Posted in: COLUMNS The Man Who Defines Wrestlemania
By Chad Matthews
Nov 9, 2009 - 11:37:02 AM
The Man Who Defines Wrestlemania
Wrestlemania season is upon us. With tickets to the annual sports entertainment spectacular having just gone on sale, it will not be long before the anticipation begins to build on WWE television. If there is a more exciting time in wrestling than the next few months, I don’t know what it is. With Wrestlemania comes the great memories of the grandest stage in 25 years worth of history...Undertaker’s undefeated streak, Ric Flair’s last match, Hogan vs. Andre, and the now rarely spoken of final moment from Wrestlemania XX (just to name a few). Every year, we are treated to months worth of anticipation, build-up, and hype leading to a weekend in March or April that concludes in the biggest show of the year. With the annual pay-per-view spectacular also comes the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. So, it was a couple of months ago, while watching basketball’s annual ceremony to honor its top stars - highlighted by the induction of basketball’s greatest player of all-time, Michael Jordan - that I started thinking about next year’s Wrestlemania...and the superstar that personifies it.
Perhaps no other player in history was as deserving as MJ of a first-ballot induction. In watching “His Airness” give the speech that put the finishing touch on his storied career, I found myself reminiscing for hours about some of the unforgettable moments of Jordan in a Bulls uniform. In particular, I thought about his NBA Finals performances and his dominance on the grand stage. Well, when I think of Wrestlemania, several great memories come to mind, but most of all, I think of the superstar who, in my opinion, not only personifies the “Granddaddy of them all,” but owns the outright title, much like Jordan in his sport, of the greatest professional wrestler of all-time. He has been a part of five Wrestlemania main-event championship matches. He has headlined several more as a featured performer. Despite a lengthy hiatus much like Jordan’s, this man returned to his sport and reached new heights in his in-ring abilities.
“The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels is the Michael Jordan of professional wrestling. So, as the best time of the year to be a wrestling fan approaches, I cannot help but be struck with the reality that HBK is 44 years old and has hinted numerous times in recent years at his retirement. While nobody will be sadder than I to see him go, I don’t want to see him be another Ric Flair. As much as I respect Flair and will never forget seeing Michaels retire him from the WWE live at Wrestlemania 24, Flair’s exit from active in-ring competition was about ten years overdue. I do not wish to see my all-time favorite go down a similar road. Michael Jordan’s short-lived second return to basketball as a player for the Washington Wizards is a memory I have to block out, so it does not cross my mind when I think of his career. I do not wish to do that with Michaels, who has been my favorite performer since 1996 and one of my favorite performers since his rocking days in the early 90’s. To see him stay in the ring too long or to come back and be a shell of himself...I’m prepared to watch it, given the nature of the wrestling business and knowing HBK’s unbridled passion for the in-ring performance. However, I do not wish to see that.
Thus, it is my opinion that Wrestlemania 26 would be a great time for Shawn Michaels to retire. After having already expressed his desire to spend more time with his family and be there as his kids enter the years in which fathers, perhaps, most enjoy seeing their kids grow up, I cannot think of a better time for the Heartbreak (not-so) Kid to end his phenomenal career. Frankly, consistently brilliant work is what I expect from HBK. Much like Jordan, HBK has set that standard for himself. When he returned from his hiatus in 2002, no one was more surprised at how phenomenal he worked than me. I was not yet as knowledgeable about the business of pro-wrestling at that time and had not studied it to the extent that I later would, but I’m not sure even the smartest of smart marks could have predicted that HBK would return, having not wrestled a match in over 4 years, and have (arguably) the match of the year against Triple H at Summerslam. It reminded me of Jordan’s return, when no one was sure just how good MJ would be until he dropped 55 points on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Even still, you had to wonder...just like you did with Jordan. Sure, HBK could have a great match here and there, just as Jordan could have a great game here and there. What defined Jordan was his consistency. I remember seeing him lose to the Orlando Magic in the 1995 Eastern Conference semi-finals and thinking, “Jordan isn’t the same and never will be.” Well, even after watching HBK live up to the expectations at Wrestlemania XIX against Chris Jericho, I still didn’t see the consistency in him for the majority of the rest of 2003 like I had come to expect from him before his injury/hiatus. But much like Michael Jordan did in 1996 with his MVP-winning, unbelievable championship year with the Bulls, Shawn Michaels (by the end of ’03) started looking like that consistently brilliant star of old...arguably even elevating his game. He stole the show with his performance at Survivor Series 2003, taking the spotlight away from Steve Austin’s potential (storyline) last WWE moment and Randy Orton’s ascension to relevance. Then, he re-ignited his feud with Triple H and had an unbelievable, MOTY contender to close the year on Raw. Suddenly, HBK was not just back...he really was BACK. It was as if he flipped the switch, just like MJ, and took off on a journey that has carried him to the present.
