411 Ranks Shawn Michaels’ WrestleMania Matches (5-3)

Introduction: Welcome to the 2017 411 WrestleMania feature. This year’s countdown to WrestleMania will take a look back at the matches of the man they call Mr. WrestleMania, man that competed at the big show 17 times; the heartbreak kid, the showstopper, the Icon, Shawn Michaels. This year the 411 staff was presented with a list of Shawn Michaels’ WrestleMania matches, and were asked to rank them from best to worst. The rankings were then given a number value: #1 = 17 points, #2 = 16 points, and so on and so forth, all the way down to #17 = 1 point. The individual staff lists were then compiled into one master list. Today we begin looking at that master list, starting at #17. Each match will have a review by Robert Leighty Jr., a video of the match, and then two writers sharing their thoughts on the match, its place on the list and its place in HBK’s Mania history. Feel free to share your thoughts or even your personal rankings as the feature goes on to see how it lines up with ours.

Enjoy!

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Benoit finally got his big push and won the Rumble as the #1 entrant to earn a title match. He became the first person to use a loophole to get a title shot at the belt of his choosing. He opted to move from SmackDown to RAW and go after HHH’s World Title. Small problem was that Shawn was feuding with HHH and he wasn’t finished. After leading everyone to believe it would be HHH vs. Benoit, Shawn was thrown into the match and most assumed this was done to screw Benoit or to let Shawn take the fall instead of HHH. Others think it was because the WWE had no faith in Benoit to bring in the numbers as headliner at WrestleMania. No matter the reason for the decision it made for a far better match. The crowd is solidly behind Benoit and is primed to see him finally get a World Title run. JR is all about the history tonight as he goes all the way back to the first World Title in May 1905 and how is was defended in the 1st Madison Square Garden. HHH is sporting some white boots here and they do look kind of weird on him after years of being conditioned to see him with black boots. Nice old school touch as the ref checks each man before the match. Michaels and HHH try to continue their war, but Benoit is having none of it and takes Shawn down with the crossface. Michaels escapes quickly, but gets his chest lit up with some chops for his trouble. HHH takes a powder and watches as Benoit and Shawn have a fine wrestling sequence in the ring. Benoit gets a two count off a northern light suplex, but gets dropped with a clothesline as he gets back to his feet. HHH returns to mow down with Shawn and send him packing, but he skins the cat back in the ring. Benoit is the one who ends up getting tossed and Shawn and HHH have a go in the ring. A small “You Screwed Bret” chant comes from the crowd, but it never really caught on with the rest of MSG. Things would be different a month later in Edmonton. HHH gets pulled to the floor by Benoit and they brawl. Shawn drops both of them with a baseball slide and then comes off the top on both men with a moonsault. Damn! Michaels wants HHH and tosses him back in the ring. He sets too early though and eats a facebuster. HHH goes for the Pedigree, but Benoit comes back to stop that with a clothesline. Shawn gets his shoulder posted and is left hung up in the corner while Benoit chops the piss out of HHH. Benoit gets crotched on the top rope and gets hung in the Tree of Woe. Shawn gets whipped from one corner into the upside down Benoit in a nice spot. Michaels tries to do the same thing to HHH, but Benoit defends himself by getting a boot to HHH’s face. Shawn is still the fresher of the tree and hits the flying forearm. He kips up, but Benoit is waiting and sends him over the top with a clothesline. Benoit fights to get the Triple Germans and the crowd loves it. He heads up top for the head butt, but Shawn