Ladder matches in WWE are more than just athletic contests; they are the culmination of intense rivalries, personal vendettas, and aspirations for championship glory (as usually there is a championship at stake).
10. Zack Ryder vs. Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn vs. Stardust vs. The Miz vs. Sin Cara @ WrestleMania 32
The Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 32 was a showcase of WWE’s midcard talent, all vying for the prestigious title suspended above the ring. Zack Ryder, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, Stardust, The Miz, and Sin Cara brought their A-game to the ring, delivering a flurry of high-impact moves and breathtaking spots (as you would expect).
Kevin Owens walked into Mania with the Intercontinental Title, and he paid the price for spending weeks complaining about a lack of competition by being made to defend his title in this match against 6 other stars.
On the night, it was the storybook ending for Zack Ryder as he climbed the ladder and finally won the big one. The fans were completely behind Ryder for many years and feel he fully deserved to have a big moment. After the match, Ryder celebrated in the ring with his dad, just to give the fans that extra warm feeling.
Major Spots: Kevin Owens’ frog splash onto Ziggler through a ladder, Zayn’s Helluva Kick to Owens on a ladder, and Ryder’s emotional retrieval of the championship.
9. The Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy on Raw in 2002
Jeff Hardy was known for his high-flying, daredevil style as one half of The Hardy Boyz, but he was thrust into the singles limelight after this incredible match with The Undertaker.
This match, rather unusually, took place on an episode of Monday Night Raw and was for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Undertaker had spent weeks bullying Jeff, squashing him in around 2 minutes in one particular match. Jeff refused to back down though, and demanded a rematch with a stipulation close to his heart – a ladder match!
Jeff Hardy was of course the underdog here and he played the role to perfection. The match utilised the ladders in a clever way, not going into a full-on spot fest like some tend to.
Despite a valiant effort, Undertaker did retain his title, however Jeff refused to stay down and this prompted Taker’ to come back to the ring and raise Jeff’s hand. This showed the world that Jeff would one day go on to be a top singles star.
8. Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boyz @ No Mercy 1999
This is around the time I started watching wrestling and this match has stayed with me since first watching it. These two teams were just on the edge of greatness and this match certainly showed the world what they were capable of.
Was it a spot fest? Yes. But the chemistry between the teams was there, the feud blew up and the match was sensational.
This was the match that put tag team ladder matches on the map and the feud between these two top teams would last for many, many years.
Matt Hardy said the following regarding the match;
“If that match turns out being a disaster in any capacity, we don’t continue to do more things,” Hardy said. “You don’t see table matches, you don’t see TLC matches, you don’t see those amazing memories from WrestleMania 16 and 17. They don’t exist, they don’t materialise, they don’t happen.
You also don’t see the tag team division become as over as it did at the time too. That spoke volumes about how successful that match was that myself, my brother, Edge and Christian and the Dudleys were able to raise the equity of the tag team division in WWE.
“People know too, Vince McMahon isn’t a tag team wrestling person. The way he looks at things, ‘I need singles stars who can be my world champion and that’s what people are invested in’. If he ever gets a tag team that becomes extremely over like mad, he’s just looking to break those guys up and turn them into singles stars.
It’s just his mindset, that’s one of the things I love about The Young Bucks, they want to be a tag team forever. That was mine and Jeff’s mindset at the time. Even looking back at that match with Edge and Christian, they may have separated that night and they didn’t. We wanted to take tag team wrestling and elevate it to the highest level that we possibly could.”
These teams also feature on this list.
7. Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels @ No Mercy 2008
Y2J was on a quest to get the better of HBK. They had a feud in 2003 in which Jericho tried (and failed) to get the better of HBK and the two crossed paths once again in 2008. After they battled in an unsanctioned match at the previous PPV, in which HBK emerged somewhat victorious, they went at it again at No Mercy with the world title on the line in this ladder match. HBK was angry that Jericho had put his hands on his wife and smashed HBK’s face into the highlight reel monitor, so there was some heat in this feud going into this.
As both men climbed the ladder at the end of the match, they both grabbed the title and it became unhooked. A brief game of tug-of-war ensued before Jericho headbutted Michaels and retained his title.
Major Spots:
HBK diving elbow from the top rope onto the ladder which was lying on top of Jericho, Jericho with a lionsault onto the ladder which was on top of HBK.
6. Triple H vs The Rock @ Summerslam 98
Two of the biggest stars of WWE were once leaders of their respective factions – DX and The Nation of Domination. It was only a matter of time before HHH and Rock clashed and they went head to head at Summerslam 1998 in this ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship.
These two stars were mid-carders in 1998, however they were close to breaking through and this match helped them both break that glass ceiling.
There weren’t many moves from the actual ladders themselves, but they did use them in a violent way, smashing them into each other and making this a hard-hitting contest.
A low blow from Chyna gave HHH the time he needed to reach up and grab the title. The Intercontinental Championship was incredibly prestigious around this time, but these two would both soon move on to bigger prizes. I do miss the time when the Intercontinental Title meant something, and Gunther has done a great job making this prestigious again.
5. Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz at WrestleMania 2000
These three teams put ladder matches well and truly on the map. They had several battles and this one was billed as a ‘triangle’ ladder match with The Dudleyz heading into Mania as champions. King on commentary with “these guys are crazy” tells you what to expect from this one.
