Shawn Michaels back injury.

[Kesteral]

Now I'm not saying HBK didn't suffer a legitimate back injury at the Royal Rumble in 1998. He obviously was in agony for the next two months up until Mania and looked in pain in his match against Austin when he lost the belt. After Mania he was gone for four years apart from sporadic appearances and everyone thought he had retired because of his debilitating back injury. People were sad about it but moved on and new stars came through that helped change wrestling forever.

Then suddenly he comes back in 2002, free of his career ending injury and carries on performing at the highest level for the next eight years, going on tours and only missing a few months due to different injuries. Something a little fishy about that isn't there? It never really dawned on me until recently that perhaps his career ending injury was not really an injury at all, but a career ending addiction. I think we all know HBK was messed up in those days and in his DVD's he talks about giving up drugs after his son was born and becoming a born again Christian. Coincidentally, this ties in with the period he was out of wrestling.

So my question/theory is, was his injury actually no where near as bad as the WWE made it out to be and just for kayfabe sake. The real reason he was gone for four years was because he was an unreliable junkie who couldn't deal with losing the belt or having to put over new talent and either quit or got fired. It was only when he cleaned up did Vince think about bringing him back in. I just can't imagine anyone miraculously healing from a career ending injury and then going on to wrestle for another eight years. It doesn't make sense and they never really talk about how he did get through it, so I assume he didn't and it was just a lie to save face. Thoughts?

 

[HBsam31]

He has straight up admitted to being a drug addict in a few of his dvds, and other wrestlers have said how big of a jerk he was to work with. It was even said that Undertaker had to see to it personally that Shawn went out to job to Austin at mania. On the flip side in the same conversations he talks about the back injury, and how he wasn't anywhere near himself in that match vs Austin. Not even sure if he had a singles match in the time between his injury and Mania. At the time of 1997 we didn't hear as much about wrestlers addictions or personal problems, and I am sure the back injury was a big part of the reason why he left the company at that time. I am also sure the drugs had a big part to play in this as well. I would say it was probably a combination of both. To his credit he never really tried to cover up the drug addiction upon his return. I do not have enough knowledge about backs to know if it could go from how bad they said it was to him coming back and wrestling at the level he did until he retired, but I am sure anything is possible. I think they best way to answer this question is that it was a combo of the drugs, and back that put him out, and after he found God, sobered up, and rested he was ready to come back. Interesting thread, and am interested to hear if anyone else has any insight on this.

 

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

It's already been said that he was a bad drug addict at that time. Pain killers will do bad things to your body if used in excess the way Shawn used them. His back injury also played a part in it. I think it was as bad as they said because why else would he get so addicted to pain killers unless he was trying to numb the pain from his back? He says he wasn't himself because he was in so much pain and pretty much on a constant high from all the painkillers. He had back surgery to fix his back then he went through the recovery and physical therapy. He got right with God and cleaned up his act by the time his first kid was born. Very interesting thread you have here. Look forward to seeing future replies.

 

[OutsiderDX]

I think it is a simple answer. The injury is what made him intially leave the WWE. Then the combination of the injury and drugs is what kept him out for the 4 years.

And i don't want to point out just one injury that cause his addiction to pain killers. Sure his back was bad, but a lifetime of wrestling has more than likely caused aches and pains that we could never understand. The drugs are just one way to cope with the constant pain and discomfort.

Some wrestlers as we know never recover.

His personal life was very shaky around that time. His child was born. His wife was probably questioning if she wanted to deal with his issues. He probably had doubts he could ever walk normal again, let alone wrestle. He was in pain and doped up. He clearly saw the machine rolled on without him.

It took all those years to not only put his body back together, but his personal life, and his mind.

 

[Kong]

I think it was just another excuse for him to lose the belt to Austin. The man was in denial. He wouldnt drop the IC title and he wouldnt drop the WWE title to Bret. I think this was just another example of Shawn being Shawn.

