Shawn Michaels talks about the difficulties of trying to top his Ladder Match with Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X a year and a half later at SummerSlam 1995.
At SummerSlam 1995, WWE offered a rare rerun of a specialty match that had captivated the world at WrestleMania in 1994: the epic Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels. In 1995, the roles were slightly reversed, and both men were perceived as babyfaces. Still, with Shawn Michaels on the come-up and building towards his WWE Championship victory at WrestleMania 12, Razor Ramon was left to literally play the role of "the bad guy."
Shawn Michaels recently spoke about the SummerSlam rematch in an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. He said he's proud of what he and Scott Hall accomplished, but he admitted that sequels are tough and rarely get the recognition they deserve simply because they're not the first.
“This one was very different,” said Michaels, who admitted there was very little build to the match. “The whole story going into it was different and very challenging. I will say this–Scott and I did everything we could to make it epic. I think it was.”
He added, “Sequels are always tough, but this is one I think that doesn’t quite get the recognition it deserves. There’s a simple reason for why: it’s number two. Number one is always first. That’s when the moment shifts. There’s only one first time.
“I’m still proud of it, but it’s not as special because it’s not the first.”
In a Kayfabe Commentaries shoot interview covering WWE's 1995, Kevin Nash remarked that Scott Hall and Shawn Michaels were told shortly before the match occurred that they were not allowed to use the ladder as a weapon as WWE was trying to keep a family-friendly image. This led to multiple circumstances in the match where it appeared incidental every time the latter came in contact with one of the performers, adding to the story of this challenging match.
Fans can read Shawn Michaels' comments on his longtime friendship with Scott Hall made shortly after Hall's passing at this link.
Check out the full SummerSlam Ladder Match in the video embedded at the top of this page.
