RAZOR RAMON vs. SHAWN MICHAELS
- OPENING/BACKGROUND INFO: Both of these two former-WWF grapplers were members of the famous "Kliq," which caused considerable backstage mayhem in the early-to-mid '90's.
Razor, also known as Scott Hall, is one of the most celebrated Intercontinental Champions ever, having one the title on four different occasions, trailing only behind Jeff Jarrett (six) and Chris Jericho (five). He's also a five-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, five of which were with Kevin Nash as one half of "The Outsiders," the other coming from a reign with The Giant (a.k.a. Big Show).
Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels is one of the most prolific and decorated WWF champions ever. He's a three-time WWF World Champion, Tag team Champion (twice with Kevin Nash and once with Stone Cold Steve Austin), and Intercontinental Champion, and a one-time European champion. He's revolutionized the industry, producing top-notch feuds with Bret Hart, British Bulldog, Diesel (Kevin Nash), Sycho Sid (Vicious), Stone Cold Steve Austin, Owen Hart, and Razor, along with instant classics against both Harts and Razor.
So, without further ado, let's take a look at the legendary Razor Ramon/Shawn Michaels rivalry in this edition of the Spotlight Feud...
- The year: 1992. On August 29 of this year, Shawn Michaels (or HBK, for short) defeated champion British Bulldog (who's reign had begun with the legendary SummerSlam '92 IC Title bout with Bret Hart) to win his first of three World Wrestling Federation Intercontinental Championships. He and his former-Rockers' teammate Marty Jannetty soon broke up, and he lost it to Marty on May 17, 1993. HBK regained the title from Marty on June 6 of '93. Later that year, in September, HBK briefly left the WWF and was therefore stripped of the IC Title.
On the October 4 edition of Monday Night RAW, a 20-man over-the-top-rope elimination battle royal was held, with the winner's prize being the Intercontinental Title. The participants were The 1-2-3 Kid (a.k.a. X-Pac), The MVP (?), Mr. Perfect (a.k.a. Curt Hennig), Adam Bomb, Bam Bam Bigelow, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Pierre Rougneau, Jacques Rougneau, Giant Gonzalez, Marty Jannetty, Bastion Booger, Owen Hart, Tatanka, Mabel, Bob Backlund, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Rick Martel, and Razor Ramon. Martel and Razor ended up as co-winners of the match, and, since there can't be co-champions holding singles' titles, the two faced off on the next RAW (Oct. 11) for the vacant IC Title. Razor won the match thanks to his trademark Razor's Edge (Falling Crucifix Powerbomb) to become the Intercontinental Champion for the first time in his career.
- On the November 29 RAW, Razor went up against his real-life pal, Diesel (Kevin Nash), in a non-title match. During the bout, Razor set up Diesel for the Razor's Edge (<sarcastic tone> Oh, like he could really lift Nash up...), and Shawn Michaels made his return, running out and attacking Razor. He grabs the IC belt from ring announcer Howard Finkel and sets Razor up for piledriver onto it, but face The 1-2-3 Kid (X-Pac), another "Kliq" member, runs down and makes the save for Razor. Due to Michaels' interference, Razor wins via disqualification.
For the next few weeks, HBK began carrying an Intercontinental Title belt of his own claiming that he was still the real Intercontinental Champion, never having lost it in a match (as he had vacate it). The fans saw HBK as a heel, as he was carrying around a "fake" championship belt. Razor was still recognized as the real champion, though, causing the tension between the two to continually increase, as they were both claiming to be champion.
- The tenth annual WrestleMania was nearing, by now only a few weeks away. It was decided that Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon would go toe-to-toe in the first-ever televised WWF Ladder Match, with Razor defending his Intercontinental Title. About 18-or-so-feet above the ring, two title belts would hang from the ceiling. One would be Razor's real Intercontinental Title belt and the other would be Michaels' "fake" belt. The two could beat eachother from pillar to post, but to emerge as winner, one competitor would have to climb a ladder in the center of the ring and retrieve both (not one; both) title belts, thereby making themself the undisputed WWF Intercontinental Champion. Bret Hart and Michaels had wrestled in the first WWF Ladder Match for a Coliseum Home Video tape in 1992, but this match would be the first-ever syndicatedly televised Ladder Match in WWF history. It was going to make history, but nobody could've predicted just how historic it'd be.
