When is Shawn Michaels going to retire?

[Guest Redhawk]

Back around SummerSlam, I though the general consensus was HBK would only stick around for about a month. They said his back was all fucked up and all that. Is that still the case? Is he going to continue beyond Wrestlemania?

[Guest Banky]

Back around SummerSlam, I though the general consensus was HBK would only stick around for about a month. They said his back was all fucked up and all that. Is that still the case? Is he going to continue beyond Wrestlemania?

He'll wrestle 2 matches a year. Too bad no one cares about him anymore. He's not even close to being the same on-air personality that made his exciting. He's a boring parody of himself. His wrestling ability means spit as he never wrestles, and only works spot to spot.

[Guest tpww7]

I thought HBK-Jericho at Mania was going to be a retirement match?

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

I doubt he'll continue much longer. He's got a family at home this time and he wants to be a good Christian daddy and all that.

[Guest ViciousFish]

Good Jesus I do hope so....I WAS a huge HBK mark when DX first started up and I was really psyched about the Summerslam thing but now its boring...I mean one match vs HHH was really cool....I mean HBK made a return, the Elimination Chamber was where the nostalgia started to wear off and by Armageddon I just wished he'd go away.

[Guest The_Radical]

HBK will unfortunately stay around for as long as McMahon allows him to. He won't give up that spotlight even if he cannot perform to the best of his abilities anymore. It's like Austin says.."I hear that roar of the crowd and I might as well be a junkie because I'm hooked".

 

The Radical has spoken.

[Guest Banky]

His weekly run-ins make him just a side attraction. His return has been handled worse than Flairs.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

Shawn is...

a) Stupid

b) Arrogant

 

and has...

c) Friends in High Places

 

A bad combination.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

a) Stupid

b) Arrogant

c) Friends in High Places

Mathmaticians call this the "Nash Property"

[Guest Goodear]

What's the problem with Shawn sticking around at this point? They guy can still work better than some of the slugs on the roster and still has a bit of a rub to give. So what if he's a peckerhead... the WWE is a little short on uppercard bodies right now anyway.

[Guest Dangerous A]

If Shawn is here to play ball and put Jericho over, then I am fine with HBK staying.

 

If not, he needs to get the fuck out and stop holding up progress.

[Guest bob_barron]

Hopefully he'll take a bad bump and be forced into retirement. Again.

[Guest Retro Rob]

HBK will unfortunately stay around for as long as McMahon allows him to. He won't give up that spotlight even if he cannot perform to the best of his abilities anymore. It's like Austin says.."I hear that roar of the crowd and I might as well be a junkie because I'm hooked".

 

The Radical has spoken.

I highly doubt that is true about Shawn. If it was, then why was he only on TV sporadically from 1999-2002. I'm sure Vince would have been happy to have Shawn around that whole time, even if it was just as a non-wrestler, but Shawn chose not to participate. If anything, he is probably one of the few guys who could walk away when the time comes. If his body still has more to give, then there is no reason for him to stop performing. I personally have gotten bored with the guy, but if he wants to keep on trucking then more to him.

[Guest Some Guy]

I don't mind him that much. If they cut the length of his promos down he'd be better off. He tends to get into the HHH-style droning promo shit and it's boring. I like him and hope he and Jericho tear it down at WM. IF he can't get it done with a good worker like Jericho then he should call it a career. He's fought HHH and RVD in singles matches, neither is a great worker. I'll give him another chance in the ring before I turn on him, like the rest of you guys.

[Guest Just call me Dan]

My cynicism wants to say that Jericho will never get that big rub and retire Shawn, but it just may happen.

 

It should have been heavily promoted that he would retire Flair, instead Flair went over clean in an OK match, and lost in a shady finish in a worse one at the next PPV. Jericho should have totally outmanned him and foirced him to give up wrestling. That was a big loss, but it's over.

 

Here's the second chance. Let's just hope it goes correctly this time around.

[Guest SP-1]

We all know that SP is a huge HBK mark. When he won at the Series, I literally did a sexy boy dance and marked out big time in the middle of a sports bar (Kotzenjunge can confirm this).

 

But I hope he retires against Jericho at Wrestlemania. As a fellow Christian, I think it's great that Shawn was blessed with one more run. But if it's going to hurt his back more in the long run, I'd like to see him use the opportunity to elevate Jericho, and retire after one last great match. And yes, I think Shawn's got one last barn burner left in him, especially against someone like Jericho.

