Ladder Match: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Rob Van Dam

[Katsuya]

In the November Challenge, the task as many of you will have known was to write a "(X) on a Pole" match. That, for my entry, turned out to be RVD vs. Chris Jericho in a "Contract on a Pole" match, set on the RAW after the first Elimination Chamber. Starr, in his judging, mentioned that it might have been more suited to being a ladder match - and that got me thinking. Why not just do a ladder match between the two? So, this is it: first, however, comes the backstory...

BACKSTORY

17th November, 2002 - Survivor Series - Shawn Michaels wins the World Heavyweight Title in the Elimination Chamber in his first match back. During the match, Rob Van Dam crushes HHH's larynx with the Five Star Frog Splash, injuring The Game.

18th November, 2002 - RAW - HBK comes out at the start of the show to celebrate his win; RVD comes out to congratulate HBK and ask for a title shot too. Chris Jericho then demands a title shot, leading to Y2J and Van Dam facing off in a Contract on a Pole match, the winner getting a title shot the next week. Van Dam wins the match after landing a Van Terminator on Jericho, who was trapped in the Tree of Woe, then climbing the same turnbuckle to get the contract.

25th November, 2002 - RAW - Jericho comes out at the start of the night with a face guard on, claiming Van Dam had shattered his cheekbone with the Van Terminator the week before. Y2J would then team with Christian against The Dudleys in a World Tag Title defense; when he caught a punch to the face, Jericho fled, leaving the Dudleys to get the three count and the titles. Michaels would then announce that he was unhappy with the Intercontinental Title (the belt that he claimed to have "made famous") being unified with his World Heavyweight Championship, and therefore had reinstated the title, with a tournament apparently set up to crown a new champion.

The main event then saw Michaels and Van Dam face off for the WHC; RVD would have HBK set up for the Five Star Frog Splash at the conclusion, only for Jericho to run down and smack Van Dam in the head with the face guard. The referee called for the DQ, as Triple H returned to attack Michaels. The show ended with referees holding Jericho and Triple H back from their respective targets.

2nd December, 2002 - RAW - Jericho is entered in to the Intercontinental Title Tournament, with Y2J being victorious over Goldust to qualify for a Fatal Four Way at Armaggedon, with Jericho later in the night professing that there is nobody who can stop him winning the IC Title. In the other first round match, Booker T beats Chris Nowinski. The main event then sees RVD face off with HHH to determine Michaels' next contender at Armaggedon; HBK is the special guest referee in a twist. Van Dam accidentally lands a spinning heel kick and knocks out Michaels at the end of the match; Van Dam is able to take out Ric Flair when he tries to attack RVD, but Jericho appears again to knock RVD out with a chair. A Pedigree later, and Triple H wins the match.

9th December, 2002 - RAW - Jericho is seen watching RVD's match in the IC Title Tournament, where Van Dam lands the Five Star Frog Splash to defeat D'Lo Brown. In the other match in the tournament, Christian beats Al Snow, meaning the four way is set as Jericho vs. Booker vs. RVD vs. Christian.

15th December, 2002 - Armaggedon - With no DQs in the match, and being an existing team anyway, Jericho and Christian are able to double team Van Dam and Booker for the majority of the match. When things start to go wrong for them, both men retrieve chairs and land a Con-Chair-To on Booker, taking him out. The same move fails on Van Dam though who dodges it, before he lands a double Van Daminator. RVD then climbs to the top rope and smashes in to Christian with the Five Star Frog Splash, but as he sits up winded from the move, Jericho demolishes Van Dam with a chair shot to the back of the head. Y2J then covers Christian to pick up the win, and the Intercontinental Title.

16th December, 2002 - RAW - Jericho celebrated his victory by interrupting Shawn Michaels, who had been trying to call out Triple H. Mocking HBK for losing two titles at Armaggedon, Jericho told HBK to watch and learn as he beat Booker T later in the night. Van Dam, meanwhile, was put in to a match against Batista despite being concussed from Jericho's attack the night before; Kane saved RVD though and helped Van Dam win. In his first IC Title defense, Jericho faced off with Booker T, and HBK would run out to attack Jericho during the match. HBK accidentally hit Booker with Sweet Chin Music, and Jericho then smacked Michaels with the title belt. Van Dam came rushing out to help HBK though, and managed to kick Jericho out of the ring to save the day.

23rd December, 2002 - RAW - Jericho and HBK is set up for the main event; Van Dam gives Kane Hungry Hungry Hippo's as a "thank you" Christmas present for the week before, but Kane gives the gift back. Van Dam then attacks Jericho backstage, landing the Van Daminator with the present instead of a chair. Christian then turns up as HBK's opponent (and takes Jericho's place in the resulting feud)

30th December, 2002 - RAW - Best of RAW 2002. RVD/Jericho Pole Match is shown; the announcement is made that RVD and Jericho will face off at the Royal Rumble for the Intercontinental Title.

