Views from the Hawke’s Nest: The Shawn Michaels Story – Heartbreak & Triumph – Disc 3

WWF In Your House – The Lumberjacks
July 23, 1995

Jeff Jarrett(c) (w/ The Roadie) vs. Shawn Michaels [WWF Intercontinental Championship]

The match had great energy. Shawn was really on point as a face, and Jarrett was bumping all around for him and doing as many heel tactics as possible. None of them were working early on though, and Shawn managed to hit him and The Roadie with a plancha. Damn, Shawn took a back body drop to the floor. Jarrett finally had control after that, and he worked Shawn over for a while. Shawn appeared close to coming back a few times, but it didn’t happen until he reversed a sleeper into a back suplex. Roadie had to interfere to give Jarrett a chance. Ref bump. Roadie interfered again. Jarrett hit a diving crossbody, but Shawn kicked out. Roadie accidentally tripped Jarrett, and Shawn then hit the superkick: 1…2…3!

This absolutely lived up to the hype and then some. This felt like a throwback to the previous decade in terms of style. Jarrett was working his ass off here, and I’ve never seen him put in a performance anywhere close to thing at any other point in his career. This was not a Shawn carry job in the slightest. Jarrett’s bumping and over-the-top impersonation of eighties wrestling heels absolutely made the match. Shawn looked more than comfortable in the dominant babyface role here, as expected. Despite his personality making him a natural heel, I always preferred to watch Shawn babyface matches.

Match Rating: ****1/4

 

WWF King of the Ring
June 23, 1996

Shawn Michaels(c) (w/ Jose Lothario) vs. The British Bulldog (Jim Cornette & Dianna Hart Smith) [WWF Heavyweight Championship]

Mr. Perfect was the special guest referee, but Gorilla Monsoon basically relegated him to “special enforcer” duty.

They battled for control early on. Shawn hit a sloppy ‘rana off the apron and then whacked Cornette with the racket. Shawn mostly remained in control for a while after that. He targeted Bulldog’s left arm during this time period. Bulldog finally cut Shawn off by driving him into a turnbuckle. Bulldog worked him over for a while. He applied the surfboard, and Perfect was trying to end the match. The ref wouldn’t end it though. Bulldog remained in control for a little while longer. Shawn was on the verge of coming back several times, but Bulldog was continuously a step ahead of him. Bulldog slipped on a diving headbutt, but luckily he was not supposed to connect on it. Shawn was finally able to string together some offense after a leaping forearm. Ref bump. Superkick: 1…2…3? There was this weird thing where Perfect went to make the count with the ref, but Owen Hart pulled him out of the ring.

Shawn applied a figure four on Owen and then got a phantom pinfall on Bulldog…after the match. The numbers eventually caught up to Shawn. Ahmed Johnson made the save. Vader then attacked him and Shawn. ULTIMATE WARRIOR made the save. What a time to be alive.

I am no Bulldog fan, but there is no denying that he was delivering in this match. While he wasn’t conveying any emotion or personality whatsoever, his work on Shawn was really done well. I really liked how Shawn was teasing a comeback repeatedly. For a match with a predictable result, it made the journey of the match seem unpredictable. The clusterfuck finish definitely spoiled it to a degree. There was just no need for it. It remains a good match though.

Match Rating: ***1/2

 

WWE Raw
December 29, 2003

Triple H(c) (w/ Ric Flair) vs. Shawn Michaels [World Heavyweight Championship]

Shawn wiped out HHH and Flair with an Asai crossbody early in the match. Shawn continued to be a step ahead of HHH for a while. HHH finally cut Shawn off by dumping him to the floor. HHH worked him over for a while after that. HHH eventually hurt his knee on the jumping knee. That was the opening Shawn needed, and he went to work on it. Flair ended up going after Shawn’s eyes to save HHH. Shawn managed to avoid the pedigree though. They traded strikes, and Shawn had all the momentum. Shawn attacked Flair, and then there was a ref bump. HHH avoided the superkick and hit a DDT. HHH hit Shawn with the belt. Shawn avoided the pedigree again, but that caused another ref bump. Eric Bischoff ran down to check on the ref. Shawn set HHH into an exposed turnbuckle, and Bischoff made the count: 1…2…NO! They started going back and forth. HHH was busted open by this point. Shawn eventually hit HHH with the superkick: 1…2…3?!?!? So, what’s the Dusty Finish?

Eric Bischoff, who made the three count, declared HHH the winner. He told Shawn that his shoulders were down for the three count, too. They were to be fair. Shawn attacked Flair and Bischoff after that decision. Bischoff fired him for that.

Dusty Finish aside, this was a great match and one of the best non-gimmick matches of Triple H’s career without a doubt. The dynamic of this match was perfect, as Shawn was beloved with his hometown crowd. HHH was also obviously hated at this time because it’s 2002-2005 HHH. They had Shawn get a little bit more shine at the beginning compared to most big WWE matches in the HHH era. That made him seem like a legitimate threat to the title, and I actually think they should have just gone ahead and made the switch. HHH could have cheated to win the belt back at the Rumble, and then they would have had a better reason to insert Shawn into the Wrestlemania XX main event.

