100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments
23. WrestleMania Meets The Ladder Match (WrestleMania X)
Sometimes, real-life backstage heat creates on-camera wizardry. Shawn Michaels fell out with WWF chiefs after refusing to agree with a drug suspension and walked out with the Intercontinental Title in late-1993. Pressing on, the company put the belt on Razor Ramon, but conveniently let the HBK question simmer: What would happen once Shawn returned to TV? After all, he had a rightful claim to the title he'd never lost.
The fed popped an 'Undisputed" tag on the pair's match at WrestleMania X and turned it into the first ever pay-per-view ladder bout. That worked well, but the ladder gimmick was still in its infancy. Scarily enough, the WWF only had one actual ladder on tap for Shawn and Razor. In other words, if it broke, then the whole match would be thrown into disarray live on air. Eek!
Thankfully, that didn't happen. There were a few awkward moments with a bent and buckled prop, but Michaels and Ramon worked wonders to keep things on track and motor towards the planned conclusion of the 'Bad Guy' becoming the one and only IC Champ. For his part, Shawn didn't mind doing the job because he was good friends with Scott Hall away from the ring.
The Kliq takes care of its members, basically.
Bret Hart, who had pitched the ladder match as a PPV idea first, was ticked off that Vince McMahon went with Shawn and Razor instead. However, even the 'Hitman' would have to relent that the Intercontinental pair worked one of the best matches of the night. This was a thoroughly solid intro to the ladder gimmick others would perfect, and it’s remembered fondly for that reason.