This is no question for me: Shawn Michaels. When I think about the nineties, Sting, Bret Hart, Raven, RVD, Taz, Nash (Diesel, especially), and a few others are the guys I think most about. I guess that's because they're all way past their primes and I'll never see them perform again like they did during those years, whereas I can still watch Shawn put on a great show on most Monday's. I do miss the old Shawn though. You know, that arrogant prick who everyone hated. And I'm not just talking about the DX Shawn, but that was the same Shawn who was the top babyface in the company during his first World Title run. But anyway, let me explain why, to me, there's no competition as to why HBK is the wrestler of the 1990's.
The decade started off with Shawn being in my favorite tag team of all time, The Rockers. I loved both him and Marty Jannetty, and I thought they were awesome as a tag team. I think the reason I was so drawn to them was because they were the first guys in America to come along and do the high flying stuff on a national stage. And as the biggest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan at the time, I was drawn to that stuff. But not only did they have the moves, but they also came off as real rock stars and they're look was so flashy and cool. As a kid, you couldn't help but love them because while Hogan, Sting and Warrior were the come-to-life super heroes who we all believed in, these guys were like super heroes in their own right, with the flashiness and innovative moves. The 3 Ninjas is the best comparison I can make. I loved karate when I was a kid and a lot of my favorite wrestlers of all time had a bunch of that shit in their arsenal (HBK, Marty, Ricky Steamboat, 123 Kid, RVD, ect.), and as a kid drawn to that, I couldn't help but love The Rockers, and even though they didn't last long, I think that team had an awesome run in the WWF. Definitely a memorable one, for me anyway.
Then comes the break-up. I saw it when it happened and was devastated. I never seen anything that violent on wrestling before, and I hated Shawn for what he did. He became the wrestler I hated most in the company. I wanted to see him get his ass beat every single time, even when he faced Rick Martel, a guy who I previously couldn’t stand.. However, I couldn't help but start somewhat liking HBK again after he beat The British Bulldog for the Intercontinental Championship. By that time, Davey Boy vs. Bret Hart at Summerslam 1992 was definitely my favorite match of all time, but I found that match against HBK even better. That's when I realized how great he was and was going to be. I was still having trouble being a real big fan of his because he then went on to have feuds against some of my favorite guys: Marty Jannetty, Adam Bomb, Tatanka, Razor Ramon, among others. But it's that feud against Razor where I didn't care what Shawn did, he was the best wrestler in the world in my eyes.
Wrestlemania X: A ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon was going down. I didn't know what the fuck a ladder match was and even as a kid when I'm suppose to buy into everything, I thought the match was going to be stupid. However, as I'm sure everyone knows, that match changed wrestling forever. I know there were a couple of ladder matches before then, but none of them came close to matching the innovation and excitement that match had. It was unbelievable, and I am glad that I was able to watch it as it happened. Everything about the match was perfect. Not only did you have the big, painful looking moves, but there was so much drama in it. It brought 'False Finishes' to a whole other level. And the finish... my god, could it have been done any perfectly? Talk about a creative, believable way to end a ladder match. It was just awesome.
Follow the Royal Rumble after that, and HBK enters #1 and wins the whole thing. It came straight out of left field. I guess today I could predict it since we've all come accustom to wrestling feuds and how they turn out, but I was totally oblivious to Shawn winning that thing. All the signs were there that Diesel vs. HBK would be the main event for Wrestlemania because that was the match everyone wanted to see at the time, but when Shawn entered number 1, I thought there was no way he would pull it off. But again, he did something that was never done before and he ended it with in fucking unbelievable fashion. I was shocked when he came back in and eliminated Bulldog. I couldn't believe it.