 

[James]

Remember this, your knees is connected to your legs which hold your hips up, and your hips hold up your back. What I am saying is this, with the knee problems and back problems you're damn right he was legitimately injured. I have minor knee problems and hip problems, thus my back suffers from it.

Can you imagine being a wrestler with those problems? He was popping those painkillers for us because he liked going out there and performing. He didn't want to give up his spot on the top, but he knew that he couldn't go on anymore. If you look at his matches after Mania you can tell he was suffering especially in his 98' WM match. You could tell the agony that he was facing in that match, but he tried to hide it. There are parts where he was literally trying to get extra rest while he was down so he can finish the match. He didn't like looking weak, so having Chyna and HHH help him to the back was really not one of his best things.

Kong are you 12? Yes, Shawn didn't want to lose the title but he knew that he had to. After the PPV was over and they had the press conference he stormed out making a lot of noise because his time was up. If Shawn was being Shawn he would've came back 6 months later to get his title back. If Shawn was Shawn he would've stormed out 2 weeks before Mania.

Shawn went to the doctor and he told him that if he didn't go through with this he'd never walk again. And as you guess he didn't want to. Get your knowledge straight.

Shawn couldn't even get out of the bed a lot of morning without having something to help him. Does that answer your question was he really hurt?

By the way, did his wife question being with him? Actually no she didn't, she was determined to change his life because she knew there was goodness within him. Shawn even said, he was surprised that she stuck with him because of the dumb shit he did.

Did you not know that a lot of those superstars back then were pill poppers too? Even Austin was too.

And we know that Vince didn't care what drugs his superstars were on as long as they weren't doing them in front of him.

Ask me more if you want to.

 

[GrandSword]

Something I can add to this was HBK's return/one time deal match against Triple H at Summerslam 2002. After the match, Michaels came out of not only unscathed, but feeling really good. Vince asked him if he could do a few more matches, which Michaels said he could.. Kind of like an Undertaker like schedule, where he would come in for some big matches. But I guess with his mind clear and his body feeling better than it had in years he just kept going.

What most of us will notice about Michaels in his second run is his body size. In his initial run he was actually quite a big guy. He bulked up with a lot of muscle mass which his back and body had to carry through the matches. In his second run, with his legacy sort of already cemented, he didn't feel the pressure of having to be this bigger guy, as his name as a legendary skilled competitor would allow him to be a big name draw.

Another thing would be his moveset already didn't have any real lifting type moves such as powerbombs etc. which meant he could keep away from putting stress on his back. And his superkick finisher would put none to very little strain on his lower back at all. Think of how much damage doing a stone cold stunner or a hulk leg drop every night would do on the lower back? Michaels move set enabled him to keep going through the next 8 years and being booked at the top, and being dominant he would have been protected and the amount of bumps he took would have also been cut down.

Michaels is also a very smart in ring guy and would have found ways of still putting on great matches without taxing his body as much as he did in his first run.

I'm not going to defend the man about why he left in the first place. The guy was a dick and even when he had found God, was this great guy who had returned, a pheonix, the guy he chose to retire him wasn't some young up and coming talent that could use the rub and move to the next level and make WWE prosper, no it was the Undertaker, the one guy who didn't need it... but obviosuly Shawn didn't think anyone else was worthy.

 

[TripleCrown]

Once a user progresses into being an addict, the underlying condition becomes very, very secondary. Those patients are prescribed narcotic pain relievers for serious illness, recovery from surgery, etc. but while they recover from the illness, heal from the surgery and so on they have developed an addction to the pain pills. At that point, it's not the condition that "needs" the pills, it's the patient's dependence on them from using and over-using the pills long past the time frame their conditon actually needed the narcotic.

 

[Loveless]

I've always said that HBK would have been quite justified in quitting the WWF before Wrestlemania 14 and vacating that title. That last match is painful to watch and he could have been seriously injured during it
As for the injury there's no doubt about it, go back and watch the Rumble match and you can see the exact moment it happens.

 

[Kong]

HBK did try coming back early if I recall and he was still pilled out of his mind and HHH had to tell him to leave.