returns to stop that. He looks for Sweet Chin Music, but HHH ducks and drops Shawn with a DDT. HHH turns his attention to Benoit and they fight on top. Benoit gets brought down with a superplex and that gets two. The crowd starts chanting for Benoit and he responds with some chops. HHH retains the advantage and goes for the Pedigree, but Benoit turns it into the crossface. Shawn makes his timely return to break the hold before any tapping can be done. Shawn tries for the Triple Germans to many boos from the crowd (HA!), but Benoit counters and gets three of his own. He heads up top and hits the flying head butt, but Shawn is able to kick out at two. Benoit tries the cover again, but Shawn is still able to get out at two. Shawn gets tossed into the ropes, ducks a clothesline, and sends Benoit to the floor with the flying forearm. Another kip up and this team he learned his lesson as he ducks a HHH clothesline. He heads up top and hits HHH with the flying elbow. The band gets tuned up and Sweet Chin Music is delivered. The ref counts two, but Benoit rips HHH out of the ring to save his chances at the title. Shawn is a little pissed and takes out his frustration on Benoit with some chops of his own. Benoit reverses a whip and Shawn takes his crazy ass bump into the corner. Shawn fights off a sharpshooter, so Benoit opts for a catapult and that sends Shawn into the post. A bloody Shawn stumbles into a crossface and looks ready to tap, but HHH grabs his hand to keep that from happening. Nice touch. Benoit brawls with HHH on the floor, but ends up getting set back first into the ring steps. HHH preps the SmackDown announce table as Shawn bleeds all over the ring. Benoit says hell with the SmackDown announce table and goes old school with the Spanish Announce Table. Benoit looks to suplex HHH onto the RAW announce table, but HHH fights off and looks for a Pedigree on the table. Shawn joins them and he and HHH decide to double suplex Benoit from the Spanish Announce Table to the SmackDown Announce Table. Holy Shit that was awesome. Benoit is out of the match and that gives HHH and Shawn a chance to settle their beef. They brawl in the ring and HHH gets his chest fired up with some chops. Now HHH takes his patented bump into the corner to the floor and they brawl continues there. Shawn is wearing the crimson mask now and he sends HHH head first into the steps. Now HHH is bleeding, but he is able to get a Pedigree to leave both men out in the middle of the ring. The crowd starts a massive “Benoit” chant and he jumps back into the picture to keep HHH from getting the pin. HHH is trying is best to catch Shawn in the blood loss category as he is bleeding all over the place as well. HHH sets Benoit for the Pedigree, but it gets reversed to a sharpshooter and the building explodes. The crowd openly starts chanting for HHH to tap, but Shawn becomes the biggest heel in the building as he drops Benoit with Sweet Chin Music. Shawn crawls over and gets an arm on Benoit, but he is able to kick out at two. Another massive “Benoit” chance as Shawn tunes up the band too many boos from the crowd. Benoit ducks and sends Michaels to the floor. A great camera shot shows HHH stalking Benoit and the crowd groans as they fear the worst. HHH looks for the Pedigree, but Benoit counters to the crossface to a massive pop. The crowd counts each time HHH’s arm drops, but he has life left and tries to roll through, but Benoit keeps the hold and HHH is now screwed as he is dead center of the ring. He has nowhere to go and taps clean at 24:48 and the building erupts. The tears immediately start flowing from Benoit and JR goes nuts putting over the moment. Eddie Guerrero with WWE Title in hand comes down to applaud Benoit and they embrace in the middle of the ring with tears in their eyes. The confetti falls as they celebrate with their World Titles in what should have been an iconic and emotional moment for all the right reasons. Instead, well, you know.

