Greatest Match Round 1: Michaels/Ramon Ladder vs. Zayn/Neville

[Everlong]

SquaredCircle's Greatest Match of All Time!

(3) Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon, Ladder Match, WrestleMania X



VS

(6) Sami Zay vs. Adrian Neville, NXT R-Evolution 2014



VOTE NOW for which you liked better. Voting will last six days. In the event of a tie, the winner will be decided by which match had more people commenting in its favor.

[The Legend]

Zayn/Neville was a great match in its own right, but it simply doesn't belong in a competition with such a landmark match as Razor vs HBK in a ladder match. Without HBK vs Razor I could make the argument that Zayn and Neville may have happened or been in such a high value spot. The ladder match was the match that managed to turn wrestling from totally a big man's game and transform it into something in which small guys could be every bit the entertainers and even more so than the goliaths.

[Str8Shooter]

Yeah I'm going to try and watch both these matches again before I vote, but I feel like recency bias is strong with that one getting in. Razor/Shawn basically set the tone for the Ladder match, which would become one of WWE's strongest gimmick matches for years and even up to today.

[Hanley!]

Yeah I'm going to try and watch both these matches again before I vote, but I feel like recency bias is strong with that one getting in. Razor/Shawn basically set the tone for the Ladder match, which would become one of WWE's strongest gimmick matches for years and even up to today.

I have the opposite worry here. I'm going to urge people to watch the matches and judge for themselves, because I feel like Neville/Zayn could get shut out just for being a recent match and an NXT match. And it deserves to be considered.

That match was to me, without a doubt the best match of 2014 (and I couldn't quite say that I think Michaels/Razor was the best match of 1994 ... it wasn't even my favourite match at Wrestlemania X). Both performers were great, they told a story within the match that was done extremely well. Of all the matches I've watched back in this tournament so far, only Hart/Austin told as strong a story as this one. The match also had a whole bunch of emotion behind it. I only really got into NXT with R-Evolution so I hadn't seen all of the build up, but I was still sucked into the emotion of the match itself.

Shawn/Razor is more historically significant. Of course it is. For starters, it's had a lot of time to become so. And it was also WWE's first promoted ladder match so that's a big deal too. But I don't think it should be getting a walk through for that reason. It should be judged on its own merits. We're not judging the most famous matches or the most significant matches; just the best matches.

I have to go back and watch the ladder match again, as it's been a while for me. I do remember thinking it was a good match. But I'd actually be surprised if I didn't end up voting for Neville vs Zayn. They just had a near perfect match that made me completely engage in the story and the characters in a way that few other matches ever have, and it would suck for them to get knocked out just because people hadn't seen the match or because it happened too recently so people think voting for it makes them seem fanboyish or fickle. New matches can be just as good as old matches, or even better.

I'm not accusing anyone of anything here, you're all great, I just wanted to say my piece early in case anyone felt guilty about voting for a great match just because it's not as historically significant.

[KaiserGlider]

Zayn vs Neville on this end. The ladder match may have revolutionized the business at the time, but there's been better ladder matches since then.

[VaderBomb]

Zayn/Neville.

The ladder match has a better vibe though.

[Hanley!]

Gotta go with my boys Zayn & Neville.

I rewatched the ladder match today and enjoyed it quite a bit. It still holds up really well, and I like a one on one ladder match with actual psychology. Still though, I think it was mostly considered a five star classic because it was so revolutionary at the time. It's still a four star match, I would say, but if we saw this exact match at Wrestlemania today people wouldn't be rating it quite so highly.

Zayn/Neville was better in terms of storytelling, and there was a lot more emotion there, so it gets my vote. It's one of my favourite matches ever, and it's really cool to be able to say that about a match that's not yet a year old. It's not recency bias speaking either; if anything I usually have a retro bias. It really was just that damn good.

[Kirbi]

Zayn/Neville gets my vote - it's better than anything the main roster's done in years; and yes, it's better than this ladder match.

I have to show my appreciation for the ladder match too, though - it was my first time seeing it, and it was lots of fun - I've rarely enjoyed a ladder match that much, there's definitely a lot to be said for limiting the number of contenders. I think it makes you care more.

If this was up against one of the other matches, I might be voting it through.