The match quickly goes to the outside, where Shawn's bodyguard, Diesel (Nash), grounds Razor with a lariat. Referee Earl Hebner sees it and therefore orders him to go to the backstage area. He eventually does, and it's not long before HBK's clotheslined down onto the outside mat. He tears the ring mats up, revealing the cold, hard, concrete floor, but HBK smartly crawls into the ring for partial safety. Razor follows him in and sets him him up for the Razor's Edge, only to be backdropped over the ring ropes and onto the concrete, which he had exposed himself. Razor recovers and eventually folds up the ladder, which is positioned in the middle aisleway, and slide it into the ring. This was a bad idea, though, as HBK climbs into the ring, rungs off the ropes, and baseball slide dropkicks it into Razor's chest area! He bashes Razor in the chest with it, and then throws it at him!
Shawn keeps control for awhile, but when he sets the ladder up in the middle of the ring and goes to climb it (to retrieve the belts), Razor follows him up on the same side. He reaches up, grabs onto HBK's tights and tries to pull him down. HBK kicks him off and onto the ground, but he sees that Razor pulled his tights down, revealing his ass. He doesn't bother to fix them, though, until he purposefully falls off the ladder and rops an elbow on Razor. He then straightens them. The females in the crowd went nuts, but women at home were treated to censor shapes.
With Razor down, he sets the ladder up in the corner, climbs to the first-to-the-highest step, and leaps off, spreading his arms and legs in midair to eventually catch Razor with a Flying Bodysplash! The picture of this spot is comonplace in wrestling magazines, today. HBK starts climbing it in the center of the ring again, but is pulled off, and flops down onto the ropes. Razor sets the ladder up in the corner and whips HBK into it, causing Michaels to take an insane fall to the outside concrete, where Razor slingshots HBK into the ladder, which is layed up against the turnbuckle.
He slams HBK in the head with it, and then sets it up in the middle of the ring and starts climbing it. HBK quickly climbs up to the top-rope and comes off with a double axehandle, causing Razor to fall off, but a surprising occurence sees the ladder end up falling onto HBK's bare back, who never saw it coming. Once they recover, they both start climbing, and HBK's thrown off and over the top-rope, crashing to the outside mats below. Razor also falls off, but only onto the ring mat. Once he recovers, he starts climbing again, but, when HBK enters the ring, the ladder's dropkicked, causing Razor to fall down tot he mat again. HBK quickly hits a superkick (which isn't his finisher, yet), followed by a piledriver.
Michaels then brings the ladder into the corner, climbs to the top-rope, and rides it down, eventually landing it down onto Razor! HBK sets the ladder up in the middle of the ring and starts climbing, but Razor recovers and knocks him off, causing him to be crotched on the ropes. At the same time, his leg is caught in the ropes, and he struggles to get free. He stretches and grabs onto the ladder, but, Razor seeing his oppurtunity, grabs it away, sets up, and starts climbing. He eventually gets high enough to be able to grab the belts, just as HBK escapes and leaps toward the ladder, but it's too late. Razor Ramon retains his title, and is the undisputed Intercontinental Champion (18:47).
This match is consistently rated as one of the greatest bouts in professional wrestling history. Until this match, the bumps that these two took was almost unthoughof. The Ladder Match, now a popular gimmick match, was a rarity, only happening from time-to-time. The match had great psychology, and the emotion was spectacular. At the time that it occurred, the bumps and manuevers these two pulled off were incomprehensible. RajahWWF.com and TheSmarks.com both rate the match a perfect *****, while Wrestling Viewpoint! rates it ***3/4, which is more where I'd rate it.
Scott Keith of and TheSmarks.com on the match:
"One of the best and most influential matches of the modern
era."
Stuart of Wrestling
Viewpoint! on the same match: "This is one of the most
ahead-of-it's-time matches in American wrestling history as these
two just went all out and bruised and battered their bodies to
set the standard for this stipulation."
- This was not the end of the Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels feud, though. Michaels won his third and last Intercontinental Title from Jeff Jarrett on July 23, 1995. A month later, late WWF Interim President Gorilla Monsoon granted Razor the number one contendership for HBK's IC Title. So, on August 27, 1995, at SummerSlam, the two went at it in the sequel to their legendary WrestleMania bout, another Ladder Match with the IC belt hanging high above the ring. THe first to retrieve it would win the Intercontinental Title. Their personas were reversed this time around, as Razor was the heel and Shawn was at the height of his popularity.
