The Rock for the Intercontinental Title at Summer Slam of 1998, it was amazing to look forward to and amazing to watch as well. It was something special. Now, in our not so distant past, Jeff Hardy took on Johnny Nitro in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Title, and it’s a match that generally is not that memorable. But why is that? Why did Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon have one of the most memorable contests in that event’s history under the rules of the ladder match, but when Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero had that same type of match at that same event, it was not seen as being nearly as big of an event as it once was expected to be? Is this all due to some unknown, unexplainable reason? Or can this be explained by factors that, when the situation is looked at closely, can give reasonable explanations for this? I personally believe that yes, there were specific events that took place and decisions that were made that brought about this change.
The first reason, I believe, is due to a match that took place that many wrestling fans consider one of the most influential ladder matches of all time. That match took place at No Mercy 1999, and is credited with creating four new stars that night. The Hardy Boys took on Edge and Christian in a ladder match with the rights to the managerial services of Terri Runnels on the line. For the first time, the ladder match was being used as a platform for high flyers to try revolutionary forms of aerial assault and to use the ladder provided in innovative ways. It was revolutionary on a mainstream level. It was exciting, it was flashy, and it was exhilarating to watch. Many called it phenomenal, and an epic thriller. I would be hard pressed to disagree with those statements. However, I also personally call it the first nail in the coffin to the special aura that the ladder match once had.
Rob Van Dam has gone on record as saying that he likes to implement hardcore elements into his matches so they can be an extension of a good match. He says that they are not there to take the place of a good match. Whether or not you agree that Van Dam has done this successfully, you will most likely agree that this concept had applied to the WWE’s version of the ladder match before the aforementioned Hardys-E/C match took place. In the first televised WWE ladder match at Wrestlemania X, the star of the match was, in fact, the ladder itself. The idea of seeing the ladder in the match was such a “cool†and innovative idea that it stole the show itself. However, while the red, heavy, ten foot piece of steel was the true star, this match could very well be looked at as being a triple threat match. The ladder acted as an extension to the psychology and storytelling that Michaels and Razor were creating that night. There were some pretty interesting uses of the ladder, but overall the psychology of the match outshined it.
However, on the night of No Mercy 1999, this started to change, and it’s focus shifted sharply and forcefully in a different direction. Jeff Hardy, who had been starting to make a name for himself as being a high flying daredevil, shined brightly with spectacular airborne attacks against Edge and Christian. Some may say that storytelling was present in that match, as the story was being told of two tag teams fighting to not only to gain the services of Terri, but also to make a name for themselves in WWE. While that is a true statement, the fact is if you watch any match and analyze it a high enough degree, any type of storytelling can be found. That is true whether you’re watching Chris Jericho, RVD, or even Axl Rotten (who I feel is one of the all time worst performers of “the big 3†of the nineties). The ladder match between The Hardys and Edge and Christian at No Mercy was about action. It was about being a high flying thriller. It was about the ladders, and the actual aerial moves, taking the place of psychology in a ladder match.
Let’s look at things from this perspective: Let’s say you are the manager of a famous rock band of the 1980’s. Imagine that your band is your classic hair band from that era. Long hair, leather, head bands, fringe on their multicolored outfits, the whole works. They play your basic rock music that sounds similar to songs performed by Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister, Motley Crue, and so on. Your band builds a reputation for being one of the most artistically sound bands on the market, and your fan base starts to increase. They are craving for your next single to come out. Then, for whatever reason, your band falls into a slump as far as creating new music that lives up to the reputation that precedes them. In order to keep your band on top, you create a new, cheap, cheesy song that is bound to sell a lot of singles and keep people’s interest. However, it does not succeed in helping your band keep their standing as being the excellent, true musicians that they are. Your band releases a song with a general trendy theme, similar to that of “Who Let The Dogs Out†or “Achy Breaky Heartâ€. Their popularity stays afloat, as well as their gross income. But their respect goes into a decline.
This is what I feel happened to the ladder match over the years. Just like the fictional rock band that was discussed, this type of gimmick match was given an incredible amount of respect by wrestling fans in general. Every time it was used, it was done in a way where the highest level of artistic value could be attained. It was not a cheesy 1980’s Jean Claude Van Dam action flick where kickboxing itself sells box office tickets, but it was more like Rudy- a movie where the central theme of sports and action was present, yet they only acted as an extension of a well developed story. This match lead to the birth of TLC matches, and now fans are expecting to see suicidal dives, see-saw like maneuvers with the ladder, and general high risk, high impact battles take place when a ladder is present. And then, in this movie series, the stunt men have become bigger stars than the actors.
That may possibly be the reason why the ladder match seems to have lost it’s “special feel†that it once had. That may be the reason why when we see Edge and Ric Flair use a ladder to try to rightfully claim the WWE Championship belt as being theirs, it has nowhere near the same anticipation preceding it as when Triple H and The Rock squared off in a classic at Summer Slam 1998. I believe that is the reason, however, I believe there is something else that goes a long with it.
