wrestling / Video Reviews
Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Mr. Wrestlemania – Disc 3
Loading...Shawn says that he wanted the Vince match to basically have a Wrestlemania “off” (or free of expectations at least). There were a couple of amusing anecdotes regarding the match. Shawn told the crew that the proposed ladder that would be used for the match was too high, but they ended up putting it underneath the ring by accident anyway. He also said Vince was so stupid and never listened to Shawn in regards to what spots he shouldn’t take in the manner that he did.
Wrestlemania XXII
2006
Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon [No Holds Barred]
Vince’s body was cartoonish beyond words. Shawn destroyed Vince early. The Spirit Squad ran down within a minute or two and destroyed Shawn. Shawn avoided Kenny’s guillotine legdrop and then destroyed the rest of then. That gave Vince an opportunity to cut Shawn off though, and he was able to do just that. Vince called for the superkick. Shawn blocked what was sure to be the worst superkick in history. Vince sells chops almost as well as Big Daddy Yum Yum. Shawn called for the superkick, but Shane McMahon showed up and hit Shawn with a kendo stick. Shane went to shove Shawn into Vince’s ass. Shawn reversed that in a very bizarre moment. Shawn made a big comeback. He used a ladder to hit Vince and then jump off to put Vince through a table. The story during the comeback was that Shawn kept holding up on the superkick so that he could do more damage. When Shawn did the elbow drop off the ladder, Vince’s face/part of his torso were in a garbage can. Shawn refused to let the EMTs help Vince. He then finished Vince with a picture-perfect superkick.
As Vince was stretchered out, he gave Shawn the finger. Sadly, these two would go on to feud in one form or another until September 2006. Brutal times.
This was a WWE freakshow match, and I mean that as a compliment. Throughout the match, it struck me that this was the exact match Vince and Bret should have had in 2010 if Bret had been physically able to. Shawn and Vince feuding never seem like an organic direction to me, but they managed to overcome it here.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Shawn actually mentions the Wrestlemania XX in the context of Wrestlemania XXIII in terms of being grateful for doing Wrestlemania main events. He hoped that John would leave the match being better at his job. Out of context, that sounds like Shawn being dick. It was a bit more humble in context.
Wrestlemania XXIII
April 7, 2007
John Cena(c) vs. Shawn Michaels [WWE Heavyweight Championship]
Shawn was still coming out to the DX music at this point despite HHH being injured for a few months at this point. I completely forgot about John Cena and Shawn Michaels being the World Tag Team Champions at this point. Naturally, neither man carried the belts to the ring. John Cena’s goofy entrance was someone driving a car from the streets into the arena. It was then revealed that Cena was in the car (at least at the end).
Shawn was playing the mind games with John early on. He kept getting the better of him. (Unlike the Bret and Angle Mania matches, that actually makes sense here). As soon as Cena started to fight back, Shawn hip tossed him to the floor and then hit an Asai Moonsault. They didn’t really milk that moment much. Back in the ring, Shawn started going after the left leg. Ah yes, this is the match where Cena stops selling the knee after he makes his comeback and everyone though Shawn threw a temper tantrum about it. Cena was able to come back after Shawn crashed into a ringpost. Shawn was busted open after that. Shawn tried to come back with a wild superkick, but he hit the ref by mistake. Cena went for the FU, but Shawn reversed it into a DDT. Shawn got up first and looked pissed that Cena ever got the better of him. Shawn then gave Cena a piledriver on the steel steps! Big advantage of moves like that being banned is that they stand out big time when they do actually happen. Cena’s back of the head was bleeding after that. Shawn hit the diving elbow, but Cena blocked the superkick. Shawn avoided an FU once but not the second time: 1…2…NO! Shawn avoided a third FU. Cena avoided the superkick and then repeatedly went for the STFU, but Shawn avoided it! Cena reversed an enzuigiri into the STFU! Shawn got to the ropes, and the ref had to pull Cena off him. SUPERKICK! They used each other to get their feet. Shawn avoided the FU, but then fell victim to the STFU again! He tapped!
