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Submitted by XanMan on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 12:30 PM EST
 "If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. That's just the way that it is. Oh love comes along and it don't take long til it slips through my fingertips. I could make some excuses, but darling the truth is I'm just the reckless kind. And I don't want to leave you to pick up the pieces, Oh no matter how I try." Shawn Michaels is the best wrestler in the world. Does that kind of have a ring to it? I'm still getting used to swishing it around; seeing how it tastes; seeing how it feels. While it feels weird to say anything other than "Chris Benoit" to start that sentence, the fact is that it also feels true. What in the world is there that Shawn Michaels cannot do in the squared circle? He may not be able to pick up the Big Show and whomp him to the ground with a fireman's carry slam the way a certain former champ can. He may not be able to throw the prettiest shooting star press ever Bourne in the business, or a corkscrew 450 like the nephew of his hated storied rival. And he may not have ever carried the the WWF on his back during a lean period like a rattlesnake once did and a game did soon after, but he's never really been given the opportunity either. The one time it looked like he was going to, he lost his spot to Austin after hitting a table wrong and hurting his back--presumably for the rest of his life. We'll never know what would have happened in the wrestling world if that hadn't happened. Maybe the Austin/McMahon rivalry would have still lit the world on fire, maybe Michaels would have led the WWF back on top, or maybe WCW would have won the war. My one-sided relationship with Shawn Michaels actually started as a half-serious hatred of him. When my family moved back from to the States from South Korea in the summer of 1988, my brothers and I first saw The Rockers perform. Immediately, they became my brother Travis' favorite tag team; meanwhile mine remained The Hart Foundation, though I was shocked to learn they'd soon be challenging Demolition for the WWF Tag Team Championship instead of defending the belts I never even knew they'd lost. I don't know how it is today, but back then all we got was tape delayed programs, only we didn't know how far behind those programs were. There was no internet, and thus no IWC, and when we left, the Harts were still the champs, their top contenders were The Killer B's, and Demolition had yet to even debut unless I'm very much mistaken. Because the two of us had different favorites(I think he liked the Bulldogs and the B's before we moved. If I could ask him, I would,) we had to each display a hatred for the other's team. Despite that, I have to admit that even then I had a grudging admiration for Michaels--and his partner Marty Jannetty--due to their amazing athleticism inside the ring and coordination with each other. While I think the Motor City Machine Guns take that coordination to a new level, for the time they were really something else. However, being that good in that era wasn't enough, as despite the undeniable talent, athleticism, and popularity of the team, they were never tag champs. It's easy to look at what's transpired since and say that Shawn Michaels was clearly the better member of the team, but Jannetty was actually Trav's favorite and I have spoken to other wrestling fans via the internet over the years who say that they always thought Jannetty was the more interesting one. That always amazes me, because while we will never know exactly how good Jannetty was and how far he would have gone if his addiction to drugs hadn't gotten the better of him, it still seems akin to me to looking at The Hart Foundation and thinking that Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart would become the breakout star. Even when they were a team, Jannetty seemed to move slower than Michaels with less understanding of what it took to be great in the ring; and when he was in solo matches that was even easier to spot. I don't doubt Jannetty had the ability to have a long career as a single's performer, but I believe he would have toiled away for years in the midcard instead of making his way to becoming a superstar the way his former partner has. See, when following Survivor Series '91, Michaels threw his estranged partner through the glass of The Barber Shop set, it was more than just the physical breaking of the glass or the intangible break-up of probably the most successful non-champion WWF tag team ever(still,) it also put a physical barrier between Jannetty and Michaels that would come to serve as a metaphorical and philosophical one. While Michaels would become a single's star, including winning the Intercontinental Championship and main-eventing a pay per view within a year of the break up, Jannetty wouldn't even really get a feud against his former friend until late spring 1993--when almost a year and a half had passed, and once that happened, he just kind of fizzled out only to appear every once in a while in cameo appearances. Nowadays, Michaels says he owes his life to his wife and friends and to being a born-again Christian, but obviously someone was looking out for him even back 16 years ago, because he was also a drinker, a druggie, and a hard partier, but he somehow managed to keep his head above water longer than Jannetty and did not let his appetite for excess overcome his hunger for becoming a wrestling superstar. "Girl, I break everything I touch. Little girl that's close enough. Seems like every heart I've ever loved...I break everything I touch." Shawn