 

[RJJ]

I've been thinking about this for a few weeks, now. I've been wondering the same thing, How could he comeback from a career ending back injury and perform at a high level, not only that but doing some of the craziest bumps I have ever seen.

To be honest, I'm not really buying the whole thing. Yes, I do believe he had a back injury but it wasn't anything serious. IMO 2 things led to his departure: 1- His addiction. 2- His massive ego(back then) wouldn't allow him to be second to Austin.

Even though I'm a huge HBK fan, there is no denying that the guy had a long history of faking injuries.

 

[BarryHorowitzfanclub]

IIRC, he had his L4and L5 fused together. Also, watch his previous years to his last. He wrestles much stiffer, and is very very VERY aware of his back when picking people up and doing moves. He also stopped doing his corner flip move, and his kip-up ain't what it used to be.

In short, he had to become a different wrestler, while keeping his character and be true to expectations. HBK started taking less risks.

 

[HatchetMan84]

I think Shawn's back injury in 1998 was very legitimate and real.

However, as others have pointed out, it was his drug addiction that was the basic reason he didn't return for 4 years.

Shawn had surgery in 1999 to fuse his L4 and L5 vertebrae. According to Shawn, the surgery repaired the damage in his back, leaving him basically pain free. He probably would have been able to wrestle again in 2000, but he was still heavily in to painkillers and other drugs at this time though.

In 2000, Shawn wrestled one match in his own federation, the Texas Wrestling Alliance against "Venom" aka Paul Diamond better known as Max Moon in the WWF. The match was not 5 stars by any means, but it was basically a try out match for Shawn to determine if he would be able to come back to the ring.

in 2001 Shawn was supposed to be coming back to the WWF and was even supposed to wrestle at Wrestlemania X7, but he appeared earlier in the year pilled out of his mind and this is when Vince McMahon basically "fired" Shawn from the WWF until he got clean.

So I don't think the injury was fake, but it certainly was not as bad as originally reported. I remember around 1999 people were saying that Michaels was risking death if he even stepped in the ring again.

The biggest proof of this is an interview Shawn gave for WWF Magazine in 2001. He was asked about his injury and if he wrestled again could he possibly end up in a wheelchair and he said no, he could wrestle but he would have to watch for certain moves that compressed his spine. He said he could probably do a pile-driver, but if he were to do one from the top rope or to drop a leg from the top rope, he probably would be unable to walk the next day.

Most likely Shawn would have been okay to wrestle again by 2000, but it was a risk with as many drugs as he was on, hence when he came back in 2002 clean and safe to work with in the ring again...

 

[MrMojoRisin]

I think Shawn's back injury in 1998 was very legitimate and real.

However, as others have pointed out, it was his drug addiction that was the basic reason he didn't return for 4 years.

Shawn had surgery in 1999 to fuse his L4 and L5 vertebrae. According to Shawn, the surgery repaired the damage in his back, leaving him basically pain free. He probably would have been able to wrestle again in 2000, but he was still heavily in to painkillers and other drugs at this time though.

In 2000, Shawn wrestled one match in his own federation, the Texas Wrestling Alliance against "Venom" aka Paul Diamond better known as Max Moon in the WWF. The match was not 5 stars by any means, but it was basically a try out match for Shawn to determine if he would be able to come back to the ring.

in 2001 Shawn was supposed to be coming back to the WWF and was even supposed to wrestle at Wrestlemania X7, but he appeared earlier in the year pilled out of his mind and this is when Vince McMahon basically "fired" Shawn from the WWF until he got clean.

So I don't think the injury was fake, but it certainly was not as bad as originally reported. I remember around 1999 people were saying that Michaels was risking death if he even stepped in the ring again.

The biggest proof of this is an interview Shawn gave for WWF Magazine in 2001. He was asked about his injury and if he wrestled again could he possibly end up in a wheelchair and he said no, he could wrestle but he would have to watch for certain moves that compressed his spine. He said he could probably do a pile-driver, but if he were to do one from the top rope or to drop a leg from the top rope, he probably would be unable to walk the next day.

