Top 10: HBK Matches

[Chili]

Shawn Michaels is someone who produces perfect melodrama when he has to sell the life and death of something with his body, he's exceptional at looking like he's right at his last gasp and then bam, a out of nowhere finish or comeback.

When it comes to the verbal melodramatic stuff in matches, he's one of the most Am-Dram at it, he's had a terrible influence with that. 

Couldn't give you a top 10 matches, he's had too many, but I love his Rockers non WWF stuff a lot actually, the raw components slowly coming together. Any of the AWA series with Buddy Rose/Doug Somers are great old style tag matches/brawls.

[air_raid]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

Harsh.

Let’s put it this way ; for me it’s neither the best ladder match the two men in it had with each other (never mind the best match either ever had), nor is it the best match on that night - I have that as Bret vs Owen.

1 hour ago, Supremo said:

One I don’t think anyone has mentioned yet is Shawn vs. Mankind at In Your House Mind Games.

Mick sure likes to mention it. Chortle.

[Supremo]

50 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

I liked that the "tantrum" in the Mind games match was completely scripted and was Mick's idea.

Was this ever corroborated? I feel like the only time I’ve heard it is from Shawn during that shoot interview where he’s disgustingly chomping on tobacco. And from what I remember, he was full of shit during a lot of that. God hadn’t healed his back and made him a goodie yet.

[LaGoosh]

6 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Was this ever corroborated? I feel like the only time I’ve heard it is from Shawn during that shoot interview where he’s disgustingly chomping on tobacco. And from what I remember, he was full of shit during a lot of that. God hadn’t healed his back and made him a goodie yet.

Both men did an episode of the Edge and Christian podcast dedicated to the match and they confirmed it was pre-planned.

[tiger_rick]

1 hour ago, Supremo said:

One I don’t think anyone has mentioned yet is Shawn vs. Mankind at In Your House Mind Games. That’s one I went to watch back on Netflix to see if it’s as good as I remember.

I considered that. It is good, and was hard-hitting for the time, especially for a Michaels match but the finish, or non-finish, has never let it be great, for me.

1 hour ago, Devon Malcolm said:

I also think we're overlooking the Diesel match with special guest star Mad Dog Vachon's leg.

That would be my #11. It was at 10 but I realised I'd merged 2 lines higher up! A great match.

21 minutes ago, air_raid said:

Let’s put it this way ; for me it’s neither the best ladder match the two men in it had with each other (never mind the best match either ever had), nor is it the best match on that night - I have that as Bret vs Owen.

I also have Bret/Owen just higher. They'd both be in my top 5 all-time though. I didn't see SummerSlam 95 til years later but even with hindsight, it's just a match that's announced, lives off being a rematch of the first match and has no legacy whatsoever. I can't even think of it in the same league.

[TheScarlettChad]

24 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Was this ever corroborated? I feel like the only time I’ve heard it is from Shawn during that shoot interview where he’s disgustingly chomping on tobacco. And from what I remember, he was full of shit during a lot of that. God hadn’t healed his back and made him a goodie yet.

What makes me laugh about that is, he was wearing the cross that he'd wear during his Jesus Freak days. Really makes you wonder. 

[BomberPat]

the thing with the Hogan match is that he isn't just overselling and doing comedy bumps, there's so much of it that's about taking a shine away from Hogan, or throwing off his timing. There's a point where Hogan is ready to do his big three punches, and Shawn bumps from the first or second one, so it just completely throws Hulk off.

When they're on the outside, Hogan gets pushed into the ringpost, and blades from it. But before he's able to show it to the camera, Shawn is back on top of him with punches, so he robs him of the moment of revealing his bloodied face and does it in such a way that it looks like Shawn's punches are what caused it, not the ringpost shot. It's an absolute masterclass of being a little shit and robbing almost every moment from your opponent, and there's probably so many more little bits like that I didn't even pick up on, or have forgotten.

[tiger_rick]

1 minute ago, BomberPat said:

the thing with the Hogan match is that he isn't just overselling and doing comedy bumps, there's so much of it that's about taking a shine away from Hogan, or throwing off his timing. There's a point where Hogan is ready to do his big three punches, and Shawn bumps from the first or second one, so it just completely throws Hulk off.

