100 Greatest WWE Matches Of All Time (Ranked)
67. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (No Mercy 2008)
Some ladder matches are all about big dives and spots. Others (usually earlier examples) hinged on actually using the ladder the way it was intended. Y'know, to beat your opponent down then grab the thing and climb it to grab whatever sparkly thing happens to be hanging above the ring. At No Mercy 2008, familiar foes Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels put a dazzling spin on the format.
They were already arch rivals by the time that pay-per-view happened, and they'd been feuding for much of '08. So, rather than going the Razor vs. Shawn route at WrestleMania X or trying to top TLC stunt shows, Y2J and HBK deployed the ladder as a vicious ally in their fight against the other man. Sure, they were vying to become World Heavyweight Champion too, but this was personal.
Inflicting serious pain on your rival was just too tantalising a thought to knock back.
Special props must go to Jericho for the way he sold a leg injury suffered midway through. That was on par with the way Michaels sold an earlier eye affliction at Unforgiven before No Mercy. Man, who else misses some of those older pay-per-view titles?! Sorry, got sidetracked there.
This ladder match often gets outright ignored or at least downplayed because so many folks forget about it. Perhaps that's 'cause everyone had grown so accustomed to Chris and Shawn putting on excellent matches aplenty. If you haven't had the pleasure in a while, then you owe it to yourself to go back and check this one out again.
You'll be glad you did.