Revisionist sums him up... his frankly horrific deeds backstage are all erased with hindsight and through the lens of "he's born again...and he's the best ever..." The Jericho feud for example had real chunks of truth woven in there about Shawn, that's what made it work rather than it being Shawn's talent...
In truth, his 93-DX time was mediocre in terms of success, drawing and it was only when he ramped up the swears and raciness that he really took off. People love to say "his matches were great" but back then he was nearly always working with an equal... Razor, Bret, even Jarrett were all as good as him. It's only since he came back the second time that he has been painted as "the best ever..."
I do agree with much of what is said here.
Whilst Shawn was an outstanding worker
.. I do find all this greatest superstar of all time business farfetched.
WWE always do this for legends they are on good terms with
. Fall out with Vince and your legacy is never mentioned (ie like Randy Savage, or as Bret Hart had for many years
. Hogan and Austin when theyve fallen out with Vince.
Its always Shawn and Undertaker who get the living legend/best of all time treatment on TV
.. whilst reality Hogan, Austin and Bruno are my top 3.
Vader, BamBam Bigelow, Shane Douglas, Chris Candido, Jannetty are just a handful of wrestlers who felt their careers in the WWE were thwarted by Shawn, not to mention a certain Rocky Maivia who felt Shawn was intent on holding back. .. and lets not get started on the Hart family!
On the Bret & Shawn DVD (a sit down interview with both mediated by Jim Ross) Shawn was forever apologising for his backstage conduct in the 90s when certain incidents were brought up. He often counters his past misconduct with his But Im a good Christian now which I find rather nauseating.
Whilst Vince was looking for his next Hulk Hogan (which wouldnt arrive till Austin peaked in 1998) Shawn was given the top spot in the company throughout 1996
. But it was a flop. As a babyface his sexy boy stripper routine wasnt going to endear him to much of the adult male demographic (remember the cheers when Shawn lost the title to the heel Sid at Survivor series?).
It was as a heel in DX- (where Shawn was given the green light to act in jerk mode) where he took off in terms of developing a character
. Some cynics would argue that he was allowed to play the Shawn in real life!
He loved winning championship gold
. But never did like losing them! For all the montreal screwjob divides wrestling fans
. Shawn losing his smile to forfeit the title (rather than drop it to Bret) was the same principle Bret had of not wanting to lose to Shawn
. And it screwed up the WM13 main event that was planned (though on the plus side it gave us the excellent Bret-Austin match).
To his credit Shawn has mellowed with age, and was a great worker
. But greatest super star of all time?
A superstar is more than just being a great worker
he has to carry the company, sell tickets and merchandise, have crossover media appeal
.. thats why Hogan, Austin, Rock, Bruno and even Cena are a step ahead of Shawn.