And then Shawn goes on to wrestle Diesel at Wrestlemania IX. Decent match, but it's always been ruined to me because of the ending. Shawn did not take the Jack Knife right and it looked like shit, but it's still one of Diesel's best matches during his run as WWF Champion. Fast forward the night after, and the moment I've been waiting for but had no idea I really wanted to happen finally happens: HBK turns babyface. And he did again in a way that was completely unexpected and something I've never seen. Dude took FIVE powerbombs from Sid Vicious and sold it like it killed him. It was devastating to watch, and you couldn't help but to root for Shawn to make a great comeback after that. And he did make a great comeback. He came back a couple of months later and made up with my favorite wrestler in the WWF at the time outside of Bret Hart, Diesel, and they started a partnership again. During this time, HBK would win the IC Title match in an AMAZING match against Jeff Jarrett, then defend it in another classic ladder match against Razor, and HBK (IC Champion) and Diesel (World Champion) became the ultimate team by capturing the WWF Tag Titles against Yokozuna & British Bulldog. Unfortunately, it only lasted one night, but it was still a cool thing to witness and HBK was apart of something, once again, that I had never seen before. Then comes the night where he had to forfeit his IC Title title. He got jumped and you couldn't help but imagine the worst when seeing his face and hearing him describe the incident. I felt horrible for him and it was heartbreaking, but it was nothing compared to what happened when he came back.
Shawn returned at Survivor Series and I was stoked. He had a great match that night in classic Survivor Series fashion, and you knew after Diesel turned that same night that Shawn's day as World Champion wasn't too far ahead. But then, the night after, he's in the ring kicking Owen Hart's ass and completely collapses. I'm not ashamed to admit that I thought it was 100% legit and that I fucking cried like a little bitch. I prayed for him every night and went to sleep with my Shawn Michaels figure. That's how much of a fan I was and how much I believed in the storyline, even though I knew always pro wrestling was scripted and pre-determined, but they got me to believe with that one. I'll never forget it.
Shawn then returned not too long after at the Royal Rumble, and won in awesome fashion by eliminating his ex-partner Diesel, who has gone evil at this point in time. It was an awesome moment, and I couldn't wait for the dream match between he and Bret Hart at Wrestlemania IIX. But fuck.. was the wait worth it. Once again, Shawn participated in something I've never seen before: An 1 hour Iron Man match. The way the match sounded and the fact that it was going to be an hour long, your imagination would just run wild thinking of all the possibilities. Personally, I thought there was going to be like a 10-9 score at the end of it, but they went a completely different direction and thank god they did because it was one of the most dramatic, heart racing matches I've ever seen. I know the match gets a lot of hate at this website, but those last twenty-five minutes of that bout is some of the greatest pro wrestling that has ever taken place, in my opinion. And even though Bret was my favorite wrestler, I rooted for Shawn. In my mind, Bret had his moment and it was time for Shawn, as Vince famously would put it, to realize his boyhood dream. And he did, it was unbelievable. I'll never, ever forget Shawn hitting that second super kick and him crying on his knees with that belt in his hands up to his face. It was fantastic and one of my favorite moments in history. To this day, I think it was the greatest build ever for someone to capture their first World Title. Truly amazing.
And wow... Shawn's run with the belt was spectacular. First off, to this day, his 'Anything Goes' match with Diesel at the In Your House that followed Wrestlemania 12, is one of my favorite matches of all time. It was fantastic, and the first of many fantastic bouts Shawn would have defending that belt. Defenses against the likes of The British Bulldog, Marty Jannetty (it was only one match, but a great one on Raw), Owen Hart, Vader, Yokozuna, Goldust, and Mankind. All great matches. What made Shawn such a great WWF Champion was that all his matches felt like they deserved to be for the World Title and deserved to headline every show because it was without a doubt the best match on the card 99% of the time.
So Shawn's having this great run and then has to face his old bodyguard and the guy who betrayed him by powerbombing him five times, Sid, at Survivor Series. I remember Shawn brought Sid back to the WWF storyline wise by having him be his partner when The Ultimate Warrior no showed. So the friendship appeared to be fixed, and everything was all well and dandy between the two. But then, Sid wins in one of the most horrible matches of all time against Vader to become the number one contender for Shawn's title. But the friendship remains nonetheless and the two are going to have a friendly, competitive match at Survivor Series. Well, come Survivor Series at MSG, the crowd, for whatever reason, fucking boos Michaels and gets behind Sid, and the match turns out to be amazing with a heartbreaking ending if you were a HBK fan. It's by far Sid's greatest match ever, and the ending was something that's hard to forget because if you were watching, you really thought Jose Lathrio died because of Sid's actions. And it was because of those actions against Jose that Shawn got distracted and Sid ended up winning the match and the title. The crowd went nuts with joy, while I'm sitting in my room furious wanting to rip that douchebag Sid's head off. But it turned out okay; Shawn would get his rematch in his hometown, San Antonio, at The Royal Rumble and recapture his title in another great match. It was awesome to see. But, unfortunately, the title reign didn't last too long. After like a month of so after, the infamous "Lost my smile" speech happened and Shawn forfeited the title. You know, I don't have much to say about that. As a fan at the time, I was heartbroken at the speech, but now as I've smarten up and realized what the politics were like at the time, I do believe HBK was injured, but I also think he had it in him to drop the title to Bret. If he could wrestle Steve Austin with the shape his back was in at Wrestlemania 14, he could've wrestled Bret with a bad knee. Bret would've taken care of him.
