He had so many good matches at WrestleMania that he earned himself the nickname of Mr WrestleMania.
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WWE legend and Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is a bonafide superstar who is supremely talented in the ring. In fact, he is so good that he was once ranked as the top WWE superstar of all time. He is a 3 time World Champion and 1 time WWE champion. He had so many good matches at WrestleMania that he earned himself the nickname of Mr WrestleMania. The matches that he had with the likes of Triple H, The Undertaker, Bret Hart etc stand out as some of the best matches in the history of the sport. Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine readers nominated him for Match of the Year honours an unprecedented 11 times during his career. In this article, we will take a look at some of HBK’s best WrestleMania matches.
Shawn Michaels first took on The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25 but he failed to beat him. Not one to keep quiet, HBK challenged the Deadman to another match at WrestleMania 26 but this time, there was a stipulation. If Michaels lost, he had to retire from wrestling. All that added a much-needed interest to an already deep story. The match was going at a pace that could only be matched by two veterans. HBK came up with move after move but it wasn’t enough to put Taker down.
There was a scary botch on the part of The Undertaker when he landed headfirst on the floor when trying to a flying senton. That collision added a much-needed realism to the match and the gasp from the crowd said it all. Taker managed to win in dramatic fashion when he caught Shawn Michaels in mid-air as he was attempting to do a move off the top rope. A tombstone followed next and just like that, the career of Shawn Michaels came to an end.
Read more: The Rock’s top 3 WrestleMania matches
Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels have had a storied rivalry and it was not a scripted one but a real one. The two men had animosity towards each other because of personal and professional reasons that definitely played a part in their matches too. HBK won his second consecutive Royal Rumble in 1996, and he took on Bret Hart at WrestleMania 12 in a 60-minute Iron Man match. The match had a lot of action and it took out a lot from both men. Bret Hart could not keep up with the stamina of Michaels and allowed HBK to dominate proceedings. Shawn picked up the win after hitting Bret with a Sweet Chin Music to become a WWE champion for the very first time.
Shawn Michaels was coming back from a four-year hiatus when he got into a feud with Chris Jericho. Chris Jericho always claimed that Shawn Michaels was his hero as a child but he attacked Michaels at the Royal Rumble in 2003 and that led to their match at WrestleMania 19. Both men got into it early as soon as the match started. Jericho even mocked Michaels by copying his trademark finisher, the Sweet Chin Music. Undeterred by anything that was thrown at him, HBK survived and scored the win with a roll-up.