 

I love seeing him. It's awesome to see a vocal Christian figure out there doing things in the "sport" I love. But part of it all is knowing when it's time to move on to other things in life. I can't speak for Shawn but to me, it appears that it's time. But I could be wrong.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

If it was, then why was he only on TV sporadically from 1999-2002.

 

They tried to bring him back several times, but Shawn had such a severe drug/alchohol problem that he wasn't capable of performing. Since then he has turned his life around, and is thus back.

 

If he jobs clean to Y2J, I will stop complaining about him. If he beats Jericho then he is no better than Nash, since he no longer can back it up in the ring. At least HHH has credibility. Michaels is basically a joke at this point to pop the crowd, ala Hogan.

[Guest Brian]

I'm still waiting for Hogan. But if they lose Hogan, HBK, Rock, and the big Austin job within a month they can create a lot of uppercard guys.

[Guest AndrewTS]

HBK should job to Jericho at WM and go home.

 

Knowing the way these things work, he'll probably win at WM and then lose at Backlash. Ugh.

[NYU 0]

Michaels is basically a joke at this point to pop the crowd, ala Hogan.

Man, that is SUCH bullshit. Hogan can barely take a fucking bump at this point. If he wanted to climb to the top rope, he would need a forklift.......and a ramp to get up to the forklift. Michaels can still bump ! Look at the fall at Armageddon from the ladder through the tables outside for proof of that. From what I've seen, Michaels STILL has damn good matches. From HHH to the Chamber to RVD to HHH, Michaels is HARDLY the worst wrestler on Raw. In fact, when he DOES wrestle right now, I would put him in the top 10 wrestlers on the Raw brand. I really would.

 

If Michaels thinks it's time, then he should go. But personally, I don't feel his career is over yet. He still has damn good matches, which is more than fucking Scott Steiner. And think about it this way....at a time when wrestlers are getting injured left and right, and WWE NEEDS Main Event wrestlers, isn't it better they keep HBK around for now ? The only reason people hate on HBK right now is because of his past actions - not his current skills. In no way is HBK a Kevin Nash or a Scott Steiner....the guy can still bump and the guy can still wrestle ! I HARDLY think Michaels is a liability at this point

[Guest bob_barron]

I would put him in the top 10 wrestlers on the Raw brand. I really would.

 

That's not saying much.

 

His match at Armageddon was the one of the most boring matches I've ever seen that totally exposed me to how washed up the guy was.

 

HBK should do the job once in his life and then leave and never EVER come back

[NYU 0]

I would put him in the top 10 wrestlers on the Raw brand. I really would.

 

That's not saying much.

 

His match at Armageddon was the one of the most boring matches I've ever seen that totally exposed me to how washed up the guy was.

 

HBK should do the job once in his life and then leave and never EVER come back

Saying Michaels is one of the ten best wrestlers on Raw IS saying a lot....considering the roster is about 30 guys who SHOULD be better than him...but aren't.

 

And the Armagedddon match was one of the most boring you've seen ? Really ? Worse than....

 

HHH/Steiner I

HHH/Steiner II

Rock/Hogan II

Undertaker/Big Show NWO

 

....keep in mind I have found 4 matches....from PPVs....these 2 months....that have been worse than HHH/HBK. If you want, we can go to Raw and Smackdown matches from this year, then PPV and Raw and Smackdown matches from last year to search for matches worse than this Armageddon one. I personally found the Armageddon one pretty good, but people here were too busy bitching about HBK/HHH Main Eventing. Need we look at HBK/HHH SummerSlam ? Awesome match....and the whole SummerSlam forum was full of "Wah, wah, these guys are killing the federation" bullshit. Biases block people from noticing how good some matches are, and I think that was the case here.

 

In no way is HBK as good as he was in 95-97. But god damn, I just don't see the person as being washed up yet.

[Guest bob_barron]

No.

The crowd kept me into this one

Yes

No

 

I love the Summerslam match too- no arguments there. The Armageddon match went on forever and ever and I was bored out of my skull 10 minutes in

[NYU 0]

Well, we've already found 2 matches from the past 2 months worse than that one, so I guess it couldn't have been the most boring shit you've ever seen.

