What Did The Younger and Casual Crowd Think of HBK?

[BizzarroNavarro]

To first start this off, im a huuge HBK fan and I can say he is for sure my favorite wrestler, but now heres my question, What did and how did the younger kids and just casual fans view hbk? Cause imo during his last 4 -5 years and especially his return to DX he just came off as really cheesy and even when he wasnt in DX mode character wise he just didnt really seem to really care, now wrestling wise thats a whole different story he was amazing in the ring up until the very end.

Now I personally didnt care how his "character" was on TV cause I loved him before his injury and even after, but to maybe someone who didnt know how he was before and also everything he accomplished before, was he someone the young'ins liked and looked forward to seeing? Did they appreciate his hard work in the ring? long story short do you think young little cena fans saw a character like HBK and said hey this guys cool I like him?

 

[The A]

I know when I started watching, I was like somewhere in between 4 and 6 and Shawn Michaels was the man. Everybody loved him. Looking back, he was definitely the top guy for that time, before stone cold came in the picture. So I would say yes, The kids loved him.

 

[punchline]

I know when I started watching, I was like somewhere in between 4 and 6 and Shawn Michaels was the man. Everybody loved him. Looking back, he was definitely the top guy for that time, before stone cold came in the picture. So I would say yes, The kids loved him.

I think he means kids who only saw his last run in the WWE right before retiring. Outside of his matches with Undertaker, his last couple of years in the business weren't too stellar in the ring, at least not compared to what he can do and was known for. So I don't know how the kids would perceive that. Though both he and Triple H were always more catered towards the older crowd anyway.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I can't speak for myself regarding the question since I am in my 20s, I got into wrestling a short while before his WWE title reigns.

I do have a friend who is Mexican and since he grew up with AAA he didn't know much about US wrestling. When he moved to the States he watched more WCW. He always asks how Michaels could be my favorite and why he is such a legend when he didn't hold too many titles. He only saw Michaels post injuries, and even then it was mostly in the goofy DX days

 

[Dr.Shades]

well after asking my roommate, she started watching 3 years ago, and she really liked him but felt he was the main eventer you knew would never hold the title with his ladder match with jericho being the exception. I know this sounds like a he said she said kind of post but you wanted the answer of the casual fan and my roommate is one so its better than nothing right?

 

[legend killer 93]

i started watching wrestling in 2001, at the time i was 8, so i think i fit into the description you described lol. but on topic, i had heard of shawn michaels' accomplishments and stories about him from my dad, and i always thought to myself that i wished he'd return. fast forward a year and he did exactly that, and his comeback match against triple h showed me how great he truly was and instantly he became my favourite and still is to this day. from his return in 2002, i have bought all the dvds about him, and watched clips of his best moments on youtube. although i agree, his character maybe wasnt the best in the world, it didnt matter because every night he went out and showed why he is indeed the show stopper! his matches against the undertaker, especially wrestlemania 25, were the best matches i have ever seen.

 

[DrMantisToboggan]

I grew up watching Shawn Michaels in the mid 90s so I can't really answer that question but I could see how one would say that he wasn't really over with the kids in the past 4-5 years. for me his ring work was so far and ahead better than anyone else that I couldn't care less what he did on the mic but for kids the "character" has a lot to do with whether or not they like someone, more so than in ring work. Look at guys like Hogan and Cena. The kids love them pretty much solely based on their characters and not their in ring work.

 

[xBANEx]

I'm not too sure what you mean by 'younger' considering you didn't list your age but I'm in my 20's and I don't really like him and I never have.

I'll admit I have a terrible memory and don't recall too much of him as I was growing up but the fact that I grew up as a total Hart mark probably doesn't help. I would never deny his ability, he is great both in-ring and on the mic he's just never done anything for me.

 

[M3420]

I would say that they probably rooted for him right along with face Triple H and Cena...unless you're referring to when Triple H was heel--the '02-'06 era and younger viewers probably didn't really know what to think. However by the time 07 rolled around he was a solid PG era type face and was still outstanding in the ring though MAYBE having lost a step or two being in his mid 40's and all. Having attended Wrestlemania 23, I feel that him and Cena put on an OUTSTANDING match though not everyone would agree with me...on a sidenote--it was bad that Triple H was injured and all, but it would have been a little weird having Cena v. Triple H two years straight, though Triple H probably would have won the second time around.

HBK's 'heartbreak and triumph' journey from being the root for the bad guy heel to the Christian character he portrayed in the latter part of his career was always solidified by how good he was in the ring and how good he could make not so good wrestlers look.

