The Shimmy 6.11.07: The Shawn Michaels Report Card (Part Three) - DX & Beyond!
Posted by Andy Clark on 06.11.2007
The Shimmy wraps up the Shawn Michaels Report Card by looking at his feud with Vince McMahon, the reformation of DX, and his return to singles greatness in 2007!
Hello all. I don't have any real cute intros this week so let's jump right into the Shawn Michaels Report Card.
A lot of people are down on this match for its lack of "star power" and the fact that Kurt Angle was the first man eliminated. I loved Angle's early elimination because it shut the smarky Buffalo crowd up pretty quick. I also think they put over Carlito and Masters strong here, and HBK was a big part of that. Good match all around and Michaels certainly added to it.
My Grade: B
2006 Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble 2006)
You know, this wasn't a classic Royal Rumble Match, and its placement on the card left a bad taste in many people's mouths (mine included), but the emotional nature of the match can't be denied. Unfortunately Shawn Michaels' only involvement was to continue his feud with Vince McMahon and he was promptly tossed by Shane O'Mac. He did have little mini-feuds with MNM and Shelton Benjamin which made his role a bit more interesting.
My Grade: B-
No Holds Barred Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon (WrestleMania 22)
From the Vince McMahon Report Card: And now we make it to last year's WrestleMania. Vince was squashed even more thoroughly in this match then he was against Undertaker and the match was even better. This was a very entertaining piece of sports-entertainment storytelling and Vince took one hell of a beating. He didn't try to dominate the match, he just wanted to give the fans what they wanted to see.
My Grade: A
No DQ, Handicap Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon & Shane McMahon (Backlash 2006)
From the Vince McMahon Report Card: Damn you, God. Damn you straight to hell! After Shawn Michaels' tag team partner cowardly abandoned him in the middle of the ring, HBK was decimated by the followers of McMahonism. While Shawn Michaels did put up a valiant effort, it was no match for a two man team (or a seven man if you include the [Holy] Spirit Squad). Praise be the name McMahon!
My Grade: B+
Handicap Match: DX vs. Spirit Squad (Vengeance 2006)
I understand that the point of this match was just to see the in-ring return of DX, but for a PPV main event it was pretty lacking. There was nothing bad exactly, but it was a pretty plain match that we would go on to see various forms of over the summer. Plus, they already gave away all the signature DX stuff on the Raw before the PPV. Pretty bland match here, although Johnny Jeter pretty much saved it.
My Grade: C
DX vs. Vince McMahon & Shane McMahon (SummerSlam 2006)
I could have sworn I had graded this match before, but apparently not. This was actually really fun, largely due to Vince & Shane. Seeing them run through classic tag team moves and then mocking their original users was pretty funny. DX did the same DX-y things that they had been doing to the Spirit Squad, so their wasn't much new to report there. Good match, but again it was DX's opponents that really made the match.
My Grade: B+
Interpromotional, Handicap, Hell in a Cell Match: DX vs. Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, & Big Show (Unforgiven 2006)
From the Big Show Report Card: I'm still not entirely sure why Big Show was even involved in this feud, other than to have Vince have his bloody face shoved in Show's ass. This was an odd combination of brutality and comedy, something I'm still not sure how I feel about. The match was your typical McMahon fun, so that's always good.
My Grade: A-
DX vs. Rated RKO; Guest Referee: Eric Bischoff (Cyber Sunday 2006)
With the McMahons having been smited (smote?) DX needed new punching bags. Who better then the combined forces of Edge & Randy Orton? Tired of having DX run rampant on Raw Edge and Orton began their alliance in an attempt to win the show back. They could trace the ills of their lives back to Triple H and Shawn Michaels and thanks to special referee Eric Bischoff they were able to exact some revenge on their tormentors. This was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise dull PPV but this was still not near the full abilities of these four men.
My Grade: B+
Interpromotional, Classic Survivor Series Elimination Match: DX, The Hardys, & CM Punk vs. Rated RKO, Johnny Nitro, Gregory Helms, & Mike Knox (Survivor Series 2006)
This wasn't a classic or anything, but it was fun. Never was a burial so entertaining. This was a huge rub for CM Punk and the Hardys, particularly Punk who managed to outpop DX in Philadelphia. This would unfortunately end Randy Orton's Survivor Series sole survivor streak, but at the end of the day its not really that important.
