Listing The Best Matches From All 35 WrestleManias

WrestleMania 23: Mr. Kennedy vs. CM Punk vs. Edge vs. Finlay vs. Jeff Hardy vs. King Booker vs. Randy Orton vs. Matt Hardy (Money in the Bank Ladder Match)

As has been discussed, WrestleMania ladder matches have a rich and prestigious history. Introduced at WrestleMania 21, the Money in the Bank Ladder Match was more than a worthy addition to this lineage.

With the two previous Money in the Bank winners, Edge and Rob Van Dam, having captured the WWE Championship, the briefcase had developed a reputation as a guaranteed ticket to becoming a champion.

The Money in the Bank Ladder Match opened WrestleMania 23, and set an impossibly high bar for the rest of the show. High spots abounded, as Randy Orton gave CM Punk an RKO from the top of a ladder and King Booker later gave Orton a Book End from a ladder.

Jeff Hardy, as is par for the course in such matches, had the most notable spot of all. As his brother Matt did battle with his hated rival Edge, Jeff climbed to the top of a ladder. Meanwhile, Matt had placed Edge atop a ladder that formed a bridge between the ring and the barricade. Jeff then performed a huge leg drop, breaking in half both Edge and the ladder he lay atop.

In the end, it was Mr. Kennedy who achieved victory. While his success with the briefcase did not match that of his predecessors, for this night it seemed as though Mr. Kennedy had ascended a ladder to the top of the world.

WrestleMania 23 as a whole was a ton of fun, but this match stands out as its finest moment, even among such a stacked card, ranking among the finest opening matches in WrestleMania history.