*MERGED* The [OFFICIAL] End Of HBK Thread

[hatehabsforever]

By now, we've all seen Wrestlemania 26 and have formed our own opinions about whether or not it lived up to its insanely high expectations.

My question is simple. We all know by now that HBK lost against the Undertaker last night and has such has been forced to retire. But is he really gone for good, or will he return in some capacity six months or more down the road?

Michaels always takes an extended break after Wrestlemania, nothing new here. But last night, that was either truly the end of the road for him, and was a superb final match and a tremendous respectful send-off for one of the best. Or it was merely a kayfabe retirement, and he'll return down the road to resume his career in some capacity.

What do you all think? Have we truly seen the end of HBK in the WWE? Is his retirement real? Or was the embrace from the Undertaker (arguably breaking kayfabe), the emotion in his face, his comments after the match, the reactions of the announcers and fans, his comments before WM26, etc., was this all kayfabe BS and will we see Shawn Michaels in a WWE ring again in some capacity after he's taken the time to heal mentally and physically and spend time with his family, as well as supposedly pursuing other interests?

And if he does resume his career, how so? As a regular wrestler? Or a GM? Or a guest-host/ special guest referee, etc.,? Or a member of TNA ala Ric Flair?

Personally, I think he's done, certainly as a full time wrestler. I could see sporadic WWE apperances, but his career in the WWE is essentially over. No chance in hell he'd ever go to TNA, I'm just throwing that out there as a few guys suggested that last night, I assume they were joking or being sarcastic.

What do you think? A well orchestated kayfabe retirement? Or just an extended leave of absence from another guy unable to hang the boots up?

 

[Planetslick]

i dont think HBK is done for good or i rekon he'd have milked it a little bit more last nigt what i think last night symbolised was a server reduction in what he works i.e a semi-retirement much like Hogan did i rekon HBk will be around for Summerslam's & WM's but thats about it in fact the way i rekon they'll get round his career ending will be to have Taker 'need' him or 'need' saving with no one willing to help and things looking bleak for the deadman who makes the save... none other than HbK but i dont see that happening for quite sometime i see a long lay offf before hes back in any capacity, his body needs it lets face it htis is a man who in 2002 thought he was coming back for 1-2 matches with HHH and mayb a few tag matches & the dude gets roped into another 8 years of in ring action.I dont ever see HBK in TNA he just inst that sort of guy, what hes given us fans in the past 8 years has been nothing short of a honor & privilege of seeing the greatest in ring performer of all time put on match of the year after match of the year he deserves his rest, but i dont think its totally the end for the heart break kid

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

By now, we've all seen Wrestlemania 26 and have formed our own opinions about whether or not it lived up to its insanely high expectations.

My question is simple. We all know by now that HBK lost against the Undertaker last night and has such has been forced to retire. But is he really gone for good, or will he return in some capacity six months or more down the road?

Michaels always takes an extended break after Wrestlemania, nothing new here. But last night, that was either truly the end of the road for him, and was a superb final match and a tremendous respectful send-off for one of the best. Or it was merely a kayfabe retirement, and he'll return down the road to resume his career in some capacity.

What do you all think? Have we truly seen the end of HBK in the WWE? Is his retirement real? Or was the embrace from the Undertaker (arguably breaking kayfabe), the emotion in his face, his comments after the match, the reactions of the announcers and fans, his comments before WM26, etc., was this all kayfabe BS and will we see Shawn Michaels in a WWE ring again in some capacity after he's taken the time to heal mentally and physically and spend time with his family, as well as supposedly pursuing other interests?

And if he does resume his career, how so? As a regular wrestler? Or a GM? Or a guest-host/ special guest referee, etc.,? Or a member of TNA ala Ric Flair?

Personally, I think he's done, certainly as a full time wrestler. I could see sporadic WWE apperances, but his career in the WWE is essentially over. No chance in hell he'd ever go to TNA, I'm just throwing that out there as a few guys suggested that last night, I assume they were joking or being sarcastic.

What do you think? A well orchestated kayfabe retirement? Or just an extended leave of absence from another guy unable to hang the boots up?

