Creepy Old Man
Championship Contender
By his initial retirement in March 1998, Shawn had enjoyed a 14-year career. 10 of those were in WWE, with the first four being as half of the very popular Rockers; he headlined his first pay-per-view in 1989 at Survivor Series where he stood alongside Warrior against Andre and his team. The Rockers were voted the 1989 "Tag Team of the Year" by Wrestling Observer readers, and faced most of the top teams of that era: Hart Foundation, Legion of Doom, Demolition, Nasty Boys, Brain Busters, Fabulous Rougeaus, and Natural Disasters.
From 1992-1998 Shawn held every title in the company, with three WWF Championships (then a considerable number) and two WrestleMania headlining slots for the top title. He wrestled Hall of Fame-level world champions such as Austin, Undertaker, Savage, Bret, Flair, Triple H, Foley, Vader, Nash, Yoko, Hennig and Lawler. One could argue that Michaels was only a top-level guy during the last three years of his first run, but he challenged Bret and Savage for the WWF title back in 1992, and was always at the very least an upper-mid carder.
On paper it's quite a resume, then you factor in his performance level; by 1998 Michaels had already won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated "Match of the Year" vote four times, as well as two 5 Star Match ratings and a "Match of the Year" award from the Wrestling Observer (thanks Wikipedia).
I'm sure he'd be in the Hall of Fame by now, but how would you regard him as compared to other greats?
From 1992-1998 Shawn held every title in the company, with three WWF Championships (then a considerable number) and two WrestleMania headlining slots for the top title. He wrestled Hall of Fame-level world champions such as Austin, Undertaker, Savage, Bret, Flair, Triple H, Foley, Vader, Nash, Yoko, Hennig and Lawler. One could argue that Michaels was only a top-level guy during the last three years of his first run, but he challenged Bret and Savage for the WWF title back in 1992, and was always at the very least an upper-mid carder.
On paper it's quite a resume, then you factor in his performance level; by 1998 Michaels had already won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated "Match of the Year" vote four times, as well as two 5 Star Match ratings and a "Match of the Year" award from the Wrestling Observer (thanks Wikipedia).
I'm sure he'd be in the Hall of Fame by now, but how would you regard him as compared to other greats?