– Robert Leighty Jr.

WrestleMania 20 – Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit – 206 points

Ken Hill: I remember a few years back when I considered this the greatest triple threat match WWE has ever put on and, while we’ve seen some great 3-way matches (Rollins-Reigns-Ambrose, Orton-Batista-Bryan) go by the boards, WM 20 still puts them to shame with its contribution, and that’s because of the excellent story-telling by all three participants.

Benoit was on a near two-decade odyssey for the World Title, Triple H was looking to cement his dominance at the top of RAW and WWE, and HBK wanted to end things between himself and his former friend on the biggest stage in the biggest way: By taking what meant most to him, the World Title. At no point did any man feel like they were on the outside looking in. Shawn made especially sure of that, kicking Benoit’s lights out, signing his name on the Mania contract, and forcing Bischoff/Austin to put him in alongside Benoit, all coming when Benoit refused to recede his rightful claim to a World Title match. It’s that audacious determination to be at “the center of the storm”, as Michael Cole once aptly put it, that makes Michaels so great come Mania time.

HBK’s part in this match was superb; while he would gladly help Benoit keep Triple H out of the equation at times throughout the match, if the opportunity presented itself in the form of an endgame with Triple H, which HBK wanted to begin with, he’d take it, even if it meant helping The Game put away Benoit, like what we saw with the double suplex through the table…

Like JR noted, not a word had to be said. As soon as it was done, as soon as Benoit was seemingly out of the picture, HBK, bloodied and battered, rolled into the ring, pointed at HHH, then back to himself, all but saying, “Now let’s finish this like we intended, just you and me.” Seeing that for the first time sent a chill down my spine, like seeing two warriors on their last legs, one telling the other “Come at me!” Even if you knew what the ultimate outcome of the match would be, Shawn Michaels’ amazing ability to tell a story without words could and would make you doubt yourself, even if for just a fleeting moment.

Wyatt Beougher: June 25th, 2007. My twenty-seventh birthday, and a day that will forever mark a milestone in my long professional wrestling fandom. After dropping my daughter off at my ex-wife’s and returning home to prepare for a work trip to Green Bay, Wisconsin, I turned on Monday Night RAW, figuring I could use a little background noise while I packed. Instead, I found myself riveted to the television as Vince McMahon, who had originally been slated to “die” on that week’s episode, instead announced that the bodies of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their son Daniel had been found in their home outside of Atlanta.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I would never be able to look at a significant portion of the wrestling that I’d loved in my teenage years and twenties the same way again. As the details of what transpired over that June weekend in 2007 came out, I was mortified by what one of my favorite wrestlers had done. For years afterwards, I hoped that I’d reach a point where I could separate the man from the performer and actually enjoy his matches again, but after volunteering to write about this match, I find myself hard-pressed to believe that it will actually happen. After all, it’s been nearly a decade, but I still can’t help but think of Benoit’s final acts as I re-watched this match to write about it.

I had hoped that the specter of Benoit’s actions wouldn’t loom too large over the performer that we’re actually honoring here, but in spite of HBK’s role in what was, at the time, my favorite WrestleMania main event ever, not even Mr. WrestleMania can completely save this match from its larger historical context. That said, I’ll do my best to focus on where this match falls within the Heartbreak Kid’s long and storied WrestleMania career.

Almost from the first bell, it was clear what each man’s role in the match would be – Triple H, the opportunistic champion, was the powerhouse of the match who was looking to play his opponents against one another and then pick their bones, Chris Benoit was the spirited underdog whose technical precision was only rivaled by the support of the fans, and Shawn Michaels was Shawn Michaels: the glue that held everything together with a perfect blend of showmanship, selling, and that unmistakable charisma. If history has taught us anything, it’s that, without Michaels, this match could have very well been another of Triple H’s “epics”, matches like the match he had at WrestleMania 32 with Roman Reigns that were too deliberate and overwrought to ever achieve the greatness that he intended for them. Sure, Benoit’s worst match in 2004 was still very likely better than whatever the pinnacle of Reigns’ in-ring career ends up being, but I think it’s undeniable that Michaels was crucial to this match being as good as it was.

Early on, it looked like it would fall into the same trap that so many WWF/E Triple Threat (and Fatal Fourway and other various multi-person matches) err into, with one of the competitors taking a lengthy powder outside the ring while the other two squared off. Michaels anchored both of those early segments, first with Benoit and then with Triple H, showcasing just how good he was at making opponents with varying styles look like world beaters, but just when it looked like Benoit and HHH would slow things down for their tête-à- tête on the outside, Michaels was there, first with a baseball slide and then with a spectacular moonsault to the floor, to keep the crowd into it and preserve the flow of the match.

And yes, from there, the match did devolve into several sections of one-on-one action interrupted by brief moments of interaction between all three competitors, but it was a combination of one of those one-on-one encounters and one involving all three men that culminated in arguably the most memorable moment of the match itself – Michaels, his face a crimson mask from an earlier exchange with Benoit that saw him slingshotted headfirst into the turnbuckle, sliding back into the ring after he and Triple H executed a double suplex on Chris Benoit that sent the Canadian crashing through Tazz and Michael Cole’s announce table, and beckoning for the champion to meet him in the ring.