 

[BizzarroNavarro]

oh yeah just to add then im 26 by the way, and got to watch him as a kid during his first run and then see his return which I was referring too as to what kids thought of him when he returned, kids who have never seen him pre injury. Thanks too for all your awesome responses and opinions

 

[UFOcalling]

I can comment on my step son's opinion of HBK. His name is Jacob, and he's currently 10 years old (born in 2001). He started watching wrestling around 2006/07, and he LOVED DX when they had their resurgence...I can't remember if he was watching when they feuded with The Spirit Squad and all that, but I do remember that he mostly favored HBK over HHH.

Obviously Jacob also loved all the "kid-friendly" superstars; Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, John Cena & CM Punk (of all people). Well, he loved CM Punk up until he turned heel by cashing in his MitB case on Hardy. He pretty much had a typical "young" view of the product; hating ALL of the heels, and liking almost every babyface. Come to think of it, I think that the main reason he loved CM Punk when he first started watching is because CM Punk was the World Heavyweight Champ at the time (obviously that was when Punk was still a face, before the Straight Edge Society). He also HATED Edge at that time. Man, there was sooo much passion in that kid's brain for Edge! LOL!!

Quick sidenote: Jacob also thought that any "older" wrestler who wasn't currently on the WWE roster (ie: The Rock, Hogan, Stone Cold, etc) was dead! Haha! Any time the announcers would mention Hogan (or any "older" wrestler) Jacob would turn to me and say "...isn't that guy dead?". Just thought I'd mention it, since it adds to the perspective of such a young fan.

Jacob also told me in the last couple of years that his favorite tag teams of all time were The Hardy Boyz & DX. He only saw the Hardys wrestle as a tag team a handful of times (unless you count DVDs, etc), and I think he only liked Matt because of his association with Jeff (who is probably his favorite wrestler to this day, even though he doesn't care to watch Impact with me). Obviously Jacob only thinks of DX as HBK & HHH, since he was too young to see the group's original debut or the DX Army (with X-Pac & The NAO). I never heard Jacob make any mention of HBK (or HHH, for that matter) before the last DX "reunion". I know the last incarnation of DX was "cheesy" (like BizzarroNavarro already mentioned), but I think it was a fantastic way to get HBK & HHH into the minds of the younger fans. Obviously it did wonders for Jacob (& his friends as well).

Jacob hasn't been watching as much wrestling for the last couple of years. I think the main reason is because his friends don't like it as much, and he just hasn't cared about it. He stopped watching wrestling soon after DX "split up" again...I can't even remember how HBK & HHH stopped tagging together again, but the last angle I can remember Jacob really going ape-shit over was when HHH went to Orton's house with the sledge hammer (I'm pretty sure that was after the new DX had split).

If most children share the same opinion as my kid, then they must have also loved HBK's character while he was tagging with HHH as "DX". It seems that Jacob stopped caring about him as much around the time Hornswoggle became an "honorary" member of DX. Although Jacob always preferred watching the actual wrestling over the "talking" (promos, interviews, etc), he was always most interested in spot-fest matches (ladder matches, hardcore, etc). I'd have to assume that most of the younger viewers these days are more into seeing a fast-paced match with a lot of high spots as well. Unfortunately, I don't think most kids appreciate the style that HBK wrestles/wrestled. Although HBK's a true artist in the ring (the story-telling, pacing, all of it), most kids today just want to see Jeff Hardy jump off a ladder.

 

[BizzarroNavarro]

interesting johnny, yeah I mean I can see the last dx run appealing to kids what with the glow sticks and ... well glow sticks haha. And yeah thats cool though how your step son was really into HBK, I mean I guess I can see his appeal to a younger kid when hes acting all goofy with HHH.

On a side note I do gotta say I liked his brief heelish feud with Hogan cause alot of things I felt he was saying were true, like him busting his ass all his career and hogan kinda resting on his laurels. And I liked how he was from about WM 25 on , the whole program with Taker, He just showed this passion and aggression atleast character wise like the mind games he played with Taker before 25 and saying how taker never beat him. And then after 25 ( this may sound like an odd random refrence) but it kinda reminded me of Moby dick a little because he just kinda became obsessed with breaking this streak and it changed him totally and ruined things around him and ultimately led to his end

 

[mrfantastic111]

When Michaels came back he was that guy who had been around for ages and was essentially there to put the newer talents over, ie; Edge, Shelton, Kennedy, etc. I started watching WWE when I was 12, and at the time Michaels was in his Mcmahon feud. I just saw him as a guy who was a cool character, but I never knew why everyone loved him so much. I later went on the look at all of his older footage, and discovered how incredible his career has been, but before then I was just like the rest of the newer age casual fans who only knew the 'watered-down' Michaels - I saw the hype and I kinda just rolled with it, unaware of why he was a star in the first place.

