Who was Shawn Michael's Greatest Rival?

[123NewChamp]

Greetings Again everybody........

I was thinking the other day and a thought or interseting debate; however you want to see it comes to mind. And it's about Shawn Michaels. Now when it comes to Shawn Michaels there can be many debates: Like for instance Shawn Being The Best Wrestler Ever. Now that's a debate that will span towards the end of time. But I want to know who do you think was Shawn Michaels Greatest Rival?

Now Shawn Michaels Had many classic rivalries, Matches, and Feuds with some of the best Superstars such as Marty Jannetty, "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel, Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Triple H, British Bulldog, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, Sycho Sid and plenty of others. But these are to me the most popular on going feuds that I remember. And if there's any others feel free to comment.

But as far as his greatest feud is concerned, the one's I liked the best and could be considered as one of his greatest feuds was with Y2J, Triple H, Razor Ramon, and The British Bulldog. (Now the Diana Angle was something serious for 1997.) And the Undertaker, He sent HBK out with the Bang. But as far as his greatest Rival, I will have to give it to The Hitman. Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

The reason being is simply because these guys came from the same era. To Me this Rivalry is like Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers of the 90's. Carolina and Duke Basketball, Ali and Frazier, and Lakers and Celtics. They Had a few matches then and there but come Wrestlemania 12, the rivalry intensified. These guys put on a wrestling clinic for over an hour an in Iron Man Match. Then Bret took some time off and come time for Survivor Series 1997 the infamous "Montreal Screwjob" happened that led to animosity between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels and Bret's Departure to WCW.

Honestly through their match or their wrestling history this could possibly be argued as the greatest feud, but I'm open to all opinions. Let's hear it. Who do you think was HBK's Greatest Rival?

 

[King of the Words]

For me, it would come down to 2 guys. Either Bret Hart or Triple H.

With Bret Hart, it was more realistic. They really didn't like each other and were fighting for to be the top guy in the business. Like you said, it just kept escalating until the infamous Montreal screw Job. They had a bunch of ongoing feuds which lead to argubly the greatest match in WWE history, which was the Iron Man Match at Mania 12 for the title. It was a classic match of 2 great wrestlers giving it everything they had and more. This rivalry had it all. Good story lines, great matches, and an actual does of reality mixed in with it which made it that more intense.

With regards to Triple H. I remember wanting HBK to come back to at least have one more match against his best friend in the business. When it actually happened it was like a dream come true. I am still hoping for a one on one match between the two at a future mania, to finally settle the rivalry and prove who is the best between the two. HBK came back and wanted to work with his good friend. They tried building a lot of hype over them really wondering who the better wrestler was, but it wasn't the same as with Bret and Shawn. We knew HBK and the Game were best friends and that it was all an act. It still had a good storyline and some great matches, but, for me, it never had that realism part that the Bret Hart and HBK feud had.

So, because of the reality factor of Bret and HBK really not liking each other at the time, I will say that is was the better of the two rivalries, making Bret Hart, HBK's greatest rival.(IMO)

Hats off to HBK's rivalries with The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Marty Jannetty, Razor Ramon, Psycho Sid, Diesel, Mr. McMahon and Davey Boy.

 

[Toroc102]

Bret Hart hands down. Even if they never had real life beef their on screen feuds were still perfect, they we're like opposites of each other, could've been best friends in another universe.

 

[#heel420]

Early WWF Career- Bret Hart, These guys had numerous battles between 92-97.
WWE Return- Triple H, To me the feud that made Raw great from 02-04.
Late WWE Career- The Undertaker, The man that had HBK's last and arguably greatest Wrestlemania matches.

 

[thebarber]

Bret Hart is obviously HBK's greatest rival, I do not ever remember seeing a HBK VS HHH, HBK vs Bulldog, HBK vs Jannetty box set ever released.

To pick a greatest,. then you can only select one, not one from the 90s and one from the 21st century, otherwise its picking his greatest rivalries(plural).

HBK had memorable fueds with Undertaker, HHH and Chris Jericho, but his GREATEST RIVAL; was Bret Hart.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

123 Kid.







OF COURSE it's Bret Hart. I mean, at least for me. Shawn Michaels died in 1998. The balding skinny fuck who came in afterwards was someone else.

Triple H is up there but aside from the occasional feud they had, it wasn't TRULY as heated as anything Shawn did with Bret. While Shawn was feuding with Bret, Triple H was still figuring out whether he should grow some facial hair or not.

'Member that Triple H? Mothafucka's was was smooooooth as hell.

 

[crippler]

I would say it was with Bret Hart thats when Shawn Michaels broke out as a true main eventer. Before anyone thinks it I am not giving Bret credit it was just the time time it happened. Also some of Shawn's most memorable matches are against Bret yes his WrestleMania 10 ladder match is probably number 1 however his 1st WWF Championship at Wrestlemania 12 in a iron-man match against Bret Hart is not far behind. When I think of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels i think of both of them as WWF champions and their matches against each other. I would also say Shawn was Bret's greatest rival.