6th January, 2003 - RAW - Jericho comes out to talk about facing Van Dam at the Rumble, and that having to face RVD would hinder his chances at the Rumble. HBK came out to tell Jericho to stop complaining, because Michaels had gone from coast to coast before and won the Rumble, which would be tougher than any match Jericho could have. Jericho argued back and forth with HBK, who then told Jericho that they should start the match as #1 and #2. When Jericho refused that, Randy Orton came out to say that he WOULD accept the offer, were it not for the fact that his shoulder was only at 93% mobility. Michaels smacked Orton in the face with a stiff punch, and Jericho then jumped Michaels. Van Dam then ran out to save HBK, and Christian then ran out to bring the odds back to 3-on-2. Kane then appeared to scare everyone off, leading to...

Jericho and Christian, with Orton in their corner, against Kane & Van Dam, with Michaels in their corner. Christian gets distracted by Michaels during the match and starts brawling with him on the outside, as Batista comes out to attack Kane. Van Dam ends up clearing house on everyone with a ladder, allowing him to pose next to the ladder with the IC Title belt.

13th January, 2003 - RAW - Vince McMahon, The Dudleys and Eric Bischoff are already in the ring when Jericho comes out, again to complain about having to face Van Dam and compete in the Rumble. Van Dam comes out to suggest a match there and then, but Bischoff (in an attempt to please Vince) suggests changing the match at the Rumble anyway - to a Ladder Match! Jericho goes irate, but Bischoff announces that in order to appease Jericho, he is giving him the #30 spot in the Rumble - while Van Dam is entered in to the "First Man Down" match later in the night, where the first man eliminated over the top rope will draw #2 and enter alongside Shawn Michaels.

Van Dam, Kane and Batista are the three men in the main event match, and Jericho attempts to gain an advantage by running out with a ladder to attack RVD. Hitting RVD with the ladder, Jericho is able to knock him on to the apron, but Kane saves Van Dam briefly by clotheslining Jericho over the top rope. Christian is then revealed as a surprise fourth entrant, and immediately eliminates himself once he is in the ring, allowing him to face off with HBK. Kane and Batista brawl in the ring after the match, while Van Dam and Jericho do the same in the ring.

And this leads us to the match itself...

Chris Jericho © vs. Rob Van Dam

WWE Intercontinental Title Match, Ladder Match, Royal Rumble 2003

As the crowd just started to die down from the opening pyro's, Lilian Garcia brought about another huge reaction when she announced the opening contest to be the IC Title Ladder Match. A massive roar from the crowd followed when RVD's music hit, and the challenger got the crowd on to their feet once again when he walked out from the back. As Van Dam slapped hands with the fans, Jim Ross brought us back to footage from the 18th November 2002 episode of RAW, where Van Dam defeated Jericho in a Pole Match, then skipping forward to Armaggedon, with Jericho stealing the IC Title from Van Dam with a chair shot. Van Dam was by now getting in to the ring, as he smiled at the fans while pulling on the top rope, before he hopped in to the ring. Quickly scaling the turnbuckle, RVD then did his "R-V-D" thumb pose as the crowd went along with him, before he jumped off the top rope.

His music was then replaced by the champion's, and the crowd dropped their reaction to boo and jeer as Chris Jericho posed at the top of the entrance ramp. With the title wrapped around his waist, Jericho didn't seem too bothered by the crowd's reaction, instead choosing to focus on Van Dam in the ring. Jericho sauntered slowly down to the ring, stopping just before the apron to look at the various ladder's dotted around the ringside area. Jericho then climbed up the steps on to the ring apron, where he posed at the fans' disapproval before climbing in to the ring. Taking his jacket off slowly, Jericho's music faded out as the champion slowly took the title belt from around his waist and handed it to the referee. The referee then fixed the belt on to the hook, which slowly ascended up towards the rafters as Jericho and Van Dam eyed each other up from opposite corners, each taking a brief moment to take their gaze off the other to observe the title. Once it was at its sufficient height above the ring, the referee called for the belt and the match was underway.

Taking a moment before meeting in the middle of the ring, Jericho and Van Dam both went for a collar and elbow tie up, with Van Dam managing to push Jericho back in to the corner, before he backed up to let Jericho out. Van Dam called for a test of strength instead, and Jericho cautiously went to grab Van Dam's outstretched arm. He wasn't cautious enough though, as RVD immediately used his lock on Jericho to throw a stiff kick to the ribs, following that with another one. Van Dam immediately went for a spinning heel kick to round out the trio, but Jericho ducked under that, leaving Van Dam with legs either side of Y2J's arm. That therefore allowed Van Dam to leap up in to the air and land a legdrop on to Jericho's arm, grounding the champion with his arm still caught in Van Dam's grip; RVD then opted for a more traditional legdrop across Jericho's arm, finally releasing Jericho who immediately clutched the targetted appendage.