Its been said that Shawn Michaels is leaving the industry entirely to dedicate himself to his family, he has a reality tv show in the works which will show shawn michaels life after wrestling, In this industry you never know what will happen as weve seen many a wrestling legend come out of retirement only to go back a couple of months later, it happened to flair, Foley, Hogan and many others before them, for now lets just say bye bye to one of the hardest workers this industry has ever seen, even though this isnt the last weve seen of shawn michaels, it will be the last we have seen of him in a WWE ring, you never know he may be a star inductee of the WWE hall of fame a couple of years from now.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Yeah, but just because they're saying this doesn't mean it's true. Such comments as these could still be part of the kayfabe, playing up the fact that he is supposedly retired when he may not actually be. I imagine, with all due respect to guys like Flair, it must be very difficult to finally hang up the boots after such a long and illustrious career.

And with regards to not milking it more, it could be the type of class that HBK has shown throughout most of his career, i.e., retiring with grace and class without going over the top with it. Or, the over the top stuff could be coming on RAW tonight.

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

Yeah, but just because they're saying this doesn't mean it's true. Such comments as these could still be part of the kayfabe, playing up the fact that he is supposedly retired when he may not actually be. I imagine, with all due respect to guys like Flair, it must be very difficult to finally hang up the boots after such a long and illustrious career.

And with regards to not milking it more, it could be the type of class that HBK has shown throughout most of his career, i.e., retiring with grace and class without going over the top with it. Or, the over the top stuff could be coming on RAW tonight.

I doubt it, the reason shawn made a return after his major injury was because of the fact that his career didnt finish on his terms, the guy was feeling better and wanted to see if he could still go, eventually he managed a full time tv and ppv schedule which helped further his legacy.

This time around its under shawns terms, he wanted to retire so i doubt we will see him in a wwe ring for quiet sometime, maybe after his children grow but again i dont think shawn has the same mentality as flair in regards to actually competing or even getting the urge to go into a big time match.

 

[16mikeytot]

www.wrestling-edge.com is reporting that the word backstage is that shawn michaels is retiring for good or is taking a really long break. I expect shawn michaels to return next year at the royal rumble I can see a situation when triple h turns heel and something happens which leads to michaels coming back to confront triple h. I'm predicting a triple h shawn michaels match at wrestlemania 27 as the two have never met on the biggest stage of them all.

 

[Mark0820]

Whether or not it's the end, it doesn't matter. HBK went in one of the best WM matches of all time and on the biggest show of the year. There aren't many who can get that kind of send off. Thank you Shawn for the past 25 years.

 

[saint_edward]

not too sure if Shaun's gonna wrestle again, not thinking its too likely... BUT him coming back in a GM role could work, he wouldnt be on the roster as a wrestler so the retirement angle has gone and then at a leter date he does his godbye, maybe after one final WM against a long programme with Trips then a goodbye on Raw. think that would make a lot of people happy...

 

[SydTinDad]

My sister is a member of his mission in Texas. She has heard it first hand from Rebecca that he (HBK) and her (Rebecca) want to work on some other projects away from wrestling and spend more time with Cameron and Cheyenne because they are getting to be the age that needs more attention. Plus, he's very tired and achy. HBK will never truly "be gone". He will be back again for sporadic appearances / promotions but not before November.

 

[dionlyone18]

I think alot of people think hell return within six months because of nostalgic reasons and wel...we really cant think of wwe after hbk..but we all this day has to come..and i think that day was last night..i was one of the million viewers that watched last night that saw the emotion and that ending moments you hear taker saying..stay down!! why wont you stay down!!! and then he basically just put the nail in the coffin so to speak..and you normally dont st see taker breaking charecter to hug and say his goodbyes..i dont think that was for nothing...ironically the man that ended his career twelve years earlier in a casket match was also hbk match.i think its the end of the line for hbk.he also said he wanted to get more into the chirch..also the reason he doesnt work on smackdown cause its on tuesday and thats his bible study night...i hate to say it..but i really think its the end of the line for hbk...

 

[theHeadliner]

If they don't do the Flair send-off which he deserves, then he'll be back. His contract is up, its gonna take a good 6 months or so of milking from Vince to get him to come back for a match here and there in the lead up to Mania 27. It just didn't seem like that was his last match. I watched it live. Its inevitable that he's taking a longer break than usual and he deserves to spend more time with his family, granted he didn't really work house shows to begin with. Hell, he's only 44 going on 45, but his body is beat up and he needs the extended break.

 

[Jsaturn14]

If they don't do the Flair send-off which he deserves, then he'll be back.

