10 Classic Wrestling Matches New Fans Need To See
5. Razor Ramon Vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania X
At WrestleMania X, in a contest for the Intercontinental Championship, the Bad Guy and the Heartbreak Kid officially set the bar for the ladder match. While ladders, tables and chairs are now the norm, take it back to Madison Square Garden in 1994 to see how its done.
A ladder match may seem pretty standard nowadays. In 1994, this was still an innovative stipulation. It was only the third ladder match promoted by the WWE, and established some of the staple spots of ladder matches. For instance, this was the first time in WWE that fans saw two wrestlers trading blows at the top of the ladder.
Compared to modern iterations of the ladder match, these legends showed that less can be more. Utilizing solid pacing, the match built to its high spots rather than maintaining a red-lined work rate. Full of nail-biting close calls and smart use of the ladder, Michaels and Ramon had complete control of the crowd's emotions. The most defining moment was Michaels landing a splash from the top of the ladder onto a dazed Razor Ramon.
Ramon took the belt, but Shawn's star truly launched after this match.
This was the first WWE match to be certified "five stars" by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.