Van Dam then wasted little time in going for the weapon of choice in the match, clambering out of the ring to grab a ladder. Sliding it in to the ring, Van Dam rolled back in after it, flooring a rising Jericho with a dropkick to keep his opponent down. Van Dam placed the ladder in the center of the ring to set up for his next move, as he lifted Jericho up, only to body slam him back down across the length of the ladder. With Jericho's entire body positioned on the ladder, Van Dam stood with his back to Jericho, before he folded his arms across his chest and jumped backwards, landing on top of Jericho and crushing Y2J in to the ladder. RVD continued on the offensive, as JR noted that Van Dam would want to get the match over as quickly as possible, to allow himself more rest before the Rumble - with Jericho already knowing that he had nearly the entire Rumble to rest anyway, with his entry number of 30. Van Dam seemed to be going for Jericho's back, as he lifted up Y2J and quickly planted him with a backbreaker, but held on, lifting Jericho up in to a powerslam position, before he threw Jericho back first on to the ladder.

As Jericho rolled off the ladder in obvious agony, Van Dam exited the ring and grabbed a second ladder, folding it up before sliding it in to the ring. Wasting no time in positioning it in the corner, Van Dam landed a swift kick to Jericho's head as the champion attempted to get back up. RVD then backed Jericho up in to the turnbuckle opposite the ladder, before going for an irish whip - which Y2J promptly reversed. Van Dam didn't plan on hitting the ladder though - instead, he jumped up on to the ladder, landing with his hands a couple of rungs from the top. Jericho, who was charging just behind RVD, quickly found Van Dam's legs wrapped around his head, before RVD released his grip on the ladder, grabbing the top rope and using his leg strength to send Jericho face first in to the ladder. As a stunned Jericho backed up from the ladder, RVD springboarded off the apron and caught Y2J with a clothesline, with Van Dam rolling through the move and getting back to his feet within seconds, as the crowd cheered wildly for RVD. Van Dam took a moment to catch his breath, before walking back over to the corner and grabbing the ladder, before he set it up right underneath the title belts.

RVD started to climb the ladder at a good pace, with JR and King both thinking that Van Dam was just a couple more feet from grabbing the belt and winning. While that may have been true, Jericho wasn't giving up there and then - and, despite not being able to get back to his feet, Jericho was able to slowly tip the ladder, and RVD found himself crashing down to the mat hard. As the crowd booed the plight of the challenger, Jericho sunk back down on to his side, holding his back with one hand and dragging himself towards the ropes with the other. A double feature showed Van Dam's fall from two angles as Jericho began to get to his feet on one side of the ring, while Van Dam clutched his chest, trying to sit up near the fallen ladder. Y2J, with a look of revenge on his face, ran towards Van Dam, landing a huge kick to the side of the challenger, with RVD being lifted up in to the air with the force of the blow. Jericho smiled slightly, as he sauntered over towards the announcers side of the ring and climbed out.

Heading over towards Lilian, Jericho ordered the ring announcer off of her chair, allowing the champ to take the weapon for himself. Folding it up with a smile still on his face, Jericho slid back in to the ring with weapon still in hand. Getting up, Jericho stalked RVD from behind, before smashing the weapon down over Van Dam's head when he turned around. RVD stood up for a half a second before collapsing straight down to the mat, and Jericho threw the chair to the mat as he rested against the ropes. Kicking the chair just above RVD's head, Jericho waited again for Van Dam to half rise, this time running up from behind and planting Van Dam face first in to the chair with a one armed bulldog. King said that Jericho might be hurting, but that wasn't stopping him from laying some punishment on RVD; JR agreed as Jericho crawled over to the fallen ladder, standing up and pulling the ladder up with him. Dragging the ladder underneath the title belt, Jericho started to climb up the rungs, but as his feet reached the third rung, RVD tried to grab him and pull him back down. A boot to the face seemed to stop Van Dam though, and Jericho started his ascension again.

As the fans willed RVD back to his feet, Jericho continued his climb, but this time Van Dam wasn't going to give him the chance of kicking him in the face - instead, he charged and clocked Y2J with a forearm to the back, that while weak, was enough to halt the champion temporarily. RVD, down on one knee, then moved round to the other end of the ladder and started to climb it himself. As the crowd sensed something big on the horizon, a murmur started to rise, with Van Dam managing to get just a step behind Jericho before Y2J started to climb again. As both men neared the top, Jericho reached over and started throwing punches towards RVD, who met these with some blows of his own. Both men then reached the penultimate rung on their side of the ladder, with only two more to go the very top - and RVD took this as a chance to kick Y2J in the head. Jericho grabbed Van Dam's leg though, and as he grabbed RVD's leg, he was able to hook it with his own, as the crowd suddenly realised that things were heading for a ladder-assisted Walls of Jericho...unfortunately for Y2J, this didn't happen, as RVD used his one free leg to kick Jericho in the ribs, sending Jericho spinning down to the mat, landing on his back.

