The Goodness 01.24.07: An Ode to Shawn Michaels

I had the pleasure of watching Raw for the first time since New Year’s Night and, as always, there was stuff I liked and stuff I didn’t liked. The John Cena/Umaga feud seems to be building nicely but I can’t help feeling that there’s no way in hell the WWE is going to put the belt on Umaga right now. If they were going to, they would have done what they did last year by having Umaga win it at New Year’s Revolution and let Cena win it back at the Rumble. I’m also scared to death of the prospect of Cena vs. the Great Khali at WrestleMania, because you know they’re itching to replay Hogan/Andre. I guess I wouldn’t be against it if it was a long-term plan and they built Khali up for the last year, i.e. beating the Undertaker in that feud, but they haven’t. Who else is Cena going to face? Shawn Michaels?

I got into wrestling around the age of 10, which was 1992. At that point, my favorite wrestler in the world was Bret Hart and he probably remains my favorite to this day, with the possible exception of the Rock. There are varying opinions on Bret, namely that he was a little self-obsessed, but I didn’t care. From ’92 to ’97, Bret was involved in so many classic matches and provided so many of the moments that turned me into a wrestling fan for life that I simply took his word as gospel. This is why I never liked Shawn Michaels.

As Michaels ascended to the top of pro wrestling in 1994 following the Ladder Match at WrestleMania X, I was a fan of his work but not really a mark, if you will, for the wrestler. By the time he became a full-fledged face WWF champion, I was having none of it. I didn’t like his ‘sexy boy’ persona and, well I was 14, I thought he acted gay. I rooted vociferously for Bret at WrestleMania XII and rightly thought he got screwed by the ‘overtime’ at the end of the Iron Man Match. Oh, the blissful days of ignorance when I thought WWF president Gorilla Monsoon actually was screwing Bret Hart.

The rivalry between Hart and Michaels went backstage in 1997, right around the time the Interweb and dirt shirts became a reality in my life and I, of course, took Bret’s side in all matters. The Survivor Series screwjob only escalated my dislike for Michaels. So when Michaels returned in 2002 to take on Triple H at SummerSlam, I wasn’t too thrilled about it. When HBK beat Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XIX, I wasn’t too thrilled about it either. I lumped Michaels in with the Undertaker’s and Hulk Hogan’s of the world that only seemed out to keep their spot at the expense of younger talent even though their primes had long since passed.

I sit here today to tell you I was wrong. Shawn Michaels is still in his prime. Shawn Michaels may always be in his prime. At an age when athletes and performers in all walks of life have lost a step or lost the competitive fire that made them great, Michaels is only getting better. Though the WWE has been in a creative funk with a dearth of great matches and new superstars truly ready to capture the throne from the old guard, Michaels remains a bright spot. Save for the annoying run with DX this summer, Shawn Michaels has thoroughly and completely entertained me since his full-time return to the WWE in 2003.

Michaels first started to win me over at the 2003 Survivor Series. In an elimination match, it was down to Michaels against three opponents. For the next 15 minutes, a bloodied and bruised Michaels took sympathetic babyface to the next level. Even though we all knew Michaels probably wasn’t going to pull it out, he roped in an arena-full of fans in Dallas into thinking he could. The heat was off the charts as Michaels mounted comeback after comeback before finally succumbing. Even though the match was supposed to be for Steve Austin’s career – he’d be back in weeks – it was Michaels’ career that was resurrected. For all the criticism he had received, he proved he was still good enough to earn a main event spot regardless of his history.

He continued to wow us at WrestleMania XX when he was the key component in arguably the greatest WrestleMania main event in history. He managed to earn both the Madison Square Garden crowd’s contempt and respect. He did a top rope moonsault with a busted knee. He produced one of the all-time bladejobs in wrestling history. When he signaled for Triple H to settle the score with Triple H as Chris Benoit lay helpless, the electricity in the building skyrocketed. While the crowd rooted for Benoit, they knew, deep down, that match wouldn’t have been what it was without Michaels.

In 2005, he took his game to another level. He engaged Kurt Angle in an instant ***** classic at WrestleMania 21 and nearly topped it with Angle at that year’s Vengeance. Leading up to SummerSlam, he made a killer heel turn with one superkick of Hulk Hogan and spent months as just about the most charismatic heel pro wrestling had ever seen. Even though he lost that match to Hogan at SummerSlam, he won. He proved that day he was the superior wrestler, the superior talent and, in many ways, the superior performer. That match is a bomb without Michaels. With Michaels, it’s part of wrestling lore.

He has continued his excellence up to and including Monday Night’s Raw. It was a street fight with Edge on a show leading up to the Royal Rumble – there’s no need to go all out, no need to bust your butt for a show that is basically just hype. But that’s what Michaels did and he brought Edge along for the ride. After an opening segment that warmed up the crowd, the two delivered one of the best TV matches seen on Raw in a good, long time.

One moment in particular stood out for me as Edge climbed the second rope with a ladder and suplexed the ladder on Michaels. It may have been done before but damn if it wasn’t one of the craziest things I’d ever seen. It even garnered an audible “Holy Sh*t” chant from the live crowd. It was a moment that defined everything you need to know about Shawn Michaels. He doesn’t need to take a ladder to the face on an episode of Raw. He doesn’t need to bleed for us anymore. But he does. He does because he truly respects pro wrestling and I respect him for that.

As a wrestling fan, and I think I speak for other fans, we respect those wrestlers that go out of their way to entertain us. Michaels bled and took a ladder in the face so I, sitting at home, could be entertained on a Monday night. And he succeeded because I was entertained and for the first time in my wrestling life, I can easily say I’m a Shawn Michaels fan. I may not be a fan of some of his actions, on-screen and off in the past, but I’m a fan of what he can do in the ring.

I used to think that Randy Savage was the mostly talented wrestler to ever lace up a pair of boots but that opinion may be changing. Because when Shawn Michaels is in the ring, I’m watching. That’s just about the biggest compliment a wrestling fan can give a wrestler.

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