50 Must-See WrestleMania Matches

9. Shawn Michaels Vs. Razor Ramon – WrestleMania 10

CM Punk The Undertaker
WWE.com

When you mention a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, this is the first bout that comes to mind. Regardless of who introduced the ladder match to WWF, this is the match that popularized it.

Having been stripped of the title the previous fall, Shawn Michaels had been parading around with a phony IC title, claiming he was the real champ. Razor Ramon, having won the real title after Michaels was stripped of the belt, put his title on the line against Michaels’ fake championship to determine who the real champion was.

The two competed in the first WrestleMania ladder match, a contest that by today’s standards might look tame, but in 1994 was revolutionary. Watching this match 23 years later, fans need to remember that WWF was just one year removed from Hulk Hogan winning the world title in an impromptu 30-second squash at WrestleMania 9. The IC title ladder match opened the door to a new style of match for the WWF.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.