7 Secret Versions Of Classic WWE Matches

3. Razor Ramon Vs. Shawn Michaels - Dark Ladder Matches

CM Punk Dolph Ziggler HIAC
WWE.com

The WrestleMania X Intercontinental Title Ladder classic, between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels, is like the Kraftwerk of pro wrestling matches: simultaneously groundbreaking and timeless, it bears none of the dated, unrefined hallmarks that naturally come with genre experimentation.

Arriving perfectly-formed with a Germanic precision, the match didn't so much influence a genre but rewrite the language of professional wrestling; every WWE weapons match can in some way be traced back to Shawn and Razor's masterpiece. The ladder wasn't used as stunt pretext but a necessary strategical measure to out-best one another in the confines of a worked fight; Michaels only drove it into Razor's gut after the Bad Guy lunged at him with a bullet-speed lariat that sent him flying to the outside.

Scott Hall in the years since has revealed that he and Shawn practised this match on the house show circuit.

Speaking to Cult of Whatever in 2013, Hall set the pulses of collector geeks racing: "To be honest, we had some better matches before WrestleMania. Sometimes, the ladder does some cool stuff, or the ladder would just fall the right way and hit the guy right in the crotch, or it will bounce off the rope and do something cool."

A better match than a ***** classic, and one in which 1990s D*ckhead Vintage Michaels was potentially creamed square in the balls?

Shawn might have won another battle against Bret Hart by casually wrestling an even more intriguing Holy Grail...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!