That other reason is that on that night, the stars of a high profile ladder match were no longer only upper mid carders, but now were members of a tag team: that is, participants who are, within the confines of their team, virtually unable to reach the prestige and the honor of making to the main event scene. While the Legion of Doom are a legendary tag team, even during WWE’s darkest days they were never seen main eventing a Wrestlemania. It just wasn’t going to realistically happen. The Hardy Boys and Edge and Christian are both two of WWE’s most memorable tag teams. One of the participants on each team have become strong players towards the top of WWE cards, and until April, both were legitimate world title contenders. But they did not do that with Christian or Matt by their sides. They did it all by their lonesome. They were lone wolves who broke away from the pack, and ran farther than they could had they ran at a pace that allowed their fellow wolves to keep up with them.
While Bret Hart was in the first WWE ladder match with Shawn Michaels, it took away from the impact of the first televised one at Wrestlemania X about as much as the fact that there actually were black professional baseball players before Jackie Robinson. That meaning, it had no impact, as it was a fact that was eventually hidden from TV. It wasn’t talked about in order to let the first one people could actually see at a known event be the ground-breaking incident that it really was. The most well known remembered participants of the ladder match, up till then, were Razor Ramon, HBK, Triple H, and The Rock. Four upper midcarders who also could have passed as main eventers at those respective times as well. They were the cream of the crop, and four men who could elevate the mid card to make the intercontinental title a more coveted prize. It is true that some throw away ladder matches took place on Raw a few times, and while they did start to take away some of the special feel it once had, it was in no way as detrimental to it’s value as the tag team match in question. Not even close, at least not in my opinion.
Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Edge, and Christian became stars that night, and acted as the catalysts towards making a new “golden age†for WWE’s tag team division. While it is true that teams that were not associated with ladder matches were popular, such as the Acolytes Protection Agency, The New Age Outlaws, and even Kane and The Undertaker, ladders (as well as tables and chairs) became a staple of tag team wrestling at that time. Ladders can be an extension of a good match, and can help propel certain performers to reaching a new level as it did for The Heart Break Kid and The Rock, it does not work miracles. It was not able to take tag teams higher up the card to the same level as a high level, intercontinental title level performer (The Rock in 1998, Randy Orton in 2004, etc.).
Basically put, tag team matches benefited more from the ladder than the ladder benefited from pairs of sports entertainers wrestling as a team. People used the ladder to pull themselves up, and thus dragged the ladder down a little bit as well. While TLC matches and Triangle ladder matches were show stealers at some of WWE’s biggest events, they were merely acting out the aforementioned analogy, only with lesser performers. And it was, through this process, that the special value of the ladder match was lost. It was no longer something that had to be relegated to rare occasions where you knew you had two of the best wrestlers who could live up to the hype of the match. Is it still enough to see Razor Ramon fire back in retaliation when a different form of a stairway is lying outside the ring? Or in this present day and age, does he have to jump off a ladder that is fifteen feet high and attempt to kill himself to please the audience?
In addition to this, tag team wrestling, as well as the Attitude Era in general, made this gimmick something that could be used for a quick grab at good ratings. Hardcore wrestling was getting increasingly popular at that point in time, and many will agree that if Mankind’s infamous Hell In A Cell match was aired on Raw head to head with Bret Hart’s and Chris Benoit’s tribute match to Owen, Mick Foley and The Undertaker would win in a walk. That was the way things were back then, and what had to be done for business was done. It was kill or be killed for competing wrestling promoters, and the legacy of the ladder match was a casualty. Instead of primarily only seeing the match take place at big events like Summer Slam or Wrestlemania, it was common to see it at events like No Mercy and even Smackdown. It was over saturated within the market, and while it does provide satisfaction to the viewer, matches like Christian and Rob Van Dam generally will not stand the test of time.
It is no secret that the ladder match no longer is seen in the same light as it once was. When Shawn Michaels leaped off the ladder to deliver a splash onto Scott Hall, it was an electrifying highlight, and save for Jimmy Snuka’s splash off the top of a cage onto Don Muraco, it was the arguably the most famous splash in the history of wrestling. Now, HBk’s highlight has been outshined by swanton bombs from fifteen feet in the air, the ladder being used as a weapon in a see-saw form, and men using several ladders to all reach for their match’s prize at the same time. Some may say it is a shame that this has happened. I personally think that the reason for this may be because this particular match became something that was generally associated with great action that took the place of great storytelling. That is not the only reason for this, I believe, as I would go as far as to say that this is due to tag teams opening the door for lower level wrestlers being common place in these types of matches. In addition, I would also say that this match has become over saturated, and when you can see it ten times in one year instead of four times in four years, it seems to be whored out. Whatever the case may be, no many people will deny that the special atmosphere that was once present with the average ladder match is now a distant memory that can only be found on special WWE dvd releases, instead of center stage at a present day major pay per view.