Okay, so HBK is sort of in and out of the picture at this point. He does commentary for the main event at 'Mania if and I remember correctly, soon returns full time after that to start a feud/partnership with Steve Austin that didn't last too long. Once that was done he took some more time off and returned to ref the main event at Summerslam between Undertaker and Bret Hart. He would turn heel at this point by nailing Taker with the chair (even though it was intended for Bret) and then make the three count for Bret to win the title. And this is when DX practically started.
What can you say about the original DX that gives them justice? They were fucking wild and defined 'cool'. But what made DX work for me was that Shawn was its leader and he was still putting on classic match-up after classic match-up whenever the time came. So not only did he have unbelievable matches, but now his skits on TV were the best thing about Raw. They were hilarious, and you looked forward every week to see what they were going to pull out of their ass next. It was really fun to watch.
But for me, angles aren't fun if you can't deliver the matches, and NO ONE delivered them better than HBK. Case and point: Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker. I know I've said it a bunch of times already, but once again, HBK is apart of something never witnessed, and it turned out to be, without a doubt in my mind, the greatest cage match in pro wrestling history. You know how people say, "You have to see this movie in theaters for you to truly appreciate its awesomeness"? Well, there are some matches you have to watch while it happens to truly appreciate the excitement and shocking elements that occur, and this was definitely one of those matches. Don't get me wrong, as with most HBK matches, it's still fun to watch this day, but unless you saw it live on pay-per-view or you were lucky enough to be there in person, you still have no idea what its like to sit through that match not knowing what’s going to happen next. I've always hated The Undertaker. I appreciate what he has given the business the today, but from the time he debuted until around the biker gimmick came along, I hated his fucking guts, even when he was babyface. And this match was no exception. He was the good guy, but I so badly wanted Shawn to kick his ass, but how could he? It seemed so unreal at the time, but HBK made it believable that he could hang in there with The Undertaker and find a way to pull off the victory. It was fucking awesome. And not to mention, Shawn took the hardest chair shot I've ever seen towards the end of that match. I thought he was knocked out for real. I was screaming for him to put an arm over Taker after Kane laid Taker out, but I thought there was no way. But he did and it was amazing.
Not soon after this, HBK finally gets a title shot and it’s against his old nemesis Bret Hart. I don't really want to go into this, but my thoughts are that HBK and Vince were wrong in this situation. I hate that it happened, and it was a disgusting moment in wrestling history. However, with that being said, even as disgusting and foul it was, it's still one of the most memorable and biggest "holy shit" moments in all of wrestling history and HBK was once again right in the middle of it making things happen that we never seen before and will never see again.
Shawn's run with the belt after beating Bret wasn't much. He feuded with Taker for a little bit that ended in a pretty dumb Casket Match at the Royal Rumble, and then he went on to pass the ball to Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 14, in what was again, another great match brought to us courtesy of Shawn Michaels, and he did it with a severely injured back.
The next two years all Shawn did was make an appearance here and there, and he was also commissioner for a little while. So those last couple of years in the nineties weren't very special, but he's still nineties still belong to him.
The point to writing all this is to prove why Shawn is the “Wrestler of the Nineties”. Whether you love him or you down right hate him, there's no denying that Shawn Michaels was involved in more classic matches, unbelievable angles, and "First Time Ever's" during that decade than anyone else. He might not have been the biggest draw, his heel turn might not had led us into another boom period, and he's probably most remembered for the infamous moments by net fans more than anything else, but still.... when I personally think about the nineties, it's the shit he did that comes to mind first and foremost. Today, 2008, while I still like him and enjoy most of his work, I haven't really dug Shawn Michaels since that match against Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIV. I’ll never forget what he did during that era. Yes, he did some terrible shit outside the ring and behind the scenes, but what he did in front of that camera more than makes up for it in my mind. There’s no one else in pro wrestling during any era where I can sit down like this and remember in such detail everything that person did and I guess that’s why, to me, there’s no doubt that Shawn Michaels is the “Wrestler of the Nineties”.
