Defining the Moment: HBK

[LSN80]

These moments, defining if you will, are ones that really determine a wrestlers career. And I would be glad to debate you that noone else has more the Shawn Michaels, but thats not here nor there right now. With Shawn, like many others, it can be a promo, a backstage segment, and most certainly a match. It can even be a series of events, that culminated in an incredible angle. In these moments, it doesn't necessarily mean we like said wrestler, but its what we'll remember them for the most or look back on as the turning point of their career. Some don't like him, but most respect him nonetheless for these moments. These moments are what truly make us wrestling fans. We all have our reasons for getting into wrestling, but it's safe to say that a certain wrestler influenced it, some more than others. And there was and is that special moment that sticks with us through time. In the case of some, we don't even have to like the particular wrestler for a moment to be special.

I decided to get this series up and running again after seeing HBK inducted into the HOF last night. Behind John Cena, HBK truly is the closest second one can get as my second favorite wrestler, almost a 1B.With Shawn being retired, I decided to wait til all was said and done with his career, because he certainly could have produced more defining momnts until that day, as he did in his final match. But what Im looking for is that "defining moment", the one that sticks out to you most. It could be what first brought him success, just a match you thought was his best and he'll be most remembered for, or a great angle he pulled of like only HBK can.

For me, this was a really difficult choice, because as I said, there were so many moments in his career that could truly be looked at as defining. But to me, one moment suck out from all the rest, and that was his subsequent return in 2002. He had been out for 4 and a half years, and yet he performed at just as high a level then he had before he retired. Not only that, but he wrestled a 30 minute, albeit unsactioned street fight, which was double the length of ANY other match on the card. The build was great, with HHH suckering HBK into the belief that they were reforming DX, only to turn on him and pedigree him Ive read his book, and the hell he went through with his back and painkiller addiction only to return and perform at such a high level, even if it was his only match for 3 months, is astounding to me. WIth no disrespect to his matches against Undertaker, his IronMan match with Bret Hart, his first ladder match with Razor Ramon, or his "barbershop moment", I truly believe that HBK's return to action after 4+ years off is truly his defining moment.

[YOUTUBE]fyTmVuOSgic[/YOUTUBE]

But I send it to you, with a simple question: What was the defining moment of Shawn Michaels career? Feel free to provide a YouTube video if you like, to further your claim, and have fun with this!

 

[Jsaturn14]

Awesome idea for a thread! and I have to say that your choice is pretty hard to top. However, when I think of HBK and his defining moment, the moment that catapulted him, or at least, started him on his path to being Mr. Wrestlemania, I don't think of the ladder match at Mania 10, I don't think of the Iron Man match at Mania 12, for some reason, and I have no idea why, the first thing that popped up into my head was Wrestlemania 11, and more specifically, the press conference for that event in which HBK say's probably his most quoted, and perhaps greatest line: "I will give you a show that you have never ever seen before. Why? Because I can." I love that line. It is the line that makes me smile most whenever there is a video package of HBK. It is the line that I most associate with HBK and what he would go on to become, and it is the line, and more importantly, the confidence in which he delivered it that I think truly started HBK down the path to becoming Mr. Wrestlemania, and my personal favorite wrestler of all time.

[YOUTUBE]3jurplKc2MQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

[#hamler]

​

It's damn hard to compete with the decision of Wrestlemania XII as Shawn Michael's defining moment, but I'll go with the infamous break up of The Rockers. Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels were famous for their highflying style and their flashy looks. Both were damn good but Shawn always seemed to stand out as the better of the two. Shawn began to realize this. Around 1991, Shawn and Marty began to fall apart. Everything seemed fine when they appeared on Brutus Beefcake's Barber Shop. Shawn Michaels super kicked Jannetty and threw him though a window. Michaels immediately turned heel- a move that would forever classify his character as the arrogant, cocky Heart-Break Kid. Throughout the '90s, a young kid who was told he was too small to be in the wrestling business, was the WWF's top heel and it would remian that way until his departure in 1998. This was the start of Shawn Michaels' Hall of Fame career. The incident was Shawn's defining moment.

 

[BestForTheBusinesso9]

For me there is no doubt in my mind, its his match with Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 12. He hadn't been a face very long and the boyhood dream was a storyline that boys watching wrestling could really get into. I happened to be one of those boys and I cried with Shawn as he knelt with the title. For me, it is the single greatest moment in wrestling history and the moment that Shawn Michaels became a superstar. I realize he was in the main event the year before and had won two Royal Rumble matches, but this match to me defined Shawn Michaels career.


[YOUTUBE]alPU3pCmAAg[/YOUTUBE]

 

[The Brain]

Awesome idea for a thread! and I have to say that your choice is pretty hard to top. However, when I think of HBK and his defining moment, the moment that catapulted him, or at least, started him on his path to being Mr. Wrestlemania, I don't think of the ladder match at Mania 10, I don't think of the Iron Man match at Mania 12, for some reason, and I have no idea why, the first thing that popped up into my head was Wrestlemania 11, and more specifically, the press conference for that event in which HBK say's probably his most quoted, and perhaps greatest line: "I will give you a show that you have never ever seen before. Why? Because I can." I love that line. It is the line that makes me smile most whenever there is a video package of HBK. It is the line that I most associate with HBK and what he would go on to become, and it is the line, and more importantly, the confidence in which he delivered it that I think truly started HBK down the path to becoming Mr. Wrestlemania, and my personal favorite wrestler of all time.

