10 Shawn Michaels WWE Moments From The 2000s You Completely Forgot About

Publish date: 2024-05-08

Shawn Michaels is considered by many to be the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots and looking back at his career, it is clear why. After the infamous steroid trial, when WWE were looking for more athletic wrestlers rather than the 'body guys' Shawn received a push very few of his size had in the industry.

RELATED: Dark Side Of The Ring Recap: The Steroid Trials

HBK took that opportunity he was given and quickly rose up the card, becoming one of the key figures in what would become known as the Attitude Era. For all his success, Michaels' demons made him a highly controversial figure. After being forced into early retirement in 1998, Michaels managed to turn his life around, eventually making an in-ring return at the 2002 Summerslam, looking like he had never been away.

His second WWE run was just as, if not more impressive than his original run, working memorable programs with Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and Undertaker, as well as ending Ric Flair's career in arguably the most emotional WrestleMania match in history. While many Shawn Michaels moments live long in fans memories, there are many that slip under the radar. Here are 10 things fans forget about Shawn Michaels' second run in WWE.

10 NWO 4 Life?

Throughout the Monday night wars, two factions not only dominated but changed the professional wrestling landscape for years to come, the nWo in WCW and D-Generation X in WWE. While Michaels is synonymous with DX after founding the group and later rejoining HHH to resurrect it, Michaels also had a very brief run as a member of the NWO in 2002. With Hogan's forced babyface turn, Hall's personal issues and Nash's injuries, Shawn never got a chance to do anything with the group before they disbanded.

9 Shawn Briefly Briefly Worked For JBL

One of Shawn Michaels' more bizarre feuds was with JBL, with Shawn pleading poverty after a run of bad investments, playing into the 2008 global recession, having to accept a 1-year contract with JBL.

RELATED: 5 Wrestlers Shawn Michaels Made Look Legit (& 5 He Made Look Like A Joke)

Michaels would reluctantly help JBL earn a title shot against John Cena, but ended up costing JBLthe match. This led to an "All Or Nothing" match, which Michaels won, ending the feud.

8 Chris Jericho Punched His Wife

Michaels' 2008 rivalry with Chris Jericho is considered to be one of the best of both men's careers, built around the premise that Jericho wanted to be seen as a better version of his hero, Shawn Michaels. Both men over-delivered in the ring and especially on the mic, their interactions and promos really adding steam to the feud. During a segment where Michaels was considering retiring due to an eye injury, Michaels ducked a punch by Jericho, with Jericho mistiming the planned spot and legitimately punching Michaels' wife.

7 The Real Eye Injury

While Michaels' lazy eye in kayfabe is credited to Chris Jericho ramming his face into the Jeritron 2000, the problems with Michaels' eye actually go back to a no DQ match between Michaels and Kane, with Michaels suffering a detached retina.

RELATED: Every Major Injury Of Shawn Michaels' Wrestling Career, Explained

While not serious enough to take time off, Michaels' lazy eye became more and more noticeable, leading to WWE incorporating it into his feud with Jericho.

6 HBK Won The World Title In His First "Sanctioned" Match Since His 2002 Return!

At the 2002 SummerSlam, Shawn Michaels made his triumphant return to WWE, defeating long time friend turned foe, Triple H, in an unsanctioned street fight. Michaels returned to action at that year's Survivor Series as one of the six men competing for the World Heavyweight Championship in the inaugural Elimination Chamber. Michaels would go on to win, becoming World Heavyweight Champion, and as Michaels' return match at SummerSlam was deemed unsanctioned in kayfabe, in WWE lore the Chamber Match was Michaels' first official match back since WrestleMania 14.

5 He Teamed Up With God

2000's Michaels and 1990's Michaels are very different personalities, as during his 4-year injury layoff, Michaels not only got clean of the drugs but also found and embraced Christianity. During Michaels' feud with Vince McMahon, Shawn's Christianity played into the story, with McMahon believing he was not only better than God but could beat him in a match, so forced Michaels to team with God.

RELATED: Shawn Michaels' First 10 WWE RAW Matches, Ranked Worst To Best

While the segments leading up to the match are some of the most entertaining of the PG Era, the match was essentially a handicap match with Vince teaming with his son Shane against Michaels and a spotlight.

4 Rode A Tank As Part Of A DX Entrance

In recent years, Shotzi Blackheart has rode a toy tank to the ring, making it a huge part of her presentation, but there are more examples of tanks in wrestling entrances. Rusev rode out on a real tank to face John Cena at WrestleMania, and DX also invaded WCW with a tank (yes, it was a jeep with a tube, but WWE like to call it a tank!) More than a decade later, at SummerSlam 2009, Triple H and Shawn Michaels made their entrance atop an actual tank for their tag team match against Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr.

3 Michaels Teamed With CM Punk At Survivor Series

One of the most controversial wrestlers of the 21st Century is CM Punk, often drawing comparisons to Shawn Michaels of the 90's due to the chip on his shoulder, and looking back, it seems like a missed opportunity that they never feuded.

RELATED: Shawn Michaels' 11 Survivor Series Elimination Matches, Ranked From Worst To Best

CM Punk and Shawn Michaels did team together though, with Punk joining the Hardy Boys and D-Generation X in a traditional 5 on 5 Survivor Series elimination match at the 2006 event. Team DX ended up completing the clean sweep, winning the match without losing a team member.

2 Michaels Returned To The Ring In The 2000s... Outside WWE

During Shawn's absence between 1998 and 2002, Shawn kept himself busy by opening a wrestling school and promotion to run along with his school. In what has become known as "the forgotten match", Shawn competed for his Texas Wrestling Alliance in a match against their top heel, Venom, actually winning the promotion's World Heavyweight Championship in a "Bunkhouse Brawl" Match. The match itself is far from Shawn's best work, but it no doubt played a part in him realizing he still had so much more to give the fans. Michaels later vacated the title rather than coming back to the ring to drop it, proving he was still in top form... in more ways than one!

1 Michaels Is A Former Tag Team Champion Alongside John Cena

From his big break with Marty Jannetty as one half of The Rockers, Michaels was known for years as a tag team specialist. His list of partners range from Triple H, to Stone Cold Steve Austin, to Kevin Nash and even God, but fans often forget during his WWE Championship match against John Cena at WrestleMania 23, both men were co-holders of the WWE World Tag Team Titles, with Cena stepping in for an injured Triple H. They lost the titles to The Hardy Boyz on the Raw after Mania, when Michaels double crossed Cena and eliminated the team from a battle royal for the belts.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKeoqqSowaa%2BjZympmejna64uoymoJygkZq5tHnWsJxmpZ%2Bisq%2FA0mZpaWhgqHq6u9Rmnaiql6TBcA%3D%3D