seemed to go from being a "tag team specialist" to a solo superstar overnight. Sherri Martel--as Sensational Sherri--was attached to him as his infatuated manager, he was given a new nickname "The Heartbreak Kid," and a new finisher in the form of an elevated back suplex The Teardrop. He was flamboyant, he was arrogant, and he was nasty; and the fans took notice of him in a way that they hadn't before. Sure, as I said, The Rockers were a popular tag team, and though Michaels seemed to me clearly the class of the team, I don't recall it being a Bret Hart type situation where the fans were clamoring for him to go solo; and when the fans are behind a team that does split up seemingly without cause(meaning in real life, not storyline) it can be difficult to get that superstar over. Whether it was because of the immediate change in look and attitude, the new manager, or just the overall package, that wasn't the case with Michaels. Despite his lack of physical stature, from the moment he first came out in his white and black tights and vest with red, broken hearts all over them, he was obviously going to become a superstar; though I don't believe anyone could have guessed how big. After he lost and won back the Intercontinental Title from Marty Jannetty, though, there didn't seem to be a lot of places for him to go. The top of the card was entrenched with new World Champ and rising superstar Yokozuna, and he already had three major challengers in Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and Lex Luger. Michaels' close personal friend, Scott Hall, had also become a top contender for the WWF Title, nearly unseating Hart in an excellent match at that year's Royal Rumble. So, despite the bright, burning, rising star that was "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, there didn't seem to be anywhere to which he could rise, so maybe it isn't surprising that he was suspended for using steroids. After all, all of the men above him were bigger than him, and all except Hart much bigger. During this suspension, Michaels seriously considered jumping to the up-and-coming WCW for a huge payraise, but he turned down their offer, and his faith in the organization he was in was soon rewarded, as his suspension became a blessing in disguise. Wrestlemania X was not the first ladder match in the history of the WWF, but it was the first high-profile one, and though Michaels lost the match, he made himself in a lot of people's eyes. If he had not been suspended; if there had not been two people with claims to be Intercontinental Champion; it may never have happened. But, happen it did, and despite the fact that I already felt Michaels was the better Rocker, despite the fact that I tremendously enjoyed Shawn Michaels as a heel single's star, this was really the first time that I ever saw him as anything more than a midcarder. After this match, it was clear to me--and probably to anyone who was watching--that not only was Michaels destined for great things, but that we were looking at the future of the business. When you watch guys like Chris Jericho, The Brian Kendrick, AJ Styles, Rob Van Dam, Austin Aries, Shelton Benjamin, and Jimmy Jacobs--among others--wrestle; when you remember what we saw from Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit in the WWF and WCW; understand that if this ladder match hadn't happened, they might not ever have made it to the top of the business. It was Michaels' performance in this match that set the stage for the high-flyers of today. He didn't only make himself in that match, he made everyone else stand up and take notice that there was a new style in the business that could be successful at attracting fans, and what attracts fans attracts money and interest. Aside from that, there are 4 men that owe their careers to Shawn Michaels: trainer. I already mentioned Kendrick. That leaves Paul London, "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson, and Lance Cade. Love 'em or hate 'em, without Michaels, these guys may not have ever become pro wrestlers. The ladder match that Michaels and Ramon competed in that day, obviously, also set the stage for all of the other ladder matches we've seen; and, of course, the TLC match; but what it did for Michaels is immeasurable. His first shot at the World Title was at Survivor Series 1992, but that was only because the top challengers for the title--Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Ultimate Warrior, Razor Ramon, and Mr. Perfect--were all involved in a tag team match on the same card. Despite his obvious talent, Michaels may not have gotten a second shot at being WWF Champion if it wasn't for his performance at Wrestemania X. He won his first WWF Title at Wrestlemania XII in an IronMan match against the Hitman, but he was booked to win it a year before that against his former bodyguard and best friend, Diesel. He was going to be the first heel to leave Wrestlemania as champion--an honor that went to Triple H 5 years later--but a funny thing happened on the way to the title. The crowd started chanting "HBK" and "Michaels." At this time, the WWF didn't understand popular heels, and didn't know how to deal with it, so McMahon changed the finish during the match--OF THE MAIN EVENT AT WRESTLEMANIA.. Another groundbreaking moment for the man who would come to be known as Mr. Wrestlemania. "I can't look in your eyes and tell you a lie; I'd love to leave here with you. Oh but darling the fact is I'm always attracted to everything I shouldn't do. So you better know before I lose control--before we throw it all to chance--girl you're welcome to stay, but all I've got to say before