[YOUTUBE]3jurplKc2MQ[/YOUTUBE]

I love this choice. I’m with you all the way. In 1995 there didn’t seem to be an obvious winner for the Royal Rumble. Looking back HBK sure seems like the obvious choice, but in 1995 he was not a main event guy yet. Believe it or not it was kind of hard to imagine him challenging for the world title at WrestleMania. Of course Michaels did win the rumble and went on to challenge for the title at mania. Being that he wasn’t a main event guy yet, Lawrence Taylor was brought into mania that year to spark some interest in what might have been viewed as a lackluster card. With Taylor came all kinds of media attention and he was the reason so many were at the mania press conference. HBK went into that press conference and he owned it. He looked like he belonged and announced he had arrived. When mania came he did indeed steal the show. His performance that night put him on the map. I went into WM11 not sure about HBK as champion, and even though he didn’t win the title, I left WM11 knowing he could handle that spot.

 

[berlinbrawler]

Summerslam vs Hogan, overselling and making Hogan look like shit is up there for me.

I'm not sure why so many people assume that Michaels made Hogan look BAD in that match. In my opinion, it was one of the best matches Hogan ever had, and I mean that as a huge compliment to HBK.

YES, he oversold the hell out of that much to the degree of it being comical.

Fact is even in his prime Hogan's matches weren't good. At 112 years old his matches were downright terrible. There was no way to present Hogan beating Michaels in a credible fashion, so Michaels presented it as the goofy caricature of a wrestling match that it was. The result was one of Hogan's best.

You really wanna deduct points in a Hogan match for looking unrealistic?

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

YES, a wonderful choice for a thread LSN, HBK has provided us all with so many memorable moments throughout his career, matches that live forever, legendary interviews and promos and so many WM moments that we will never forget.

It is so hard to pick a single one. You have to take into consideration so many. For example:
- Shawn fulfilling his boyhood dream and becoming World Champion
- The triumphant return after 4+ years out of the business without losing a step
- The first ever HIAC match with Undertaker
- His unexpected Elimination Chamber victory
- His Barbershop fallout with Marty Jannetty
- Retiring the Nature Boy
- Either of the matches with the Undertaker at WM
- D-Generation X moments.

BUT, for me...the one moment that defines HBK is the ladder match vs Razor Ramon @ WM10. It was this match that showed the world what The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels was all about. The Ladder match was new and fresh and HBK took it upon himself to do things in that match that had never been seen before. He took some astonishing bumps and even today that match holds up against almost anything the WWE has done since.

Shawn Michaels has had an incredible number of great matches, but this is the one that first put him on the map and showed just how good he could be. He bettered this match later in his career, but this was the first of many classic Shawn Michaels bouts.

[YOUTUBE]wDFGbaGgkew[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Stormtrooper]

LSN, my man, you are onto something here with this defining moment thread series.

As for my moment, well, you are onto something there too. For me, no doubt about it, my answer is the 2002 SummerSlam unsanctioned match with Triple H.

For me, the whole buildup was spectacular, and when they officially announced that HBK was coming out of retirement ("not to wrestle, but to fight" as HBK put it on RAW when the match was made), I was jumping up and down, practically doing a celebratory dance in my bedroom watching it (and I was 17 at the time). Why? Not only because Shawn Michaels (one of the most exciting performers of his era) was coming back, but because the match was taking place at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, on Long Island, and I already had my tickets for the event.

The day finally comes, and I'm sitting in my seat inside the Coliseum, and HBK's music hits, and he makes his epic entrance with the tons of confetti. I (along with the rest of the arena) are no longer sitting in our seats, as we all are standing and welcoming HBK back to the ring. It is around this time, that 2 thoughts creep into my mind. "Shawn hasn't wrestled in 4 years and 5 months. No way he can still go anywhere NEAR his former self;" and "Shawn Michaels broke his freakin back (sorry Kurt Angle) 4 years ago. What if he isn't healthy enough to be doing this, and he re-injures himself, dare I say permanently?" For the first time, I'm actually nervous that we could see a potentially catastrophic event ufurl, ironically in the very same arena that Droz got paralyzed in. Whatever, I won't let those thoughts ruin my enjoyment of this, it's the first time I get to see HBK in action.

When the bell rings (after HBK jumps HHH), I get into the match, and just hope and pray nothing serious happens (almost as if the quality of the match is a non-issue, just that he gets through it healthy and it isn't total crap). The first time he takes a back bump, I almost cringe, just being scared for the mans well-being. This nervousness lessened with each and every bump, and pretty soon, all the worry disappeared.

That was only one thing I was nervous about though. Could HBK still go? Well, not even 3 minutes in, I received my answer. Holy shit. Not only could HBK still go, but in my eyes, he was just as good as he was in the 90's. Him and Triple H delivered a classic, and not only did HBK's back hold up, but he pushed himself further then pretty much anyone expected (table spots, chairs to the back, landing on chairs, the works).

Not only did Shawn Michaels return after a 4 year hiatus, but Shawn Michaels put on a performance that was on par with the HBK of old. To me, that was pretty much the solidification of Shawn Michaels as the greatest wrestler of our time. If HBK retired right then and there, or even if he didn't come back for this match at all, no doubt about it, he's in the Hall of Fame. But he did come back. And the SummerSlam match ultimately led to his permanent return, where he truly cemented his status as the greatest performer in the past 30 years, bar NONE.

 

[JGlass]

I'm gonna go with HBK's Wrestlemania X ladder match. It was the first of its kind, and it was an insane success. He set the standard for excitement in these types of gimmick. While it wasn't Shawn's first Wrestlemania match, it was certainly the most amazing up to that point. It definitely set the stage for his future pushes and may be one of the matches that merits the Mr. Wrestlemania title that Shawn was given.

I think that it was the first time that you were forced to realize that Shawn Michaels was not just another superstar on the roster, he was an innovator and had the potential to be a future legend.