WWE.com Legacy on Demand Showcase
The History of the Intercontinental Title: Part 24

Your host is Jack Korpela.

• WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon – Ladder Match (SummerSlam 1995)
  

This was supposed to be Shawn/Sid, but was changed so the WWF could have the biggest rematch of the year. As many times as I’ve watched the WrestleMania 10 ladder match, I’ve probably seen this one only once or twice before recapping this show. Dok Hendrix replaces Lawler for the rest of the night since he’s busy hanging out with his dentist. Although I cringe sometimes when he tries to be funny and I don’t think he has any chemistry with someone like Vince, I do think I like Hendrix on color commentary a little bit more than Lawler since he likes to talk more about strategies than merely cheer for the bad guy. They tease their finishers to start and the crowd eats it up. Shawn takes the nastier and much quicker Harley Race corner bump to the floor. Razor goes for the ladder and gets pounced on from behind by Michaels. Back to the ring, Shawn tries to suplex Razor into the ring from the apron and takes a CRAZY suplex to the floor instead. He even whacks his ankle on the guardrail on the way down! Back in, they trade finisher attempts once more and end up taking each other down with a clothesline. Once they’re to their feet, they whip each other from corner to corner until Shawn gets caught up on the top turnbuckle so that Razor can bring him down with a Super Fallaway Slam! Now Ramon brings the ladder to ringside as the Psycho Sid watches the match on a monitor in the back since he gets the winner of this match on the 9/11 Raw. Razor sidesteps the baseball slide into the ladder in a nice bit of continuity and blasts Shawn with a right hand. In the ring, Razor makes the first climb for the belt and gets the ladder turned over on him thanks to Shawn. Shawn spins the ladder around into Razor, shrugs his shoulders, and sets the ladder up. Just like at WM10, Razor pulls down HBK’s tights. Instead of dropping the belt like in the previous match, Shawn pulls his pants up and keeps climbing. With Razor back on his feet, he turns the ladder over while Shawn’s leg gets stuck in between the rungs to wrench his knee. Razor decides to capitalize by closing the ladder on Shawn’s knee and stomping at it. He continues to punish Shawn by dropping his knee on the ladder and taking Shawn to school the Ric Flair way. With the ladder closed, Razor sets the ladder on the middle turnbuckle. He wants to whip Shawn into it, but his knee gives out. Shawn kicks off a figure-four attempt, so Razor grabs Shawn and gives him a shinbreaker on the ladder! Razor keeps on with the leg and even posts it pretty good. When he seems to run out of things to do to Shawn’s knee, he ends up taking the ladder and tossing it down on his knee just for fun. Shawn stops a ladder climb with a flying double ax handle. He stops another climb with a back suplex off the ladder! Shawn leans the ladder in the corner and after a triple whip reversal, Razor goes flying over the ladder and onto the apron! Shawn whips Razor into the ladder again and then nails him with a flying forearm. From there, Shawn sets the ladder up and gives Ramon a MOONSAULT PRESS OFF THE LADDER! They botch it a little, but it’s forgivable. Now Shawn tries a flying splash, but this time it misses unlike at WM10. Once they both make it to their feet, they both climb the ladder and start slugging each other at the top until the ladder teeters over. Shawn gets crotched and Razor falls off the apron and to the floor. Shawn charges at Razor with the ladder in hand to knock him off the apron, but Ramon hits the mat and Shawn falls out to the floor. Razor pulls out another ladder from under the ring and now we’ve got two ladders. Shawn climbs his ladder, but Razor stops him and delivers the RAZORS EDGE to Shawn off the ladder! Now we’ve got two ladders set up in the ring and each man is climbing their own ladder. Shawn kicks Razor off his ladder and looks to grab the belt, but he’s too far away. He dives after the belt and retrieves nothing as he crashes on the canvas. Shawn backdrops Razor out to the floor so he’ll have another chance at grabbing the belt. He reaches the belt again and tries to pull it down with all his weight, but he can’t bring it down. One more try. Yes, Shawn finally brings the belt down off the hook to retain the IC championship. (25:06) For what it’s worth, Shawn Michaels is still the only man to ever retain the Intercontinental belt for a second time at any SummerSlam show. Afterwards, Razor takes the belt away from Shawn and hands it back to him as they embrace to show the world that everything is okay between them. Except for the messed up finish, this was the perfect sequel to their original ladder match. They learned from their past mistakes and turned it into a psychological masterpiece. ****¾

• WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs. Psycho Sid (w/Ted DiBiase) – (Monday Night Raw, 9/11/95)
  

