Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon - WrestleMania X Ladder Match

May 2024 ยท 3 minute read
It truly takes two to make a match, Ive always had that philosophy, regardless of the match. I tend to think that Scott Hall/Razor Ramon was underrated as a performer in some aspects, and he showed them here. He took alot of bumps, and he bumped properly for HBK. When it became time for him to dish out punishment to Michaels, he did so convincingly. The 4 or 5 "false finishes" at the end were laid out nicely by both men. Hall was the perfect "foil", so to speak, for Michaels in that his size and strength perfectly worked as a nice contrast to Michaels' speed and agility.

Im a mark for great storytelling, and while this didnt have the innovative spots or high risk maneuvers that future ladder matches have and are expected to this day, it did have tremendous psychology. I truly bought into the desire to see HBK win the match more and more as it went on, and they suckered me in with each mistep. Much of this credit has to be given to Hall, because the man knew how to work a crowd, which is a tremendous part of entertainment. Both Hall and Michaels were phenomenal here in every way.

This match is quite arguably the most important match in the history of WrestleMania. This match began to usher in a whole new style of pro wrestling and influenced some of the biggest stars in WWE history. Beyond the match, people generally forget about the great storyline behind it. The feud between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels dated back to the fall of 1993, when the WWF commissioner, whose name eludes me, announced that he was stripping Michaels of the Intercontinental Championship for not defending the title often enough. But the defiant Michaels absolutely refused to acknowledge the title change after Hall had won it in a battle royal, and continued to call himself the true IC Champ. He then had IRS steal Ramon's patented gold chains, which lead to the feud becoming personal, and the belt being held up until the ladder match.

As I said earlier, it takes two men to make a match great. This match isnt universally regarded as perhaps the greatest ladder match of all time just because of Shawn Michaels and the ladder, it was because of the tremendous chemistry HBK and Hall showed together, as well as their fantastic usage of the ladder. Michaels double stomp on the ladder with Hall under it comes to mind specifically. But in the end, Hall crotched Michaels off the ladder for the win. Both men deserve, dare I say it, equal credit for the success of this match. Its universally regarded as a ***** star match, which is a little much to me, but it was a least ****.5. Fantastic stuff by both men.

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