15 Most memorable moments in the history of Monday Night Raw

11:

Jeff Hardy fails to win the WWE Championship but wins The Undertaker’s respect

Jeff Hardy failed to beat the Undertaker for the WWE Championship, but he was a winner in the eyes of the fans.

On the 24th June, 2002 episode of Raw, Jeff Hardy found himself in the unlikely position of challenging The Undertaker for the WWE Undisputed Championship in a ladder match. The Undertaker was in the middle of his ‘American badass’ character at the time and was playing the part of the big dog in the yard who was playing with his food i.e. Jeff Hardy.

When Jeff Hardy walked into the arena that night, neither The Undertaker nor the fans in attendance had expected Hardy to put on the fight he did. Jeff Hardy took The Undertaker to the brink and came within inches of grabbing the belt on quite a few occasions. An iconic moment of the match was when Jeff laid out Taker with a chair and while he was climbing the ladder J.R. on commentary screamed “Climb the ladder kid! Make yourself famous!”.

Jeff earned everyone’s respect that night even though he’d failed to win the title. After the match, even though he’d just lost and could barely stand, Jeff called out The Undertaker on the mic as he was walking away saying that Taker had failed to destroy him. Taker walked back into the ring and instead of pounding the helpless Hardy into the ground, Taker lifted his hand as a sign of respect.