(Jun 4)
(tsn.ca) We’ve seen this all before. After shunning the limelight for an
extended period of time, the charismatic and controversial Shawn Michaels makes
a triumphant return to WWE television. The crowd roars, the flashbulbs pop, all
is right with the world.
We’ve seen this all before, yet somehow, this return smells different. During past Michaels’ resurrections, the WWE paraded their former champion around as a commissioner, special referee and official company spokesman. Every previous role simply reeked of a cheep ratings boost with no hint of a Michaels’ in-ring return. The WWE was banking on Michaels to deliver a ratings spike based solely on what he used to mean to the business. But this is different.
Sure, with ratings falling faster than Rivaldo during a corner-kick, the WWE is once again asking Michaels to spike viewership. But for this angle to succeed – regardless of what the new writing team has in store – Michaels must do one thing. Wrestle.
Michaels must wrestle, simple as that. Anything less than the breathtaking site of Shawn Michaels propelling himself from the tope rope during a 25-minute war will be unacceptable. Michaels must wrestle, and he must wrestle like Michaels used to. An overwhelming task to be sure, but unfortunately, it’s the only way to guarantee success for this angle.
The return of the 90’s icon happened mere days after Michaels stated on TNN’s WWE Confidential, that “HBK was all but dead.” That statement doesn’t mean that he can no longer wrestle, but rather, it means that Michaels has changed the way he lives outside the ring. Gone is the whining and crying. Gone is the cocky and uncontrollable primadonna. Gone is the backstabbing and lying. Michaels is a changed man, and that’s what he meant when he said HBK is dead.
Fortunate for us rabid wrestling enthusiasts, Shawn Hickenbottom is alive and kicking.
Most likely it will be Shawn Hickenbottom that we hear on the microphone, and more importantly, it will be Shawn Hickenbottom that we will see in the ring. He doesn’t have to dazzle us on a weekly or monthly basis, but sometime in the not too distant future, Shawn Hickenbottom must strap on those shinny boots and head into battle.
The real question is; Can Michaels physically manage to wrestle again? I’m no doctor - although my handwriting is as atrocious as most “PHD’s” - but I think he can. At the very least, I think Michaels has one more match still pounding away inside of him. One more, that’s all we ask.
By now I’m sure we’re all acutely aware of Shawn’s chronic back problem. We’re all aware he severely damaged his back after leaping from the ring and landing awkwardly on a casket in a brawl with the Undertaker. His lower back slammed against the edge of the unforgiving casket, and everything changed. For the first time in his career Michaels was grounded, some say grounded for life.
But on RAW this past Monday, Michaels looked different. He didn’t hobble or walk to the ring like he has in the recent past. He had a spring to his step, he even looked spry. And he didn’t just calmly and cautiously step through the ropes, he exploded through them. He twisted, turned, leaped and did everything to suggest that somehow, someway, he would be able to fight one more time. Michaels looked like he was back for a reason, and that reason was to wrestle.
Who knows, maybe I’m just being naïve. After all, it’s quite possible like Shawn’s back is so mangled that an in-ring return isn’t inevitable, it’s impossible. He may be damaged goods and simply unable, regardless of circumstance, to dust off the boots again. But here’s hoping that isn’t true.
I haven’t even touched the issues of what Michaels is doing with the nWo, whether he will be a heel or face, and whom he could have possible angles with. Those are all intriguing issues for another week. We all know that the potential exists for many angles we haven’t seen before. Michaels’ last match was with an emerging Stone Cold Steve Austin, that fight would be cool to see again. Michaels may want revenge on the Undertaker for putting him out of action, that match would be cool as well. Michaels has a long history with friend Triple H, I’m sure the writing team is frothing at the mouth for a chance to book that one.
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All are intriguing possibilities, but lets stay focused for a second. All I want to know, all I need to know is whether Michaels can wrestle one more time. Is he back with a purpose or just to be another pretty face.
If Michaels was brought back as a figurehead and not as a performer, the results could be…well…heartbreaking to say the least.
For tsn.ca, I’m the “Tuesday Morning Booker” Josh Shiaman