As the story goes, Bret 'Hitman' Hart went to Vince McMahon with a revolutionary new concept he felt could really become a spectacle in the then-World Wrestling Federation of 1992. The era of Hulkamania was coming to an end, and Bret realised that McMahon would be looking for ways to shake up his product. The idea of a Ladder Match, whereby wrestlers would struggle to attain a suspended title belt, was just the ticket, but Vince wasn't wholly convinced. Agreeing tentatively to let Hart at least try it out, because the grappler had plans to perhaps incorporate it into his upcoming Intercontinental Title bout with The British Bulldog at Summerslam, the boss booked Bret opposite Shawn Michaels. According to Bret himself, he was a huge fan of HBK at the time, and felt he'd be the ideal opponent to showcase this kind of match, one he had invented in Stampede Wrestling. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjzi49_bret-hart-vs-shawn-michaels-ladder-match_sport The result was a match taped for Wrestling Challenge, one which is remarkably different in many ways from what fans are used to seeing now from Ladder Matches. In truth, it's not quite as spectacular as the bouts would later become, but it does deserve to be mentioned among the very best, because it was such a breath of fresh air.
