10 Most Influential WWE Matches Ever
8. Shawn Michaels Vs. Razor Ramon - WrestleMania X
The Ladder match wasn't a WWF invention; it was first presented by the Stampede promotion in 1978.
The first Ladder match in the WWF was contested by Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart - but the Showstopper popularised it in this seminal outing against Razor Ramon, one of only four WWE matches to receive a perfect score of ***** from the venerable Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
It has usurped the Steel Cage match as wrestling's preeminent gimmick match, which would not have been possible without the masterful performance put forth by Razor and Michaels, whose groundbreaking use of the ladder, while tame by modern standards, was woven seamlessly into the narrative.
Suspension of disbelief is often difficult in subsequent iterations, in which dangerous but contrived spots take precedence over credible storytelling. Here, the ladder is used more as a platform for victory than a weapon in itself. Accordingly, it is never placed at an incongruous distance from the overhanging belt in order to set up a spot to the outside.
Michaels, astutely reserving his high spot for the finish, instead uses it more as a battering ram to maim Ramon than a scaffold from which to fly off.
The restraint with which the ladder is employed hasn't made it past the nineties, but Jeff Hardy for one modelled his successful daredevil gimmick after Michaels' iconic splash from the middle rungs.