By Steve Vasilevski, PWTorch Specialist

SHAWN MICHAELS
Nickname: Heartbreak Kid
Born: July 22, 1965
From: San Antonio, Texas
Trained By: Jose Lothario

Career Accomplishments

4-time WWE World Champion, 3-Time Intercontinental Champion, 4-time Tag Team Champion, European Champion, Royal Rumble Winner (1995 and 1996)

Career Highlight

With a career full of accomplishments and acclaim, perhaps the night that encapsulates the best of Shawn Michaels is WrestleMania XII. A twelve year journey that included a great tag team run with Marty Jannetty, their inevitable break-up, a run as an obnoxious heel and subsequently a slightly less obnoxious babyface led Shawn Michaels to Anaheim California where he found himself in the main event after winning the Royal Rumble two months prior. The Iron Man Match between Michaels and Bret Hart was a contest that fused athleticism with wrestling psychology in ways only two greats like Michaels and Hart are capable of. The awe-inspiring sixty-plus minute display concluded like a well written Hollywood epic. The boyhood dream of Shawn Michaels had come true and the Heartbreak Kid won his first of four world championships.

Career Low Point

Michaels will be remembered for many things once he decides to call it a career. However no night has earned HBK more attention than Survivor Series 1997. If Michaels was an athlete without flaws in the ring, hew was the exact opposite outside of the ring. You will find very few flattering stories about Michaels from this period of time and even less people who have positive things to say about what Michaels did in Montreal that night. Which leads us to the question...

What If: Shawn Michaels retired after WrestleMania XIV?

Fans obviously would have missed out on tremendous matches like HBK's WrestleMania classic with Kurt Angle and initial return match against close friend Triple H at SummerSlam 2002. But how would Shawn Michaels, or more specifically his legacy in the wrestling business have been looked at? Before Michaels became a born again Christian in '02, he was the epitome of the selfish, irreverent wrestler he played on television. The line between Michaels the performer and Michaels the man were blurred so much so that his interviews on Raw circa 1997 were more about backstage politics than fictional storyline. HBK's reputation has been well publicized by the wrestling community long before Montreal had even occurred. His 'career ending' knee injury where the timing seems a little too coincidental, just weeks before he was scheduled to lose to Hart at WrestleMania 13. As well as his power playing with Vince McMahon behind closed doors, disrespecting kayfabe with the clique's curtain call in Madison Square Garden to throwing colossal hissy fits when the spotlight of WWE wasn't cast solely on Michaels.

The reputation followed HBK around from his early party days as one half of the Rockers until WrestleMania XIV, where a legitimate back injury threatened Michaels career. It has been reported by numerous sources that HBK was in no way eager to lose the WWE championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin even with the general belief being that Michaels would be riding off into the sunset at the conclusion of the bout. Ironic considering this was only four months removed form Montreal. As it turns out, out of loyalty to McMahon (and fear of the Undertaker) Michaels did lose the title to Austin that night after a display of toughness and courage rarely seen.

When Shawn left WWE for almost five years, the legacy he left was that of a cocky prima donna whose matches, as exciting as they were weren't nearly as exciting as the behind the scenes stories. Fans were delighted HBK was returning at the 2002 installment of SummerSlam and his performance that night and the six years since have been nothing short of inspiring. As fans we got the same breathtaking athlete we remembered, but the true inspiration was being felt more in the locker room, where HBK's faith had changed the immature boy that many lamented into a mature, repenting husband and father. For the next six years HBK would manage to remain the MVP of Raw and as a fan it was a lot easier to enjoy knowing that Shawn had pulled it all together in his real life as well.

Other than a one month angst fest with Hulk Hogan (where none of the blame went to Michaels, which is telling of Hogan's reputation), HBK has kept himself drama free, willing to put over new talent to make way for the future. The fact that Shawn has been the most consistent performer of the last six years and only held the World tile for four weeks since returning is a testament to that unselfish spirit Michaels has now. By making his momentous comeback in '02, not only were fans treated to the Showstopper Take 2, but HBK may very well have saved his own legacy.

For if his career did end at WrestleMania XIV, stories of his backstabbing, pill popping days... and Montreal would have overshadowed his many accomplishments in the ring. HBK has claimed in past interviews that Montreal has grown to define Bret Hart but not himself. If it wasn't for his performances in and out of the ring over the last six years Montreal may be all people needed to know about Shawn Michaels.

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