In the end, Michaels would come up short, getting dumped out of the ring by Benoit after a Sweet Chin Music attempt gone awry, and that would allow the former WCW standout to pick up the win after countering a Pedigree into the Crippler Crossface. As with so many great matches that he was a part of, Michaels did everything in his power to make both men that he was in the ring with look better, and as a result, this match was widely heralded as the Match of the Year, winning that honor from Pro Wrestling Illustrated as well as many online sites, including the very one you’re reading this countdown on. And with good reason – not only did it have two of the very best in-ring performers to ever grace a WWE ring (and a third who was more than capable of holding his own with them), it had a legendary announce team that was not quite in their prime but not terribly far removed from it, a tremendous build that got the fans squarely behind the eventual winner, and, most importantly, the right man (at the time) went over. This match was so good and so well received that WWE borrowed lightly from it ten years later to give a similarly unlikely champion his moment in the sun when he overcame two dyed-in-the-wool “WWE guys” who were former friends to finally have his WrestleMania moment.

From March 14th of 2004 (which, oddly enough, was my father’s fifty-fourth birthday) until my twenty-seventh birthday, this match was the match that I put on to remind me of why I loved professional wrestling and that no matter how frustrated I might get with the McMahons and their decision making, every once in a while, they could still get something completely right. After that fateful night in June nearly a decade ago now, the only emotion that I can feel about WrestleMania XX is a profound sadness, especially at losing one of the purest moments of joy ever captured by WWE cameras: the embraces and celebration between Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero, two guys who were never going to make it in WWE, sending the second decade of WrestleManias off of the air with their titles held high. That moment will never inspire the same emotions that it did in me that night, and I think it’s safe to assume that I’m not in the minority when it comes to that sentiment. If it were possible to separate Chris Benoit’s ignominious end from what he accomplished during his career, I think this match ends up higher on this list, no small feat considering the matches that did place higher.

Paul Leazar: Despite Chris Benoit’s victory in the Royal Rumble, we find Shawn Michaels in the main event of another WrestleMania as his feud with HHH over on Monday Night RAW began to form up and take center stage. On this night in New York City in the storied Madison Square Garden, the crowd was totally behind Benoit, but that didn’t stop Shawn Michaels from doing what he does best on the grandest stage of them all. Within the match, each person had a role. Triple H’s was to get his ass handed to him for a good eighty percent of the match, Chris Benoit was the babyface everybody rallied behind, and Shawn Michaels was the glue to keep it all together. To this end, the usual triple threat formula works out well for them, especially in light of all of the story lines going into this one. HBK and Benoit’s only problem with one and another was that they both wanted to beat HHH up so badly, that they got in each other’s way. This was something they were more than happy to come to blows over. On the flip side of that, HBK and HHH were all to eager to come to blows with one another after double suplexing Benoit through the Smackdown announce table, even going so far as to call one another out before beating the bejesus out of each other. Shawn’s speed and fluidity are just a marvel to behold in this one. From the way he attacks to the ropes, to his picture perfect top rope moonsault to the outside, to the moment he gets dumped over the top by Benoit after he misses the Sweet Chin Music, it’s all done with the usual HBK crispness we’ve all come to know and love. While he comes up short in this one, the performance Shawn turns in here is certainly honorable of being near the top of the list. It may not have been one of the biggest benchmark matches of his career (he’s got plenty of those on this list, and in fact, all the ones above it here in the top five are those I think). To be honest, there were few in that building who could have touched the show he put on that evening.