Most likely Shawn would have been okay to wrestle again by 2000, but it was a risk with as many drugs as he was on, hence when he came back in 2002 clean and safe to work with in the ring again...

This.

Shawn had a legit back injury... although the stories are there that he still didn't want to drop the belt to Austin and that the Undertaker had to threaten Shawn into doing the job. The injury was real, and without the surgery, would have been career ending.

He absolutely could have returned much sooner, but was such a pill head that the WWF didn't want him around in any way. It was only after he finally got clean that he was even allowed to come back, and it took so long, because that's how long it took him to get clean.

 

[theHeadliner]

The only coincidence I noticed was that he made his return right as the guys who took his spot (Rock and Austin) were finishing up. Austin had walked out and Rock was headed to Hollywood. He also had some bad blood with Rock as well. I never doubted the seriousness of the back injury. He could have permanently damaged himself beyond repair at WM14, so he is lucky from that standpoint. He needed that time off to heal both mentally and physically. If he never hurt his back in the first place, who knows what would have happened to him. He had a serious drug problem, and could have ended up a sad wrestling tragedy. It would have been interesting to watch the backstage politic power struggle between Shawn/HHH, Rock, and Austin though.

 

[thebarber]

I think the point is Vince wanted HBK back because he knew he was losing Rock and Austin. Yes his back injury was fair dinkum, but Shawn was only ever coming back for one match. SAfter the reaction to how well he went, Vince begged him to do the Survivor Series elimination Chamber match. Putting the belt on him was a dnagled carrot. From there, as his back seemed to be not being bothered by his wrestling, the rest is history. But to assume HBK had a back injury that was not legit and waited 4 and a half years to return, missing the majority of the Attitude era and only 8 weeks after Bret Hart left WWE, that is clearly delusional and makes zero sense.

 

[HatchetMan84]

I was reading through some old WWF magazines last night. It's interesting to read magazines from around 1998 - 1999, especially with the mentions of HBK in them.

It really makes me think at what point did they decide to go with the "Career Ending" angle with Michaels. I read an old wrestling magazine earlier today from July of 1998, PWI i think it was. In it, it stated that Shawn Michaels was attempting physical therapy before resorting to surgery and the plan at the time was for Michaels to feud with Triple H at Summerslam that year, so yeah, at least at one point there was reasonable belief that HBK was coming back.

I really don't think HBK would have been okay with being a mid-carder, which is what he would have been relegated to had he returned in 1999 or earlier, but I still believe he would have made lots of money and been in some great matches, even if they weren't championship ones.

It looks kind of suspicious but knowing Shawn's past, one could assume that he knew it was safe to come back when his best friend was entrenched in power. Vince wanted Shawn back very bad and to be part of the attitude era, but every push they tried always failed because of Shawn's drug problem. Remember also Bret Hart states that they used to hold bets in the locker room about who would go first, Shawn or Brian Pillman. I know Bret over-exagerates alot, but i've heard it from more than just Bret that there were times they were worried about Shawn being in the ring, hurting someone, etc...

Reading through archived message boards, and google groups from back in those days, Shawn Michaels as WWF Commissioner was designed to get Shawn back in the fans' mind while they prepped him for a return to the ring. Common belief is that Shawn would have wrestled at or shortly after Wrestlemania 2000, but at this point he was heavy in to drugs and Vince basically gave up on Shawn and told him when he was clean, they'd have something for him.

They also contacted Shawn about returning prior to the NWO being formed in WWF, this was in 2001 and Shawn was indeed clean, but he apparantly told Bruce Pritchard that he was not in shape and not able to return at that point in his life. He was not heard from again until he came back in 2002.

It drives me crazy of thinking of what the Attitude Era would have been like with HBK, Stone Cold, Triple H, and The Rock. Shawn would have only been 34 and just think of the matches he would have had in that time period. I think he would have eventually had a real championship reign again, maybe not in 1999 or 2000, but just think of how epic it would have been to have HBK in a title match at Wrestlemania X7...