The decade started off with Shawn being in my favorite tag team of all time, The Rockers. I loved both him and Marty Jannetty, and I thought they were awesome as a tag team. I think the reason I was so drawn to them was because they were the first guys in America to come along and do the high flying stuff on a national stage. And as the biggest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan at the time, I was drawn to that stuff. But not only did they have the moves, but they also came off as real rock stars and they're look was so flashy and cool. As a kid, you couldn't help but love them because while Hogan, Sting and Warrior were the come-to-life super heroes who we all believed in, these guys were like super heroes in their own right, with the flashiness and innovative moves. The 3 Ninjas is the best comparison I can make. I loved karate when I was a kid and a lot of my favorite wrestlers of all time had a bunch of that shit in their arsenal (HBK, Marty, Ricky Steamboat, 123 Kid, RVD, ect.), and as a kid drawn to that, I couldn't help but love The Rockers, and even though they didn't last long, I think that team had an awesome run in the WWF. Definitely a memorable one, for me anyway.
Then comes the break-up. I saw it when it happened and was devastated. I never seen anything that violent on wrestling before, and I hated Shawn for what he did. He became the wrestler I hated most in the company. I wanted to see him get his ass beat every single time, even when he faced Rick Martel, a guy who I previously couldn’t stand.. However, I couldn't help but start somewhat liking HBK again after he beat The British Bulldog for the Intercontinental Championship. By that time, Davey Boy vs. Bret Hart at Summerslam 1992 was definitely my favorite match of all time, but I found that match against HBK even better. That's when I realized how great he was and was going to be. I was still having trouble being a real big fan of his because he then went on to have feuds against some of my favorite guys: Marty Jannetty, Adam Bomb, Tatanka, Razor Ramon, among others. But it's that feud against Razor where I didn't care what Shawn did, he was the best wrestler in the world in my eyes.
Wrestlemania X: A ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon was going down. I didn't know what the fuck a ladder match was and even as a kid when I'm suppose to buy into everything, I thought the match was going to be stupid. However, as I'm sure everyone knows, that match changed wrestling forever. I know there were a couple of ladder matches before then, but none of them came close to matching the innovation and excitement that match had. It was unbelievable, and I am glad that I was able to watch it as it happened. Everything about the match was perfect. Not only did you have the big, painful looking moves, but there was so much drama in it. It brought 'False Finishes' to a whole other level. And the finish... my god, could it have been done any perfectly? Talk about a creative, believable way to end a ladder match. It was just awesome.
Follow the Royal Rumble after that, and HBK enters #1 and wins the whole thing. It came straight out of left field. I guess today I could predict it since we've all come accustom to wrestling feuds and how they turn out, but I was totally oblivious to Shawn winning that thing. All the signs were there that Diesel vs. HBK would be the main event for Wrestlemania because that was the match everyone wanted to see at the time, but when Shawn entered number 1, I thought there was no way he would pull it off. But again, he did something that was never done before and he ended it with in fucking unbelievable fashion. I was shocked when he came back in and eliminated Bulldog. I couldn't believe it.
And then Shawn goes on to wrestle Diesel at Wrestlemania IX. Decent match, but it's always been ruined to me because of the ending. Shawn did not take the Jack Knife right and it looked like shit, but it's still one of Diesel's best matches during his run as WWF Champion. Fast forward the night after, and the moment I've been waiting for but had no idea I really wanted to happen finally happens: HBK turns babyface. And he did again in a way that was completely unexpected and something I've never seen. Dude took FIVE powerbombs from Sid Vicious and sold it like it killed him. It was devastating to watch, and you couldn't help but to root for Shawn to make a great comeback after that. And he did make a great comeback. He came back a couple of months later and made up with my favorite wrestler in the WWF at the time outside of Bret Hart, Diesel, and they started a partnership again. During this time, HBK would win the IC Title match in an AMAZING match against Jeff Jarrett, then defend it in another classic ladder match against Razor, and HBK (IC Champion) and Diesel (World Champion) became the ultimate team by capturing the WWF Tag Titles against Yokozuna & British Bulldog. Unfortunately, it only lasted one night, but it was still a cool thing to witness and HBK was apart of something, once again, that I had never seen before. Then comes the night where he had to forfeit his IC Title title. He got jumped and you couldn't help but imagine the worst when seeing his face and hearing him describe the incident. I felt horrible for him and it was heartbreaking, but it was nothing compared to what happened when he came back.
