The Top Ten 02.06.06: Shawn Michaels Matches

Hey guys and gals, I’m Scott, and this is The Top Ten. Julian Williams, Mr. Top Ten himself, has been crazy busy as of late, so for one week only he offered to hand over the reigns of this little beast to another fine member of the 411 Wrestling staff. I’m always looking for a way to sneak out of the nut house know as the Heat Report, so I jumped at the chance to take a shot at the Top Ten. Don’t worry, Julian, I’ll be a complete gentleman and have her home by midnight.

10) Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (Bad Blood 2004)
Hell in a Cell Match
Yeah, I’ll probably catch some shit for this one, but I guess that’s just part of the game when compiling a list like this. I remember reading a whole shit storm of negative comments concerning this match, but in my mind none of them focused on the actual match itself. Many within the IWC were still bemoaning the fact that Triple H was monopolizing the main event scene on Raw despite the fact that he had dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX. They saw the fact that this match was the main event of the pay-per-view instead of Chris Benoit vs. Kane for the World Heavyweight Championship as a sign of Triple H’s continued egotism and Vince McMahon’s de facto nepotism. Some even equated the ongoing feud between Shawn Michaels and Triple H to the drawn out and painfully inadequate feud between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair back in WCW. However, all of that aside, the match itself delivered. Michaels and Triple H were hell bent on redefining “epic,” and for my money they sure as hell did. I thought it was fantastic to watch them beat each other until they both literally couldn’t get off the mat. You have to make a choice when talking about Shawn Michaels’ career of whether or not you’re going to let rumored backstage politics affect your view of his in-ring credentials. I’ve always been inclined to let the action speak for itself, and in this case that action adds up to a great match.

9) Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (Taboo Tuesday 2004)
World Heavyweight Championship Match
This match certainly isn’t the most technically solid or skillfully worked match of Michaels’ career, but it may be the match that most perfectly encapsulates the very essence of that career. This was the World Heavyweight Championship match from Taboo Tuesday 2004, and for the very first time the fans had the opportunity to choose who would challenge Triple H for the title. Their choices were Michaels, Chris Benoit, and Edge, and a compelling case could be made for why each of those three men deserved a shot at the champ. The three potential challengers faced each other in a three-way match on the final Raw before Taboo Tuesday, and Michaels came out victorious but seriously injured his knee in the process. It was unclear if Michaels would even be able to wrestle at Taboo Tuesday, but the fans still chose him to face Triple H. Michaels had the option of backing out of the match despite the fact that he had won the fans’ support, but for Michaels that wasn’t really at option. All that mattered to him was that the fans wanted to see him challenge Triple H for the title, and he damn well intended to give the fans what they wanted. Michaels literally wrestled most of this match on one leg. He could barely stand, let alone walk, and yet he crawled into that ring and put on one of the most courageous performances ever seen in professional wrestling.

8) Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho (WrestleMania XIX)
Before he retired in 1998, Shawn Michaels had earned a reputation for turning in extraordinary performances at WrestleMania. This match, however, was his first WrestleMania match since his comeback in 2002, and no one knew if Michaels’ star would still be able to shine as brightly as it once did. In addition, all of Michaels’ previous memorable WrestleMania performances had come in championship matches near the top of the card, but this was a mid-card match with no title involved. This match was going to be used by many to gauge Michaels’ abilities as a full-time wrestler once again, and Michaels more than proved that he was back and as good as ever. The match that Michaels and Jericho orchestrated was a textbook back-and-forth contest that should be required viewing for anyone studying the basics of how to structure a professional wrestling match. The match may not have stolen the show (due mainly to the fact that neither Michaels nor Jericho managed to come off the tope turnbuckle and land on his head), but it did silence any lingering doubts of Michael’s continued staying power.

7) Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania XII)
Iron Man Match for the WWE Championship
This match marked a fundamental change in the focus of the industry. Big men had ruled the industry for years, especially in WWE, and it would have been ludicrous to book such beasts in a one hour contest. In fact, the idea of putting two guys that would have traditionally been viewed as too small to be champions in a one hour match to headline the biggest show of the year must have seemed rather ludicrous itself at the time, but it also changed the future of the industry. This match was one of the major factors in legitimizing smaller champions. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero would have never embraced in the ring, both as champions, at the conclusion of WrestleMania XX if Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had not gone at it for an hour (and then some) eight years earlier. In addition, the match itself is a masterpiece of pacing and storytelling. It would have been incredibly easy for Michaels and Hart to go full throttle from the start and then run out of material half way through the match, but instead they worked one of the smartest matches I’ve ever seen and in the process crafted the match that PWI named its 1996 Match of the Year.

6) Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (In Your House: Mind Games 1996)
WWE Championship Match
We all talk about dream matches that we would love to see one day in the future, but this match is what I like to think of as a dream match in the past. I say that because I’m not sure that everyone realized just how special a match between Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley could be at the time that it actually took place. I know that at the time, I personally was a fan of Shawn Michaels but certainly didn’t appreciate what an amazing worker he was. I also had never heard the names Mick Foley, Cactus Jack, or even ECW, so I didn’t really understand the kind of in-ring insanity of which Mankind was capable. The thought of Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley tearing into each other today would make me mark like a little girl, but I can only wish that a decade ago I understood what a astounding thing it was to see these two go balls to the wall with each other. The match may have seemed somewhat tame to those familiar with Foley’s work in ECW, but it was absolutely brutal by the WWE standards of the time. This match helped to showcase a more intense, more brutal side of the Sexy Boy, and it also served as one of the first major examples of the influence of ECW on WWE.

5) Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle (WrestleMania 21)
There’s a dirty little secret about “dream matches” that no one really likes to talk about. We love to speculate on just how awesome it would be to see two of our favorites finally lock horns in the ring, but unfortunately those “dream matches” often fail to live up to their overwhelming hype when they are finally realized. Many times the problem is simply that the legends in those dream matches are past their prime by the time we all realize that seeing them compete against each other really would be a dream. Trust me, this is why it’s better that we never actually see Hulk Hogan vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. However, fortunately for wrestling fans everywhere, we all knew just how legendary both Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle were when they faced each other, in their primes, at WrestleMania 21. Michaels and Angle both take great pride in their work, and I’m not sure there was any real way for this match not to steal the show that night. For many wrestling fans this was the true main event of the evening even though it preceded both championship matches… and a sumo match. Michaels and Angle proved that sometimes dreams do come true, and this match went on to become the PWI 2005 Match of the Year.

4) Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit (WrestleMania XX)
Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship Match
There’s very little I can say about this match that hasn’t already been said. It’s been called the greatest triple threat match of all time. That’s impressive. It’s been called the greatest main event in WrestleMania history. That’s almost unfathomable. Hell, just last week Julian listed it as Triple H’s best match ever. The moment that everyone remembers is Triple H tapping out to Chris Benoit, but it’s unfair to neglect Shawn Michaels’ contributions to the overall quality of the match. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit would have been a great match, but it was Shawn Michaels that provided the intangible “it” factor that transformed the match from great to legendary. Whether he was moonsaulting off the top rope or challenging his old adversary Triple H to finally finish the score, it was Michaels’ performance as the prototypical tweener that allowed him to effectively play off of both Chris Benoit and Triple H. I’m not sure if you can have a truly great triple threat match with two faces and a heel or with two heels and a face, but in this case you had one great face, one great heel, and one great tweener come together and give us the match that PWI would recognize at its 2004 Match of the Year.

3) Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania X)
Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship
I had yet to truly discover my love of professional wrestling when this match took place in 1994, so I heard of its legend long before I actually saw it. In fact, the first time I actually watched this match was in 2002 when it was released on the Shawn Michaels: From the Vault DVD. I knew that it was regarded as one of the most revolutionary matches of all time and that it laid the groundwork for every ladder match to follow, but I assumed that it would seem a bit muted, if not altogether dated, by comparison to the TLC bumping bonanzas to which I had become accustomed. I thought I’d seen it all, but there were still times during this match that I found myself shouting, “Holy Shit!” in spite of myself. That spot where Michaels comes off the top rope and rides the ladder down onto Razor Ramon still blows my mind, and it’s all the more amazing when you take into account the fact that it happened more than a decade ago. This match has been woven into the very fabric that makes up professional wrestling, and along the way it became the PWI 1994 Match of the Year as well as being one of only four matches in WWE history with a five star rating from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

2) Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (In Your House: Badd Blood 1997)
Hell in a Cell Match
In all honesty, I have to admit I’m amazed that this match worked as superbly as it did. The gimmick itself – a giant cage with a roof on top – sounded a bit goofy and could have led to a thoroughly forgettable match had it not been placed in the capable hands of Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. Instead, we were treated to an alarmingly intense spectacle that once again raised the bar on brutality in WWE. It was in this match the Michaels forever perfected the role of chicken shit heel that still serves as the template for arrogant yet cowardly heels everywhere. Oh, and speaking of “Holy Shit!” moments, I damn near forgot to keep breathing when I realized that Michaels and Taker were going to actually climb to the top of the cage. Most “Holy Shit!” moments involve one or more bodies crashing down onto or through someone or something, but this particular moment of disbelief came simply from the face that two legends were literally taking this match to previously unprecedented heights. Of course, a more traditional, gravity assisted “Holy Shit!” moment came mere moments later when Michaels rather unceremoniously ended the career of an announce table, but by that point it was simply icing on the cake. A camera man got his ass kicked, a Big Red Monster tore the door off the cage, and in the end we had yet another one of only four matches in WWE history to earn a five star rating from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

1) Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (Summerslam 2002)
Unsanctioned Match
This one may cause some controversy, but frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. This is far and away my favorite professional wrestling match of all time and thus, quite obviously, also far and away my favorite Shawn Michaels match of all time. Now I completely understand that there’s a difference between “best” and “favorite,” and I like to think that for the most part I’m rational enough to differentiate between actual quality and my own personal preferences. However, in this case I have to believe that those two criteria converge, because no match has ever blown my mind, start to finish, like this one. In order to understand the true greatness of this match, you have to understand the story behind the match.

Shawn Michaels had been away from the ring for more than four years due to a horrendous back injury. He had resigned himself to the fact that his in-ring career was over, and at some point we had all done the same. I remember waiting week after week during 1998 to see Michaels step back in the ring. I remember the day I realized it was never going to happen. And then, four years later, I remember the day I found out that the hands of time were going to be turned back for one night only. You see, that was the deal. Michaels didn’t have the chance to go out with a bang in 1998 due to the back injury, so he was coming back for one last match in order to leave the fans with the kind of last impression that he so richly deserved. He was going to be facing Triple H, his best friend, and one hell of a worker in his own right. This was going to be Michaels chance to crystallize his entire career in one night and forever cement his legacy as a legend. And most importantly, this was our chance to say good-bye to a truly phenomenal performer. I have never been more emotionally involved in a match than I was in this one. All traces of the “smart” wrestling fan were gone, and for one night I was once again the same jubilant mark that I had been as a child. To this day I still become that kid, marking like all get out, every time I watch this match.

And then there’s the match itself. Everything, every little detail about the match, was just right. The action was fast and furious. The pacing was perfect. The ebb and flow of the momentum was riveting. But for me the real beauty of this match comes from the little moments that Michaels shared with his fans throughout it. We got to see the cocky Boy Toy lounging on the top rope as Triple H made his way to the ring. We got to see that impish sparkle in his eyes as he pulled a ladder out from under the ring. We got to see him admit that he was more than a bit crazy before leaping off the top rope and driving Triple H through a table. And we got to see him tell us that he loved us just as much as we loved him before delivering one last picture perfect elbow drop from the top of a ladder. This is the kind of match that can only be produced by a man who has nothing left to lose and no time left to waste. It was, in every way, the perfect good-bye… except for the fact that in the end it wasn’t a good-bye at all. Michaels found out that he could still compete at the highest level. He found out that the fans still cheered for him just as loudly as they had four years earlier. He found out that his in-ring career was far from over. In fact, half of what I have listed as Michaels’ Top Ten Matches came after what was meant to be his swan song. Perhaps part of the wonder of this match is that what was meant to be an ending morphed into yet another beginning, and in today’s world that kind of hope can go a long way.

That’s all for this week my cheeky wee monkeys. I’d love to hear your thoughts / comments / criticisms of the list, so feel free to drop me an email. Julian will be back next week with the Top Ten Managers, and of course you can catch me each and every weekend over at the Heat Report.