Shawn Michaels To Return At Wrestlemania 32 — But What Could Be His Possible Role?


Shawn Michaels, along with fellow WWE Hall of Famers The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, is all set to make an appearance at Wrestlemania 32.

Although no clear-cut role has yet be assigned for HBK, he revealed on ESPN this past Tuesday night that he will indeed be watching WrestleMania 32 from inside the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. When asked if wrestlers approach Wrestlemania in a different way from other special events, Michaels said that it is the biggest stage any professional wrestler can hope to perform on.

“Quite clearly, it is the biggest event in the year. As you know, we always labeled it our Super Bowl. And for us, certainly getting there was the main goal. And then, for me, I realized I had seen so many guys in the past capitalize on that opportunity to perform at Wrestlemania in a way that people could not deny you after that.”

“So I started to focus around Wrestlemania 9, 10… and from that point on, I decided that I was going to perform hard all the time, but without a doubt, at Wrestlemania… no matter where I was on the card, I wanted people to talk about me and my match at Wrestlemania.”

And that is exactly what people did. Although the Heart Break Kid lost his match against Razor Ramon in probably what was one of the most discussed ladder matches in the history of wrestling entertainment at Wrestlemania 10, he made himself into a superstar with his appearances at the special event and continued to do so until 16 years later, when he engaged in consecutive showdowns against the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25 and 26.

Murmurs regarding Shawn Michaels’ return to Wrestlemania 32 have been quite rife over the past few weeks, with Ric Flair revealing in a “WOOOOO Nation!” podcast that WWE wanted HBK back for the Royal Rumble match this year, according to Wrestle Zone.

According to the report in the Wrestling Observer, two roles are being considered for Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 32. The first of them would see HBK act as the special guest referee for the Triple H vs Roman Reigns match, as WWE has wanted a special guest referee for the match in order to “stack the deck” against Reigns.

The second idea being pitched is that HBK would lead a group of legends, which could involve The Rock and Steve Austin, to the ring to do the run-in for a yet to be determined match, similar to the run-in that NWO and DX did at WrestleMania last year.

Although there has not yet been confirmation on the report, Shawn Michaels is believed to make an appearance in either of those capacities.

According to Fortune, the likelihood of Shawn Michaels leading a group of legends for a run-in at Wrestlemania 32 is greater simply because WWE usually likes to use all sorts of bells and whistles in big matches that either aren’t generating that much interest among fans, or are not expected to be that good.

For example, Triple H vs. Sting was not a match that would be a great in-ring encounter, so the creative team pulled out a huge standoff between the NWO and DX that didn’t make much sense but created a buzz at the event last year.

It remains to be seen in exactly what capacity would Shawn Michaels and the other legends return at Wrestlemania 32, but wrestling fans can certainly hope to see some of their favorite superstars from yesteryear get in the ring once again.

[Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images]

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