Thanks to Emma for typing this up & sending it to me :)

Starting The Show

(Shawn’s WrestleMania 12 entrance)

Q. How did the idea for this unforgettable entrance come about?

I was told before the show that WWE wanted me to do a big entrance. I was told about coming down on a rope or something. But at In Your House, I swung off of the house from a rope. For WrestleMania, I envisioned swinging from the entrance to the ring, going maybe 12 or 15 feet off the ground. I didn’t really have any idea what it was going to be when I got to the arena.

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In the new 2010 WrestleMania XXVI Almanac magazine, WWE superstar Shawn Michaels says he has regrets about his WrestleMania 14 match with Stone Cold Steve Austin. At the time, Michaels’ back was in terrible shape and his career was thought to be over. He was also an emotional wreck and admits he was not an easy guy to get along with in the WWE locker room. When asked if he has any regrets in his career, Michael said:

“The one I always come back to is my match against Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14. I just wasn’t in a great place physically or emotionally. That one could have been so much more. Steve didn’t get me at my best. And that’s unfortunate, because it was the last time I got to work with him. Steve went on to such great things afterward, and I had an opportunity to make that match so much more.”

Michaels also looks back at his matches with Bret Hart during the mid-90’s and thinks the two legends could have accomplished a lot more together if not for their personal differences:

“I will say that I wish I had been in a better place in my life with Bret. Our matches were phenomenal, but I shudder to think what he and I could have accomplished had we gotten along.”

Michaels also named his classic ladder match with Razor Ramon from WrestleMania as high on his list of all-time great WrestleMania matches:

“Over the years, the ladder itself has become the central figure of that particular stipulation, but in our situation, it served as a backdrop for something much bigger. We were two guys claiming rightful ownership of those titles, and the ladder was just there as a way for us to prove who was the best. Now, the ladder is the primary element, and these matches are often about what the contestants can do with it.”

LordsofPain.net

SUNSPORT today name Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels as our wrestlers of the decade.

Rated solely on work inside in the ring — rather than storylines, characters or promos — TNA’s Olympic gold medallist and WWE’s Heartbreak Kid easily came out on top.

Our team of five wrestling writers spent the last few months compiling an in-depth look back at 2000-2009.

For each year they selected the three best matches — and it is these on which our results are based.

Of the 30 best bouts of the decade, which you can see by clicking here, Michaels and Angle appeared in EIGHT each.
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Like most South Texas teenagers, Shawn Michaels grew up intensely watching wrestling in the early 1980s.

“I grew up watching ‘Southwest Championship Wrestling’ and then ‘World Class Championship Wrestling’ in Dallas with the Von Erichs,” said Michaels, 44. “I was about 15, I believe, and I just got hooked on it from there.”

It didn’t take long for Michaels to go from performing in front of 50 diehard wrestling fans at the former hole-in-the-wall called Junction on Blanco Road to tens of thousands of diehards at some of the biggest arenas in the world.

Regarded as one of the all-time greats (he has a DVD of his 25 greatest matches due out in March), Michaels will team with good buddy Triple H at World Wrestling Entertainment’s pay-per-view event “Tables, Ladders and Chairs,” Sunday at the AT&T Center.

As the title implies, “Tables, Ladders and Chairs,” or “TLC,” is an event where wrestlers are allowed to use tables, ladders and chairs as weapons.
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IF YOU didn’t order WWE Survivor Series, we don’t blame you – but we can’t help but feel a little sorry for you.

Anyone could be forgiven for keeping fingers well away from the Box Office button on their remote after a frankly lacklustre last few weeks of WWE TV. Despite being one of the traditional “Big Five” PPVs, there was very little buzz heading into this year’s Survivor Series. This was largely due to some formulaic and, dare we say it, boring scripting of the main feuds leading into this one. That was a shame because the card promised that it could deliver a good night’s wrestling — and deliver it did.

We should get the disappointments out of the way first. There was very little to shock the viewer in terms of results. No titles changed hands, and those expected to last a long time in their elimination matches did so. Nobody who missed the show will see a headline to amaze them. That being said, the main event of the night did offer a jaw-dropping moment — in more ways that one.
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“Good Friends/Better Enemies”

DX is back and better than ever! But things have not always gone so smoothly between Triple H & Shawn Michaels. This week, WWE Magazine gives our fans an exclusive WWE.com look at the most memorable conflicts between HBK & The Game, courtesy of the November edition of WWE Magazine, on newsstands now.

Subscribe to WWE Magazine today | Subscribe to WWE Kids Magazine | WWE Magazine Feature of the Week

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A good luck charm. A pre-match prayer. A lucky pair of boots. Superstars have been known to take advantage of anything they could to give themselves an edge and propel themselves to the upper echelon of WWE.

