3. WrestleMania X: Ladder Match For The Intercontinental Championship
There are very few performers in any form of entertainment who can claim to have revolutionized the way something is done. On March 20, 1994, Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels became two of those performers when they competed in a ladder match to determine one true, undisputed Intercontinental champion. If you will remember, Michaels had been stripped of the title after failing a drug test and being suspended in the summer of 1993. Ramon, freshly turned babyface, captured the vacant championship by defeating Rick Martel in October. When Michaels returned, he took exception to the fact that someone else was laying claim to the title that he never truly lost. Calling himself the real Intercontinental champion, he carried his own title around with him. With no room for two champions, it was announced that the titles would be hung 20-feet above the ring in a ladder match. The only way to win would be to retrieve them and the man that did would be recognized as the true champion. A passionate crowd in Madison Square Garden for WrestleMania X had already seen a five-star classic between Bret Hart and his brother Owen when they watched in amazement as Ramon and Michaels delivered a second flawless contest. Utilizing the ladder as a weapon rather than a base, as would be the case over the next decade, the real life friends beat and battered one another for nearly 20 minutes before Ramon toppled the ladder, sending Michaels into the ropes. The Heartbreak Kid became tangled in them and, unable to free himself, was forced to watch as Ramon climbed the ladder and retrieved both titles. The win was the biggest in the popular star's career, to that point, and capped off a perfect match. The story of the bout, coupled with the intensity and brutality of it made it an instant classic and immediately elevated both competitors' stars.