you lay your heart in my hands..." The time from Wrestlemania to Survivor Series 1996 is the one time during which I didn't watch much wrestling. Although I was reading a lot of results on the internet, and thus becoming somewhat of a smark, I was still a mark at heart. I still consider myself to be a wrestling fan more than anything else; even more than a columnist, but at that time I really wore my heart on my sleeve as a fan. While I tremendously enjoyed Michaels' match against Big Daddy Cool at Wrestemania XI and his speech to Sid the next night, I abhorred everthing that happened with HBK after that night. I loved Michaels as a heel, and I, like a lot of fans, didn't want him to turn--that's something that the WWF didn't get. So, though Michaels and Hart were undoubtedly the two most popular stars in the organization going into Wrestlemania XII, I despised this new incarnation of the Heart Break Kid, and though I knew he was probably walking out that night as WWF Champion, I wasn't happy about it at all. I wanted Michaels to be the champ the year before, when he was a bad guy, not now that he was a goody two-shoes babyface. It wasn't the same; there was no longer a sense of danger in cheering for the guy. To do so would have been perverse. So, when Michaels didn't win the championship from Bret, I was relieved. At that time, I thought it was an amazing match and was astounded that when most matches went no longer than 15 or 20 minutes, neither Bret nor Michaels(not to be confused with Poison's very own Bret Michaels) was able to score a pinfall on the other in a full hour.(Of course, it wasn't until much later that I learned that the brash, young Michaels and the grizzled veteran Hart had rubbed each other the wrong way and neither would agree to let the other score the first fall on them.) So, when that bell rang and Bret was still the champion, I wasn't as happy as I would have been if he'd beaten that sell-out Michaels, but I was still thrilled that my guy, The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be, was still all he claimed to be. Until, that is, that idiot Gorilla Monsoon came out and announced that--even though the sixty-minute time limit had been reached and a draw had been ruled--there was going to be extra time. Of course, in that extra time Michaels won the title. But, speaking as a logical sports fan, let me ask you this: In basketball, if the ball is up in the air before time expires, regulation time doesn't actually end until the ball either misses or goes in; in football, if the player is running for the end zone, they don't make him stop before time expires; so in this situation, shouldn't Bret have been able to maintain the Sharpshooter until Michaels either tapped or somehow escaped? I think so--or at least the large fan part does. So, that's what was going on with bitter me during half of 1996. I hated the babyface form of Shawn Michaels, I hated that he had stolen the title from my favorite, Bret Hart, and I hated that Hart was off of television. The other thing I hated was that the organization had also acquired my favorite non-WWF wrestler, "Stunning" Steve Austin and turned him into The Ringmaster, but I did catch King of the Ring and see him become the new King as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and launch his "Austin 3:16" catchphrase, so I wasn't completely tuned out to wrestling during that time. Just mostly. I hated what was going on with both the WWF and WCW, I didn't get ECW,(I think it existed then) and I figured I'd just stop paying attention until they did something that appealed to me as a fan. Pitting the returning Bret Hart against the on-fire Steve Austin may have been the only thing that really would have done it; and it did. I was fucking PSYCHED for that. They did not disappoint, putting on an absolute clinic at Survivor Series '96 and later eliminating each other in the '97 Royal Rumble in a storyline that eventually led to Michaels refusing to job the WWF Title to Hart in a Wrestlemania rematch. He vacated it instead, claiming he had "lost his smile" and making me hate him even more, and Hart and Austin went on to have another classic at Mania XIII. This was the time when my dislike for HBK was as high as I thought it ever likely to get. The wrestler I'd once loved for portraying the character of a bad guy, was now portraying a good guy, but appeared to be nothing but a vindictive, selfish snake behind the scenes. "Shockingly" Michaels' smile returned in Mid '96 and HBK formed an uneasy alliance with Austin against Bret and his new Hart Foundation and later formed one with fellow "Clique" member Triple H, bodyguard Chyna, and business associate Ravishing Rick Rude. After being called a "bunch of degenerates" on RAW by Bret Hart, the following week Michaels would agree with that assessment and name the group "Degeneration X." This original incarnation of DX would be the group that would assist Vince McMahon and Earl Hebner in screwing Bret Hart out of the WWF Title at Survivor Series 1997 in what has been known ever since as "The Montreal Incident." Five months later, it appeared that Vince McMahon had make a huge mistake--as I already knew he had--in choosing Michaels over Hart when Michaels had to retire following his match against Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIV. Interestingly, it's rumored that Michaels almost followed Hart's lead in refusing to job the title to whom Vince wanted at his departure. I wonder how much of Michaels' decision to job to Austin was influenced by wanting to maintain moral "high ground" on the Hitman. "Yeah, I break everything I touch. Little