This match had the makings of an instant classic before Triple H's injury. Even still this was a damn fine match and it was an essential execution of Edge and Orton. As unfortunate as Triple H's injury was for his own career it was really a career saver for HBK. Shawn Michaels lost his identity during his run in DX and the separation of he and Triple H helped springboard him into a great half-year.
My Grade: B+
2007 Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble 2007)
Everyone says that the bulk of this match was rather bland, but the last 12 minutes or so more than make up for it. Shawn Michaels was in classic form in his hometown and his final eight minute confrontation with Undertaker was one for the ages. If Shawn Michaels wasn't planned to face John Cena at WrestleMania before this match I certainly bet that this helped to make believers out of the higher-ups.
My Grade: A
Interpromotional Match: Batista & Undertaker vs. John Cena & Shawn Michaels (No Way Out 2007)
Shawn Michaels once again helped save an otherwise dismal PPV. Heading into WrestleMania they had one of the biggest tag team matches they've ever had on PPV headlining their February show. Both WrestleMania main events collided and for the second straight year the Raw main event came away victorious. Cena and Michaels were World Tag Team Champions at the time so the tag team purists should be happy.
Michaels great return to singles action set him up to be part of the main event of the biggest show of the year. WWE was hyping this match as an instant classic, and while it didn't quite live up to the hype, it was still a really good match. When you get over the fact that these two men would not fight a faster style the greatness of the match really comes through. HBK was summoning his inner heel for this match as he was particularly dickish throughout. The final two minutes or so are absolutely fantastic and that alone makes this match a must see.
Some could argue that this is the match that should have main evented WrestleMania and it would be a compelling argument. A lot of people were concerned that after Cena and Michaels wrestled for an hour on the Raw before this show that the Fatal Four-Way wouldn't be able to measure up. Well it certainly came close. All four men were on throughout the entire match and they continued the great chemistry they had had for the past few months. For a while there Raw had the best combination of talent since the SmackDown Six.
My Grade: A
Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton (Judgment Day 2007)
I know why they had to run this match they way they did, and ultimately I think it helped Orton look like a badass, but this was a complete waste of PPV time. I would just as soon have had this happen and then have had Orton wrestle just about anyone else in a REAL match. This did not belong on PPV. The only thing that's stopping this from being an F is how evil Orton looked while doing it.
My Grade: D-
And that's it. Outside of his last match, which really shouldn't count, Shawn Michaels has set the wrestling world on fire since his return in 2002. Hopefully there will be more to come from the Showstoppa when he returns from his leg injury. I welcome any and all thoughts on the Shawn Michaels Report Card, including your own report cards.
Andy! Andy! At Last You Have Some Feedback!
Chris Jacobs has two comments. The first is about WWE Magazine's complete erasure of Vengeance 2003, the second is about me stating that WWE screwed over Muhammad Hassan:
Maybe the are so sour at Kurt that they don't acknowledge him winning. Who knows?
How did he get screwed over? Or are you just talking about the crappy way they put him out?
I wouldn't imagine they'd let their opinion of Angle mess up their presentation of history because they have mentioned him in other media since his jump to TNA. As for my Hassan comments, yes, I was basically referring to how they sent him out and then fired him. I'll give you that he wasn't good at all in the ring, but his mic skills were tremendous and he was one of the biggest heat machines I've ever seen (albeit for mostly the wrong reasons). His beatdown on JR and Jerry Lawler was classic heel stuff. I just hate how Vince McMahon, after always proclaiming how much he loves controversy, completely bitched out and dropped the character. The Vinnie Mac of old would have had Hassan do something even more dastardly the next week just to get at all his detractors. Hassan should have gone far (provided his in-ring work improved) and McMahon and his corporate hedgehogs completely lost their balls.
Saad Manzar has his own Shawn Michaels Report Card:
Big fan of 411wrestling and I thoroughly enjoy reading your articles. I wanted to offer a bit of a different perspective on HBK comeback matches. My opinion on HBK is that he is one of the best, if not the best, in ring performer of the last 25 years, but outside the ring, he is an arrogant, disgusting, self serving asshole. And while I love a great HBK match like anyone else, this will affect by bias towards him.
