Pre-match Candido tries to get in a piggyback position on Curtis to just jump up and grab the check that is hanging above the ring. This is a sloppier and more reckless version of their normal match, but I mean that in the good way. There is no steel barricade so Smothers kick through the ropes spot is sold by Candido wrapping himself up in the rope divider and then selling it like he's being strangled to death. The ladder is insanely small here and almost looks wooden to the camera angle. They seem to overcompensate for the small ladder by taking big shots on it and taking huge bumps off of it, especially Candido's insane dive off through the ropes to the floor. Candido uses the ladder as tool to beat down Smothers and establish control, before taking another whacky pair of bumps, the first with the ladder falling on him and the second with him falling on the ladder. Candido just keeps taking bump after theatrical bump and it is really carries the match. Not to say Smothers is bad in this, but he's really just another prop for Chris to work off of. This is good enough to nominate and was a fun watch, but it's the first of their matches that didn't feel like it was essential for the set.

This wasn't a bad ladder match but how small the ladder was killed the match for me. We have a few better ladder matches between the 2 so I would leave this one off.

Ladder Match: Chris Candido vs. "Wild Eyed Southern Boy" Tracy Smothers (3/12/94)

 

The ladder being used here is hilarious as it's an old beatup wooden ladder. This is their usual formula match with a ladder mixed in but they do some different things some by design some not as at one point Candido accidentally choked himself with the security rope which was hilarious. The ladder spots were well done and were newish for the time as the HBK/Razor ladder match hadn't happened yet. The ladder tease spots were really fun with a really good finish. They have had better matches but this one is still really good and moves forward.

We'll need to merge this thread with the other one. So if someone could do this cool.