2004 was a great year for HBK when he was around. A minor injury and much deserved time off limited his production in the second half of the year, but 2005 was a banner year for Michaels. After coming back in January, he went on to have one of the best years of any WWE superstar, elevating the likes of Edge, Chris Masters, and Muhammed Hassan with top notch performances AND tearing the house down with Kurt Angle in what was arguably the greatest match in Wrestlemania history (CMV1 note- some even claimed his Vengeance match w/ Angle was even better). Just when you thought he couldn’t get any better, he turned in a brilliant 6-week heel turn in his feud with Hulk Hogan. He continued all the way through early 2007 in one of the best Royal Rumble performances ever in 2007 and rightfully earned his place in the main-event against John Cena at Wrestlemania 23. Despite another knee injury in May of 2007, he came back to have a handful of quality feuds and two more brilliant Wrestlemania performances. Most recently, at the 25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania, he had a match that will live in the memories of all who watched it for years to come against the Undertaker. The Deadman was arguably at the top of his in-ring game as of spring 2009, so perhaps it was even more impressive what Michaels was able to do a year earlier. At Wrestlemania XXIV, he did everything he could to get a memorable last match out of the aged Ric Flair.
Perhaps the greatest thing about Shawn Michaels is the way, in which he approaches Wrestlemania as the stage to make memories that will last a lifetime. The importance that he places on Wrestlemania helps boost the aura of that particular event. Many might argue that the Undertaker’s undefeated streak is the great constant at Wrestlemania, but I’d argue that HBK’s consistent brilliance is the true great constant at the year’s biggest PPV. From the ladder match to the Ironman match to the match he wrestled with a broken back to each match he’s had since he returned...when you have a superstar that you absolutely know will give you nothing short of something spectacular, it builds your confidence that wrestling’s most prestigious show will live up to the hype...even when you think it may not. A 4-5 star performance helps boost any show, but think of it in terms potential buyers on the fence. Just using the last three Manias as examples...I’d be curious to know how many people purchased the event because they could not justify missing HBK take on the WWE’s new golden boy, John Cena...or seeing what he could get out of Ric Flair at the end of an era...or seeing just how great of a match he and another storied veteran could put together on the grandest stage of them all.
Most of us have only read about Bill Russell’s dominance and his 11 NBA championship rings. So, in our eras, Jordan without a doubt stands atop the ladder all by himself for NBA Finals heroics. Is there a WWE superstar that even comes close to HBK in Wrestlemania merit? It’s really not even close. I compiled star-rating statistics of his last 7 Wrestlemania matches. The results were a 4.35/5 star average. That’s unbelievable! That’s unheard of! There aren’t enough synonyms for great to do that number justice. Granted, that is a very subjective number, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a credible reviewer that wouldn’t rate most of HBK’s Mania bouts since his 2003 return as mostly “four-to-five stars.” Only his match with Mr. McMahon falls short and Michaels even salvaged THAT to make it very entertaining.
And so we may be reaching the end of the Shawn Michaels era sooner than later. What Wrestlemania and the WWE will be like without him is something I’ve forgotten about in the last seven years, but I’d much rather see him end his career while he’s still capable of consistently producing at an elite level than see him overstay his welcome. In the meantime, I’ll hopefully get to enjoy the greatest performer in the history of the WWE have one more standout performance on the grandest stage of them all.
Former WWE Smackdown reporter for LOP, Chad Matthews