I thought this was really enjoyable, and there were a ton of cool moments. My personal favorite was the frustrated Shawn Michaels getting so annoyed (possibly at himself more than Cena?) that he busted out a piledriver on the steel steps. I didn’t think there was a great flow to the finishing sequence though. It was done decently enough, but we’ve seen too many beautiful WWE-style closing stretches for this one to be overly impressive.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Shawn talks about the genuine emotion involved in the Ric Flair build. Shawn admits that he never once believed that Flair would never wrestle again. He did believe though that Vince would never let him work a Wrestlemania again.
Wrestlemania XXIV
March 30, 2008
Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels
Shawn caught him with a slap to the face that caused Flair to bleed from the mouth. Flair had control for a bit after that. Flair actually hit the diving crossbody for a nearfall. Shawn came back by sending him to the floor. Shawn went for the Asai Moonsault, but he landed on a table that did not break as planned. Shawn almost got counted out after that. Flair went after the ribs briefly and was then just in control for a while. Shawn cut Flair off with a neckbreaker and then dumped him to the floor. Shawn went for a moonsault to the floor. Flair barely caught him on that. Shawn surprisingly did not milk the two big highspots in the match. They both felt like relatively small moments, which is something he’s usually much better at avoiding.
Shawn was in control after that. Shawn called for the superkick, but he hesitated before delivering. Flair took advantage and applied the figure four. Shawn reversed the hold, and Flair had to break it. They couldn’t pull off the bridge into the backslide spot. Flair chopped down the left leg. Shawn reversed a figure four into a small package. Flair then got the figure four after dodging an enzuigiri! Shawn got to the ropes. Flair had the advantage, strutted a bit, and then ran into a superkick: 1…2…NO! That was perfectly executed. Flair was on the struggle bus, as Shawn tuned up the band. Flair was somewhat playing possum though and managed to kick Shawn in the balls: 1…2…NO! Shawn applied his modified figure four. Flair got to the ropes, Shawn pulled back, and Flair hit him in the eyes to finally. Flair got a nearfall with a schoolboy. They traded chops. Shawn caught him with a superkick out of nowhere! Shawn looked remorseful as he realized what he had done. Flair struggled to his feet. “I’m sorry. I love you.” Superkick #3: 1…2…3!
I don’t know what more anyone could want from this one. They worked a friendly pace, paid tribute to some famous Flair spots and sequences, worked in the “Old Yellar” storyline, had some nice character beats, and even threw in a couple of high spots (even if Shawn didn’t milk them for all their worth). Flair obviously wasn’t the Flair of old, but he looked better for the most part then he had in a while and went out finished his in-ring WWE career on a performance he could be proud of. It wasn’t Shawn’s best performance, but he did what he needed to do in order to make sure Flair’s final WWE match was memorable for positive reasons.
Match Rating: ****
Shawn seems genuinely giddy when talking about the first Undertaker match. I can’t blame him!
Wrestlemania XXV
April 5, 2009
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
Shawn Michaels had just recently won his freedom from JBL (in one of the stupider storylines during HBK’s comeback), and he was feeling a little cocky, so he decided to challenge the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. That was basically the whole storyline. They cut some promos on each other. The build was good overall, but it seemed great because almost everything else on the road to Wrestlemania 2009 was shit.
