The Best of WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs

Written by Daris Brown

Tuesday, 24 November 2009 10:44

TLC The WWE is about to launch it's newest pay-per-view: Tables, Ladders and Chairs. In light of this, I've been thinking about the best matches in WWE history that have featured tables, ladders, and chairs. I didn't purposely avoid the cliché matches, but there are just some matches that stand out over others because they don't have a gimmick feel, which isn't easy to do when that's the highlight of the match. But of course, outside possibly the TLC, these matches were not invented in the WWE, so I also included my favorite non-WWE matches as well.

Feel free to post a link in the comment box of your favorites.

Tables

The only WWE Tables match that really sticks out to me is the first ever WWE tag team tables match between The Hardy Boyz and The Dudleys at the Royal Rumble 2000. This fight, and I do mean fight, was guns a' blazing from the first bell. It was only outdone by their match three months later at 'Mania and it highlighted the last great era in WWE tag team wrestling. In the match you see the Hardys bring out a table to foreshadow the match to come and people went through tables galore.

Runner Up: Don't really have one here. I'm sure there has to be a great singles tables match, it's just not coming to me now.

Outside the WWE: All of ECW starting with the Dudleys' first flaming table to their last 3D.

Ladders

If you read Bret Hart's book, which is a great read for anyone wondering, you'll see the pics of a classic ladder match he had in Canada. In fact, they had multiple ladder matches in Stampede Championship Wrestling where belts and cash were suspended above the ring. Back in those days, when a skinny Jake Roberts and a future Hall of Famer Junkyard Dog did battle, they had to have a ring attendant hold the ladder still. Now wrestlers are diving off it through tables, three deep. But we'll keep it strictly WWE for this selection.

For my favorite ladder match, you can't beat the first one to ever showcase it, Razor Ramon vs. HBK at Wrestlemania 10 to unify the Intercontinental titles. Not only was it the first time this type of bout was on display for the WWE audience, but it also made both Shawn Michaels and the "Bad Guy" Razor Ramon. They tried to repeat the fire from the first one at the following SummerSlam, but there's no touching the original.

Runner Up: While in-ring, there could be a good argument for Eddie Guerrero vs. RVD on Raw or Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho at the Royal Rumble, but I feel that the Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy match had more of an impact. One, nobody really saw Undertaker being effective in such a match. And secondly, and possibly more importantly, this bout displayed that Jeff Hardy could hang with the big boys years before he actually got the nod. Yeah it was in a match catered to his style, but he big time players step up when their called upon. Unfortunately Hardy could never get out of his own way long enough to capitalize on it.

Outside the WWE: Roxxi vs. Gail Kim Sacrifice 2008 stands out because TNA was bold enough to allow the girls to go out and do their thing. Typically, women are designated for bikini contests and paddles on a pole matches. This was one of the first times we saw the ladies step it up like big boys.

Chairs

Now I'm not too familiar with bouts that have been exclusively labeled chairs matches, but I'm sure there are some out there. The WWE "chairs" bout that I've chosen is the Royal Rumble I Quit Match from 1999. This bout between Mankind and The Rock is one of the most dramatic and gruesome bouts I have ever witnessed in the WWE. And if you ever saw the wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat you'd know why. The match was so intense that Mick Foley's wife and kids were crying as he took blow after blow with a steel chair. No longer able to take it, Foley's family jumped up and left in the middle of the bout. Foley stated as he was getting stitched up that he didn't expect The Rock to hit him as many times as he did, so even he was taken aback by the violence. Who knew that a match was almost too hardcore for the hardcore legend?

Runner Up: I'm gonna have to go with the ECW One Night Stand match between Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka. This was probably the last great match of Mike Awesome's short career. Definitely deserving of the list.

Outside the WWE: In the height of one of the best feuds in in ECW, Raven and Tommy Dream went one on one inside a steel cage with no ref in sight. But metal surrounding the cage isn't enough. Dreamer handcuffed Raven to the cage and nailed him with one of the hardest chair shots ever recorded.

TLC

You probably can't beat the original, but the Unforgiven TLC match between the Rated R Superstar Edge and John Cena was an instant classic. When you think TLC match, you don't think John Cena and that's exactly what's great about this match. As much as Cena's hated for not being able to wrestle, he put on a show that night. And yes, despite it not featuring wrist locks and headlocks it's still a wrestling bout... a darn good one at that.

Runner Up: TLC WrestleMania 2000: This was the original TLC matchup. It took place shortly after the first ever tag team tables match between Edge and Christian and the Hardy Boyz. Throw The Dudleys in there and you have the makings of something special.

Outside WWE: TNA Victory Road 2008 Full Metal Mayhem was TNA's attempt to recreate the TLC match with three of the originators (The Dudleys and Christian) and is the best tables, ladders, and chairs match in their short history.

Current Card for WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2009 PPV

Undisputed Tag Team Title TLC Match:
Chris Jericho and The Big Show © vs. DX

WWE Title Tables Match:
John Cena © vs. Sheamus

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