Who was Shawn Michael's Greatest Rival?

[The Aerial Assassin]

It's actually NOT that bad of a topic. People say Bret Hart because of that shitty work done in Montreal years ago, but that just proves how shitty their bias has become. Sure, both men put on wrestling clinics in the ring, but aside from their WrestleMania ironman match, they've had rather lack luster matches.

I personally think that one of his best feuds was against Triple H with the help of Evolution. It was very telling and very intriguing. I loved the way they put so much effort into making their rivalry so telling by making it so blood boiling.

But when it comes down to the VERY best, I would have to say his work with Kurt Angle reigns over. They made a great rivalry out of what a lot of people in reality often argue about. The used Real Wrestling vs. Fake Wrestling and they sold it like the champions they are. I really couldn't think of a better storyline for HBK or Angle, and I've never seen them put on better ring work since then... and yes, that includes HBK's matches against Taker.

[chibet]

bret, forget the screwjob, its all about that iron man match. made me the wrestling fan I am still today

[Just Do It]

Bret Hart hands down. From 1992 - 1997 it was the most real feud in wrestlling which simply can't be accounted to the real life hate as that only covers a small period of time and they had their ups even after the backstage fight, etc. Any time they shared screen time in 1996 and 1997, it was magic.

[KingOfKings249]

Originally Posted by Zeven_Zion

123 Kid.







OF COURSE it's Bret Hart. I mean, at least for me. Shawn Michaels died in 1998. The balding skinny fuck who came in afterwards was someone else.

Triple H is up there but aside from the occasional feud they had, it wasn't TRULY as heated as anything Shawn did with Bret. While Shawn was feuding with Bret, Triple H was still figuring out whether he should grow some facial hair or not.

'Member that Triple H? Mothafucka's was was smooooooth as hell.

Hitting him in the back with a slegdgehammer and putting his head through a window wasn't heated? .. Bret and Shawn was just a real issue, storyline wise HHH/HBK was far ahead

[Slash-LN]

Definitely Bret Hart.
I disagree with the idea that people say Bret just because of the screw job.
Bret and Shawn's rivalry was already at least 5 years old at that point.
Bret was the top guy and Shawn was up and coming trying to take his place.
There was all the backstage heat.
They both had other feuds throughout their respective careers but always ended up coming back to feuding with each other.
It's hard (for me at least) to think of one without thinking about the other.

[HBsam31]

Originally Posted by justinept

This is a joke, right? ...or maybe you're just trying too hard to come up with threads. To suggest that Michaels might have had a greater rivalry with someone other than Bret Hart is like saying that peanut butter goes best with marshmallow creme on a sandwich. Sure, the fluffernutter sandwich can be delicious and enjoyable - but peanut butter, on a sandwich, will ALWAYS be linked to jelly. The two go hand-in-hand, and the Hart-Michaels rivalry is no different.

Please name one other rivalry in WWE history that was fought at every level of the card, over every major title in the company? ... another rivalry that had as many "moments" as the Hart/Michaels feud did ... another rivalry where the two wrestlers weren't just "fake wrestling" but were legitimately jockeying for the status as the "top" guy in the company.

Here are some Hart/Michaels "moments" in case you're too young to remember them:

1) The Rockers defeated the Hart Foundation for the tag team titles on a Saturday Night Main Event only to have the decision reversed - and the match not aired - due to a rope breaking.

2) Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels wrestled the first Ladder Match in WWF history over the Intercontinental Title - a match that was shown exclusively on a Coliseum Video. Hart later trashed Michaels for pitching the ladder match (a Stamped Wrestling creation) to VKM for his WrestleMania X match.

3) Hart and Michaels headlined Survivor Series 1992 in a champion vs champion match.

4) Michaels defeated Hart for the WWE Title in one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time.

5) Michaels "lost his smile" (or faked an injury, depending on which side you were on) so as not to wrestle Hart at WrestleMania 13

6) Bret re-forms the Hart Foundation ... Michaels forms a "Generation X" partnership with Triple H ... Hart, while calling Michaels a "degenerate" inadvertently names the group D-Generation X.

7) The Canada vs United States feud puts the WWE back on the map (I've long held the opinion that this is the most underrated feud of ALL TIME, but that's a different thread for another day.)

8) The Montreal Screw Job.


....But perhaps the greatest achievement of the Hart/Michaels feud is that fans had to pick a side between the two. It was almost never a black-and-white, down the middle decision on who to like. They were both baby faces in the tag team ranks ... they were both baby faces at WrestleMania 12... they were both baby faces for the year following when everyone was hoping to see a re-match ... and they were both tweener heels at the end.

I have to agree with this. Bret and Shawn's rivalry is definitely a lot more than just the screwjob. These guys had been putting on great matches for years even starting in the tag division. They would meet, go their separate ways for a while, but would always come back to each other. Not really much more to say that justinept did say. For me there is no doubt that Shawn's great rival is Bret.

[lowandmighty]

He had some very memorable feuds with Bret Hart but I think the Undertaker was his greatest rival. My reasoning is that he never got the better of the Undertaker whereas he kicked Bret Hart around like a football. The undertaker was a long time rival too, the years he had to run in to the Undertaker end up adding up more than the time he and Bret Hart were in wwe together.

A case could be made for triple H too, he usually got the better of Shawn but I think rivalry wise the undertaker had him so a extremely tough rival there.

I don't think Shawn Michaels being the best wrestler ever is a serious discussion though, he's far from it.

[justinept]

Originally Posted by lowandmighty

He had some very memorable feuds with Bret Hart but I think the Undertaker was his greatest rival. My reasoning is that he never got the better of the Undertaker whereas he kicked Bret Hart around like a football. The undertaker was a long time rival too, the years he had to run in to the Undertaker end up adding up more than the time he and Bret Hart were in wwe together.

A case could be made for triple H too, he usually got the better of Shawn but I think rivalry wise the undertaker had him so a extremely tough rival there.

I don't think Shawn Michaels being the best wrestler ever is a serious discussion though, he's far from it.

He never got the better of the Undertaker? Just off the top of my head ... He cost The Undertaker the WWE Title by hitting him in the head with a chair at SummerSlam 97 ... defeated him in the first Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood that October and then defeated him for the WWE Title in a casket match at Royal Rumble 98.

He had, I think 4 televised matches with The Undertaker. He had a decade long feud with Bret Hart at every level of the card, over every title in the company. How do these compare?