AEW wrestler Matt Hardy will always remember his ladder match from WWF No Mercy 1999 as a turning point in his professional career.
In the first-ever tag-team ladder match in WWE history, Matt and Jeff Hardy (the New Brood at the time,) defeated Edge & Christian in what was considered an instant classic.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Matt reflected on the pivotal match that helped elevate the Hardyz to the next level in tag-team wrestling. He said,
“Before that match, none of us knew what was about to happen. All we knew was that we were gifted with an opportunity and we wanted to make the most of it. Jeff and I had wrestled several ladder matches before the WWE on the indies, when I wrestled as Surge against Jeff, who was under a mask as Willow the Wisp. We had a pretty good grasp on ladder matches, and we thought Edge and Christian would excel there, too.
“All we knew was that this was a chance to become something bigger than we were. All these years later, I can still hear the applause. It went on all match. The next night on ‘Raw,’ we got another standing ovation. The way audiences reacted to us, it kept getting stronger and stronger. We realized we made magic, but we never knew it would be that big. I can’t wait to watch it back and share some parts of the match that haven’t been shared.”
By winning the Terri Runnels Invitational Tournament (or T.I.T. for short), Matt & Jeff won $100,000 and the managerial services of Terri.
In a previous interview, Matt disclosed that he and Jeff were paid $5,000 for the match, but after speaking with management, was able to get a bonus of another $5,000.