girl that's close enough. Seems like every heart I've ever loved; I break everything I touch." That was over 10 years ago now, so we may never know. What we can see with the evidence in front of our very eyes, though, is that the Michaels that returned to active wrestling in 2002 did so with a vengeance. While it's true that he hasn't been the bad Shawn Michaels that I loved to watch in the early '90s or the one I grudgingly enjoyed during his time in Fall 1997 to Spring 1998, he certainly has seemed to have more attitude than the one that existed from Spring '95 to Fall '97. I hated that Shawn Michaels, while I've fervently enjoyed this one. When he superkicked Booker T in the face after saying, "But then I thought, you--" and then proceeded to an unconscious Booker, "You're the problem." in the NWO I marked out like a mad man, because though we'd see him do his superkick on other occasions since his injury, this one seemed more real. More intense. More...prophetic. And, it turned out to be so, as shortly after this last incarnation of the NWO broke up, he was viciously attacked by his former teammate Triple H, and faced him at SummerSlam '02 in a non-sanctioned grudge match, which he won. He was then put back out by sledgehammer shots, and it looked like his career was over again. But, that was just to further the story, because despite rampant speculation across the internet that Michaels only worked with Triple H, because he knew he'd be well protected, he returned to pay per view at Survivor Series against Triple H and four others and won the World Title for what is to this point the last time. While there's no doubt that as a fan, I feel cheated by Michaels' injury at Royal Rumble '98 and the feud against Austin that really could have been if he hadn't been hurt, one has to wonder two things: 1) Would Austin vs. McMahon ever have happened? and 2) Would Michaels be the competitor that he is today? After all, it was during his time away from the business that he stopped doing drugs and alcohol and a different woman every night. It was during this time that he found his savior. He used the 4 1/2 years he didn't wrestle to heal his body, of course, but he also used it to heel his spirit. To kill those demons that his friend and partner, Marty Jannetty, was never able to; and as good as Michaels was back in the '90s, it's a better HBK that we see today because of it. There is absolutely nothing that Shawn Michaels cannot do inside the ring, or outside of it as a promo guy. He's absolutely fantastic. That doesn't mean I don't think he has weaknesses. He has a couple; nobody's perfect. I still hate "Sweet Chin Music." Not the superkick itself, but the set-up for it. It still seems incredibly goofy to me that a guy would so loudly announce his intentions of hitting his finishing move; and still hit the damned thing more often than not. Maybe that's why he doesn't hit the long, drawn out version of the move so often anymore. Was the last time against Flair at Mania? Methinks it was. The other big weakness I see is that he really seems to be completely unwilling to be a heel. He's great as a face, don't get me wrong, but he fits what Roddy Piper once said to a tee. Yes, I still long to see a heel Michaels, that's part of it, but I said at the time and still feel that if he had remained heel during and after his feud with Hogan, that they could have set up the biggest money match still left in professional wrestling--Shawn Michaels versus John Cena; heel versus face; at Wrestlemania 2006; a match that I believe would have set the industry on fire again. Instead, because HBK wanted to be face again, that match happened a year later than it should, in a face versus face match. A great match, to be sure, but it could have been spectacular. These are the two things to me that stand out negatively when I hear people say that Shawn Michaels is the greatest wrestler of all time. I believe that when you look at everything the guy can do, he's unquestionably the best wrestler in the world today and I believe that he has been since June 24, 2007. There's nobody that holds a candle to him. But, the fact of the matter is that to be the best wrestler in the world, you can't refuse to return a job, you can't refuse to work heel, and you can't have a finishing move that's so obviously telegraphed every single time. The reason that the superkick is such a great finisher is because it comes out of nowhere, but I can forgive him this because the stamping is a large part of the reason why he's such a great showman; though I think it's senseless, I think the fact that fans around the world pop for it like crazy proves me in the minority. I don't know the others, to be true, but I believe them, and that's why I can't call HBK the best of all time, but, he's damned close, and though Mark Madden was speaking of Benoit when he said it, I think these words today apply to Shawn Michaels today, "He may not be the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be; but he's the best right now." Though Michaels apparently doesn't want to be, I'd love him to have one last reign as either WWF or World Champion. I'd love it even more if he were to do it as a heel. If he never does, though, I'll still remember his time from 2002 on as being some of the most entertaining work by any wrestler ever. No longer a kid, he is become the man; and is worthy of a title that becomes such. All hail the best wrestler in the world. All hail Shawn Michaels. All hail HBK. Bow your heads for the Heart Break King. Long days, pleasant nights {Author's note: The quotes in teal above are from I Break Everything I Touch as sung by Jason Aldean on his outstanding release "Relentless."