Pro wrestling icon Matt Hardy puts first tag team ladder match in historical perspective
Whichever version of Matt Hardy a pro wrestling fan may have enjoyed over the course of his more than 35 years in the sport, his innovative mind and versatile in-ring abilities may be what he will be remembered for most when he finally decides to hang up his boots.
Hardy has been a scene stealer in almost every company he’s worked for, whether it was WWE, All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Ring of Honor or elsewhere.
The 51-year-old multi-time champion has done nearly everything in the business.
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Fox News Digital asked Hardy in a recent interview which moment of his career he thought isn’t talked about enough. Hardy pointed to the first-ever tag team ladder match he and his brother, Jeff, had with Edge and Christian at No Mercy 1999.
He said the match helped pave the way for the historic tables, ladders and chairs match that took place at SummerSlam 2000 and innovated the way inanimate objects are used in the wrestling ring.
“It’s crazy because my brother and I, we’ve been blessed to have so many great moments over our — Oct. 15 we’ll be going into our 35th year of doing this as pro wrestlers, which is crazy,” Hardy said.
“A moment still that I don’t think gets talked about quite enough — it got praised, especially when it happened — but just looking back at how monumental it was in changing the game was the first-ever tag team ladder match, I think.
“I still think it was so instrumental in leading the way for change in the way of telling stories with inanimate objects in WWE because that ultimately led to us doing the first-ever tag team tables match with the Dudleys, which is an idea I presented to Vince (McMahon). He wanted to do something with the Dudleys that paralleled what we did with Edge and Christian.
“And then that led to us using all of these items in WrestleMania 2000 and then, ultimately, at SummerSlam 2000, we did the first ever TLC, tables, ladders and chairs match and that has become a staple in pro wrestling and even in other companies.”
Hardy pointed to other companies using similar matches, including AEW, TNA’s Full Metal Mayhem and Ring of Honor’s Ladder Wars.
“But that tag team ladder match that we did with Edge and Christian is something that was, like, absolutely the beginning and origin point of the TLC concept. And that became a staple in pro wrestling. And, myself and Jeff and Edge and Christian, without us having that match, that doesn’t become a thing.
“So, that is a moment, I think, historically, years down the road, decades down the road, people will look back at that, and they go, ‘Wow, that was the moment where all of this insanity started.’ And there was a different way of telling stories with these inanimate objects doing a different version of storytelling, doing a different version of match that can be exciting and athletic guys can really benefit from it.”
Now, as his career reaches 35 years, Hardy and his brother are the TNA world tag team champions. He also hosts a podcast with Jon Alba, sharing stories and memories from his career.
“The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” drops a new episode each Friday on his YouTube page.
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