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.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