} The Comment Box This section will pop up now and again when there's some particularly interesting feedback I've received. In this case, I found the young man's letter interesting just because he disagreed with me on a couple of fundamental things and I thought it might be fun to respond to that. Hi. I have just read your column and I though it was pretty good. I only have a few of comments on the guys you mentioned. On Edge, do you really thing the set up for the Spear is a face thing? Because he gets a lot of heat when he does that, it is a cocky thing and he pretty much always miss it getting a better reaction for his opponent afterwards. Now it seems weak because i thing it is supposed to be that way, I mena is a ssudden move but if you notice it, None of the main eventers (exept for HHH and Taker once out of 4 times) gets pinned after it, like John Cena after the Elimination Chamber, One spear was not enough, probably after that it made it look as one of the weakest finishers ever. Like you said porbably he does not have the body for it but apparently is the only one who can apply so many variations of it the he has keep it as finisher. The guy used to have so many finishers and now most of the are used as set up move or he does not use them any more like the Downward Spiral, Edgecator (this variation of the Sharpshooter lopked great but none was was willing to tap out to it), Edgocuttion etc. On the heat he got when he got involved with Vickie, it is all the other way around, Vickie got so much heat after being paired with Edge, he is the heat magnet, Even when he was not as main eventer paired with Randy on Raw, did you watch their match? Edge got booed a lot even againts Randy Orton. The Rated RKO VS DX was good while it lasted because he was the one who put it all together, Sorry but DX was not that over and Randy was with out course during that time, Adding the guy who put Cena over as he did just made sence, he was the most hated guy in WWE. On Samoa Joe, I really think he is a great performer and all but the way you said he should force Kurt, Booker and Christian to wrestle at his pace, that is not much the case, With Christian maybe but Kurt should force him to go to his pace, Kurt is better than Joe, and so is Booker, maybe inss in 2-3 years it will be different but as for now, these two guys are over him as performers. Kurt has become less and less with time but still can carry a match better that Joe, who some times is as good as his dancing partner. Have nice weekend. Marco. I really don't like Edge much; I used to during his feud against Angle when he had recently become a solo competitor and was a face; haven't liked him as a heel except for when he took on John Cena. Part of that, as I mentioned, has to do with the fact that I don't believe his matches. I don't believe someone with his body type could win professional wrestling matches with the spear. I'm sure he could floor me with it, but I don't wrestle for a living. I just don't see a guy at his size moving with his deliberate speed being able to knock people for a loop with that move. That doesn't mean he shouldn't use variations of it during matches, just that it shouldn't be what he finishes them with. As far as his heel work, again, I am not impressed with any of it. Maybe the crowd was enthralled with Rated RKO and I just didn't notice because I didn't care about them. At the time I was much more focused on my desire for Michaels to turn heel, and my disappointment that it didn't happen. Otherwise, though, I think he had cheap heat from the 'net because of his affair with Lita and the return of Matt Hardy right after he "stole" Lita from Kane and then later because of his relationship with Vicky Guerrero who's hated for a number of reasons. However, I freely admit that I may have underrated Edge all this time because I looked at the contents of his dvd set coming out in just under two months and immediately knew I had to own it, because it looked awesome. He's built up an impressive series of matches over his 10 years, so I have to think that while I don't appreciate him when I see him week to week, he's certainly going to be a Hall of Famer one day and I'll look back on his entire career as I do the first decade of it and marvel. As for your comments on Joe subverting his style to Angle or Booker, I completely disagree. Booker's performance at Bound For Glory was the best he's been in years, and he's certainly growing into his TNA character the way he grew into the similar "King Booker" character, but Joe is the future of TNA, and needs to look as strong as possible, as soon as possible, for as long as possible. His performances in the X-Division and in ROH prove him to be a ring general; he's much better than Booker, and he's at least as good as Angle. Great thoughts, though, and I'm glad you enjoyed the column, Marco. Points of Light These are the columns that I believe to be the best posted in the LOP Columns Forum over the last 14 days. I suppose you could call them plugs, but these are the recent columns I see as shining examples of stellar work: After School Detention: Cyber Sunday 2008 by Sean_Taylor UTF Science Report... by Sheepster In the Clutch w/ Mighty Casey... by Mighty Casey The Skaos Theory: Episode 1 by Skaos3010 You can send any comments by email to me at XanManX@hotmail.com with the words "Northern Star" or "feedback" in the subject line or you can click here to leave feedback if you're a member of The Lop Forums. The Northern Star will rise again, until then... Be Well
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