Views from the Hawke’s Nest: From the Vault – Shawn Michaels – Disc 2

 

No Holds Barred

Shawn explained that the business was changing and that being athletic was becoming more important. Shawn said working bigger guys was easy because the size difference told the story itself.

Shawn Michaels(c) vs. Diesel [No Holds Barred match for the WWF Heavyweight Championship]
The match started as a brawl. Shawn sent Diesel to the floor and took him out with a moonsault. Diesel got control shortly after that though and worked Shawn over. Diesel choked the ref with his wrist tape, and then used the referee’s belt to choke Shawn in the ropes. Diesel then got a chair shot in before the ref saved Shawn. Diesel accidentally hit himself with the chair, but he then gave Shawn a low blow to keep the advantage. Diesel powerbombed Shawn through a commentator table. He then posed with the belt afterwards. Vince begged Shawn to stop. Shawn came back after spraying a fire extinguisher in Diesel’s eyes. He killed Diesel with some chair shots. Shawn ate a big boot but avoided the jackknife. Diesel avoided the superkick and hit a lariat. Diesel attacked MAD DOG VACHON in the front row and took his prosthetic leg. Amazing. Best thing Kevin Nash has ever done in wrestling. Shawn got the leg though and hit Diesel. SUPERKICK: 1…2…3!

WWE “no holds barred” (or whatever they feel like calling it at any given time) matches have a formula now where they’re good enough to be really entertaining, but few of them stand out as being unique in any way. This is a match that still feels unique eighteen years later. I cannot think of too many matches where the WWF/WWE Champion had to basically act without honor (the fire extinguisher spot) to survive a beating he was taking from his opponent. The story was really engaging, and the crowd responded well to it. Great match.
Match Rating: ****

 

Mind Games
Shawn talked about how Mankind’s character brought out a different side of him. He was proud that Mick believes it was the best match in his career considering all the great matches he had in his career.

September 22, 1996
WWF Mind Games

Shawn Michaels© vs. Mankind (w/ Paul Bearer) [WWF Heavyweight Championship]
They ended up on the floor very quickly, and Shawn had the advantage. Mankind needed the power of the urn at one point. THE URN. Mankind got all of the urn he needed apparently, and they went back to brawling. Shawn went after one of Mankind’s knees. Mankind dropped Shawn on the ropes and then worked him over. That went on for a good bit. Shawn came back after forcing Mankind into steps and a ringpost. Mankind was getting choked by the ropes, but he still managed to apply the Mandible Claw. Shawn attacked the Mandible Claw hand with a steel chair. He then bit the hand and stomped on it. “Not your hand!” Paul Bearer is great. Mankind came back after sending Shawn to the floor. Mankind tried to put Shawn into a casket. It’s not a casket match, but it would have a great metaphor (I suppose). Shawn escaped though and made a comeback. Mankind tried to back superplex Shawn through a table on the floor, but Shawn kind of reversed it into a crossbody through the same table. Shawn then jumped off a chair to kick a chair into Mankind’s face. Vader ran in for the disqualification.

Paul hit Shawn with an urn after that. Psycho Sid then ran off Vader. Mankind went to roll Shawn into the casket, but The Undertaker came out of it and ran Mankind off.

Despite the real shitty ending (unlike the AWA match on this set, this DQ ending was truly awful and go-away heat for me), this was a fantastic brawl. Michaels’ various strategies for attacking and weakening Mankind were great. Attacking the Mandible Claw hand was probably my favorite part of the match, and the match may have been even better if that idea was truly expanded upon. Great effort by both men.
Match Rating: ****1/4

 

Hell in a Cell
Shawn talks about how they pushed the envelope with Degeneration-X, and that they took their backstage sense of humor and brought it to television. Shawn wanted to do something different than a cage match, and he remembered a Buzz Sawyer/Tommy Rich match where they had a top on their cage.

WWE Bad Blood
October 5, 1997

The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
Shawn still being the European Champion at the time of this match cracks me up (until I remember that he refused to job to Davey Boy earlier for the title).

Triple H, Chyna, and Rick Rude were locked out of the cage and sent to the back.

