Every WCW Ladder Match Ranked - From Worst To Best
It wasn't always title belts hanging above the ring either.
With the 2016 Money in the Bank pay-per-view just a couple of weeks away, ladder matches are, once again, the major topic of conversation in professional wrestling right now. They are arguably the most consistent of the gimmick matches, but with this representing the 17th Money in the Bank ladder match it could be that even this concept is getting tired now.
World Wrestling Entertainment has also had 47 traditional ladder matches over the years, and I'm not really sure if that is a lot or not so many. Either way, 2015 saw four of the things, and we're probably a little past saturation point when it comes to multiple men trying to grasp whatever hangs above a ladder. The ladder match needs an upgrade.
It is pretty surprising to read however that World Championship Wrestling, undisputed kings of ridiculous gimmick matches, only had 11 ladder matches in the history of the promotion. Considering how quick the company (and Vince Russo in particular) was to throw individuals into gimmick matches, this is somewhat of a surprise.
It is less surprising to find out that all but two of these matches took place in the last two years of the company. Things get worse when we find out that two of them were for a taser, one for a ceramic duck and another for a gold record. Here are the 11 ladder matches from WCW, ranked from worst to best.
Yes, a ceramic duck.
11. Bret Hart Vs. Scott Hall Vs. Sid Vicious Vs. Goldberg - Monday Nitro
November 8th, 1999. A tournament for the WCW Championship is taking place, with this episode showcasing the round of 16 matches. As a result, 13 matches take place on this episode of Monday Nitro. Yes, 13. The main event sounds huge, but in reality there wasn't anything that could have felt huge in World Championship Wrestling at this point.
Bret Hart would defend his United States Championship against Scott Hall, Goldberg and Sid Vicious in a ladder match. All four men had competed earlier in the evening in the tournament, but if you are listening to the commentators you wouldn't really get an idea of what is happening anyway. All you'd know is that there was a special ref for the match and he hadn't turned up yet. WHO COULD IT BE!!!
It was Kevin Nash, and you can audibly hear Bobby Heenan giving up on WCW.
This match is a complete waste of time. Hall 'wins' after Nash hits Hart after the Hitman grabbed the belt, handing the strap to his nWo buddy. The whole thing lasts around five minutes, and is an utter shambles.
One interesting note aside, the WCW Championship tournament featured such first round matches as Bret Hart vs. Goldberg, Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko and Ernest Miller vs. Lash LeRoux. Yep.