There is a buzz in the arena for this match. They had battled a couple of times in the 2007 and 2008 Royal Rumbles, but other than that, they had not gone 1v1 since 1998. HBK is cautious early, and just trying to use his quickness to stay ahead of Taker. Taker tossed HBK over a turnbuckle early, but HBK came back in the ring. HBK faked a knee injury to lure Taker in, and HBK took him down. Taker quickly recovered and overpowered HBK. Taker worked over HBK for a little, including hitting Old School. Taker went for a corner boot, but HBK moved and Taker injured his leg. HBK went after Taker’s leg after that. HBK locked in his inverted figure four on the injured leg. Taker escaped and slammed HBK into the corner. Taker was in control after that. Taker went for a chokeslam, but HBK reversed into a crippler crossface! Taker stands up in the hold and hits a sidewalk slam. HBK came back with some chops and his running forearm. HBK went to the top rope; he dove off but he was met with a GOOZLE! HBK escaped and fake a superkick, which Taker went to the ground for. HBK tried for another figure floor, but Taker locked in HELLS GATE! HBK managed to get to the ropes. The crowd went wild for that segment. They go to the outside and Taker was in complete control. HBK avoided Taker’s ring apron legdrop and hit a baseball slide. HBK goes to the top rope, and goes for a moonsault to the floor…BUT TAKER JUST SWATS HIM AWAY! Shawn went splat on the floor. Sickening bump. The referee was checking on Michaels as Taker went for his NO-HANDS RUNNING PLANCHA, but HBK pulled the camera man (Sim Snuka) in the way…kind of. Basically, Snuka was in the wrong position or Taker undershot the dive. Either way, Taker looked like he went forehead first onto the floor, but it was clear that he was all right on screen (apparently live, the crowd thought he must have died). On a replay, it was clear that Taker managed to rotate just enough at the end to save his life.
HBK and the referee crawl back in the ring, and HBK gets the referee to start to count out Taker. HBK was begging for the count out win. Taker got in just before the 10 count. HBK’s heart seemed to truly break after Taker made it back in. HBK sets up for Sweet Chin Music, but Taker hits a chokeslam: 1…2…NO! Crowd bought that. Taker was going for a tombstone, but HBK escaped: SWEET CHIN MUSIC! HBK crawled slowly onto Taker: 1…2…NO! HBK kips up and looks pissed that it didn’t work. GOOZLE! LAST RIDE-Sunset Flip-GOOZLE- LAST RIDE: 1…2…NO! Taker sold that nearfall with such anger that I popped (yes, 3 years later). Unbelievable nearfall. Taker goes to the top rope and tries for a diving elbow, but HBK rolled out of the way. HBK runs at Taker, but Taker sends him over the top rope. HBK tries to skin the cat, but TAKER CATCHES HIM! TOMBSTONE: 1…2…NO!!!!!!!!! Jim Ross, “I just had an out of body experience.” Exactly. The straps come down for Taker. Throat Slashed. Taker sets up for another tombstone, but HBK countered it into a DDT…kind of. He kind of DDTed Taker on his own hip bone, which would certainly hurt. HBK crawls to the top rope and hits a diving elbow. HBK crawls up the ring ropes to get to his feet and sets up for a Sweet Chin Music. He tunes up the band and nails Taker: 1…2…NO! The crowd was so fucking happy because they did not want the match to end. They both crawl to their feet and start striking each other; HBK is using chops and Taker is using punches. Taker gets tired of that and just takes him down with a kick to the face. Taker tries for another tombstone, but HBK escapes. HBK goes to the top rope and goes for a moonsault: TAKER CATCHES HIM! TOMBSTONE: 1…2…3!
HBK was spot on here. The match was all about his ego. He was confidant and defiant enough to believe that he could defeat Undertaker, but the moment where he reveals that he will take a countout win showed how desperate he was to feed his own ego. He wanted the win. He wanted to be the one to defeat the Undertaker, no matter how he did it. That would be important for the rematch. Overall, I’m struggling to think of a better match in WWE history than this one. The drama in this match is almost impossible to top, which was all the more impressive considering that everyone “knew” Taker was winning. This is as close to wrestling perfection as it gets.
Match Rating: *****
Shawn buried Sim Snuka for fucking up the catch.
Shawn said he was ready to hang it up after that because it would be such a high note. “How do you follow that?”