Can you remember the ‘weird’ (as Jerry Lawler called it) camera angle from the top of the arena looking down?
The huge swanton from Jeff onto Bubba on the outside from what is the biggest ladder I have ever seen will be remembered until the day I die. Just insane what Jeff is willing to do inside (and out) of the ring.
The finish saw Edge push Matt off the top and through a table and Edge & Christian pull down the belts. Incredible match!
4. CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy @ Summerslam 09
Jeff Hardy came into this match as the World Heavyweight Champion and they decided to throw in tables and chairs because, well, why not?
This rivalry started at Extreme Rules when Punk cashed in his money in the bank contract on Jeff, winning his World Heavyweight Championship. The rematch happened at The Bash (CM Punk retaining by feigning injury and getting Jeff DQ’d) and then continued at Night of Champions where Jeff won the title back. This match at Summerslam would determine the winner of the feud and they did it with a TLC match.
The match started with CM Punk wearing Jeff down and smashing chairs across the enigma. Jeff then went for a top rope splash but Punk moved and Jeff went splashing through a table.
The match then started to incorporate the ladders and a powerbomb from the ladder was a nice little move from Hardy. Punk however got back on top with a suplex from the top rope onto a ladder – Ouch!
There was no real momentum from either for large chunks of this match. One move by one man, would be then followed by a move from the other. Both men went through tables and both men used the chairs to brutally assault the other. Whenever Jeff is in any match involving ladders, he always seems to find the biggest ladder known to man. Here he finds it, then Swanton bombs Punk through the Spanish announce table. Poor Spanish announce table always pays the price.
This led to both men climbing the ladder and exchanging blows, before Punk smashed Jeff with a big right hand that sends Jeff flying off the ladder. This gave Punk the time to collect the title.
After the match, The Undertaker appeared and hit CM Punk with a huge chokeslam.
A cool match with just enough high spots to please, but also some nice brutal attacks as well to show the intense rivalry between the two.
3. Edge vs John Cena @ Unforgiven 2006
Heel Edge was awesome! This rivalry was heated from the get-go. Edge instructed Lita to throw Cena’s (dreadful) spinner belt into the river on Raw, and unveiled his own (dreadful) Rated R spinner belt. A week later and Cena and Edge came face to face. Cena asked for a match and Edge agreed on two conditions – he could pick the time and the match type. He later revealed it would take place at Unforgiven (in Edge’s home town) and it would be a TLC match. Cena revealed that if he lost, he would sign a Smackdown contract and leave Raw.
Edge showcased his TLC experience and took control of the match early on. Despite being slammed onto ladders and hit with chairs, we all know the resilience of Cena. Cena stacked two tables, one on top of the other, and hit an FU from the top of a ladder and through the tables. This was the ‘holy shit’ moment of the match and set Cena on his way to defeat Edge, in Edge’s hometown.
Some will argue that Cena buried Edge in his hometown, others will say they had a great match.
2. Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels @ WrestleMania X
The Intercontinental Championship ladder match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X set a new standard for high-risk, high-reward competition. The match took place at Madison Square Garden and was back when the Intercontinental Championship meant quite a lot. This was the first, televised ladder match in WWE history and was less about the high-risk, moves from the ladder and more about the storytelling.
This match is widely regarded as one of, if not the best ladder match in WWE history.
The rivalry between these two superstars had reached a boiling point, with both men claiming to be the rightful holder of the Intercontinental Championship. In a historic encounter, Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels utilized the ladder as a weapon, delivering punishing blows and executing breathtaking maneuvers. In the end, it was Michaels who seized the opportunity, retrieving both championship belts suspended above the ring to become the undisputed Intercontinental Champion.
Major Spots: Shawn Michaels’ iconic splash from the top of the ladder, Razor Ramon’s devastating Razor’s Edge off the ladder, and Michaels’ dramatic retrieval of both titles.
1. Edge & Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz @ WrestleMania 17
TLC II at WrestleMania 17 was the culmination of a heated rivalry between three of WWE’s most iconic tag teams: Edge & Christian, The Dudley Boyz, and The Hardy Boyz.
The three teams had engaged in a series of brutal matches, each vying for tag team supremacy. TLC II raised the stakes with not just ladders, but also tables and chairs surrounding the ring. In an adrenaline-fueled spectacle, all six competitors pushed their bodies to the limit, delivering jaw-dropping maneuvers and enduring excruciating pain.
I remember watching this match and just being blown away by what I was watching. These matches between these three teams really set the bar for ladder matches and put all these tag teams in the eyes of every fan.
I’ve linked here a cool video of the story behind these three teams’ feud.
Major Spots: Jeff Hardy’s Swanton Bomb off a ladder through a table, Edge spearing Jeff Hardy mid-air, and Edge & Christian’s joint retrieval of the tag team titles.
These ladder matches have not only provided fans with unforgettable moments but have also served as defining moments in the careers of the superstars involved, propelling them to new heights of success and cementing their legacies in WWE history. Where would the likes of Edge and Jeff Hardy have gone without these matches? They may very well have exploded into the main event scene at some point, but these matches put them into the eyes of the masses.
Thanks for reading, these matches are just my own opinion and if you feel I’ve missed any bangers then let me know in the comments.
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