This match had so much hype that it would be a ***** classic that most had visions of Michaels/Perfect from SummerSlam and were afraid it would not live up to the lofty expectations. Thankfully these two proved everyone wrong. This is our second RAW vs. SmackDown match of the evening with Shawn representing Team Red and Angle representing the Blue Brand. Shawn starts things off proper by slipping the taste out of Angle’s mouth. Sweet! Pissed off Angle is always a plus, and he immediately goes to the mat game. Shawn gets to the ropes to break as a “You screwed Bret” chant starts. Shawn is able to get a headlock, and Angle tries to break with a suplex, but Shawn maintains the hold. Angle is finally able to break, but he immediately gets taken down again with the hold. A dueling chant starts as Angle continues to struggle with the headlock. He finally gets a break as he backs Michaels into the corner. They start over again, and once again, Angle gets dropped with a side headlock. Now Angle escapes with ease and he runs over Shawn with a shoulder block. Shawn gets a hiptoss and keeps Angle grounded with a short arm scissors. Angle is able to roll Shawn over into a pin, but Shawn rolls back to break the count. Angle then does the Bob Backlund spot as he lifts Shawn off the mat. Shawn has seen that before in his series of matches with the Bulldog, and counters into a victory roll for two. Shawn goes back to the headlock, but Angle has seen that move one too many times and breaks easily in the corner. Now things start to get more aggressive as they start trading blows in the corner. Kurt gets the best of that and rabbit punches Shawn to drop him and then locks in the ankle lock. Shawn kicks off and sends Angle to the floor. Shawn is now good and pissed and he clears the announce table. He heads back in the ring to break the count, but that gives Kurt a chance to regroup. Kurt tries a suplex onto the table, but Shawn lands on his feet and starts chopping. Kurt ducks a third chop and gives Shawn an Angle Slam into the ring post. Sick! Back inside the ring Angle fires off some suplexes for a few near falls and goes to a body scissor to continue the work on the back. Shawn is able to fight to his feet and pushes Kurt into the corner where he eats some chops. Kurt regains the advantage and whips Shawn into the corner where he takes his patented bump. As Shawn bounces back, Kurt tosses him around the ring with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. We get a replay off the Angle Slam into the post and it shows that Shawn took most of the blow to his legs and not his back. They start trading blows and Shawn gets cocky once again as he slaps Kurt in the face. Again, that just serves to piss off Angle and he takes off Shawn’s head with a clothesline. Damn! They fight up top and Kurt looks for a superplex, but Shawn is able to push off. He looks for the flying elbow, but Kurt moves. A backdrop sends Kurt over the top and to the floor. Shawn comes flying off the top rope with a cross body to the floor to leave both men out. They fight to the apron and Kurt tries to kill Shawn with a German Suplex from there through the announce table. Shawn is able to elbow out and a timely low blow sends Angle back to the floor. That actually drew a noticeable boo from the crowd. Angle ends up on the announce table and Shawn hits a springboard splash onto Kurt which doesn’t break the table. JR and Lawler note that the tables were reinforced. Both men crawl back into the ring and Kurt is legit bleeding from the mouth. I believe it happened when Shawn’s knee caught him with the cross body from the top rope. Shawn starts firing off chops and hits the flying forearm. Shawn gets to his feet and slams Kurt to set up the flying elbow. This time is does hit and the band starts tuning, but Kurt says hell with that and calmly catches the foot to hook in the ankle lock. Now the crowd is losing their collective minds as Shawn starts flopping around like a fish. Shawn tries to break, but Kurt maintains the hold. He is finally able to get to the ropes and Kurt has no choice but to release the hold. Kurt looks for the Angle Slam, but Shawn reverses to a roll-up. However, Kurt rolls through that to get the ankle lock. Shawn counters that with another roll-up, and looks for Sweet Chin Music. Again Kurt catches the boot and hits the Angle Slam for two. The strap comes down and Kurt heads up for the moonsault. The move misses as usual, and Shawn decides he wants to head up top. He takes way too long though and Angle pops up to give Shawn a Super Angle Slam for a hot near fall. Damn! The crowd was ready to buy that as the finish. Kurt is super pissed now and picks up a lifeless Shawn to talk some shit to him. Big mistake there as Shawn calmly pushes him away and delivers Sweet Chin Music. That was so damn awesome! Shawn crawls and gets an arm draped over Kurt, but it only gets two. The dueling chant starts again as Shawn staggers to his feet. Angle rises from the dead and grabs the ankle. Shawn keeps trying to roll through, but Angle won’t release the hold. Shawn makes one last desperate dive for the ropes, but Kurt drops into the hook. Shawn is royally screwed and the fans know it. Shawn teases tapping and holds out for as long as he can before he finally taps at 27:26. The crowd gives Shawn a standing ovation as he leaves the ring.

