Every WWE Five Star Match Ranked From Worst To Best
6. Razor Ramon Vs. Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania X
Its influence cannot be overstated, even if the match itself feels antiquated viewed through a 2018 lens. Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon did not merely define the ladder match in WWE. Prior to March 20, 1994, the foreign object was very much foreign; used only to initiate a sneak attack angle or conclude a match via illegal means, with the exception of the steel cage bars, WWE matches were, albeit cartoonish at times, traditional and straight.
The foreign object is now native to the very WWE landscape, and has been ever since Michaels and Razor literally weaponised it.
Positively bone-rattling for its time, the use of the ladder was minimal, and not contrived in the least - so much so that one of its best moments didn't feature the ladder at all. After Michaels orchestrated the heat with his slimy dodging and reliance on personal bodyguard Diesel, Razor delivered the catharsis with a gloriously emphatic clothesline over the top rope. Razor delivered the blow with the powerful finesse of a heavyweight boxer; Michaels in turn turned himself inside out to sell it, this chemistry and trust ironically manifesting as a moment of fist-pumping conflict.
When the ladder did make an appearance, it wasn't used as platform on which to fly but rather the terrifying weapon it was; Razor slid it tentatively into the ring only for Michaels to kick it into his gut and compound the damage with a subsequent steel onslaught. Sufficiently winded, this made logical Shawn's eternal big splash highlight reel moment.
That was the genius of the match, in micro. The ladder was only ever used for a purpose: the purpose of delivering a classic, credible wrestling match.