SummerSlam Top 10 Countdown – By Michael Owen
No.3 (42 Points) Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (August 27th, 1995)
This may be a controversial thing to say as a wrestling fan, but I think that the ladder match from SummerSlam in ’95 was better than their ladder match from WrestleMania 10 in ’94. Let me try to explain why I think this.
The most important part of the WrestleMania match between the two was the brilliant buildup to the match itself. Jack Tunney had stripped Michaels of the Intercontinental Championship due to his inactivity as champion; in reality Shawn had failed a drug test. Tunney set in place a twenty man over the top rope battle royal with the two remaining competitors then facing off the following week in a singles match for the title.
The final two men in the battle royal, Rick Martel and Razor Ramon, went on to the next weeks RAW to see who would be crowned the new champion. Razor Ramon picked up the victory and became Intercontinental Champion much to the dismay of Michaels who would return with his own title and claim that he was still the true champion. This led to the two men battling for both belts at the tenth edition of WrestleMania. Compare that with the slap dash feud between the two at SummerSlam ‘95 and you can see why the WrestleMania match is remembered more fondly.
You also have to remember that WWE/F publically declared the WrestleMania encounter to be the first ladder match in company history. This turned out to be false due to the fact that Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had competed in a ladder match two years previous on WWF Wrestling Challenge, but the match didn’t make it to air until many years later, when it appeared on the WWE’s Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart DVD.
In terms of action in the ring though, it’s clear to see that they took everything they learnt in their first encounter and used it to make the second match even better. It was also unique because it was face vs. face, which wasn’t usually the done thing in the WWE/F at the time. Both men got great reactions from the crowd during their entrances and during the match.
The match started with a face off before it hit critical mass and the battle began between the two. The action was brilliant from the start as both men continually teased using their finisher in the early going which would send the crowd into frenzy each time. The ladder played no part in the early going as they set out to prove that the ladder was not the star of the show. It was easy to see why these two were so popular with the crowd as the action was lighting fast from the start, the match constantly swinging from one side to the other in the early stages.
Razor would be the first one to bring the ladder into play around the ten-minute mark. This would almost backfire, as Shawn would knock him down and begin his ascent to the top before Razor shoved him and the ladder to the mat below. This looked especially painful as Shawn caught his leg in the ladder on the way down, this would play a big part in the rest of the match as Razor began to target Shawn’s injured limb. This was the stroke of genius in this match and I’ll explain why. All of Shawn’s best matches came when he was fighting against massive amounts of adversity and trying to win against all odds and this match perfectly encapsulated that, how could Shawn possibly climb the ladder when he could barely walk?
One of the intricacies of this match that didn’t get picked up on commentary was the fact that Shawn and Razor were reversing moves that the other had done in their previous ladder match. This included the famous splash that Shawn hit at WrestleMania, Razor managed to roll out of the way this time. Shawn also managed to kick the ladder over before Razor hit him with Razor’s Edge, causing Razor to spend more time setting up another ladder and giving Shawn enough time to recover and set up his own ladder parallel to Ramon’s.
Shawn had just enough energy to hit Sweet Chin Music from the top of the ladder to knock Razor to the mat below. He would then attempt multiple times to grapple the belt from the hook it was attached to, eventually releasing it on the third attempt. In doing so, Shawn won the match and retained his Intercontinental Championship. After the match Razor returned to the ring and snatched the title off Shawn before coming to his senses, raising the champion’s hand and returning the title to its rightful owner.
Razor and Shawn would go on to have incredibly different careers and lifestyles. Shawn seemed to be going down a similar path to his close friends in the late nineties but managed to pull his life back together and have a second career that would last seven years before retiring for a second time. Razor had a much more turbulent time and has suffered from the same curses that many wrestlers have suffered with over the years. If both men take anything from their careers, it should be that they were incredible performers that could create magic in the ring, and that’s why this match is No.3 on the Top 10 SummerSlam matches here at TWM.
Click Below for Number 2!