– Robert Leighty Jr.

WrestleMania 21 – Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle – 212 points

Nick Bazar: This remains my all-time favorite WrestleMania match, and might even possibly be my all-time favorite match period. It came at a perfect time for me as a fan because I had recently returned as a loyal viewer after having missed chunks of 2001-2004. This is the match that reminded me why pro wrestling has always been my number one pastime since I’ve been six-years old. It has everything you can possibly want from a wrestling match and entertainment in general: action, drama, emotion, athleticism, struggle, and awe. Over the years, I’ve had a couple opportunities to show non-wrestling fans a few tidbits of action to explain to them why I follow wrestling the way I do, and this is always the match I start with. Sure it’s long clocking in at almost 30 minutes, but it’s a total breeze to get through. It’s like watching the season finale of a fantastic television show that you just don’t want to see end. You have two pros taking you on a journey in the ring and masterfully telling you a story of doing whatever it takes to win. It starts out on the mat as Shawn Michaels tries to school Kurt Angle at his own game, and eventually turns into the kind of spectacle that HBK made famous in the 90s. It’s also neat learning recently that this is the only match Mr. Wrestle-Freakin’-Mania had to specifically train for, considering his opponent’s Olympic-level tireless stamina. It was an instant classic and watching it live you just knew you were witnessing something special. It felt like an epic, and still holds up to this day 12 years later.

Chad Perry: Not only would I call Michaels vs. Angle the best WrestleMania match of Michaels’ career, but also the best match of Shawn’s career. On a Mania that was built around the next evolution of stars, with Batista and John Cena winning their first Heavyweight titles, we saw two veterans put on a marvelous showcase. The build up of this feud was something that was truly spectacular. Angle imitating all of Michaels’ greatest accomplishments on the episodes of Raw and SmackDown leading up to WrestleMania 21. We got to see a brief return of Marty Jannetty to face Angle in a great SmackDown match, that would also lead to a fun tag team reunion of The Rockers on Raw against La Resistance. We got to see Sensational Sherri again as she sang Sexy Boy for Kurt Angle. We also saw Mike Haywood (a name that has for some reason stuck in my brain all these years later) face Angle in a ladder match for Angle’s gold medal. All this great storytelling leading up to the match, and things still delivered. These two told an epic story of two men who had studied each other well. This was the best match in North American wrestling in 2005.