Shawn returned at Survivor Series and I was stoked. He had a great match that night in classic Survivor Series fashion, and you knew after Diesel turned that same night that Shawn's day as World Champion wasn't too far ahead. But then, the night after, he's in the ring kicking Owen Hart's ass and completely collapses. I'm not ashamed to admit that I thought it was 100% legit and that I fucking cried like a little bitch. I prayed for him every night and went to sleep with my Shawn Michaels figure. That's how much of a fan I was and how much I believed in the storyline, even though I knew always pro wrestling was scripted and pre-determined, but they got me to believe with that one. I'll never forget it.
Shawn then returned not too long after at the Royal Rumble, and won in awesome fashion by eliminating his ex-partner Diesel, who has gone evil at this point in time. It was an awesome moment, and I couldn't wait for the dream match between he and Bret Hart at Wrestlemania IIX. But fuck.. was the wait worth it. Once again, Shawn participated in something I've never seen before: An 1 hour Iron Man match. The way the match sounded and the fact that it was going to be an hour long, your imagination would just run wild thinking of all the possibilities. Personally, I thought there was going to be like a 10-9 score at the end of it, but they went a completely different direction and thank god they did because it was one of the most dramatic, heart racing matches I've ever seen. I know the match gets a lot of hate at this website, but those last twenty-five minutes of that bout is some of the greatest pro wrestling that has ever taken place, in my opinion. And even though Bret was my favorite wrestler, I rooted for Shawn. In my mind, Bret had his moment and it was time for Shawn, as Vince famously would put it, to realize his boyhood dream. And he did, it was unbelievable. I'll never, ever forget Shawn hitting that second super kick and him crying on his knees with that belt in his hands up to his face. It was fantastic and one of my favorite moments in history. To this day, I think it was the greatest build ever for someone to capture their first World Title. Truly amazing.
And wow... Shawn's run with the belt was spectacular. First off, to this day, his 'Anything Goes' match with Diesel at the In Your House that followed Wrestlemania 12, is one of my favorite matches of all time. It was fantastic, and the first of many fantastic bouts Shawn would have defending that belt. Defenses against the likes of The British Bulldog, Marty Jannetty (it was only one match, but a great one on Raw), Owen Hart, Vader, Yokozuna, Goldust, and Mankind. All great matches. What made Shawn such a great WWF Champion was that all his matches felt like they deserved to be for the World Title and deserved to headline every show because it was without a doubt the best match on the card 99% of the time.
So Shawn's having this great run and then has to face his old bodyguard and the guy who betrayed him by powerbombing him five times, Sid, at Survivor Series. I remember Shawn brought Sid back to the WWF storyline wise by having him be his partner when The Ultimate Warrior no showed. So the friendship appeared to be fixed, and everything was all well and dandy between the two. But then, Sid wins in one of the most horrible matches of all time against Vader to become the number one contender for Shawn's title. But the friendship remains nonetheless and the two are going to have a friendly, competitive match at Survivor Series. Well, come Survivor Series at MSG, the crowd, for whatever reason, fucking boos Michaels and gets behind Sid, and the match turns out to be amazing with a heartbreaking ending if you were a HBK fan. It's by far Sid's greatest match ever, and the ending was something that's hard to forget because if you were watching, you really thought Jose Lathrio died because of Sid's actions. And it was because of those actions against Jose that Shawn got distracted and Sid ended up winning the match and the title. The crowd went nuts with joy, while I'm sitting in my room furious wanting to rip that douchebag Sid's head off. But it turned out okay; Shawn would get his rematch in his hometown, San Antonio, at The Royal Rumble and recapture his title in another great match. It was awesome to see. But, unfortunately, the title reign didn't last too long. After like a month of so after, the infamous "Lost my smile" speech happened and Shawn forfeited the title. You know, I don't have much to say about that. As a fan at the time, I was heartbroken at the speech, but now as I've smarten up and realized what the politics were like at the time, I do believe HBK was injured, but I also think he had it in him to drop the title to Bret. If he could wrestle Steve Austin with the shape his back was in at Wrestlemania 14, he could've wrestled Bret with a bad knee. Bret would've taken care of him.
