Jeff Hardy vs. The Undertaker 07/01/02

Where: Manchester, NH

Backstory:
This is near the beginning of the brand split between Raw and Smackdown which was made partially to give the younger stars more opportunity. The Undertaker was the Undisputed Champion of the WWE, and was beating on Jeff Hardy every chance he got. Hardy would not cower away and wanted a ladder match for the Undertaker's belt. Undertaker accepted and promised that Jeff Hardy would not walk away after that match.

This match got the fans excited since the ladder match was a Hardy specialty and gave him a chance to win the title. Undertaker is a huge star and Hardy is an underneath (underdog) wrestler, so they have to be creative in how they let Hardy get ahead or the Undertaker will look weak. They also have very different styles as the Undertaker is big and lumbering and Hardy is small and athletic. This is a huge styles clash, so laying out the match will have to be realistic, yet fun for the fans.

In Ring Analysis:

Undertaker rides his motorcycle in first, and Hardy follows. Undertaker is in the ring waiting patiently for Hardy, but Hardy seems uncharacteristically slow in getting inside as well. Hardy then taunts Taker by messing with his bike which draws him outside the ring. Hardy then runs back in and kicks a ladder outside the ring onto the Undertaker. He then follows up with a plancha to the outside. Hardy then takes out a chair from under the ring and whacks the Undertaker over the head with it. Hardy grabs a ladder and throws it at the Undertaker, but he catches it. He tries to sandwich Hardy between the ladder and ring apron but Hardy dodges and Taker runs into the apron.

Hardy goes back on attack, but Taker knocks him down with a clothesline. Taker punches again, and slowly stalks Hardy. He then rams his head into the ringside barricade. He continues pounding on him. Taker goes to ram Hardy into the same ladder that was left off the side of ring apron but Hardy dodges and Undertaker crashes into it instead. Once again Hardy will have to use leverage and quickness to get the Undertaker to make mistakes. Hardy then put the ladder onto the prone Undertaker and hits a seated senton onto the floor from the apron.

Hardy brings the ladder into the ring to attempt a climb but Taker whips it into his face. He then kicks it into his gut and both men are finally back in the ring. Undertaker then rams the ladder into Hardy's head which sends him back to the outside. Undertaker starts to climb, but then decides that he wants to punish Hardy more. His character doesn't feel threatened by Hardy so he enjoys punishing him before he wins.

Taker does more damage to Hardy with strikes and a couple of chairshots to the body. Taker sends him back into the ring, and begins picking Hardy apart. Hardy tries to fight back with weak punches but the Undertaker seems more surprised then hurt. Hardy's punches start getting harder and he just keeps punching away and knocks Taker back until he ends that flurry with a big right hand. That was a good spot to remind the crowd that Hardy isn't a quitter and will fight back when he has the chance.

Taker then sandwiches Hardy between both legs on the ladder and hits a legdrop on the apron. Hardy is thrown back into the ring, and Taker continues the assault. Taker sets Hardy and the ladder up in the corner, but misses a corner splash after Hardy uses his quickness to get out of the way. Hardy can't capitalize right away as Taker grabs him. He whips in into the corner, but Hardy comes back with the Whisper in the Wind, and takes him down.

Hardy starts crawling to the ladder, and gets it. Taker knocks him out of the ring with a kick to the head. Taker goes outside, but Hardy kicks him the groin to get the edge back. Great transitions so far to make Taker look stronger than normal men like Hardy, but Hardy is crafty and resilient. Hardy then goes back inside and does a running springboard senton off the ladder onto the Undertaker outside.

Hardy then goes outside the ring and gets the really big ladder that shows that they mean business. Hardy starts to climb for the belt, but Taker comes back in and pounds his back. He then goes for his last ride powerbomb, but Hardy reverses for a hurricanrana. That move was super weak looking as the styles clash comes into play since the Undertaker isn't flexible enough to take that move properly.

Hardy goes back up the ladder, but has to slow down to let the Undertaker get back in the ring. That was faulty timing there which is common for ladder matches. Takers gets a chair and whacks Hardy in the back and yanks him off the ladder. He then hits Hardy a few times with the chair and goes for the Last Ride on the chair. Hardy punches out, and goes for the hurricanrana again, but Taker blocks before Hardy can rotate. While he's pulling him back up Hardy grabs the chair and whacks him in the head. That was a sound move as it shows Undertaker not falling for the same trick twice, but Hardy is crafty enough to have another trick up his sleeve.

Hardy then hits a monstrous chair shot to the Undertaker's head for good measure, and Hardy climbs again. He nearly gets to the top, but Taker comes back with two chair shots to the back. He then climbs up the other side of he ladder and hits an awkward looking chokeslam to finish Hardy off. He then grabs the belt and wins the match.


Winner in 14:05: The Undertaker ***1/4

After the match the Undertaker starts riding his bike to the backstage area but sees that Hardy is still standing. The Undertaker made a promise, so he went back and then hits the Last Ride to finish Hardy. He then starts heading to the back again, but Hardy gets on the mic and tells Taker that he's still standing. Taker goes back to the ring again, but this time instead of hitting him, raises his hand as Hardy gained his respect for his toughness.

Overall, it was a good match since it took a guy like Hardy who at the time was a midcarder, and put him in a position where he threatened the Undertaker. The match was laid out where the Undertaker didn't take any risks yet it wasn't just Hardy falling off ladders all match. The few spots the Undertaker did where he was asked to do athletic stuff looked poor, but psychology-wise it fit into the context of the match, so they had to try it.