Rolling the lower half of his body backwards and back on to the ladder, RVD now seemed to be in prime position to grab the title belt. Somehow, Jericho was able to get back to his feet though, and started climbing as Van Dam tried to reach for the belt, but found he was a step too low down to get his hand on the prize. Jericho took this as a chance to land a punch through a gap in the rungs, catching Van Dam in the gut, forcing RVD a step down to stay steady on the ladder. Again, Jericho and Van Dam traded blows to the head on the ladder, but this time when RVD went to kick Jericho, he landed the blow. With Jericho now forced down a rung, RVD looked like he might be able to reach the belt...but instead, he decided to try and finish off Jericho! Leaping over Jericho but grabbing on to the champion by the waist, RVD looked like he was going to hit a super powerbomb; Jericho, on the other hand, wasn't planning on letting go of the ladder. A couple of punches to the head stunned Van Dam, before Jericho released the ladder and fell backwards, looking for a hurricanrana. Somehow, Van Dam blocked the move, and lifted Jericho back up in to a powerbomb position. Completely shocked by the block, Jericho was unable to stop the next move from coming - as RVD landed a massive powerbomb right on to the steel chair!

The sound of Jericho's hurt back crashing in to the steel echoed throughout the arena, as the crowd cheered for RVD's effort. Again we saw a double feature, with Van Dam turning the ladder on an angle in the meanwhile. RVD then started to climb, getting close to the top before stopping. As King yelled at Van Dam to go for the belt, RVD turned on the ladder so that he was facing Jericho. Stretching his arms out, the challenger then pointed in three times, as the crowd wildly shouted "R-V-D!" and got ready for what was about to come. Leaping off the ladder, RVD went for the Five Star Frog Splash...and landed chest first on to the steel chair, as Jericho rolled out of the way! As Van Dam writhed and flipped in agony on the mat, the crowd chanted "Holy Shit!" as JR shouted that "every one of Van Dam's ribs could be crushed!" Again, we saw a double feature of the move, including an overhead shot, as both Van Dam and Jericho lay hurt on the mat.

Slowly but surely, the two men started to get back to their feet, with RVD crawling over towards the flat ladder in one corner of the ring; Jericho, meanwhile, knocked the ladder RVD had jumped off to the mat. Jericho made the mistake of staggering over to Van Dam, who immediately landed a drop toe hold, with Jericho crashing chest first on the ladder. Flipping Jericho on to his back, and setting the ladder straight, RVD ran in to the opposite ropes and started up for a Rolling Thunder, breathing heavily as he did so. Again, Jericho moved out of the way of Van Dam's move, and RVD's back crashed in to the ladder, as a sickening crack - either from the ladder or the challenger's back - rang out through the arena. Holding the ropes and trying to get up, Jericho's once smiling face was etched with pain, as Y2J managed to pull himself to his feet, leaning on the ropes to stay stood up. A kick to Van Dam's exposed chest drove the wind out of Van Dam, as RVD rolled off the ladder with a pained look on his face. Jericho mustered the strength to pick up the ladder, slowly but surely setting it up and moving it over to the centre of the ring.

The champion then began making his way up the ladder, with his back to the entrance way, the fans booing and jeering him as he climbed. RVD got up on to all fours, desperately crawling towards the ladder, hoping to stop Jericho - who was now halfway up. Van Dam reached out for the chair though, grabbing the weapon that Y2J had introduced, and held it in one hand as he too started to make his way up the ladder. Jericho was reaching for the gold when he saw RVD positiong himself for a swing with the chair, and the champion quickly descended a rung, kicking RVD through the ladder to stop him momentarily. Reaching himself for the chair, Jericho got a hand on it too, holding on to the ladder with one hand, the same as Van Dam. A pulling contest followed, with Van Dam reaching the same rung as Jericho, with JR saying that "something, or someone, is gonna have to give here!"...and that person was RVD. Except he was giving Jericho the chair - and aiming a kick at the same time. A Van Daminator on the top of the ladder found its mark, and Jericho went crashing to the mat. The crowd got on their feet as RVD climbed up one more step, grasping the Intercontinental Belt in his right hand, pulling it down a second later and winning the match!

Winner: Rob Van Dam - NEW Intercontinental Champion!

And that's all (s)he wrote. Thoughts, comments, feedback. You won't leave any, because I never get any feedback.

[edm200484]

i thought that this was very good and very creative

Edited May 23, 2009 by GangStarr
And?