WWE TLC 2011: 5 Reasons Ladder Match Must Be Removed from Wrestling

The ladder match is one of the most dangerous matches that a WWE superstar can put his body through. There is no way to predict where a ladder can or will go when it's used as a weapon or prop.

There is no way that you can prepare yourself for how to take a fall from a 12-foot ladder. And if a superstar doesn't take an insane bump off of the ladder, the crowd will say how bad the match was. 

The ladder match is shortening careers with these superstars trying to out-do each other for an insane spot. 

It should be removed from wrestling altogether, to help save a lot of wrestlers' careers. 

No 1. Some of the Greatest Wrestlers Never Needed a Ladder Match to Get over

Did Shawn Michaels need the ladder match to get himself over? No, he was already over with the WWE (then WWF) at the time of his epic ladder match at WrestleMania X. 

However, some call the greatest wrestling match in the history of the WWE the iron-man match at WrestleMania XII between Michaels and Brett Hart. They didn't need any ladders to help keep the crowd's interest. 

They did it by telling a great story through their wrestling.

No 2. The Match Is Only Built on Big Spots

What do you remember from a ladder match? Do you remember a lot of near finishes, or great technical skill or a clean finish? No, you remember someone like Jeff Hardy risking his career and life by jumping off of a 20-foot ladder. 

The spots are cool-looking, but to the performers who go through those bumps, there is nothing cool about it. They run the risk of a serious injury or ending their career from these spots. 

In any other match, there is no risk to seeing one of your top performers not coming back and ready to go for the next night.

No. 3 Wrestlers Can See Their Careers End Because of a Ladder Match

Now Joey Mercury didn't see his career come to an end because of this accident. However, his career never was the same after the accident.

A superstar can suffer a career-ending injury by a simple accident during a spot just like Mercury. If a superstar happens to get thrown off a ladder he could land wrongly on his knee, thus blowing it out. Or if a superstar is launched off of his ladder and onto another ladder, it could result in that superstar landing the wrong way and thus suffer a horrific injury. 

No. 4 Victory in a Ladder Match Does Nothing for a Superstars Career

The winner of "Money in the Bank" ladder match either at the pay-per-view or at "WrestleMania" has produced our next WWE or World Heavyweight champion. However, outside of maybe Edge, CM Punk or the Miz, has winning this match really gotten anyone over to that next level? 

The answer is no. Jack Swagger won this ladder match and then went on to a short World Heavyweight title reign. Alberto Del Rio won money in the bank, and had a one-month WWE Title reign. Even when CM Punk won his first World Heavyweight title after cashing in his "Money in the Bank" brief case, his reign wasn't taken seriously. 

The win is not enough for the tool that your body takes for being in one of these matches. 

No. 5 There Is No Way to Reinvent the Match Thus It Has Become Stale

The first ladder match at a pay-per-view was Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X. It was an instant classic, because of how new this concept was. If you look at it today, the match looks incredibly tame. 

When the Hardy Boyz, Edge, Christian and the Dudley Boys had their WrestleMania moment, they breathed a new life into the concept of the match. 

However, since then there has been nothing new about this match. There is no way to improve, or make this match seem fresh. The WWE, or any other promotion cannot force their wrestlers to take a 20, 30, 40 or even higher bump off of the ladder. 

The match has had a great run and needs to be eliminated from professional wrestling. If it isn't, it may cause wrestlers either their career, or even worse, their life.

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