What I am going to do is take each one of HBK's PPV matches since his comeback and give it three grades. One for the match itself, one on whether what he did during the match was right for business at the time and one to see if my initial grade on that was correct, or if it needs to be updated. Hindsight being 20-20 and all, the third grade is the least important, but just fun to see if I was right initially. Instead of giving a brief rant on the matches, I will give a short explanation on each of the grades. I won't do any rumble matches, just too complicated. What I will do is split this by years(2002-2003, 2004-2005, 2006-2007). So here is part one!
Shawn Michaels def. HHH in a StreetFight - Summerslam 2002
Match Rating - ***3/4(A-) Well we all know how well these two can work together in the ring. Personally I thought alot of the spots were totally unneccasary, but they did tell a great story and this reminded me of how great Shawn used to be.
Rating on whether this was right for business at the time - DUD(DUD) The retrospective grade will be different, but this is what I thought of this match the night after it happened. All this was was a circle jerk with HBK and HHH showing that despite the fact that one of the guys was retired and the other was no longer an A level performer, they still have all the stroke in the company and that they can have 25 minutes street fights because they want too. Remember this was supposed to be a one time only match for Shawn(he says so in his book). Would have been much better for him to put over someone line Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle or Eddie Guerrero since he wasn't planning to wrestle anymore.
Hindsight on my intial business rating - ****(A-) In the end, HBK and HHH have continued their long rivalry, so the fact that this match took place, really doesn't matter. In hindsight, since HBK has been back full time, this was probably the right match for this, as HHH busted his butt and it gave the fans who were not familiar with Shawn, a chance to see his great ability. I am happy to admit I was wrong about this one.
Shawn Michaels def. HHH, Chris Jericho, Kane, Booker T and Rob Van Dam in a EC match to win the World Title
Match Rating - **3/4(B-) Match was watchable, but I honestly expected better with the amount of talent in the ring. Really what it came down too was HHH vs. HBK vs. four guys who don't matter. Had some fun sequences, but was nothing special at all, and quite dissapointing for a PPV main event.
Rating on whether this was right for business at the time - DUD(D-) Again they put the title on a guy who was not planning to be around for the long run. And all they did it for was so he could lose it back to HHH the next month. If you are going to put the title onto someone, especially a legendary figure like HBK, wouldn't you want him to work title matches with RVD, Y2J and such before he loses the title back? Again just a big circle jerk from these two.
Hindsight on my intial business rating - **(C-) In the long run it didn't matter as this was just another chapter in the never ending HHH-HBK feud. However, it would have been cool for HHH to be eliminated early, to possibly show some weakness rather than trying to give the rub of God to his best friend. Since this was HBK's only run with the title, I don't really have a problem, but the booking of the match was wrong, even if HBK was too win.
Shawn Michaels def. Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 19
Match Rating - ****(A-) Well the match was quite great. Personally I didn't think Shawn sold his back as well as he could have or should have, but thats pretty minor. My main compaint is the ending of the match, which is why the rating is probably lower than most people think it should be.
Rating on whether this was right for business at the time - Negative Stars(F) I have never been so offended by the outcome of a match as I was with this one. I will maintain to this day that Chris Jericho should have gone over clean with the walls. Again all this was was Shawn showing Y2J that he had the control in the back and that Jericho was just a job boy for him
Hindsight on my intial business rating - DUD(D-) Well the only this that improved this slightly is that Jericho has retired and HBK is still around, but a win here would have made Jericho's career. In fact even though he had been out of the World Title picture for a year, this was the match which cemented Jericho as a mid carder once again, and until a brief feud with John Cena in 2005(one where everyone knew he had no chance), Jericho was no where near the main events again. Jericho could have and should have been THE guy, as he had the look, charisma and skill, to not only be a top guy in wrestling, but possible crossover to the mainstream. HBK killed that with one rollup.
HHH, Chris Jericho and Ric Flair def. Shawn Michaels, Booker T and Kevin Nash at Backlash 2003
Match Rating - **1/2(C) Well it was what it was. Match was ok, not much else really to say.