Gotta agree with this assessment. If they don't do a HUGE, and I do mean huge like "the entire show is dedicated to HBK" huge, sendoff on RAW tonight, then I will believe that it isn't the end. Judging by his comments last night, and the interviews that he has been giving recently. Judging by his final comments on his My Journey DVD, judging by the WWE.com exclusive of him walking around backstage after Mania, yeah, I think we have seen the last of HBK. Like I said though if they don't do a huge sendoff on RAW tonight though, then I will believe he is coming back sometime down the road.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

As a full-time wrestler, I truly believe he is done. I wasn't so sure leading up to Mania, but after watching that match, and the aftermath, I am about 99.9998% sure he is finished. And there are quite a few reasons for this opinion.

First, HBK and Taker were given the main event spot. In the history of Wrestlemania, only three times before this have we seen a non-title match close the show (Mania's 1, 8 and 11). Having a non-title match close the show is a BIG freakin' deal (ok, LT vs. Bam Bam wasn't but that just a botch on WWE's part). IF Shawn were to come back, he wouldn't be going for the WHC/WWE title, so his chances to close Wrestlemania again are slim to none.

Also, Taker and Shawn not only put on an amazing match, but they embraced afterward. Shawn had a GREAT send-off last night, and I'm not sure he would want another. If he came back and did the same thing again at Mania 27, it would look...just weird. I was always under the impression that Shawn wanted HHH to retire him, but I guess not.

Another thing would be how much of a slap in the face to Taker it would be for Shawn to come back and face someone else to "really" retire him (kind of like Flair slapping Shawn in the face and returning after he retired him). Even though Taker technically won the match, Shawn was most definitely the big winner last night. It was his night. For Shawn to come back for "one more match" would be almost the same thing as Shawn saying "Sorry Taker, you're not the one I REALLY want to retire me."

I just see everything pointing to this actually being the end for HBK. Is that the last time we are going to see HBK? No way. He can do something like be a special ref, GM, etc. But I really believe that was his last match. I could be wrong though, other wrestlers have retired and come back when I didn't think they would. But I haven't seen a send off like this.... well, ever. Why would he want to take away from that?

 

[Ghost of Benoit]

if there's one thing we've learned about HUGE final sendoffs is that Ric Flair proved they absolutely mean sh!t in the world of sports entertainment. HBK may honor it and never come back into a ring...or he may not. "Never say never" in the world of professional wrestling. These days, Hogan and Flair have raised the bar of the ages to which wrestlers perform. So HBK may come back if he still feels the "itch".

 

[marklouis]

I think he has retired, probably for good. He'll make occasional appearances-he'll go into the Hall of Fame, he'll probably host RAW next time it's in Texas. I suppose he could have one more match, likely against HHH. But I think the retirement is legitimate. I think the tears were real, and he made a comment as he went up the ramp about driving his kids crazy in 3 weeks. I'm disappointed, because HBK has alway been my favorite, and he's one of those rare performers who never fails to deliver. I just hope he gets the send off he deserves tonight.

 

[FutureChamp328]

HBK has been slowing down drastically over the last few years. He's getting olde and his body can't take much more. Shawn has openly said that he feels that he has done all he can and that he is ready to retire. I'm sure that last night means that is wrestling career is over more or less but not necessarily his WWE career. I could easily see him becoming the permanent Raw GM or at least a backstage worker or road agent. It's not that hard to see JR leaving soon and having HBK take his spot. So do I think we will see him wrestle again: yes and no. I think that Shawn will find a way to come back like Undertaker did after Edge "retired" him at Extreme Rules but it think it will be very limited and maybe only a single program going into Wrestlemania so that he can retire with a win against someone like Triple H or someone else who could give us one last great Wrestlemania moment from Shawn Micheals. Also you could tell that he's gone for awhile because of the talk he had with Sheamus a weeks back and the way he and Taker shook hands and hugged in the ring. Those two especially Undertaker would never break kayfabe unless there was a reason and it did seem like a genuine moment.

 

[mont3818]

I think this is the way Shawn wanted to go out. Very sudden, still on top of his game. He's not the type to do a big send off. He'll have a goodbye tonight. But I'm very sure he'll be back here and there to do stuff. I'm 99% sure thats his last match though. That's the way he wanted it and I think its gonna stick unlike Hogan and Flair. He's not like them. He's thought about it for a while and is truly ready.

