Edge & Christian v The Dudley Boyz v The Hardy Boyz (TLC Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships; WrestleMania 17)
These three teams made tag team wrestling cool again. After years of the tag ranks being treated as second-rate, this trio of teams put on classic matches all over the world, making us fall in love with tag wrestling. The highlight of all their work was when Edge & Christian, The Hardy and Dudley Boyz stole the show in Houston at WrestleMania 17.
This was not their first ladder match, but oh boy, it was easily the best. They took all the components that made their previous matches fantastic and lumped them into 15 minutes of an instant classic. There were so many amazing bumps that it’s hard to pick out just one. These men put themselves through so many tables and jumped off multiple ladders; it’s hard to believe they were able to walk out of WrestleMania.
The fans didn’t sit down the entire match, and the final spot of Edge spearing Jeff Hardy off the titles will forever live in our minds. If there was a match that deserves a Hall of Fame induction, this is it.
Edge v Mick Foley (Hardcore Match; WrestleMania 22)
Edge had hoped that his popular run with the WWE Championship would change the plans for WrestleMania 22. Alas, those hopes were dashed for the Rated R Superstar, but he was given a darn good consolation prize when he and Mick Foley were paired up.
The two men got personal very quickly in the lead-up to their Hardcore Match at WrestleMania. A personal nature that helped to make their encounter the best Hardcore Match in WrestleMania history.
There have been many Hardcore Matches at WrestleMania, but few that measure up to the intensity of this match. From the opening bell to the final count, this match was as violent as any in WrestleMania history. It was a match that had everything: weapons wrapped in barbed wire, thumbtacks, and blood staining the ring.
We were witnessing a match reminiscent of ECW, which was capped off by an insane burning table spot that ended the contest. It was a fitting end to the WrestleMania career for the Hardcore Legend, and a star-making moment for the Rated R Superstar.