Wrestlemania XXVI
March 28, 2010
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
The build to this rematch was damn near perfect. Shawn Michaels realized that there wasn’t a whole lot else to do in his career, but his one big failure was not ending the streak in 2009. He called out Taker, but Taker passed on the rematch. Taker was champion at the time, so HBK entered the Royal Rumble to get a shot at Taker’s belt. HBK failed. At Elimination Chamber, Taker was on his way to successfully defending the belt, but HBK came out from underneath the structure and nailed Taker with a superkick, costing the deadman the belt. Taker then accepted Shawn’s challenge but on one condition: if Shawn lost, he retired for good.
Shawn walks up to Taker and gives him the throat slash. Taker looks motivated and just charges HBK. Shawn was playing mind games and managed to throw Taker off his game. Taker quickly recovered and hit Snake Eyes and the big boot. Taker goes for Old School and lands awkwardly on his leg. SELLING! Taker goes for a chokeslam, but HBK escapes and goes after Taker’s leg. Taker goes for a tombstone, but HBK escapes and tries for a crossface, but Taker escapes. HBK teased Sweet Chin Music, but Taker saw it coming. HBK went after Taker’s leg some more. Taker sends HBK to the outside and starts for the outside dive, but HBK rolls in and chops down Taker’s leg. That was a perfect way to get Taker out of doing the dangerous dive. HBK locked in his inverted figure four, but Taker obviously refused to tap. Taker reversed the hold, and HBK let go to spare himself the pain. HBK started attacking with a series of chops and then took him down with a running forearm. HBK kicked up and walked into a chokeslam: 1…2…NO! I love how Taker took advantage of HBK doing a spot that he does in every match. Taker went for a tombstone, but HBK escaped and got an ankle lock. HBK grapevine the leg, but Taker escaped. HBK clotheslined Taker out of the ring and went for an Asai Moonsault, but Taker caught him (kind of) and delivered a TOMBSTONE ON THE FLOOR! A doctor checked on Michaels, but Taker tossed him away and brought HBK in the ring: 1…2…NO! Undertaker went for a Last Ride, but HBK gave him a X-Factor on the way down. HBK went for a diving elbow, but Taker got his knees up! HELLS GATE! HBK COUNTERS INTO A ROLLUP: 1…2…NO! SWEET CHIN MUSIC: 1…2…NO! HBK went for another one, but Taker caught up and gave him a huge Last Ride: 1…2…NO! They go to the outside and Taker tries to give HBK a Last Ride through a table. HBK escapes and nails a super kick that sends Taker onto the table. HBK crawls to the top rope…and hits a MOONSAULT ONTO TAKER THROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE! Holy fucking shit. Taker is knocked out on his feet, as HBK pushes him into the ring. SWEET CHIN MUSIC: 1…2…NO! HBK sets up for another one, but Taker catches him and hits a Chokeslam! Taker follows that up with a Tombstone: 1…2…NO! THE CROWD EXPLODES! The straps come down. Throat Sla-no. Taker sees the weakened Shawn Michaels and offers pity. He tells him to stay down…and HBK gives him a throat slash and then SLAPS HIM! JUMPING TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER!
To use a movie analogy, this wasn’t a sequel to their 2009 match. It was part 2 of a 2 part story. One match is not complete without the other. Shawn Michaels came to a mental state where he determined his career was not worth continuing if he couldn’t defeat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. No longer willing to accept a hollow win, he knew he had to throw everything he had at Undertaker to defeat him. Undertaker, being dead and all, was able to survive Shawn’s best weapons and eventually overwhelm him at the end. Taker’s grudging respect for Shawn, as he knew his greatest opponent’s career was coming to an end, was the perfect cherry to put on top of the feud. Beautiful stuff all around.
Match Rating: *****
Shawn was very proud of the idea of Taker’s character breaking character. Shawn talked about Vince being happy with the idea of Shawn being the one guy who stayed away after saying he would. Shawn mentions how he’s left a lot of money on the table in order to stay retired.
Watch free Shawn Michaels matches:
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 & 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 & Marty Jannetty vs. Los Conquistadors
Shawn Michaels & Triple H vs. Hawk & Animal
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
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