 

[justinept]

This is a joke, right? ...or maybe you're just trying too hard to come up with threads. To suggest that Michaels might have had a greater rivalry with someone other than Bret Hart is like saying that peanut butter goes best with marshmallow creme on a sandwich. Sure, the fluffernutter sandwich can be delicious and enjoyable - but peanut butter, on a sandwich, will ALWAYS be linked to jelly. The two go hand-in-hand, and the Hart-Michaels rivalry is no different.

Please name one other rivalry in WWE history that was fought at every level of the card, over every major title in the company? ... another rivalry that had as many "moments" as the Hart/Michaels feud did ... another rivalry where the two wrestlers weren't just "fake wrestling" but were legitimately jockeying for the status as the "top" guy in the company.

Here are some Hart/Michaels "moments" in case you're too young to remember them:

1) The Rockers defeated the Hart Foundation for the tag team titles on a Saturday Night Main Event only to have the decision reversed - and the match not aired - due to a rope breaking.

2) Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels wrestled the first Ladder Match in WWF history over the Intercontinental Title - a match that was shown exclusively on a Coliseum Video. Hart later trashed Michaels for pitching the ladder match (a Stamped Wrestling creation) to VKM for his WrestleMania X match.

3) Hart and Michaels headlined Survivor Series 1992 in a champion vs champion match.

4) Michaels defeated Hart for the WWE Title in one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time.

5) Michaels "lost his smile" (or faked an injury, depending on which side you were on) so as not to wrestle Hart at WrestleMania 13

6) Bret re-forms the Hart Foundation ... Michaels forms a "Generation X" partnership with Triple H ... Hart, while calling Michaels a "degenerate" inadvertently names the group D-Generation X.

7) The Canada vs United States feud puts the WWE back on the map (I've long held the opinion that this is the most underrated feud of ALL TIME, but that's a different thread for another day.)

8) The Montreal Screw Job.


....But perhaps the greatest achievement of the Hart/Michaels feud is that fans had to pick a side between the two. It was almost never a black-and-white, down the middle decision on who to like. They were both baby faces in the tag team ranks ... they were both baby faces at WrestleMania 12... they were both baby faces for the year following when everyone was hoping to see a re-match ... and they were both tweener heels at the end.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

While Bret Hart is the clear, obvious choice & they had an amazing feud over the years, my personal favorite would have to be The Undertaker. Taker & Shawn truely created magic in the ring. They never had a bad match together & from Hell in a Cell, to the Casket match at the rumble, to their epic Mania encounters, these two icons always seemed to deliever apart & they were even more amazing together.

And as well as Hart, I think Triple H has to be right there. HHH & HBK have amazing chemistry together & always delievered whether it was as a team or against one another. & their nearly hour long Hell in a Cell match is not only one of my favorite matches of all time but the only Cell match to compare to the End of an Era & 1st cell matches IMO.

 

[bedz_ses]

For me it comes down to two feuds i personally enjoyed the most- Triple H and Chris Jericho.
The friends turning foes storyline never gets old..and both michaels and hhh made it quite entertaining tv..the sledge hammer to the back of michaels....the elimination chamber, street fight, 3 stages of hell...and the bloodshed..that was one hell of a ride..i still miss those two..michaels being my favorite of all time, and HHH being my favorite heel...just loved to hate him..
And then there's Chris Jericho...the best at what he does..that feud was just simple and plain amazing...awesome matches, personal rivalry..was probably one of, if not the best feuds in the last 5 years...
The feud with bret hart was great..but i was too young at that time and have mostly seen the highlights..their wrestlemania '94 match and also the montreal screwjob are some of the most awesome moments in wwe history..can somebody suggest a few more matches that i should definitely checkout???

 

[Trill Co$by]

It's actually NOT that bad of a topic. People say Bret Hart because of that shitty work done in Montreal years ago, but that just proves how shitty their bias has become. Sure, both men put on wrestling clinics in the ring, but aside from their WrestleMania ironman match, they've had rather lack luster matches.

I personally think that one of his best feuds was against Triple H with the help of Evolution. It was very telling and very intriguing. I loved the way they put so much effort into making their rivalry so telling by making it so blood boiling.

But when it comes down to the VERY best, I would have to say his work with Kurt Angle reigns over. They made a great rivalry out of what a lot of people in reality often argue about. The used Real Wrestling vs. Fake Wrestling and they sold it like the champions they are. I really couldn't think of a better storyline for HBK or Angle, and I've never seen them put on better ring work since then... and yes, that includes HBK's matches against Taker.

 

[chibet]

bret, forget the screwjob, its all about that iron man match. made me the wrestling fan I am still today

 

[Just Do It]

Bret Hart hands down. From 1992 - 1997 it was the most real feud in wrestlling which simply can't be accounted to the real life hate as that only covers a small period of time and they had their ups even after the backstage fight, etc. Any time they shared screen time in 1996 and 1997, it was magic.

