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| Under the Bright Lights; A special edition | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 14 2009, 06:14 AM (125 Views) | |
| Dr. Chad Matthews | Oct 14 2009, 06:14 AM Post #1 |
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HBK and MJ: Masters of their Respective Games Wrestlemania season is upon us. Having just purchased my tickets to the annual sports entertainment spectacular, I know it will not be long before the anticipation begins to build on WWE television. If there is a more exciting time in wrestling than the next few months, I don’t know what it is. With Wrestlemania comes the great memories of what has happened on the grandest stage in 25 years worth of history. Wrestlemania also brings with it the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. A couple of months ago, I watched basketball’s annual Hall of Fame ceremony, highlighted by the induction of basketball’s greatest player of all-time, Michael Jordan. Perhaps no other player in history was as deserving as MJ of a first-ballot induction. In watching “His Airness” give the speech that put the finishing touch on his storied career, I found myself reminiscing for hours about some of the unforgettable moments of Jordan in a Bulls uniform… Well, when I think of Wrestlemania, several great memories come to mind…Undertaker’s undefeated streak, Ric Flair’s last match, Hogan vs. Andre, and the now rarely spoken of final moment from Wrestlemania XX (just to name a few)…but most of all, I think of the superstar who, in my opinion, not only personifies the “Granddaddy of them all,” but owns the outright title, much like Jordan in his sport, of the greatest professional wrestler of all-time. He has been a part of five Wrestlemania main-event championship matches. He has headlined several more as a featured performer. Despite a lengthy hiatus much like Jordan’s, this man returned to his sport and reached new heights in his in-ring abilities. “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels is the Michael Jordan of professional wrestling. So, as the best time of the year to be a wrestling fan approaches, I cannot help but be struck with the reality that HBK is 44 years old and has hinted numerous times in recent years at his retirement. While nobody will be sadder than I to see him go, I don’t want to see him be another Ric Flair. As much as I respect Flair and will never forget seeing Michaels retire him from the WWE live at Wrestlemania 24, Flair’s exit from active in-ring competition was about ten years overdue. I do not wish to see my all-time favorite go down a similar road. Michael Jordan’s short-lived return to basketball as a player for the Washington Wizards does not even cross my mind when I think of his career. All of my memories of Jordan are with him in a Bulls uniform. I was never a huge fan of MJ. I rooted against him in all, but his first finals appearance. Michaels, on the other hand, has been my favorite performer since 1996 and one of my favorite performers since his rocking days in the early 90’s. To see him stay in the ring too long or to come back and be a shell of himself…I’m prepared to watch it, given the nature of the wrestling business and seeing HBK’s unbridled passion for the in-ring performance. However, I do not wish to see that. Wrestlemania 26 would be a great time for Shawn Michaels to retire or, at the very least, be a great time for his last Wrestlemania. After having already expressed his desire to spend more time with his family and be there as his kids enter the years in which fathers, perhaps, most enjoy seeing their kids grow up, the Heartbreak (not-so) Kid has begun to show less consistently brilliant work. Frankly, consistently brilliant work is what I expect from HBK. Much like Jordan, HBK has set that standard for himself. When he returned from his hiatus in 2002, no one was more surprised at how phenomenal he worked than me. I was not yet as knowledgeable about the business of pro-wrestling at that time and had not studied it to the extent that I later would, but I’m not sure even the smartest of smart marks could have predicted that HBK would return, having not wrestled a match in over 4 years, and have (arguably) the match of the year against Triple H at Summerslam. It reminded me of Jordan’s return, when no one was sure just how good MJ would be until he dropped 55 points on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Even still, you had to wonder…just like you did with Jordan. Sure, HBK could have a great match here and there, just as Jordan could have a great game here and there. What defined Jordan was his consistency. I remember seeing him lose to my team, the Orlando Magic, in the 1995 Eastern Conference semi-finals and thinking, “Jordan isn’t the same and never will be.” Well, even after watching HBK live up to the expectations at Wrestlemania XIX against Chris Jericho, I still didn’t see the consistency in him for the majority of the rest of 2003 like I had come to expect from him before his injury/hiatus. But much like Michael Jordan did in 1996 with his MVP-winning, unbelievable championship year with the Bulls, Shawn Michaels (by the end of ’03) started looking like that consistently brilliant star of old. He stole the show with his performance at Survivor Series 2003, taking the spotlight away from Steve Austin’s potential last WWE moment and Randy Orton’s ascension to relevance. Then, he re-ignited his feud with Triple H and had an unbelievable, MOTY contender to close the year on Raw. Suddenly, HBK was not just back…he really was BACK. It was as if he flipped the switch, just like MJ, and took off on a journey that carried him until an injury derailed his masterful run in the fall of 2004. In keeping with the Jordan comparison, I thought that maybe HBK wouldn’t be the same after suffering a major knee injury in 2004. Jordan’s run with the Wizards was, at times, spectacular, but once he got injured, he went downhill fast. I thought HBK might suffer the same unfortunate fate. Yet, then I look at the year 2005, when HBK came back at the beginning of the year from that knee injury. He went on to have one of the best years of any WWE superstar, elevating the likes of Edge, Chris Masters, and Muhammed Hassan with top notch performances AND tearing the house down with Kurt Angle in what was arguably the greatest match in Wrestlemania history (CMV1 note- some even claimed his Vengeance match w/ Angle was even better). Just when you thought he couldn’t get any better, he turned in a brilliant 6-week heel turn in his feud with Hulk Hogan. He continued all the way through early 2007 in one of the best Royal Rumble performances ever at the ’07 Rumble and rightfully earning his place in the main-event against John Cena at Wrestlemania 23. While Michaels has been only solid, overall, since returning from another knee injury in late 2007, he