I'm gonna miss the classic HBK matches and many potential good matches he could have had with some of the younger guys. But it had to happen eventually, he has to go sometime. He had an amazing return since 2002 with so many classics and I think you can't ask for much more than that. He'll always be #1. I really hope they don't put him in the hall of fame for awhile though. Give him at least 3-5 years to really put it into perspective.

 

[Kliq]

As someone earlier posted, Shawn Michaels will never be "gone" from the WWE. He is a member of their elite family, and I'd argue even moreso than Flair was. Over the past few years he has taken steps down more and more as time went on, taking breaks that have gotten longer and doing less in the ring. He is now at the stage where he is finished wrestling full time, but I would bet money that he comes back every so often to do something special. My personal favorite of all time, and the man who enticed me into tuning in Monday nights has left, but it isn't all bad. While I do feel sad about it, it makes my Monday night wrestling show watching decision very easy.

Edit: I do want to say one more thing. Undertaker's streak had better never end as there is no single wrestler on the face of this earth who deserves that honor. 'Taker's last match has to be a victory at WM. I would feel sick to my stomach if he put over a younger star (no matter how 'great' he may be or will be) with the end to his streak.

 

[waylonmercy]

I hope this is the end of Shawn Michaels. I hope this is the end because Shawn Michaels is getting old, he has accomplished everything possible in his career, he hopefully reconciled with Bret Hart and unlike Ric Flair him giving his word will solidify his legacy and not tarnish it by returning.

Just my opinion.

 

[ElMikeO]

After seeing the video posted on the WWE website of Shawn backstage, I think it's safe to say that he's done in a wrestling capacity, and honestly, what better way for the greatest to ever step in the ring to go out than in a Wrestlemania main event? It makes sense for him not to step back into the ring and risk tarnishing that send-off, which was better than Flairs in my opinion. The timing of it was perfect, he was still able to perform an amazing calibre of match and will be remembered for that, rather than coming back, not having it anymore and being remembered as someone who hung on too long (Hogan/Flair).

While it's extremely sad to see the end of the Heartbreak Kids career (he's the reason I've watched wrestling and made me stick with it) I'm happy that he got the send off he did. He'll probably come back in some on air capacity but as for wrestling again, he shouldn't. The Hall of Fame awaits him and I don't think anyone is more deserving.

Thanks for the memories, Shawn.

 

[Chicago1989]

I personally believe that Shawn Michaels' wrestling career is seemingly over but that doesn't mean that he can't still show up to make occassional appearances like Stone Cold does. If he's really done wrestling, that's huge...it could mean alot of things.

His departure would obviously leave a spot open for a new star but we'll see it it'll happen.

And I sure as hell know TNA is fixing something up now to try to bring in HBK, which will never happen...

But if he's done with the wrestling business completely, thank you Shawn

 

[De Mysteriis Dom Satanas]

I'm thinking that it's just an angle to give him time off to heal nagging injuries and spend time with his family. He'll be back for sure, but probably not until the Rumble or something. I think that if he was going to retire for good and not for kayfabe reasons, they'd probably have milked it a lot more a la Flair.

 

[Bobbywoodhogan]

I think Shawn's done, the goodbye seemed so legit. He looked like a man who'd had enough to me. I think he might pop back to host a raw or maybe for a month or two for a match but I don't think he'll be back full time or anything, I think its family time for Shawn now.

 

[Mustang Sally]

He'll be back again and it will be as a wrestler, not a GM or any other non-participatory role. I just don't get the feeling he's through, and after a nice rest, the urge to perform will bring him back.

It will be interesting to speculate on the circumstances that mark his return. After all, he is contractually obligated to never wrestle again (for storyline purposes). I say that, in six months, the Undertaker will do an interview in which he says that Hell will freeze over before Shawn could ever beat him (and if anyone ought to know that, it's him). This will lead to a challenge and a return to the ring for HBK.......and he'll beat Undertaker at Royal Rumble! No, it won't be at Wrestlemania.....God forbid Undertaker ever be allowed to lose at WM...... but Shawn will get a clean pinfall victory.

Just sayin'.

 

[saint_edward]

HBK won't be around for a while, but will come back... seems fairly obvious. will be interesting to see what happens on Raw tho, cos if they have a massive HBK send off then its pretty clear hes gone for a while but if not then you can tell hes gonna come back cos if Flair got that then HBK damn needs one. and Taker... my money's on 20-0 and then the dead man leaves us. WWE would lose so much if the streak ended...