Rating on whether this was right for business at the time - DUD(D-) This wasn't really Shawn's fault, but everything they did in this match was wrong. HHH should have continued his feud with Booker, and probably taken the clean pin from Book. Jericho should have beaten the crap out of Shawn and taken him out of contention for a few months to set up a rematch as Summerslam and Nash should NOT have been HHH next feud. Anything would have been better than that.
Hindsight on my intial business rating - DUD(D-) I stand by my inital analysis.
Ric Flair def. Shawn Michaels at Bad Blood 2003
Match Rating - ***1/4(B) I wanted more out of this, but I understand Flairs limitations now. I was 100% sure Shawn was winning and I would not have cared at all if he did, but they got Orton involved which was a good thing.
Rating on whether this was right for business at the time - ***(B-) Really didn't matter who won, but they got a young guy involved so that was a plus. I didn't think the chair shot was needed as an RKO should have been the finish, but again, thats minor.
Hindsight on my intial business rating - ***(B-) Once again I stand by the initial rating.
HHH def. Bill Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and Kevin Nash in an EC match at Summerslam 2003
Match Rating - **(C-) No where near as good as the first chamber match and that wasn't that great anyway. Not that much else to say, just wasn't that eventful of a match.
Rating on whether this was right for business at the time - ****(A-) Well the booking of the match outside Shawn was pretty bad, but Shawn came through like a man on this one. Started with Jericho and the two of them carried the match, then he jobbed clean to Goldberg and put him over as a big star. THIS is the type of role HBK should play in all of his matches.
Hindsight on my intial business rating - ***3/4(A-) Well the rating is down slightly because no one cares or remembers the match, but that doesn't take away from the fact that HBK did the right thing throughout the entire match.
Randy Orton def. Shawn Michaels at Unforgiven 2003
Match Rating - ***(B-) Well Randy was still a little green, but Shawn did his best to get a decent match out of him. Again the ending is what sort of killed it for me and the reason why the rating is probably a bit lower than most people would think.
Rating on whether this was right for business at the time - DUD(D-) Ok, so Shawn lost the match. Thats the only reason that this did not get an F. Shawn kicked out of Randy's finish, had Randy beat with his and only lost because Ric Flair helped Orton with brass knucks. A classic example of "putting someone over", without putting them over.
Hindsight on my intial business rating - 1/2*(D) It is sounding like Orton is Shawn Michaels Y2K, but possibly even worse. At the end of the day, it says in the record books that Randy won, which is why I upped the rating slightly, but I will never forget how much of a loser Orton looked like after this match.
Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Christian, Mark Henry and Scott Steiner def. Shawn Michaels, The Dudley Boyz, Rob Van Dam and Booker T in a Survior Series Elimination Match
Match Rating - ****(A-) Well it was a great match, and alot of that is because of Shawn, but it was mostly because of the booking. Shawn did put a super human effort however, so I will give him his props.
Rating on whether this was right for business at the time - ****(A-) Probably booked as best it could be. In the end in these types of matched, the winners and losers are not as important, more the story of the match. HBK carried the story, so he gets the props(though I would have had both Orton and Jericho survive).
Hindsight on my intial business rating - ***3/4(A-) Not much of a change from the original, except Steve Austin came back anyway, but that certainly wasn't Shawns fault.
Shawn Michael def. Batista Armageddon 2003
Match Rating - **(C-) Shawn put forth a superhuman effort, but Batista was not really carryable. HBK did the best he could.
Rating on whether this was right for business at the time - DUD(D-) I don't care how much Batista sucked, he should have destroyed Shawn here in about 3 minutes and put him on the shelf for a couple of months. Losing to a guy almost half his size, made Batista look awfully weak. The HHH storyline help recover him, but if HHH hadn't worked as hard as he did to get Batista over, he would never have amounted to anything. And while I wouldn't care, it it the wrong booking.
Hindsight on my intial business rating - *(D+) In the end the loss didn't hurt Batista and they both moved on too different things, so I don't look at this as negatively as I once did, but bottom line is Shawn should have lost.
