I just saw it actually, then came online to read the reviews and then came here to the thread. I figured I'd see some kind of thread about the rating. I think it's a tad overrated myself, but not by too much. I was seriously enjoying this whole match, and I actually stood up and said "holy shit!" when Michaels "won" without even realizing it. The crowd was hot, they gave it a lot of time to develop, and neither man was particularly weakened by the ending (although the case can be made that Michaels really doesn't need protecting, the World Champion of the company certainly needs to be kept strong).
I was thinking ***3/4 or so, nah, ****, because the only thing I saw wrong with it were the two referee bumps (only one with Bischoff taking over afterward would have had the same effect) and, as I remarked to myself while watching it, "this is awfully punchy-punchy." They can easily go out there and put a better one on at the Rumble, just going clean all the way through, having a definitive winner, and with HHH selling that leg a bit more (I was delighted to see Shawn noticing his sudden ginger steps and capitalizing on the injury) with the super-long submission coming later in the match so as to help aid in that. Just shuffle the parts of the match around, keep it clean and the ref upright, and less punch-offs, and then you've got your ****3/4.