 

And not to open a Pandora's Box here BUT....can you say with a straight face William Regal is a better athlete right now than Shawn Michaels ? Regal hasn't had a watchable match in God knows HOW LONG, and the man moves around the ring like he's Hulk Hogan with a broken foot. He's slower than shit, can hardly do anything in the ring worth noting, and has some of the worst finishers in the biz today ( besides Bischoff's heart-punch of doom ) I just find it ironic that you say Michaels is over the hill, when I find him superior to William Regal in every way.

[Guest bob_barron]

HBK and Triple H had THREE gimmick matches and forty minutes to their disposable and unlike Scott Steiner had both feet available to them.

 

He's not a better athelete but with the exception of Summerslam I'd rather watch a Regal match since HBK's comeback then any of HBK's matches.

 

The Commonwealth Connection has put on some very underrated matches recently. I really enjoyed their match with RVD/Kane and thought the 8 man winning streak they had was awesome as they were booked to perfection. They also dragged a watchable match out of friggin Maven and Al Snow.

[Guest SP-1]

I wouldn't say that Regal is quite over the hill. He generally stays in the mid-card, he can be entertaining when he feels a need to put forth the effort, and I think Regal has demonstrated a perfectly viable ability to still go in the ring. Just don't put the guy in a World Title push or anything.

 

Shawn's back put him out before. He takes a chance every time he goes out there now with his back, as I understand it. I think Shawn has sensed that it's time to bring someone up to a spot he's vacating, and I think he'll do it at Mania. I hope so. Let's face it . . . a hurt HBK is better than alot of guys. But he's still a hurt HBK, he's still past his top form. He's not the same Shawn Michaels that gave me an hour-plus with Bret Hart anymore. Even us hardcore HBK marks need to recognize that. His health is more important than the ring. I certainly hope he's realized that, too.

[Guest bob_barron]

He's not the same Shawn Michaels that gave me an hour-plus with Bret Hart anymore.

 

I always found that match overrated.

 

Oh and Regal is MUCH better then Shawn on the mic.

[NYU 0]

He's not the same Shawn Michaels that gave me an hour-plus with Bret Hart anymore.

 

I always found that match overrated.

 

Oh and Regal is MUCH better then Shawn on the mic.

So let me get this straight....

 

Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart going for around 62 minutes in an Iron Match is OVERRATED....

 

But Regal/Storm vs. RVD/Kane, and Regal/Storm vs. Snow/Maven is UNDERRATED....

 

In the words of the great RVD, "Dude, what are YOU smoking ?!"

 

It just sounds like more HBK-bashing to me....

[Guest bob_barron]

HBK v. Bret Hart is a good match- I won't deny you that. But it's not ***** MOTYC either IMO. The psychology is hit and miss and the match is boring most of the time.

 

I think CC v. Kane/RVD was ***1/2. It was good tag team formula and was able to overcome a concussion to one of the participants.

 

I do hate Shawn Michaels- I'm going on my 11th year of Shawn hate. The guy was a GREAT worker in the mid 90s but I think he is over the hill

[Guest SP-1]

I always found that match overrated.

 

Oh and Regal is MUCH better then Shawn on the mic.

Some people do, and that's certainly their right. I think alot of Bret marks generally like to find flaws in it, especially after 97, and that's their right as well. I, however, find it to be a f'ing great ride from top to bottom, the crowd at the time seemed to as well, and seeing Shawn celebrate at the end is one of my favorite moments ever. That's my right. That's fine.

 

As for mic work, I'll agree that these days Regal is matched up with, and goes beyond Shawn. For whatever reason, I think Shawn's cleaning up his life has taken away some of the material he had to work with before. Which, IMO, isn't neccessarily a bad thing if it's stuff he's moved away from. That's fine since he's strayed from having a mic in his hand lately. When Shawn was in his prime? No. If such was the case, Regal, being the good performer he is, would have found himself in the Main Event wherever he was and would have been as successful. Which isn't putting Regal down at all, mind you. I'm saying if Regal had the mic skills at the time, he'd have surpassed Shawn or matched up with him since Regal certainly isn't lacking in the ring, IMO. But Shawn oozed charisma, and coupled with a ring ability that is alot better than most tend to give him credit for, he found himself on top. Simple as that.

 

Sadly, Regal now is better on the mic and has more ring time ahead of him than Shawn. So that shows you who played it smart, for the most part, Bob. And that's a good thing for Regal.