Taker dominated Shawn for a while. A long time in fact. Shawn finally got some offense in after Taker crashed into the cage. Shawn sent Taker into the cage again, and he then hit a tope suicida. Shawn followed all that up with a piledriver on the steps. Shawn also used a chair to attack Taker. JR referred to Shawn as the “Chairman of the Board.” When did La Parka starting doing that gimmick? Shawn ran into a cameraman at one point, and he then attacked the cameraman. Taker no-sold a superkick, and Shawn escaped the cage due to Commissioner Slaughter trying to get in to check on the cameraman. They started brawling outside the cage. Shawn got busted open. Shawn had to climb to the top of the cage to escape Taker. Taker climbed right up after him. Taker backdropped him on top of the cage. Shawn started to climb down, but Taker pushed him off and through an announce table. They got back into the cage. Taker hit a super chokeslam and then cracked him on the skull with a chair shot. Lights went out. KANE made his debut. Paul Bearer came out with him. Kane ripped off the door to the cage and sent Earl Hebner into the cage. Kane did his fire pyro spot and then gave Taker a tombstone. Shawn then crawled over to cover Taker: 1……2…….3

D-X had to basically carry Shawn to the back. I cannot imagine what ramifications this would have on the European Championship scene.

While the first third/half of the match suffered from Taker’s obligatory destroy his opponent segment that I’ve never really been into, this match picks up big time once Shawn fought back and turned into a fantastic brawl. While Mick Foley and Taker managed to top this less than a year later, these two clearly did something special here. The greatness of the match covers for the sheer stupidity of some of the decision-making going on with the booking.

They create a new gimmick that is supposed to not only confine the wrestlers involved but also make it impossible for someone else to get it. Naturally, the wrestlers escape the cage AND someone breaks into the cage. It’s a real credit to the wrestlers for making this match overcome that and a credit to the WWF for making the gimmick seem important for a few more years after this.
Match Rating: ****1/4

 

The Comeback
Shawn said it was a very personal decision to return because he wanted to be close to the same level that he was at before he retired. Shawn was very satisfied with the return match and that it went above and beyond his expectations.

Summerslam
August 25, 2002

Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H [Unsanctioned Street Fight]
This was Shawn’s first match since Wrestlemania 1998.

Shawn hit an early pescado. Shawn was running through him for a bit until HHH hit a BACKbreaker. NOT HIS BACK~! Triple H was in control for a while. Shawn got busted open, and Triple H whipped him with a belt. Shawn looked to be ready to fight back at one point, but Triple H crotched him and went back to work on the back. Triple H called for a pedigree on a chair, but Shawn gave him a low blow. Triple H got a chair, but Shawn superkicked it in his face. Lol, Shawn kipped up after all that work on his back. Shawn loves doing that. Working over Shawn’s back is as effective as working over BxB Hulk’s leg. Triple H was busted open by this point and then got a chair shot to the head. Shawn made a big plunder comeback. Shawn got a nearfall with a superplex. Triple H hit a high knee, but Shawn came right back. Shawn placed Triple H on a table on the floor, and then hit a splash through the table. Back in the ring, Shawn hit a diving elbow off a ladder! He called for the superkick. Triple H tried to reverse it into a pedigree, but Shawn reversed that into a jackknife pin: 1…2…3! Despite being gone for four years, Shawn was able to have one of his best matches ever in his first match back.

Yet another great brawl from Shawn Michaels on this set. Much like a number of WWE main eventers in the last twenty years, Shawn was a great brawler who often excelled even more in a “no holds barred” situation. There were a couple of weird moments (kipping up when your back is injured being my biggest gripe), but this was great overall.
Match Rating: ****1/4

 

Watch free Shawn Michaels matches:

Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho [Last Man Standing]

Shawn Michaels & Triple H vs. John Cena & The Undertaker vs. The Big Show & Chris Jericho

Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena vs. Kurt Angle [Great match]

Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin [One of my personal favorite Shawn matches]

Shawn Michaels vs. Batista

Shawn Michaels & John Cena vs. The Undertaker & Batista [This is fun. Recommended.]

Shawn Michaels vs. Owen Hart [Title vs. Title]

Shawn Michaels, Goldberg, & RVD vs. Randy Orton, Batista, & Kane

Shawn Michaels vs. Rob Van Dam

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty vs. Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard

Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, John Cena, & Triple H vs. CM Punk, Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, & Ted DiBiase

Shawn Michaels vs. Vader

Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty vs. Los Conquistadors

Shawn Michaels & Triple H vs. Hawk & Animal

Shawn Michaels vs. Crush

Shawn Michaels & Hulk Hogan vs. Daivari & Muhammad Hassan

Shawn Michaels & Triple H vs. The Miz & John Morrison

Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, & Triple H vs. Edge, Randy Orton, & Kenny

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

For the most part, this set is a really tight package that almost exclusively focuses on the biggest matches of Shawn's career. If you don't have a good copy of these matches, it's worth picking up still. The main lesson from this set is that Shawn Michaels was excellent in the WWE "no holds barred" atmosphere. I think you can make an argument that said atmosphere is actually one of the main wrestling styles in the WWE (especially for main events), and Shawn might have been one of the best at it.