Shawn Michaels Simply Is the Best Ever

I knew it before he retired.  I knew it after his last match with The Undertaker.  I can safely say that Shawn Michaels is the greatest professional wrestler of all time.  How did I come to this conclusion you ask?  There is a criteria involved.  How good was he on the mic?  How good was he in the ring?  What were his accolades?  How did fans react?  There are probably tons of things to look at, but for the sake of argument, let's look at the meat of the issue.

 

Mic/Promo Skills   

Was HBK the greatest ever on the mic?  Nope.  I'd put Ric Flair and The Rock over him any day of the week.  But, Michaels was no slouch.  Watch his work as a cocky, arrogant "boy toy" when he broke free from The Rockers.  It evolved into a confident, underdog babyface when he won his first WWE World Title.  From there, he went back to the arrogant heel, only this time everyone knew when he said something, he would back it up. 

Michaels followed that up by turning the WWE around with DX.  Say what you will about Steve Austin starting the "Attitude Era," but HBK really exemplifies what that era was all about.  After his injury, he came back with a new outlook on life.  He veered away from the vulgarities and double-entendres, but his emotion was always felt.  When you watched a Shawn Michaels' promo, you believed in what he was saying.  Whether you liked it or not, he got you to feel some type of emotion towards him. 

 

In-Ring Skills 

This one just isn't debatable.  Sorry.  Flair was great, but let's be honest.  He maybe had five or six moves in his repertoire.  Bret Hart?  Excellent.  Not better than Michaels.  Kurt Angle is unbelievable, too.  But Angle's best was when HBK was in the ring across from him.  Chris Benoit may have been the most intense performer in the ring I've ever seen, but even he couldn't tell a story like HBK could. 

Take the best attributes of the guys I just mentioned, and you have Shawn Michaels.  HBK had dozens of moves he could use at any time and execute them with perfection.  The Heartbreak Kid made the ladder match famous.  He was in the first Hell in a Cell, and the others since haven't topped it. 

He could be in the ring with a guy stronger, bigger, quicker, more technically sound and make you believe he could hold his own with any opponent.  Michaels made his opponents better because he could.  I personally think he could have had a five-star match with The Brooklyn Brawler if given the chance.  Who else could say that?

 

Fan Reaction     

For starters, I cannot recall one time where the crowd chanted "BORRRR-IIIIINNNNGG" anytime when Michaels was on.  Whether it was a match or a promo, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. 

When Michaels was a face, the roof blew off the building when he made his entrance.  As a heel, he had the people despise him.  Fans didn't cheer him because they were supposed to or "boo" him simply because he was a bad guy.  He knew how to elicit the response he wanted.  Every time.  And not just any response.  It was pure emotion from the fans.  Look at Flair, Austin, Rock, even Hogan.  When those guys were heels, they still had a positive response a lot of times. 

When Michaels wanted you to hate him, you did.

 

Accolades   

This is where things can get debatable.  Flair is a 16-time World Champion.  Bret Hart was a World Champion seven times when you count WCW.  Hogan 12 times.  Austin won it on six occasions.  The Rock is a former nine-time champ.  You catch the drift of it.  HBK was a World Champion four times.  Not exactly a front-runner in this category. 

Yes, he won several other titles, but being the World Champ is being the best.  Let's not forget, Michaels also missed four years of his prime due to a back injury.  Would he have caught Flair?  Who knows.  Probably not.  But, in the era where joining the "five-timers club" was a big deal, one would have to assume that Shawn Michaels would have surpassed that milestone easily. 

 

These are some of the many reasons I believe Michaels is the best ever.  My main reasoning behind it is just watching the man work in the ring.  HBK was doing things that were years ahead of the rest.  He just didn't have a bad match.  More times than not, his match was the best of the night.  His matches will withstand the test of time. 

Who do you think is the greatest ever?  Ric Flair?  A legend indeed.  One of the longest and most decorated careers ever.  Had Michaels not come back from his back injury, the top spot would belong to Flair.  I love Flair.  The man was amazing, but he loses out to Michaels simply because he couldn't do things in the ring that Michaels could.  Athletically, HBK could run circles around Flair. 

What about Hulk Hogan?  I know there are some Hogan lovers out there.  Hogan was horrible in the ring, above-average with the mic and wore out his welcome quite a bit.  His "Hulkamania" act got stale.  His NWO shtick got old.  He held a lot of World Titles because his ego demanded it.  Best ever?  Nope.  But, I'll give him top 10, only because of who he is and what he did for pro wrestling. 

Bret Hart was excellent in the ring.  I'm a Bret Hart fan, but I think Michaels was better than him in all aspects of the business. 

Steve Austin?  Great promos.  Great reaction.  Above-average in the ring.  One of the best, but not the best.

Thanks for reading.  Looking forward to see if anybody can change my mind about Shawn Michaels being the best ever.  I doubt that's going to happen.

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