 

[Police Penis Sucking Goat Fucker]

I always liked Shawn Michaels as a kid in the 90s but then when you grow up and find out how much of a dick head prick he was backstage you loose a lot of respect for him. I don't look at Shawn Michaels like I use too. The whole DX reuinion I thought was pretty cheesy. The only thing I thought was funny was when The Boogeyman Hornswoggle and The Great Khali all wanted to join DX. Say what ever you want about Shawn Michales but you can't say the first match he had with Undertaker at Wrestlemania wasn't one of the greatest wrestling matches you have seen in WWE in the last 10 years

 

[LFC till i die]

Well i started to watch wrestling when i was really young and HBK, Austin, Undertaker, Brret Hart were the top guys at that time. And i actually remember loving shawn micheals. At that time you could see why women loved him as did i, he was fit. That was probably the only reason why i liked him.

 

[TheMizMark]

I started watching wrestling around 1998, and I was around 7 or 8-years-old. I missed Shawn's initial run in the mid-'90's, but I did see all of his stuff from he return in 2002 and onward, and he is my favorite wrestler of all-time. I don't think there will be anyone who I will adore more in wrestling than Shawn Michaels.

 

[Reflection]

Can't read others' minds, but i surely loved him during his final run (i.e. after getting punt kicked by orton just before RVD's release). His generally face character, good sense of humor, great moves, plus him backstabbing partners like HHH and Cena in matches like the Rumble.... All of these combined made him what he was- The Showstopper!

 

[TheBeefCake]

I watched him around 1993 when he was going for Intercontinental reigns and was a slight heel character. As a kid I personally didn't like him until mid 1995 when he was going for his First WWF/E title. The moment he won at Wrestlemania 12 was brilliant to watch as a kid and always remember cheering him on and shouting on him not to quit when he was in the sharpshooter. in 1997 - 1998 (his injury) I really liked his heel character and started to grow on the DX team. I always found it hilarious some of the segments that they done. When he returned in 2002 It was a great moment and I marked out when he won the World Heavyweight title at Survivor Series. I think around 2005 is when he changed and I started to notice that he was getting a lot older but I always think the best years of HBK were 1994-1997.

 

[Diomenes]

When Shawn Michaels returned in 2002 I was nine years old and had no idea who he was, having started watching wrestling after his back injury. He quickly became my favourite wrestler and he remains so to this day.

 

[TheHeartbreakPunk]

Let me just start by saying that hbk is my favorite wrestler ever. I started watching smackdown in 2006/2007, and i didnt watch raw for some reason i cant remeber. I started watchin raw aroung late 2008, and i loved hbk. Im 19, and the one wrestling event ive been to was survivor series 2009. The main event was triple h vs. john cena vs. shawn michaels for the wwe championship. I was cheering my ass off for him the whole entire match.When he hit that superkick on hhh at the very beginning, i was going completely insane. Another minor sidenote that my favorite match that ive seen on tv or anywhere is shawn michaels vs. the undertaker at wrestlemania 25. Second favorite: Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at wmania 24. So yeah, hbk is my favorite wrestler ever.

 

[Kesteral]

My cousin got into wrestling about 2005ish, she was 15 and she's watched it ever since. She's gone through numerous phases of liking certain wrestlers but there's one who's she's always loved and that's Shawn Michaels. She and I agree that he is the best wrestler of all time and have wanted him to come over to the UK for an autograph signing for years now. I think that definitely says something about HBK that people love him for his newer stuff as well as his older stuff, not many people can transcend through the ages so well. For me though, his 1996-1998 work made me his biggest fan having gone back and watched the tapes. Absolutely incredible man who gave everything for the business and I just wish he was 10 years younger so we have him back in the ring again.

 

[ringjobber1]

Most likely they think "wow this guy is interesting and he must be pretty good if my mom and dad is cheering him" but that may just be me because im 16 and started watching wrestling when i was about 6 and thats what i said but I'm not to sure how the 10 year old Cena fans reacts to him....hell when he comes out some don't even know who he is

 

[JWGunslinger]

I would say that in general the younger generation of fans went for HBK, I know atleast two did. My little brother and cousin both were fans of HBK and they only knew him from his last year or two before retirement, although those of us who watched him back in the day knew that he was a god in the ring when he was at the top of his game, the Michaels that they knew wasnt a slouch in the ring by any means. They know him as an old warhorse who would still go and was funny as hell in his DX segments with HHH, I think that the kids could get into the goofy character that Shawn always was at heart and that gave him a connection to everyone. I think they would have been bigger fans of him if they had watched him as long as someone like myself but even without that they got a good enough of a taste of HBK to become fans too.