Remembering When - Shawn Michaels vs Triple H - WWE SummerSlam 2002

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

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I'm going to preface this by saying that I am more aware of what's been said about the backstage antics of "The Clique" or "The Kliq", whichever spelling you prefer, but nothing changes the fact that it was a group that was assembled of some of wrestling's best talent. With two of those members being Triple H and Shawn Michaels.

Years prior, these two had a handful of matches before forming D-Generation X, and while I wasn't the biggest fan of the faction, I can't deny their lasting power. In fact one could say that their best days as a team were to come after their reunion in the mid-2000s. But before all that happened, we had this historic match at SummerSlam 2002.

Post-WrestleMania XIV, Shawn Michaels role had varied, Triple H became sole leader of DX and Shawn had left in-ring competition and held different roles like WWF Commissioner and joined WWE's version of the nWo. It was at that point that led to Shawn's comeback to the world of wrestling on a full time basis.

In the above video that I've accompanied this thread with, it will give you the condensed version of what led up to that very moment on August 25, 2002 between the two former best friends.

To date, this was the last WWE event I ever attended and the first under its new name of WWE. And this match alone was worth the price of admission for the floor seats I got. While I will say that there were other great matches on the show, such as The Undertaker taking out Test, it's hard for me not to ever like a Taker match, regardless of who he's facing, Taker is just one of those guys that has consistently gripped me. Kurt Angle And Rey Mysterio opened the event up rather well with their showing. And of course the night ended on an emphatic note with Brock Lesnar unseating The Rock for the then-Undisputed WWE World Championship. There were other well placed and performed matches on the card but they don't have the same resonance to me as the penultimate contest with Shawn Michaels and Triple H in their unsanctioned bout. As a fan, I always loved those taglines on matches, again in some ways it might sound silly, it's an unsanctioned contest but yet it's happening on the card anyway.

There are just times in wrestling where you just go "fuck it" when trying to make sense of some stuff. With guys that can put on a show like Triple H and HBK, those are the times where you can say just that. My favorite era of Shawn Michaels career had to be the early-mid 90s when he became a singles star, his heel run was one of my favorites in the WWF and countless bouts against Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Bret Hart, and former partner Marty Jannetty stuck out greatly to me and I watch those moments with such great sentimentality. Not knowing whether or not this was going to be a one time deal, I felt fortunate either way to see Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement live and in person.

The brutality of the match was just something else Shawn knew how to always sell a shit kicking from pillar to post, and when you have a master psychologist in the ring like Triple H it's a winning combination. And the way Shawn Michaels reversed Triple H's pedigree into a pinning combination when grasping victory from the jaws of defeat, well it was an amazing moment. HBK showed he still had it and that there was hope that could make another run at things, and thankfully he was able to give 8 more years of active performing to wrestling. The post-match tactics of Triple H by attacking Michaels brutally with his signature sledgehammer solidified why this guy was a premiere villain of the ring, particularly from the late 90s-early 2000s.

I would say being the age I am and having this be an event I witnessed live might be contributing to some of my bias. But I'd love to read other people's perspective on the match. Whether you were fortunate like I was to see it live, or if you watched it on pay per view or have seen it through other media like DVD or YouTube. Share your thoughts here, I would love to get some more insight into the match that I feel was a perfect way to bring HBK out of retirement.

 

[Tyler44]

I'm only 20 years old, but 2002 was the year the little kid in me got into WWE. I was into WWE from 2002-2007ish, and only came back to it weekly for the summer of CM Punk and now back with interest for Daniel Bryan to win the title at Wrestlemania.

And nearly 12 years later, I remember the exact spot I was in when I watched this match. I watched it with both of my brothers, a few bestfriends, and a few of their friends. It was one of the most intense, emotional, exciting, hardcore, and brutal matches I remember watching.

I could go on and write endless paragraphs praising this match and what this entire feud really was, but in short, this match was my favorite WWE match I have ever watched.

Whenever I think Summerslam, I instantly think of that PPV and that match.