Unfortunately, it’s a tough ladder to climb to become one of WWE’s elite. With that in mind, AXE Instinct Body Spray and WWE.com salute the following Superstars who had the foresight to harness the power of leather to lead them to championship gold, the bright lights of Hollywood … and even the WWE Hall of Fame.

Needing a trim
Early in Shawn Michaels’ career, he was a tag team specialist, a young Superstar learning his craft alongside friend Marty Jannetty as one of the most skilled tandems in WWE history. It was not until Michaels’ own attitude became a detriment to the team when The Rockers pulled the plug and HBK sent Jannetty through Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake’s Barber Shop window with Sweet Chin Music.

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Thanks to Sarah!

Pushing Through the Pain

At 1996’s Summerslam, Shawn Michaels faced Vader in a title match so intense it was restarted–twice. If Wrestlemania established that HBK could win the title, this match proved that he could retain it. In his own words, The Showstopper explains the significance of this bout to his career…

Q: Entering the match, you were riding high, having beaten Bret Hart for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania XII. Were you perhaps overconfident at the ‘96 Summerslam?

A: No, not really, because it was my first time wrestling a Superstar of Vader’s size, a guy who was huge, but also had that much in-ring ability. So most of my confidence at that point was all show!

Q: Take us inside the mind of HBK as he walked to the ring at the Gund Arena on this night.

A: Every time I walk out to the ring, especially after I’ve won the Championship, I feel the added pressure of delivering a good match. I had earned a reputation as a guy who could perform at a high level all the time, and once you get recognized as such, the pressure mounts. And on top of it, I was going out against someone three times my size. I always want to make my matches worthwhile for the people who’ve paid for the event. Even if every other match falls short, I feel the pressure to deliver a Championship-caliber bout. I look at it this way: If I go on early, I have a chance to steal the show, but if I go on last, I must deliver the defining match of the night.

Q: At one point during the match, you lost to Vader by countout, but then Jim Cornette, Vader’s manager, ordered it restarted, so his client had a shot at taking home the title. Highly unusual, right?

A: Yes, it was unusual. But anytime you walk out of the ring having done anything other than pin the other guy, it’s anticlimactic. So I was glad it was restarted. It was a physical match, so there was a part of me that said, “Damn!” But the competitor in me kicked in, and I went out there determined to leave everything in the ring.

Q: Later in the match, you hit Vader with a tennis racquet, which earned you a DQ. Then Cornette ordered a second restart. At that point, you probably just wanted to hit the showers.

A: You know, the fact that I haven’t been DQ’d in all of my matches is a wonder. I wrestle on pure emotion. There are guys who are methodical and scientific in their approach, and I can’t say that’s ever been one of my strong points. Wins and losses don’t mean much to me; I’m more interested in making an impact, and that doesn’t always happen in a nice, clean way.

Q: This remains one of the most unique matches in Summerslam history, but is it a personal favorite of yours?

A: Ranking matches is very difficult for me, because I’ve had the good fortune to be a part of some very special contests. But I will say it’s a match I will always remember. If it stands out for any reason, it’s that it was my first test. Not to dismiss the matches I contested prior to this one, but I’ll always look at this night as my first real test as WWE Champion.

This Sunday, Randy Orton will defend his WWE Title against Triple H under stipulations the WWE Universe hasn’t seen in seven years: A Three Stages of Hell Match. The odds will be stacked against The Viper as this is his first Three Stages of Hell contest, while his opponent, The Game, has not only competed in both of the match type’s prior outings, but also walked away the victor. Join WWE.com as we take a look at the history of this devilish competition.

Stage Two – Armageddon, December 15, 2002
Though younger fans may think Triple H and Shawn Michaels have always been close friends, the core members of D-Generation X have had some of the most brutal matches in WWE history. In late 2002, their friendship was put on the back burner as The Game challenged HBK for his coveted World Heavyweight Title in a Three Stages of Hell Match. Things were tied up after Triple H won a Street Fight and Michaels defeated his opponent inside a steel cage, but The Game won the title by taking their final contest, a Ladder Match.

Digitals | Download Video

Results:
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Source: James Mustoe/iFight365.com

I’ve put together a list of 10 wrestlers who were (and in some cases still are) able to continue wrestling on in memorable careers past the age of 40, still contributing with memorable matches and more than justifying their position on the card…

Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels actually slipped into retirement in 1998, following a nasty back injury, and over the next few years most assumed that this state of affairs would be permanent. Of course, they were wrong, and Shawn Michaels returned to action in 2002. Turning 40 in July 2005, Michaels celebrated the occasion by temporarily turning heel and carrying Hulk Hogan to his best match in ages at Summerslam of that year. Since then HBK has not actually won a World Title while in his 40s but is universally acknowledged as WWE’s premier worker and he has had career matches with pretty much every one of his opponents in the last few years, again competing in a wide variety of matches against a number of different sorts of workers.