When they're on the outside, Hogan gets pushed into the ringpost, and blades from it. But before he's able to show it to the camera, Shawn is back on top of him with punches, so he robs him of the moment of revealing his bloodied face and does it in such a way that it looks like Shawn's punches are what caused it, not the ringpost shot. It's an absolute masterclass of being a little shit and robbing almost every moment from your opponent, and there's probably so many more little bits like that I didn't even pick up on, or have forgotten.

Great isn't it? I'm an absolute hypocrite, because I'd slate him for it in any other match but, fuck Hulk Hogan.

[TheScarlettChad]

Hogan made the money and won, That's all he cared about.

[WeeAl]

Yeah it's not just revisionist 2025 eyes that have me saying fuck Hulk in regards to that match. At the time, with how Hogan put his foot down about the continuation of the programme, he deserved to be fucked about with. 

[Chili]

He did deserve to be fucked with, but if HBK's super selling nonsense ruined the match more than making it, then it's all on Shawn. Hogan you are getting in for the draw, if he's being the cunt then you do what Shawn did on the promos. 

Hogan is a complete arsehole and the HBK selling if quite cathartic that someone took a unique way of showing their frustration, but Hogan got the money and probably wasn't that arsed about the quality. Plus it's SHAWN MICHAELS having a moan about wrestling politics, I'm 50/50. Michaels for how he made the match regardless, Hogan for playing a fellow backstage string puller and showing him a thing.

[wandshogun09]

Hogan should’ve lost to Bret at SummerSlam a whole 12 years earlier. Fuck him and his hot dog skin, from then on.

I’d struggle to do a Top 10 Shawn Michaels matches just because a) I’m crap at deciding the right order and would agonise over why #4 should be ahead of #5 too much. And b) he had so many great matches. Shawn from the start of his career up to 1998 and then Shawn in 2002 and beyond are almost like two completely different careers to me. He did enough in both of those runs individually that almost any wrestler would’ve killed to have one of them. Like Rick though, I favour 90s Shawn. As big a prick as he was, he was insanely good and at his athletic peak back then.

So yeah, not gonna do a list but pretty much all of mine have been mentioned already. I absolutely love the first ladder match with Razor, Hell In A Cell vs Taker, the Bulldog match at One Night Only, the Sid match at Survivor Series, the Diesel and Jarrett In Your House matches. Can’t think of many I’d include that haven’t already been mentioned other than maybe the Rockers vs Brain Busters from SNME in 89.

A thread like this for Bret would be interesting and equally as hard to narrow down to just 10 for me. 

[TheScarlettChad]

Vince/HBK at Mania 22 was a fun brawl. It should've been Eddie vs HBK but alas. 

[wandshogun09]

Eddie Guerrero and The Rock are my two ‘ones that got away’ when it comes to Shawn Michaels matches I wish we got to see. There are a few others like Shawn vs Brock but those two were always my main ones. He wrestled pretty much everyone else I wanted to see him against.

Might rewatch the Jericho match from WrestleMania 19 if I get chance sometime this week actually. I vaguely remember rating it at the time but don’t remember much about it now. There was a cracking Randy Orton match from Survivor Series one year as well. 

[tiger_rick]

11 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Vince/HBK at Mania 22 was a fun brawl. 

I've got that at 851st on my list. 

5 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

Eddie Guerrero and The Rock are my two ‘ones that got away’ when it comes to Shawn Michaels matches I wish we got to see. There are a few others like Shawn vs Brock but those two were always my main ones. He wrestled pretty much everyone else I wanted to see him against.

Might rewatch the Jericho match from WrestleMania 19 if I get chance sometime this week actually. I vaguely remember rating it at the time but don’t remember much about it now. There was a cracking Randy Orton match from Survivor Series one year as well. 

Thought the Jericho match was OK. Not as good as Angle. The build was good though. I was rewatching the Rumble a few years ago and I'd forgotten how brutal that angle in the match was. When I was looking at some other people's lists, a ladder match between the two in 2008 came up a few times. I've never seen it though.

In terms of matches that didn't happen, Eddie is a big one for me too. I really wish he'd had a few more matches with Triple H too, we just didn't get it enough.