Shawn was the IC Champ and was suspended for failing a drug test. He was none too pleased and decided he was keeping the title. Razor and Ric Martel were the final two men in a battle royal and had a match to determine the new Champ. Razor won, and Shawn soon returned with the original IC Title, claiming to be the true champion. They decided a ladder match would be the best way to settle things, as both titles are hanging above the ring. For the longest time WWE cannon tried to pass this off as the first ladder match in WWF history. Eventually credit was given to Bret and Shawn for having the first ladder match. Had SummerSlam 92 taken place in DC instead of London, we would have gotten Shawn vs. Bret in a ladder match at that event. Shawn comes to the ring, and decides to walk around the ladder, while Razor decides to walk under the ladder. Giving us the reason why Shawn found Jesus and is still wrestling at Mania today and Hall is not. Let that be a lesson to all the young kids out there. Both men are a bit tentative to start, and opt to wrestle instead of going straight for the ladder. Ramon kills Shawn with a chokeslam, but misses two clotheslines and it results in a neckbreaker from Shawn. Razor gets sent to the floor, and that gives Diesel a chance to mow him down. The ref tosses Diesel who shows off the acting skills that got him a part in Ninja Turtles II. To be fair, Nash was pretty hilarious in The Longest Yard. Shawn starts bouncing all over the place like a pinball on speed. They head back to the floor, and Razor removes the protective padding from the floor. Shawn says piss on that and the action returns to the ring. Razor goes for the Razor’s Edge, but he is much too close to the ropes, and that usually means he is getting back dropped to the floor. Sure enough Ramon eats the concrete in our second ironic spot of the night. Shawn grabs the ladder, but Ramon cuts him off before he gets it to the ring. Shawn baseball slides the ladder into Ramon as he tried to put it in the ring. That’s the first of many spots that would be lifted in later matches. The ladder enters the ring, and Razor takes a shot to the face. Shawn rams the ladder into the midsection of a prone Ramon, and decides to just toss the son of bitch at him. +1000 for effectiveness. Shawn sets up the ladder and starts to climb as the crowd starts to lose their minds. Razor grabs the ankle, and then pulls down Shawn’s pants. The women in the crowd love that. Shawn is able to kick off, and with his ass still hanging out he drops an elbow from the ladder. That’s dedication. In a very memorable moment Shawn dives off the ladder and splashes Ramon from the heavens. Sure, it seems a little tame by today’s standards, but this was some hardcore shit back in 94. Shawn heads up once again, but Ramon pushes the ladder over, and Shawn bounces off the top rope to sell the fall. Both men collide center ring, and I am amazed at the speed with which Ramon is running the ropes. He was actually sprinting coming off those ropes as he is making the most of the stage he’s been given tonight. Shawn is the first person to his feet and he sets the ladder in the corner. He ends up getting tossed into the ladder and goes over the post and to the floor. Now Razor has some fun beating the shit out of Shawn with the ladder. He leans the ladder against the apron and catapults Shawn into the ladder. Ever the professional Shawn makes sure to hang onto the ladder and have it fall back on him. I appreciate people who are willing to kill themselves for my enjoyment. Shawn gets killed with a ladder shot to the jaw and hits the floor. Ramon starts to climb, but Shawn heads to the top rope and dives onto Ramon before he gets the belts. The ladder starts to teeter and ends up falling on Shawn. Both men start to climb and they slug it out on top of the ladder. Ramon hits a hiptoss, but the ladder buckles and he falls to the mat with the ladder. He makes another go for the titles, but Shawn dropkicks the ladder to send him crashing back to the canvas. With the ladder rocking a little, Shawn casually pushes it over and it lands on Ramon. Very nice! Ramon eats what would become sweet chin music, but since this is 1994 it doesn’t mean too much. Shawn hits a sweet ass piledriver, and heads back to the ladder. In another memorable spot Shawn rides the ladder down onto Ramon, and the crowd pops huge for that spot. With Ramon seemingly out, Shawn places the ladder over Ramon and starts to climb again. He’s not fast enough though and Razor throws a shoulder into the ladder and Shawn gets tied in the ropes after falling. That’s the break Razor needed as he climbs the ladder and retrieves both titles with one final yank at 18:48.

– Robert Leighty Jr.

Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon Ladder Match… by suverier_sabu

WrestleMania 10 – Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon – 233 points

Steve Cook: I had this at number one on my list. WrestleMania X was when Shawn Michaels announced to the world that he was going to be a big deal. A lot of people on the inside had been pimping Michaels for quite some time, but it’s fair to say that not everybody was sold just yet. He’d had a good run with the Rockers and his singles run had gotten off to a good start, but the Ladder Match in MSG took him from “good” to “great” & was his first classic WrestleMania match. This was when everybody started to realize what a great professional wrestler Shawn was. Even kids like me approaching the age of ten had to give the Heartbreak Kid plenty of credit for this one.

It wasn’t the first ladder match, in fact it wasn’t even Shawn’s first ladder match. But it was the first one on a big stage, and frankly it was a step ahead of every other ladder match I’ve seen that was older than this one. Including the one with Bret on my “Most Unusual Matches Ever” tape. Shawn’s spots in this match paved the way for what Edge & Christian, the Hardys & the Dudleys would do several years down the road with the TLC matches. They’d surpass HBK in the craziness department, but he was the first to go there. Everybody in a ladder match in the last twenty-three years after this match took place has to thank Shawn, and Razor too.

