WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels always tends to show up around this time every single year. It is WrestleMania time, and something must kick in for Mr. WrestleMania where he senses we want to see him. He then comes out of the woods, where he is hunting all sorts of woodland creatures to be part of the fun that is WrestleMania season.
Michaels has had several memorable moments at WrestleMania as a normal in-ring competitor. Whether it was facing “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, or The Undertaker, Shawn put on matches that were arguably the best of the night. He elevated all he was with, but certain partnerships just clicked well, and it didn’t matter the age or skill, it was magic. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels put on two amazing matches in consecutive WrestleMania shows.
The last match he had was even against The Deadman in 2010, and he has not wrestled one match since his official retirement. He has been part of the action, whether it was reffing a match or simply showing up to share his musical foot with people. However, WWE has been wanting him to come back several times over the years. Michaels has declined each time. That doesn’t mean WWE wants to listen, however, as they once again asked him.
On the latest Woooo! Nation Podcast with Ric Flair, Chris Jericho happened to be the guest on the show, and the two of them spoke about a variety of subjects, including the Royal Rumble PPV. Flair then mentioned an interesting tidbit he learned about Shawn Michaels. Flair claimed as follows.
“They want him so bad for Royal Rumble , but he ain’t budging from that ranch down there in Texas.”
Apparently, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon offered Shawn a nice bit of money to come in, but he turned them down. Michaels very well could be part of WrestleMania in some capacity, and it would not be shocking to see him at the Royal Rumble PPV . However, Michaels has mentioned for now 6 years that he is not going to come out of retirement. Even though Michaels probably could come back and be just as good as anyone on the roster, even at age 50, he loves the retired life. Sting and The Undertaker have proven age is just a number many times over the years.
Shawn Michaels might be the only notable wrestler to actually stick to his retirement. He went out with a bang in one of the best WrestleMania matches of all time against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26, where he put his career on the line in the match against Taker’s streak. Undertaker, of course, won, forcing HBK to retire. The thing is, WWE has had several career vs blah blah moments over the years, and several have come back. See Chris Jericho and John Cena for reference.
Most fans both love and hate Shawn Michaels for sticking to his last match commitment. We all love it because Michaels kept his word and kept up to kayfabe. Even though many forget about the career stipulation or don’t even know about it, Michaels has not. We also see fans hating it, because we all love Shawn Michaels and realize that he could have some amazing matches with a lot of WWE Superstars the company has right now.
We want to see him work another match due to the greatness that he is, so it is frustrating when he refuses to bypass his kayfabe word. The interesting part is that we have to respect Shawn Michaels for this. Sadly, WWE does not seem to respect the decision, as they have asked him to come back time and time again to get the same answer. Definition of insanity everyone, that is WWE.
[Image via WWE]