Razor ducks an early Superkick, and HBK quickly escapes a Razor's Edge soon after. HBK's whipped into the corner where he does his usual insane fall to the outside. They fight for the ladder on the outside, and HBK eventually tries to suplex Razor, who's on the apron, back into the ring. It's reversed, though, and HBK's suplexed down onto the concrete. As he's falling, one of his legs smashes into the steel guardrail at ringside! Back in the ring, time repeats itself, as HBK escapes the Razor's Edge, and Razor ducks a Superkick. They eventually both clothesline eachother down, with Razor eventually rising first, he brings HBK up to the top-rope where he Fallaway Slams him off! Razor then goes outside, folds up the ladder, and heads toward the ring. Like at WrestleMania, HBK tries a baseball slide, but this time, Razor steps out of the way, and once HBK lands on the outside, nails him with a right hand.
Razor sets the ladder up in the ring and starts climbing, but HBK pushes it down. HBK starts climbing, but time once again repeats itself as Razor tries to pull him down by his tights. HBK's ass is shown, and the ladder then falls, with HBK's knee being caught in it. The ladders down on the mat, and Razor scoop slams HBK onto the mat beside it, causing his knee to bash into it. He traps the knee inside and starts working on it, and eventually lays the ladder up against the ringpost. He tries to lock on a Figure Four Leglock, but HBK kicks him into the ladder. Razor retains the advantage, though, and kneedrops HBK, who's layed out on the ladder. He uses some more holds on the knee, all the while with HBK terrificly sellling the damage.
Like their other match, Razor starts climbing the ladder, but HBK knocks him off with a top-rope double axehandle. The ladder's still upright, so, after recovering, Razor tries climbing again, only to get backdrop suplexed off of it. Razor's eventually whipped into the ladder, which is laying against the ringpost. HBK nails a running forearm smash, followed by a moonsault off the ladder. Unlike their other match, his attempted flying bodysplash off of it misses. They engage in a slugfest, with Razor eventually ending up on the outside. Once he's back up, HBK grabs the ladder and sucide dives through the ropes, but Razor ducks, causing both men to get hit with the ladder! Razor eventually takes out another aldder from under the ring.
Back in the ring, Razor stops HBK's ascent and does a spectacular spot, taking him off the ladder with a Razor's Edge! Both ladders are eventually set up side-to-side in the ring, and each start climbing. HBK knocks Razor off with a Superkick while on still on the ladder (!), and continues climbing. He eventually leaps up toward the belts, but can't reach them, causing him and the ladder to crash to the mat. The finish was supposed to come there, but HBK botched it. HBK reverses a Razor's edge into a backdrop, sending Razor over the ropes and down onto the floor below. With Razor down, HBK again scales the ladder and tries to grab the belts, but falls to the mat, making for the second botched finish of the match. HBK's clearly pissed off, and again climbs up, this time succesfully grabbing the belt, retaining the Intercontinental Title (24:58).
After the match, Razor takes the belt and hands it to Michaels, showing the "mushy" sportsmanship side of the business. The two real-life buddies embrace, ending quite a match and one incredible feud. The match featured some tremendous bumps, possibly even better than their first masterpiece. There was great psychology and some interesting uses of the ladder. The finish, though, killed it, as every mark watching could see that HBK had botched it not once, but twice. The match wasn't as good as their first at 'Mania, but it was still incredible. RajahWWF.com rates the bout ****1/2.
- OVERALL THOUGHTS: This feud speaks for itself, as it's so far before its time. The bumps that these two took were, at the time, only seen once in a blue moon, and they made the Ladder Match a commonplace in wrestling. Both were real-life friends, and they really knew how to work together. They had two legendary classics, each ****+, one of which may have been a perfect *****, one of only four feuds that I've so far reviewed that've met that criteria (the others being Bret/Owen, Kobashi/Misawa, and Savage/Warrior). These two really set the standard for high-flying bumptakers today. Current superstars like Billy Kidman, Christian, Edge, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, and The Hurricane (Shane Helms) probably wouldn't have quite such an innovative style if it wasn't for the influence that this match brought to the businesss.
Plain and simple: The Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels feud was the stuff of legend and changed the way the professional wrestling business is perceived.
-One-On-One Match Results:
FINAL TALLY: HBK: 1 win; Razor: 1 win
WINNER: Tie (1 win each)
FINAL TALLY: Tie (1 win each)
APPARANENT WINNER of the RAZOR RAMON vs. SHAWN MICHAELS feud:
Tie (1 win each)
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