Match Rating: ****

 

WWE Raw
March 14, 2005

The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty) vs. La Resistance (Sylvain Grenier & Rob Conway)

The Rockers had control early and even hit stereo pescados. Shawn was then cut off and worked over for a bit. La Resistance hit The Hart Attack on him. Shawn eventually escaped, and Marty made a hot tag. If this is going to be a true Rockers match, we need a second heat segment! Marty hit Grenier with the Rocker Dropper, and Shawn took out Conway with a superkick. Marty picked up the win for his team when he pinned Grenier.

This was a fun throwback match. If nothing else, it should serve as a reminder that Shawn’s tag team runs in 2006 and 2009 were wasted with the DX shit. Those tag runs could have been awesome in just about any other scenario.

Match Rating: ***

 

WWE Vengenace
June 26, 2005

Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels

I’m curious to see how this one is worked compared to their first match.

Angle was a step ahead of Shawn early, but he wasn’t in control or anything like that. Angle got firm control after hitting the Olympic Slam on the the announce table. Kurt destroyed him for a while in the ring after that. He even hit a Buckle Bomb! Shawn appeared to be on the verge of coming back a few times, but Angle kept cutting him off. Angle got sick of destroying him and settled into a chinlock for some reason. Shawn reversed it into a back suplex and then made a comeback. Angle fought back, but Shawn reversed the Olympic Slam into a DDT. Angle later managed to hit the Olympic Slam for a nearfall. Shawn then reversed an Ankle Lock and that caused a ref bump. Angle got the Ankle Lock again. They were teasing the Wrestlemania finish, as Shawn sat in it for a LONG time. Shawn finally escaped. Superkick. Angle actually recovered first and foolishly went to the top rope. He dove off and ate a weak superkick: 1…2…3

I liked Angle a lot in this match. He was kicking ass and everything he did made it seem like he was entirely focused on winning the match. Shawn was a bit more casual here, and some of his work felt paint-by-numbers. That works in some contexts for sure, but I don’t think he added much to this one. Sitting in the ankle lock for so long is also just obnoxious.

Match Rating: ***3/4

 

WWE Raw
April 23, 2007

Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena

Cena was going for the STF early and often, which frustrated Shawn. Cena then controlled the match with a side headlock. Shawn escaped at one point, but Cena hit a massive lariat before settling into another headlock. Rinse, lather, repeat. Shawn was finally able to fight back some, but Cena hit him with a World’s Strongest Slam. Shawn fought back again and slowed Cena down with a neckbreaker. Shawn then made his comeback but lower back was making things difficult. Cena avoided a pescado, but Shawn still managed to maintain control of the match. Shawn targeted the left arm. Cena fought back, and it’s time for the finishers. Shawn kicked out of the FU. Cena then targeted Shawn’s back. Cena went for an avalanche FU, but Shawn reversed it into a powerbomb. Shawn desperately avoided the STF. Shawn went to piledrive Cena on the steel steps like he did at Mania, but Cena backdropped him to the floor. After a commercial, we saw them brawling on the announce table. Cena dragged Shawn back to the ring and applied the STF. Shawn managed to get to the ropes. Shawn caught Cena with the superkick out of nowhere: 1…2…NO! Both men struggled to stay on their feet. Shawn avoided another FU and hit a superkick outtta nowhere: 1…2…3!

Oddly enough, the story of this match was whether or not Shawn Michaels could survive John Cena’s superior strength long enough to finish him. I don’t think that is the story I would have liked these two to tell in this situation (coming off Cena beating him clean in the main event of Wrestlemania), but it’s undeniable to me that they told the story well.

Cena did a great job keeping control of Shawn here, and he showed that he would be an awesome heel champion without having to be over the top about it. There’s no need for him to be. He’s physically stronger and faster than Shawn, and he stayed ahead of him for the majority of the match. Shawn surviving all of that and just squeaking out the win by managing to fall on Cena after a superkick was all the more satisfying because of how difficult it was for him to string together any offense in this match.

On top of the story being great, they managed to do this match for close to an hour without the match ever feeling boring in the slightest! The more I think about this match, the more impressive it seems. It’s probably a top five match of either man’s career. GREAT stuff.

Match Rating: ****3/4

 

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

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

In terms of match quality, this is one of my favorite sets in WWE history. Shawn Michaels arguably had the best in-ring career for main eventers in WWE/F history, and we got to see some of his very best singles matches in his career. We also got a look at how great he was as a tag wrestler, as The Rockers are probably one of the best tag teams from the eighties and nineties. The set suffers from having a terrible in-house doc on his career, which was terrible for all the reasons I stated in the review. WWE docs don't really make or break a set for me, as I go into all of them with low expectations. However, it's undeniable that an obnoxious doc like this one can bring down a whole set and keep it from its potential.