Okay, so HBK is sort of in and out of the picture at this point. He does commentary for the main event at 'Mania if and I remember correctly, soon returns full time after that to start a feud/partnership with Steve Austin that didn't last too long. Once that was done he took some more time off and returned to ref the main event at Summerslam between Undertaker and Bret Hart. He would turn heel at this point by nailing Taker with the chair (even though it was intended for Bret) and then make the three count for Bret to win the title. And this is when DX practically started.
What can you say about the original DX that gives them justice? They were fucking wild and defined 'cool'. But what made DX work for me was that Shawn was its leader and he was still putting on classic match-up after classic match-up whenever the time came. So not only did he have unbelievable matches, but now his skits on TV were the best thing about Raw. They were hilarious, and you looked forward every week to see what they were going to pull out of their ass next. It was really fun to watch.
But for me, angles aren't fun if you can't deliver the matches, and NO ONE delivered them better than HBK. Case and point: Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker. I know I've said it a bunch of times already, but once again, HBK is apart of something never witnessed, and it turned out to be, without a doubt in my mind, the greatest cage match in pro wrestling history. You know how people say, "You have to see this movie in theaters for you to truly appreciate its awesomeness"? Well, there are some matches you have to watch while it happens to truly appreciate the excitement and shocking elements that occur, and this was definitely one of those matches. Don't get me wrong, as with most HBK matches, it's still fun to watch this day, but unless you saw it live on pay-per-view or you were lucky enough to be there in person, you still have no idea what its like to sit through that match not knowing what’s going to happen next. I've always hated The Undertaker. I appreciate what he has given the business the today, but from the time he debuted until around the biker gimmick came along, I hated his fucking guts, even when he was babyface. And this match was no exception. He was the good guy, but I so badly wanted Shawn to kick his ass, but how could he? It seemed so unreal at the time, but HBK made it believable that he could hang in there with The Undertaker and find a way to pull off the victory. It was fucking awesome. And not to mention, Shawn took the hardest chair shot I've ever seen towards the end of that match. I thought he was knocked out for real. I was screaming for him to put an arm over Taker after Kane laid Taker out, but I thought there was no way. But he did and it was amazing.
Not soon after this, HBK finally gets a title shot and it’s against his old nemesis Bret Hart. I don't really want to go into this, but my thoughts are that HBK and Vince were wrong in this situation. I hate that it happened, and it was a disgusting moment in wrestling history. However, with that being said, even as disgusting and foul it was, it's still one of the most memorable and biggest "holy shit" moments in all of wrestling history and HBK was once again right in the middle of it making things happen that we never seen before and will never see again.
Shawn's run with the belt after beating Bret wasn't much. He feuded with Taker for a little bit that ended in a pretty dumb Casket Match at the Royal Rumble, and then he went on to pass the ball to Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 14, in what was again, another great match brought to us courtesy of Shawn Michaels, and he did it with a severely injured back.
The next two years all Shawn did was make an appearance here and there, and he was also commissioner for a little while. So those last couple of years in the nineties weren't very special, but he's still nineties still belong to him.
The point to writing all this is to prove why Shawn is the “Wrestler of the Nineties”. Whether you love him or you down right hate him, there's no denying that Shawn Michaels was involved in more classic matches, unbelievable angles, and "First Time Ever's" during that decade than anyone else. He might not have been the biggest draw, his heel turn might not had led us into another boom period, and he's probably most remembered for the infamous moments by net fans more than anything else, but still.... when I personally think about the nineties, it's the shit he did that comes to mind first and foremost. Today, 2008, while I still like him and enjoy most of his work, I haven't really dug Shawn Michaels since that match against Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIV. I’ll never forget what he did during that era. Yes, he did some terrible shit outside the ring and behind the scenes, but what he did in front of that camera more than makes up for it in my mind. There’s no one else in pro wrestling during any era where I can sit down like this and remember in such detail everything that person did and I guess that’s why, to me, there’s no doubt that Shawn Michaels is the “Wrestler of the Nineties”.