Kind of an infamous Raw main event. It was the first one that Bischoff spoiled for everybody on Nitro. Shawn uses the stick-and-move strategy to start and it works as Sid bails to the floor. Back in, Sid tries to toss out Shawn, but he skins the cat and dropkicks Sid out. Back in again, this time Sid controls. Shawn gets kicked off the top turnbuckle onto the apron where Sid clotheslines him to the floor and gives Shawn the snake eyes on the apron. DiBiase gets in his kicks as Shawn writhes in pain. He makes it back in the ring at the count of 9.7999999! Commercials! We return to see Shawn fight out of a bearhug only to charge into a Chokeslam! Sid poses instead of making the most of this moment as Shawn backdrops out of the POWERBOMB. Shawn fires back and hits the Flying Forearm. Flying bodypress gets 1-2-NO! Sid whips Shawn into the ropes and misses a swing. Shawn superkicks the gut, superkicks Sid while he’s doubled over, and then connects with SWEET CHIN MUSIC as Sid is staggered to get the 1-2-3. (7:24 shown) It’s just like Bischoff said! Shawn Michaels beats the big guy with the superkick. Maybe the commercial break blotted out the weak parts, but this was overall a decent big guy-little guy match while still keeping Shawn pretty strong. **½

• WWF World Champion Diesel & WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs. WWF World Tag Team Champions Davey Boy Smith & Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) (In Your House #3, 9/24/95)
  

The basic rules for this match are if you pin somebody, you win another belt. Obviously if Shawn or Diesel pin Davey Boy Smith or Yokozuna, they become the WWF tag team champions again. While this would mean that Diesel and Shawn Michaels would have all the WWF title belts, both Davey Boy Smith and Yokozuna have the chance to join Pedro Morales, Bret Hart and Diesel in the triple crown club. Shawn and Diesel get their separate entrances and it’s all fun and games to them. They play rock paper scissors to decide who starts the match – Shawn wins with scissors over paper. Davey Boy and Shawn go through a nice quick sequence of moves where Shawn shrugs off a couple of double leg takedowns and then Cactus clotheslines DBS to the floor and skins the cat back in the ring. Yoko attacks Shawn, but Diesel saves and knocks Yoko to the floor. The tag champs regroup as Yoko tags Davey Boy. Shawn decides to stay in and challenge Yokozuna to a sumo match. Once Yoko charges Shawn, he slides underneath the big guy and fires away, but then comes off the ropes into a back elbow. Shawn avoids an elbow drop and tags in Diesel. Yoko cuts off Diesel with a clothesline, but then gets nailed with a jumping clothesline from Diesel. Running Boot from Diesel puts Yokozuna back on the floor. Fuji distracts Shawn while Davey Boy Smith nails Diesel as he grabs after Yoko. There’s no tag, but Davey Boy takes over on Diesel anyway. One suplex fails, but DBS gives it a second try and delivers. That gets two. Diesel elbows out of a chinlock, but it does no good as DBS hoists him up for the RUNNING POWERSLAM. Diesel shoves him off into the corner though to avoid it and follows up with a pair of corner clotheslines. Shawn tags in and mocks the British Bulldogs by jumping off Diesel’s shoulders for the Flying Splash. Leave the memories alone, Shawn! Davey Boy comes back by pressing Shawn up and dropping him on the top rope. That’ll teach him. Yoko tags and knocks Shawn off the ropes to the floor. Meanwhile, the ref is busy with Diesel while Davey Boy Smith slams Shawn’s head onto the steps. Back in, Yoko foot chokes Shawn and whips him into the corner and out onto the apron. Back on the floor, Davey Boy gives Shawn a slam. In the ring, Davey Boy tags again and gives Shawn a HUGE back drop. Shawn elbows out of a chinlock and gets a few nearfalls, but then gets run down with a clothesline. Yoko’s back in for the nerve hold while Davey Boy waves around the Japanese flag. BANZAI SPLASH misses to set up the HOT TAG TO DIESEL! He hits his usual moves on Davey Boy Smith. It turns into a pier six brawl as the champs get thrown in one another. Yoko falls on Davey Boy. He gives it the old fish sell. Shawn nails Cornette while Yokozuna saves Davey Boy Smith from a JACKKNIFE by giving Diesel a Samoan Drop of sorts. Once Yoko’s on his feet, Shawn runs over and gives him SWEET CHIN MUSIC to put him on the floor. Meanwhile, Davey Boy Smith delivers a Standing Powerslam to Diesel! Cover, 1-2-NO! Shawn flies down on Davey Boy with a Flying Elbow Drop to break up the pin. As ref Earl Hebner tries to get Shawn out of the ring, Davey Boy Smith rolls out as Owen Hart makes his first appearance of the night by storming down to ringside and climbing to the top rope. Diesel nails him on the way down and delivers the JACKKNIFE POWERBOMB! Cover, 1-2-3. (15:46) Ridiculous finish, but the match was super fun. Since Owen wasn’t technically a part of the match, the belts would be returned to Yokozuna and Owen Hart the next night on Raw. They still had to defend the belts though against the Smokin’ Gunns where they ended up losing the tag belts anyway. ***¼

Final Thoughts: Another great installment of this series. It’s always interesting to me to see what picks will be made next. Thumbs up!