 

[KingOfKings249]

123 Kid.







OF COURSE it's Bret Hart. I mean, at least for me. Shawn Michaels died in 1998. The balding skinny fuck who came in afterwards was someone else.

Triple H is up there but aside from the occasional feud they had, it wasn't TRULY as heated as anything Shawn did with Bret. While Shawn was feuding with Bret, Triple H was still figuring out whether he should grow some facial hair or not.

'Member that Triple H? Mothafucka's was was smooooooth as hell.

Hitting him in the back with a slegdgehammer and putting his head through a window wasn't heated? .. Bret and Shawn was just a real issue, storyline wise HHH/HBK was far ahead

 

[Slash-LN]

Definitely Bret Hart.
I disagree with the idea that people say Bret just because of the screw job.
Bret and Shawn's rivalry was already at least 5 years old at that point.
Bret was the top guy and Shawn was up and coming trying to take his place.
There was all the backstage heat.
They both had other feuds throughout their respective careers but always ended up coming back to feuding with each other.
It's hard (for me at least) to think of one without thinking about the other.

 

[HBsam31]

This is a joke, right? ...or maybe you're just trying too hard to come up with threads. To suggest that Michaels might have had a greater rivalry with someone other than Bret Hart is like saying that peanut butter goes best with marshmallow creme on a sandwich. Sure, the fluffernutter sandwich can be delicious and enjoyable - but peanut butter, on a sandwich, will ALWAYS be linked to jelly. The two go hand-in-hand, and the Hart-Michaels rivalry is no different.

Please name one other rivalry in WWE history that was fought at every level of the card, over every major title in the company? ... another rivalry that had as many "moments" as the Hart/Michaels feud did ... another rivalry where the two wrestlers weren't just "fake wrestling" but were legitimately jockeying for the status as the "top" guy in the company.

Here are some Hart/Michaels "moments" in case you're too young to remember them:

1) The Rockers defeated the Hart Foundation for the tag team titles on a Saturday Night Main Event only to have the decision reversed - and the match not aired - due to a rope breaking.

2) Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels wrestled the first Ladder Match in WWF history over the Intercontinental Title - a match that was shown exclusively on a Coliseum Video. Hart later trashed Michaels for pitching the ladder match (a Stamped Wrestling creation) to VKM for his WrestleMania X match.

3) Hart and Michaels headlined Survivor Series 1992 in a champion vs champion match.

4) Michaels defeated Hart for the WWE Title in one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time.

5) Michaels "lost his smile" (or faked an injury, depending on which side you were on) so as not to wrestle Hart at WrestleMania 13

6) Bret re-forms the Hart Foundation ... Michaels forms a "Generation X" partnership with Triple H ... Hart, while calling Michaels a "degenerate" inadvertently names the group D-Generation X.

7) The Canada vs United States feud puts the WWE back on the map (I've long held the opinion that this is the most underrated feud of ALL TIME, but that's a different thread for another day.)

8) The Montreal Screw Job.


....But perhaps the greatest achievement of the Hart/Michaels feud is that fans had to pick a side between the two. It was almost never a black-and-white, down the middle decision on who to like. They were both baby faces in the tag team ranks ... they were both baby faces at WrestleMania 12... they were both baby faces for the year following when everyone was hoping to see a re-match ... and they were both tweener heels at the end.

I have to agree with this. Bret and Shawn's rivalry is definitely a lot more than just the screwjob. These guys had been putting on great matches for years even starting in the tag division. They would meet, go their separate ways for a while, but would always come back to each other. Not really much more to say that justinept did say. For me there is no doubt that Shawn's great rival is Bret.

 

[lowandmighty]

He had some very memorable feuds with Bret Hart but I think the Undertaker was his greatest rival. My reasoning is that he never got the better of the Undertaker whereas he kicked Bret Hart around like a football. The undertaker was a long time rival too, the years he had to run in to the Undertaker end up adding up more than the time he and Bret Hart were in wwe together.

A case could be made for triple H too, he usually got the better of Shawn but I think rivalry wise the undertaker had him so a extremely tough rival there.

I don't think Shawn Michaels being the best wrestler ever is a serious discussion though, he's far from it.

 

[justinept]

He had some very memorable feuds with Bret Hart but I think the Undertaker was his greatest rival. My reasoning is that he never got the better of the Undertaker whereas he kicked Bret Hart around like a football. The undertaker was a long time rival too, the years he had to run in to the Undertaker end up adding up more than the time he and Bret Hart were in wwe together.

A case could be made for triple H too, he usually got the better of Shawn but I think rivalry wise the undertaker had him so a extremely tough rival there.

I don't think Shawn Michaels being the best wrestler ever is a serious discussion though, he's far from it.

He never got the better of the Undertaker? Just off the top of my head ... He cost The Undertaker the WWE Title by hitting him in the head with a chair at SummerSlam 97 ... defeated him in the first Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood that October and then defeated him for the WWE Title in a casket match at Royal Rumble 98.

He had, I think 4 televised matches with The Undertaker. He had a decade long feud with Bret Hart at every level of the card, over every title in the company. How do these compare?