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

My Rating

Every aspect of WWE storytelling at the time telegraphed the ending of this one long before the opening bell. The Cleveland Browns had a better chance at a streak of Super Bowl wins than Hardy (even in kayfabe) had of walking out with the win.

Between Hardy's place on the card, the upcoming triple threat, and the presence of Old Guard championship contenders like HHH, Rock, Austin, Angle alongside the soon-to-be-coronated Lesnar, 2002 was not the time to make Hardy a world champion.

Again, logically, nobody at home or in the arena should have held any hope that Hardy would grab the belt on this night. Unfortunately, nobody told the crowd, Ross, or Hardy himself.

Even 15 years later, it's hard not to get swept up in the audience's and Ross's conviction that Hardy was on the cusp of greatness. It's an absolute Starmaker of a performance for someone who'd already had several of those on pay-per-view stages, but rarely got the chance to shine as a singles performer.

Hardy marks himself a plausible contender from that opening dropkick and turns fans and announcers alike into pre-adolescent marks each time he throws himself at his gargantuan foe. Ross allows himself to get caught up in the crowd's fervour, and his cries of "Make yourself famous!" earned a deserved spot in his career highlight reel.

2002 and 2003 are easily forgettable years in professional wrestling history; the Attitude Era had died, its heroes slowly moving away from the squared circle, and the new generation that would lead the company into the 2000s and 2010s were still months (or even years) away from becoming must-see characters.

Matches like this, our third foray into 2002's gimmicky goodness, show that 2002's highs were very high; however, that year is defined for many by a declining viewership and waning interest in a product that often tried to hard to ape the Attitude Era of just a year prior. This match deserves to be considered one of the best non-PPV matches in WWE history, as well as one of the best ladder matches the company has ever produced. 10/10

Meltzer Says

I couldn't find a Meltzer star rating for this contest; two other ladder contests on RAW in 2002 did receive four or more stars from Big Dave, the contest pitting Rob Van Dam against Eddie Guerrero from May of that year, and the TLC contest from the fall. This one would hopefully have received a similar rating.