 

[dxparza]

I remember having to go to same lame family party during summer slam and only seeing the highlights from raw over the next few weeks. As a life long HBK fan, i was pissed that i got dragged to this wedding and missed his first match in 4 1/2 years. I first saw this match in its entirety on shawns 'from the vault' dvd, and was blown away.. The highlights made the match look incredible, bit thats what highlights do, so when i saw it, i was like he's still got it.. Of course by the time the dvd came out, he'd been wrestling for a few months and captured the WHC.. But i still watch that match every so often and am amazed at what HBK did after a 4 1/2 year absence and not miss a beat. And hey; we were all treated to another 8 years of his greatness. Luckily i got to see his two battles with the undertaker in person. But was saddened at the last match, because it was all over AGAIN, and did not want to leave the arena..
Back to the original topic, great match, great fued, and would not mind seeing this two go at it next year for Triple h's last match ever and have it take place here in the bay Area.. Just to see these two tear our new house down is worth the price of admisssion and so much more..

 

[PingPongBundy]

OP, are you a fellow Long Islander or do/did you live in the City or near there? If you are, nice to interact with a fellow Islander. I had to miss this show in person and on television, but I don't remember the reason why. This was such a great card too. I really enjoyed the opening match with Angle and Misterio. I loved the Taker v Test match. Less than a year after 9/11 when our area was still reeling, it was nice to see that bit of American pride that the match provided for us. Hell, even Lillian Garcia kicking Howard Finkel provided a good laugh for me. I am especially upset, even to this day, that I missed this show and didn't get to see the match you're referring to live. You were there but you certainly don't need to tell me how it must have been to be there to witness the awesomeness. Even just watching on the screen, you could see the air changing in that Coliseum when Triple H hit HBK in the back with that sledge hammer. You knew there wasn't a single person who wanted Triple H to leave that building alive. One of the best SummerSlams of all time in my opinion.

 

[SSJPhenom]

This match and story was absolutely brilliant.

I can remember the night that HBK returned to Raw to reform DX with HHH. OMG, I was so excited. That was going to be a Raw to remember. Then right at the start of the DX promo, HHH attacks Shawn Michaels. "Fuck you HHH," I thought to myself in a rage of emotion. From that moment, all the way through WrestleMania 20, I was sold on the feud between HBK and HHH. It's a testament to how good those two are that they could keep us entertained in a feud with one another for almost 2 years.

The match they had at Summer Slam 2002 was epic, amazing, and classic. IMO, it was the absolute best match of the night and that's really saying something because I regard Summer Slam 2002 as the greatest Summer Slam ever and the second greatest PPV to be held by the WWE behind WrestleMania 17.

 

[The Eighties]

I didn't have the internet until 2004 and so I didn't know Shawn had actually retired until 1999 when my cable provider started their own WWE page on their teletext service. I imagine most knew he was never gonna wrestle again long before that.

I mention this as Shawn is my favourite wrestler of all time and I had waited all through 1998 for him to return and it looked like it might actually be against The Rock when he saved Chyna from the NOD that summer, but alas nothing. However what I was waiting for was HBK vs Triple H, as Hunter had kicked Shawn out of DX the night after Mania 14 I felt that was the obvious feud for Shawn to return to and my heart was set on it happening at Mania 15, then I learned the truth and I was absolutely gutted.

So come 2002 it wasn't until the match was actually made that I truly believed I'd see him wrestle again, as Triple H turning on him had happened before and hadn't resulted in a match.

Summerslam 2002 is one of the best PPV's in history and I remember when Shawn came out in jeans I wondered if maybe my expectations were too high, after all he hadn't wrestled in over 4 years, maybe him and Triple H were just gonna have a basic ten minute brawl to give Shawn a proper send off.

Instead they stole the show and that was such a stacked card that it was a hard show to steal. The match was filled with drama and action, and I recall a moment half way through where Triple H was lying on a table outside the ring and HBK went to the top rope, looked out at the crowd and gave the "Yeah I'm still crazy" signal before jumping off and splashing Hunter through the table. It was pretty much a perfect match by one guy still at his peak and another who is the most natural performer I've ever seen.

The ending worked well and I felt even if we didn't see Shawn again that match was a send off worthy of his career, as opposed to selling a punch from Mike Tyson and laying draped in a 3:16 shirt, discarded like yesterdays news. However as we know we got 8 more years of classic matches and moments, including his feud with Jericho in 2008 which I feel was the best work of both guys careers. He fought Triple H many times but this match still stands above them all for me, with probably their Raw title match in December 2003 coming closest but that was a different type of match.