Gimmick Some Lovin': The Ladder Match (Monday Night RAW: July 1, 2002)

The Match

You'd be forgiven for thinking this was actually CM Punk.

Logically, from the moment this match was made until the performers made their entrances, nothing about its result should have been in doubt. Undertaker's role in an upcoming triple threat match against Kurt Angle and The Rock was the hot ticket main event for the upcoming Vengeance PPV, and Hardy's modest singles success (a handful of tertiary title reigns with things like the European and Hardcore Championships) painted him as an entertaining performer but did not make him a legitimate contender to be "the guy".

The moment the match begins, however, it becomes the epitome of the willing suspension of disbelief; Hardy antagonizes The Dead Man by reclining on Taker's motorcycle, and when Big Evil takes the bait, Hardy opens the match by sending the ladder into his opponent with a sliding dropkick, following it with by putting Taker down with a plancha from the ring to the floor.

The introduction of a chair adds to Hardy's advantage before Undertaker responds by throwing his minuscule challenger at the ring, barricade, ladder, announce desk, and any other pain-creating object in the arena.

What's already one of the most painful-looking maneuvers in The Undertaker's arsenal goes extreme.

The opening minutes of the contest establish a great pattern the pair would follow until its finish: Undertaker punishes Hardy with stiff weapon shots and by tossing Hardy at anything he can, while Hardy manages to pop the crowd with improbable comebacks where he inflicts even more pain on himself, tossing his own body at the big bully to gain momentum.

Sentient rag doll that he is, Hardy flails his way around the ring to wild ovations, taking advantage of a Whisper in the Wind putting down the Dead Man to retrieve the oversized painter's ladder which has become the modern hallmark of this match variation. Each time Hardy hauls his tiny frame up the ladder, the arena noise grows exponentially in volume; that logical conclusion to this contest is all but forgotten by the story these two men tell.

These voices add an extra desperation to the voice that defines this contest: WWE play-by-play announcer Jim Ross. Ross begins the match pleading for Hardy to be saved from the brutality he faced, then slowly convinces himself of the possibility of a Hardy win, before screaming himself hoarse with excitement as Hardy begins what would be his final ascent.

By the time Ross urges Hardy, "make yourself famous," he sounds as if he'd just called an entire six-hour Wrestlemania card while gargling Tabasco sauce and smoking Marlboro reds: his trademark Oklahoma drawl is as ragged and beaten as Hardy's body, and takes the drama up to 11.

Reality had to inject itself back into this match at some point, and does so in fantastic fashion.

Just as Hardy is reaching for the title and Ross is at his most emphatic, Undertaker clatters Hardy across the back with a steel chair before ascending the ladder to chokeslam him off, easily retrieving his title and his yard as we'd all expected.

Hardy, however, refuses to quit, and makes it back to his feet to taunt The Undertaker as he returns to his bike for his exit; Taker responds by re-entering the ring to deliver a Last Ride, attempting to exit a second time. Hardy takes to the mic to let Undertaker know he still was not dead, and the Dead Man feigns another attack before congratulating Hardy for his toughness as Hardy's music to close out the show.