First of all, cool concept and thank you very much for taking the time to write so much. We each have our opinions, and while this may not normally be my style, I won't chastise you for yours. I have to disagree with you that Shawn Michaels should only be used to put people over. HBK has proven to be a valuable main eventer that should be in used in a winning capacity. Batista shouldn't have gone over Michaels at Armageddon because he was still a good seven months away from anybody caring about him, win over Shawn Michaels or not. Still, that's how you feel and I understand there's probably a contingent of people out there that feel the same way about him. I'm curious to see how you rank the rest of his matches.
500 Good Words w/ Matt Adamson
Last weekend (meaning June 1st and 2nd, professional wrestling history was made when Sara Del Rey defeated Lacey in the finals of a tournament to become the first ever SHIMMER Champion. SHIMMER: Women Athletes is a new wrestling promotion focused on the athletic style of women's wrestling that can be compared to joshi in Japan. In this weeks 500 Good Words I'm going to be discussing SHIMMER and why this championship will quickly become the most important in North America.
Most people would consider the WWE Women's Championship to be the top women's title in North America. While I believe that is true for the time being, I believe it is only considered more important because of it's affiliation to WWE, not what it represents to women's professional wrestling. The SHIMMER Championship represents women's wrestling, not a gimmick or something to make it seem worthwhile for there to be women wrestling like it is in the WWE. There have been times that the WWE's women's championship has meant something. It still means something, but with the current crop of stars in WWE's women's division, it isn't exactly too meaningful, and most of the women are models that have been taught to wrestle so they can make money and stay with the company. There is very little heart and soul in that division and therefore the title means very little in the general scheme of things. I don't want to come off as saying those women that do wrestle (by wrestle I mean NOT pudding matches, bra and panties or lingerie battle royals) aren't trying, they are, and many of them are talented, they just aren't given enough time to do what is required to make a title seem important. I blame WWE much more than the women for this. Two to three minutes is far too short for a title match, and with that happening in nearly every WWE women's title match, how can the title mean anything?
SHIMMER on the other hand is a company devoted fully to women's wrestling, who will allow their title matches twenty to thirty minutes. In 2006, the WWWA title was abandoned, leaving no real top women's championship in the world outside of the WWE women's title. While SHIMMER isn't at that level yet (of the WWWA title), they do have a national DVD distribution deal and are associated with Ring of Honor. Those two things alone can get the word out about SHIMMER and make this title not only the most important title to what women represent to professional wrestling, but also the most important women's title in the world, period. If they are to accomplish that, they only need one thing, popularity, which seems to be well on the way for this little promotion. In my mind, the SHIMMER title is already the most important women's title in North America because it represents women wrestlers how they should be represented and women's wrestling how it should be, and has one of, if not the best current women's wrestler in North America holding it. It's just a matter of time before people start to take note that if you want women's wrestling, look no further than SHIMMER: Women Athletes.
Well, that's my take on SHIMMER and their title. It's really an important thing for women's wrestling to have a title and a champion that isn't surrounded by or participating in joke sexual fantasy matches for perverts. Not to say I don't enjoy the matches for perverts for the other more obvious reasons, but the facts are, if a women's champion is wrestling in pudding, it is a sad day for that title. That is something you won't see from SHIMMER which makes its title all the more important. Next week I have no idea what I'm going to discuss, but I'll be here regardless. Until next time send emails to voldegalle@yahoo.com and check out my column Destiny on Sundays. I'm also a part of a trio who do The Fink's Payload, which runs right along The Shimmy on Mondays.
The Shimmy Likes It Raw!
What's on tap for tonight?
It's Draft night, baby! Who will stay? Who will go? How on Earth is ECW going to have enough to compensate for any losses? Check it out at its special start time of 8:00 eastern.
It's also Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night. Lord knows what that entails.
There will also be many special appearances. Scheduled to be there are Mick Foley, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Gene Okerlund and (ugh) Steve-O from Jackass. I don't care if this is considered a spoiler, but one can only hope that Steve-O screws up between now and August so WWE doesn't ruin one of my favorite PPVs.
That does it for this week's Shimmy. I'm not sure what I've got lined up for next week so it'll be a surprise for all of us. Until then, don't die. Clark…out.