That’s why I had this at number one. Shawn’s had a lot of great matches at WrestleMania, but not all of them set the standard for what wrestlers after him would do. Even the great matches with Undertaker haven’t influenced the wrestling business going forward the way the Ladder Match did for a generation of wrestlers. This is the equivalent of Savage vs. Steamboat for that style.

Jack Stevenson: The reputation of this all time classic five star match is, I feel, ever so slightly tarnished by how closely associated it is to two other all time classic five star matches that, when push comes to shove, are ever so slightly better. On the very same night that Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon defined what wrestling audiences would demand for decades from the ladder match, Bret Hart and Owen Hart strung together an immaculate, jaw-dropping, 20 minute master class of execution and storytelling, just utter perfection, pro wrestling heaven. Their rematch at Summerslam 1994 was a noticeable step down; in contrast, Shawn and Razor’s Ladder Match II at Summerslam 1995 was a rare instance of a sequel surpassing the original; it’s a little more focused, the spots hold up a bit better, the pace is absolutely ferocious, and the finish, despite and indeed because of its fuck-ups, is impossibly dramatic.

This leaves WrestleMania X’s Shawn Michaels-Razor Ramon match as one that everyone respects immensely, but no one really evangelizes. And that’s a shame, because this is a match that deserves evangelizing. It’s so impressive how purposeful every single second is. There is literally no wasted moment, no fucking about whatsoever. The pace and intensity of the initial wrestling sequence is superb, and then within a few minutes the ladder is in play and the match gets even better. Shawn dominates for a spell, using the ladder as a weapon, and it culminates in him hitting his iconic splash on Ramon from the top of the ladder. It’s just a breathless stretch of wrestling, there’s no obvious moment where Shawn is setting up anything too contrived, he just fully devotes his time to causing his opponent physical harm. Understandably, this pisses off Razor a fair deal, and so when he gets control of the ladder he’s very eager to respond in kind. More aggression, more violence, more mega cool, innovative spots that also look entirely natural and seamless. Come the finishing stretch, the tension is unbearable, with both men coming within fingertips of grabbing the belt and then getting knocked from their perch at the last possible second. Written down it all sounds quite simple, but somehow barely any singles Ladder match in history has ever come close to getting it this right. Benoit-Jericho at Rumble ’01, probably, and perhaps Michaels-Jericho at No Mercy ’08? But then, those matches owe a humungous debt to this one, not the other way round. The Ladder Match may have died a death as a concept if Razor and Shawn hadn’t knocked this so spectacularly out the park, but they did, and pro wrestling would be all the better for it as the years wore on.

While it’s fallen narrowly short in the overall voting, I ended up putting this as my number one when we all submitted our lists. As with every decision I have ever made in my life I’ve been doubting it from the second I made it- the Triple Threat with Triple H and Benoit were more of a thrill ride, the bouts with The Undertaker were more emotional, the battle with Steve Austin featured a braver and arguably better individual HBK performance. But this one set the blueprint for an entirely new style of professional wrestling and changed the industry for decades, and even if it hadn’t, even if it only existed as a curious anomaly, you’d have to say it’s one of the best curious anomalies in pro wrestling history.

The list so far
#17. WrestleMania 8 – Shawn Michaels vs. Tito Santana – 40 points
#16. WrestleMania 5 – The Rockers vs. The Twin Towers – 43 points
#15. WrestleMania 7 – The Rockers vs. Haku & Barbarian – 52 points
#14. WrestleMania 6 – The Rockers vs. Orient Express – 55 points
#13. WrestleMania 9 – Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka – 63 points
#12. WrestleMania 11 – Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel – 91 points
#11. WrestleMania 22 – Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. McMahon – 100 points
#10. WrestleMania 23 – Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena – 138 points
#9. WrestleMania 14 – Shawn Michaels vs. Stone Cold – 151 points
#8. WrestleMania 24 – Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair – 193 points
#7. WrestleMania 12 – Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart – 195 points
#6. WrestleMania 19 – Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho – 196 points
#5. WrestleMania 20 – Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit – 206 points
#4. WrestleMania 21 – Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle – 212 points
#3. WrestleMania 10 – Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon – 233 points