continues to bring it when it matters most. At the 25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania, he had a match that will live in the memories of all who watched it for years to come against the Undertaker. The Deadman was arguably at the top of his in-ring game as of spring 2009, so perhaps it was even more impressive what Michaels was able to do a year earlier. At Wrestlemania XXIV, he did everything he could to get a memorable last match out of the aged Ric Flair. It is a bit ironic that HBK retired the man who I wish he never becomes. As much respect as I will always have for the Nature Boy, the majority of his final matches were often difficult to watch. After all, it was a 60 (plus) year old man trying to make us believe that he could beat men half his age. The greatest thing about Shawn Michaels is the way, in which he approaches Wrestlemania as the stage to make memories that will last a lifetime. The importance that he places on Wrestlemania helps boost the aura of that particular event. Many might argue that the Undertaker’s undefeated streak is the great constant at Wrestlemania, but I’d argue that HBK’s consistent brilliance is the true great constant at the year’s biggest PPV. When you have a superstar that you absolutely know will give you nothing short of something spectacular, it builds your confidence that wrestling’s most prestigious show will live up to the hype…even when you think it may not. A 4-5 star performance helps boost any show, but think of it in terms potential buyers on the fence. Just using the last three Manias as examples…I’d be curious to know how many people purchased the event because they could not justify missing HBK take on the WWE’s new golden boy, John Cena…or seeing what he could get out of Ric Flair at the end of an era…or seeing just how great of a match he and another storied veteran could put together on the grandest stage of them all. Few people ever dominated on the grandest stage in the National Basketball Association like Jordan. Most of us have only read about Bill Russell’s dominance and his 11 NBA championship rings. So, in our eras, Jordan without a doubt stands atop the ladder all by himself for NBA Finals heroics. Is there a WWE superstar that even comes close to HBK in Wrestlemania merit? It’s really not even close. 4.35/5 star average in his last 7 Wrestlemania matches. That’s unbelievable. That’s unheard of. There aren’t enough synonyms for great to do that number justice. Granted, that is a very subjective number, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a credible reviewer that wouldn’t rate most of HBK’s Mania bouts since his 2002 return as mostly “four-to-five stars.” Only his match with Mr. McMahon falls short, in my book, and Michaels even salvaged THAT to make it very entertaining. And so we may be reaching the end of the Shawn Michaels era sooner than later. What Wrestlemania and the WWE will be like without him is something I’ve forgotten about in the last seven years, but I’d much rather see him end his career while he’s still capable of consistently producing at an elite level than see him overstay his welcome. In the meantime, I’ll hopefully get to enjoy the greatest performer in the history of the WWE have one more standout performance on the grandest stage of them all. |
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| Jules | Oct 14 2009, 10:13 AM Post #2 |
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Very good column concept here, and a really well executed piece too. Enjoyed it tremendously. I liked that there wasn't too much Jordan talk in there, but that he just kind of stayed in the background and was brought up at various points to make the relevant comparisons that there were to be made. The similarities you brought up were quite striking though. And I would agree whole heartedly about not wanting to see HBK stick around to the point Flair did. If not this Wrestlemania, then either next year or the year after that tops, and that is probably being, way way too optimistic on my part. I mean, you want to see Shawn Michaels perform to his full potential as long as he possibly can for the sake of the entertainment he provides (like no other), but there is also Michael Hickenbottom the human being to think about, and for his own personal sake, he should probably think about hanging up those legendary boots as soon as he can realistically. Really well done column here. I have no criticisms or complaints to offer. Hope to see it up at LOP A.S.A.P. 
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| Dr. Chad Matthews | Oct 14 2009, 02:28 PM Post #3 |
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Well thank you, Jules. Watching the MJ induction coupled with the upcoming sale of Mania tickets...just got me thinking about Wrestlemania...and when I think of Wrestlemania, I think of many things, but nothing more than HBK. I still suggest that we organize a trip to Mania one day. Maybe Wrestlemania XXX. Just set it in stone. I went with PEN15 from LOP to my first one. So, it's really not weird at all to meet people in person that you've known so long on the 'net. 1) there's just nothing like going to a Wrestlemania. You just have to do it. 2) There's really nothing like going to Wrestlemania with a fellow "smart" mark. There were things that PEN thought of to do that I'd have never thought of (i.e. seeking the Wrestlemania hotel and just standing outside and watching all the stars get into their limos/cars for the HOF ceremony) and vice versa (i.e. my Wrestlemania Recalls which he got to experience) But thanks again...I've already talked to Calvin about it...I'm going to send it in the night before Mania tickets go on sale |
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| Q | Oct 14 2009, 02:37 PM Post #4 |
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Awesome! I definitely agree with HBK as the MJ of wrestling to be sure. Great column, Chad!
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| Stinger | Oct 14 2009, 05:17 PM Post #5 |
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
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Great read Chad. Looks real good, I didn't see any problems/errors on my first read through. |
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| Dr. Chad Matthews | Oct 14 2009, 07:44 PM Post #6 |
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Thank you, guys...well if you did/do please don't hesitate to say so... I certainly don't consider myself in the class of a Jules or Stinger when it comes to column writing (although I'll challenge anyone to a show/PPV review duel any day of the week...Wade Keller and Co. included since I was always faster and more viewed than them..as was Snowman when he filled in for me). So, any constructive criticism is welcomed... Edited by Dr. Chad Matthews, Oct 14 2009, 07:45 PM.
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