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Csonka’s TNA Best Ladder Matches Review

February 15, 2018 | Posted by Larry Csonka
TNA Ladder Matches
8.5
The 411 Rating
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Csonka’s TNA Best Ladder Matches Review  

Csonka’s TNA Best Ladder Matches Review

OFFICIAL RESULTS
From The Asylum on 8.28.02: Jerry Lynn defeated Low Ki & AJ Styles @ 15:30 [****]
From Turning Point 2007: Kaz defeated Christian Cage [****]
From Turning Point 2012: Jeff Hardy defeated Austin Aries @ 21:00 [****½]


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– This is available on the Global Wrestling Network.

Low Ki vs. Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles: I haven’t watched this match in years, but remember loving it at the time. These three were the top of the division at the time, with Ki pinning Lynn in a triple threat to take Styles’ title just weeks before. Ki runs wild early, until Lynn cuts him off. Lynn then runs wild, working over Ki & Styles. He locks on a Romero special, and Styles breaks it up, bulldogging Ki and laying the boots to him. Lynn cuts off Styles, working a crab until Ki starts firing away with kicks to break that up. Ki starts working over both, running them together and maintaining control. Ki introduces a ladder, but Styles dropkicks it into his face and they all work to the floor. Styles makes a ladder bridge, Styles cuts off Lynn and he and Ki battle on the bridge, trading head butts and Lyn returns and takes out both. Lynn slides a ladder in but Styles stops him, only to have the ladder dropkicked into his chest. Lynn climbs, but Ki cuts him off with kicks. Styles back in and cuts him off before he can climb. Styles fires up, but Lynn cuts him off as the crowd rallies behind him. He slams Ki onto the ladder, sets the ladder in the corner, and suplexes Styles into the ladder. Ki lays in some vicious kicks, but Lynn cuts of the tidal crush, but Ki RANAS him into the ladder. Styles lays out Ki with the ladder and climbs, but Ki recovers and they brawl on the ladder. Ki hits a kick and Styles is trapped tree of WHOA style and Ki lays in kicks to the face of Styles. Ki climbs, but Lynn cuts that off, suplexing Ki to the mat. Styles now lays in kicks to both, and climbs but Ki stops him and Ki tosses him from the ladder. Lynn now climbs, Ki & Styles then topple over the ladder. Ki brings in another ladder, but Styles kicks him in the face to stop that. Styles hits the asai DDT, and Lynn powerbombs Ki. Styles tosses in a second ladder, sets it up and Ki brings in a third ladder. He sets it up and they all climb and battle for position. Ki locks on the dragoon sleeper on Styles on top of the ladder. Lynn breaks it up, they al brawl on the ladders and Styles is sent to the floor. Lynn now hits a piledriver off of the ladder on Ki! Lynn now climbs, and gets the ladder to win the title. Jerry Lynn defeated Low Ki & AJ Styles @ 15:30 [****] Much to my delight, this is still a great match that hold sup almost 16-years later. They played off of their previous matches well, and smartly didn’t rush into the ladder spots; instead, organically building to them and making them feel dangerous and important. They always worked so well together and Lynn’s title win felt really important, and came off extremely well.

Kaz vs. Christen Cage: Lock up and they go to the corner, and they break. Boots by Cage, rights and then chops to Kaz. More chops, Kaz counters and kicks to Cage and a spin kick takes Cage down. Kaz looks for a ladder, grabs it and Cage to the floor and stops Kaz. Cage tosses him back into the ring and lays the boots to him. Off the ropes and a back elbow by Cage. Grinds the boot off of Kaz’s face and then celebrates does Cage. Cage grabs a ladder, Kaz to the floor and Cage beats him down and tosses him into the ring. Kaz kicks the ladder into Cage and then gets a HUGE cross body into the ladder and Cage! Cage got his mouth busted open for sure off of that. His eye is cut as well. Yeah, it’s already getting black and blue. Cage beats down Kaz and then gets another ladder and places it between the ring and railing. Kaz slams Cage off of it, lays him on it and then Cage low blows him. Cage kicks him back onto the ladder and then goes up top. FROG SPLASH ONTO KAZ ON THE LADDER and it doesn’t break! Crowd is finally alive again. Cage in the ring with a ladder, sets it up and climbs. Kaz in and shoves Cage off the ladder, but Cage gets a clothesline to take Kaz down. Kaz whips Cage into a ladder in the corner. Kaz puts the ladder in front of him and charges, but Cage tosses the ladder into his face! The blood has all but stopped from Cage, which is good. Nasty cut though. Cage catapults Kaz into a ladder. Cage sets up the ladder, climbs and Kaz tries to stop him, pulls Cage down and Cage clubs away at him. Kaz slams Cage into the ladder, but then Kaz tosses the ladder back at Cage. Ladder in the corner and then Kaz KILLS Cage with it and send shim to the floor. Kaz sets up the ladder, climbs and Cage is in, grabs a ladder and nails Kaz with it. Two ladders set up and Cage climbs. They brawl on top, Cage fights…grabs Kaz and INVERTED DDT off the top of the ladders! Cage sets a ladder in the corner, grabs Kaz and Kaz counters and Monkey flips Cage onto the ladder! Springboard leg drop onto Cage, who was still on the ladder. Kaz grabs a ladder and suplexes it onto Cage! Kaz sets a ladder in the corner and wedges it in the ropes. He climbs…Cage is on a ladder in the ring…LEG DROP ONTO THE LADDER and misses Cage! Cage grabs a ladder and rams it into Kaz. Again to the back of Kaz. Cage sets it and goes to climb. Kaz up and Cage kicks him away. Cage almost has it…MISSILE DROKICK into the ladder by Kaz and Cage is down. The paper of the contract falls off and the refs say he has to grab the clipboard to win. They set the ladder and climb. AJ and Tomko are out to root Cage on. They climb, Cage tells AJ to go and Kaz climbs as AJ and Tomko argue. The ladder teeters and Cage falls onto Tomko and AJ. Kaz stood on the ropes, kicks the ladder back center and WINS THE MATCH! Cool finish as Kaz stopped on the top when Cage fell, and pushed himself and the ladder back into center and grabbed the clipboard. Kaz defeated Christian Cage [****]This was a great match, as Cage went back to his ladder match roots here and worked a very smart match to help get Kaz over here, who with his performance and the win had a career night. This should have been a breakout singles win to propel Kaz to the next level. But the company didn’t follow up with it.

Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries: Aries bails to the floor at the start, and says he does things on his time. Back in and a knee by Aries to begin and tosses Jeff to the floor. Aries grabs a ladder, Jeff runs over and Aries back into the ring. He attacks Jeff on the way in and slams him to the steel post. They go to the floor and brawl a bit, and Aries grabs a ladder and sets it on the apron but Jeff attacks. Ladder falls to the floor and back into the ring they go. Elbows by Aries, slams Jeff to the corner and then follows with forearms. Head scissors by Jeff and Aries to the floor. Dropkick by Jeff, and then slingshots onto Aries, and slightly misses and lands partly on the ladder on the floor. They fight over the ladder and Jeff slams Aries into the steps. Jeff laps off the steps and crashes onto Aries. Jeff with a clothesline off of the apron, and he grabs the ladder and slides it into the ring. He sets up the ladder, looks to climb and Aries is in and climbs over Jeff to get to the titles. Russian leg sweep off the ladder by Aries, and sets the ladder between the ring and barricade. He tosses Jeff on the ladder and then slingshots onto Jeff with an elbow. Aries pulls the ladder into the ring and sets it up. Aries climbs, Jeff back in and pulls Aries off to the mat. Aries sent to the floor, rolls back in, Jeff sets the ladder upside down and then flies into the ladder as Aries sidesteps him. That had to suck. Jeff trapped in the ladder, slingshot senton by Aries connects. Jeff to the floor and Aries gets a new ladder. Aries then hits the heat seeking missile and lays Jeff in a ladder and closes it. Aries grabs the steps and lays them on the ladder. Aries grabs the ladder, sets and climbs as Jeff is trapped. Aries then goes to the floor and sees that Jeff went under the ring, is in, climbs and Aries knocks out the ladder from underneath Jeff, who takes a nasty fall. Aries climbs, Jeff is under the ladder, and makes his way to his feet and climbs with Aries. They brawl on top of the ladder and knocks Jeff off. The ladder is fucked and Aries had to put it in the corner and slams Jeff into it. Aries charges and connects with the charging dropkick. Jeff sloppily falls out of the brain buster, but then tosses Aries into the ladder. Dump powerbomb by Jeff, and he grabs the ladder. Jeff up top and climbs the ladder and rides it down into a splash onto Aries. Aries rolls to the floor, and Jeff tries to fix the ladder, and then sets it on the ropes in a corner. Jeff grabs a new ladder, sets it up and climbs. Aries up top and dropkicks Jeff off of the ladder, which had to suck. Aries traps Jeff in the corner and dropkicks the ladder into his face. BRAIN BUSTAAAAAAAAA CONNECTS! Aries rolls Jeff to the floor, and looks to climb now. Aries climbs, but has to stop and move the ladder. He climbs again, Jeff back in and he climbs as well. They battle on the ladder, they trade shots, and Jeff gets the twist of fate off the ladder! Jeff up top, SWANTON connects! Aries rolls to the floor and now Jeff looks to climb. Jeff climbs now, reaches for a title but the belts get raised higher as he reaches for them. Jeff is pissed and we see Aries had the controls that devilish bastard. They brawl at ringside, and now Jeff gets the super Jeff Hardy approved super ladder. Twice the super! Jeff sets it up, climbs as Aries slides back in and he climbs. They trade shots, and the ladder falls over and they fall onto the ladder in the corner. Twist of fate on the platform ladder and Aries falls to the floor, and maybe dead. Jeff grabs the super ladder, climbs, grabs his specialty title and wins the match. He also grabs the regular title. Jeff Hardy defeated Austin Aries @ 21:00 [****½] This was an excellent ladder match, and came at a time when Aries was coming into his own as a main event performer and while Jeff was having a career renaissance. Jeff brought out all of the old adder tricks, and had a more than game opponent, as Aries was really busting his ass during this time period to prove to everyone that he was a legit main event guy. This was easily one of TNA’s best matches of 2012.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia.”

8.5
The final score: review Very Good
The 411
This was a great set of matches, with all three being worth your time. This is a great way to spend an hour.
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