RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Sports and Wrestling Pulse Wrestling's Top 100 of the Modern Era

The formula has changed. In the 80's, guys like Henning would threaten the face's title run but never win, or win and only hold onto it for a short while for either the face to recapture it or the new face champ to come in and take it. Back then, you had to have 'the smile' to be a longterm champ in the WWF. The shades of grey and Austin's anti-hero persona changed that. I agree with Nowhereman. I think the era of larger than life champs like Hogan are gone and replaced with the underdog fighting for the impossible win.

I do agree though that the reason they wont turn him heel is they are too afraid to risk it!

As noted before, Flair was the exception to the rule when it came to heels with long title runs. That's what made his match-ups against Rhodes and Sting so big. He'd even won the belt as a face from Harley Race at the first Starcade.

Hogan's only real underdog moment was him going against Andre. After that, Hogan was pretty much a superhero in the ring with his Hulking out and leg drop combo.

In WWE and in TNA they try too much to dictate the crowd's reaction.

They are constantly trying to force feed who I should and shouldn't like.

If I like to root for the bad guy, let me root for the bad guy.

Don't turn him into a fucking face because I cheered for him too much or bought too much of his merch.

Just concentrate on making entertaining characters and gimmicks.

In WWE and in TNA they try too much to dictate the crowd's reaction.

They are constantly trying to force feed who I should and shouldn't like.

If I like to root for the bad guy, let me root for the bad guy.

Don't turn him into a fucking face because I cheered for him too much or bought too much of his merch.

Just concentrate on making entertaining characters and gimmicks.

In WWE and in TNA they try too much to dictate the crowd's reaction.

They are constantly trying to force feed who I should and shouldn't like.

If I like to root for the bad guy, let me root for the bad guy.

Don't turn him into a fucking face because I cheered for him too much or bought too much of his merch.

Just concentrate on making entertaining characters and gimmicks.

Hogan's most interesting work in decades has been his first run as Hollywood and the formation of the nWo.

Hollywood Hogan was a great bad guy, but Hogan hated not being the good guy because of his ego and vanity.

I also have to admit I found the Mr. America shit funny.

I don't know; they'd try to run Hogan as an underdog, as seen with his runs with the Boss Man and Earthquake (r.i.p. John Tenta) as two examples. They'd get a guy as big (physically) or bigger than Hogan.

In the 80's, guys like Henning would threaten the face's title run but never win,...

HBK is the same, and Sting from what I hear.
Both have been discussed as turning heel in recent years, and both have nixed it over and over again.

Not so sure about Sting, as I really dont watch TNA other than at live shows, but I think a heel turn from HBK is needed to freshen him up a bit.

I think guys like Sting and HBK have to realise that they are basically actors when they are working, and being a heel doesnt mean they are doing anything against their religion unless its quite obviously in Vince McMahon style bad taste, or anything thats specifically angled at it being anti-christian.

There are shit loads of christians in the movie and tv industry that realise that playing a killer etc in the movies, isnt actually them being bad people.

I mean lets face it, is hitting people with a baseball bat any better than getting a few boos from the crowd?

. SHAWN MICHAELS

Real Name - Michael Hickenbottom
Hometown - San Antonio, TX
Debuted - October 16, 1984
Titles Held - AWA World Tag Team (2x, with Marty Jannetty); NWA Central States Tag Team (with Marty Jannetty); AWA Southern Tag Team (2x, with Marty Jannetty); TASW Texas Tag Team(2x, with Paul Diamond); TWA Heavyweight; WWF Championship (3x); WWF European; WWF Intercontinental (3x); WWF/WWE World Tag Team (4x, 2 with Diesel, 1 with Stone Cold Steve Austin, 1 with John Cena); WWE World Heavyweight
Other Accomplishments - First WWE Grand Slam champion; Winner of PWI Match of the Year awards for 1993 (vs. Marty Jannetty), 1994 (vs. Razor Ramon), 1995 (vs. Diesel), 1996 (vs. Bret Hart), 2004 (vs. Triple H and Chris Benoit), 2005 (vs. Kurt Angle), 2006 (vs. Vince McMahon), and 2007 (vs. John Cena); Winner of PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year award in 1995 and 1996; Ranked #1 on the PWI 500 list in 1996; Fourth WWF Triple Crown champion; Winner of WWF Royal Rumble in 1995 and 1996; Winner of Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Best Babyface award in 1996; Winner of Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Match of the Year award in 1994 (vs. Razor Ramon); Winner of Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Most Charismatic Wrestler award in 1995 and 1996, Winner of Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Tag Team of the Year award in 1989 (with Marty Jannetty); Winner of Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Worst Feud of the Year award in 2006 (with Triple H vs. Vince and Shane McMahon); Winner of Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Feud of the Year award in 2004 (vs. Triple H and Chris Benoit)

When Shawn Michaels retired from wrestling as an active competitor in 1998 after WrestleMania XIV due to a serious back injury, a lot of people in the industry said “good riddance.” He had become a chore to deal with backstage and had the attitude problems of a fifteen-year-old girl. Plus he had a prescription drug problem that was getting out of control.

In 2002 when Shawn Michaels returned to active competition he was a completely new man. In his four years away he had become a born-again Christian and immersed himself in religion. His back was in top shape once again while his attitude and drug problems had disappeared.

To say that Michaels got a new lease on his wrestling life would be an understatement.

It’s hard to believe that is been almost twenty-five years already since Michaels first laced up a pair of wrestling boots. The former backstage prima donna has now become one of the “sport’s” most respected elder statesmen, and still to this day can put on the best match of the card if he were so inclined to do so.

It all started for Michaels back in 1984. He was trained by Texas wrestling star Jose Lothario and initially worked for a variety of southern regional promotions include Mid-South Wrestling, Texas All-Star Wrestling, Central States Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling. He gained a lot of experience while paying his dues in the southern territories of the United States, and picked up a couple of regional Championships along the way.

The Midnight Rockers
In 1986 he was all of twenty years old when he joined the big leagues of the AWA as the tag team partner of Marty Jannetty. They were dubbed The Midnight Rockers, and became instant fan favorites in the Minnesota-based group. In 1987 they won the company’s tag belts in a wild feud against Doug Somers & Buddy Rose. Soon Vince McMahon came calling, and they pair were hired by the WWF. Unfortunately for them they came into the company with a reputation of being hard partiers and didn’t get off on the right foot.

Two weeks later, the WWF released them in a now infamous conversation where Vince McMahon commented on Michaels’ cowboy boots and noted that they were made for walking.

They pair returned to the AWA and picked up where they left off, winning the Tag belts a couple more times while having feuds with The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express and arguably their greatest rivals – Badd Company (Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond.)

The Rockers
Halfway through 1988 the WWF came calling again and the pair headed back up north. This time they were billed simply as “The Rockers” and managed to last more than a couple of weeks. Their first pay per view appearance was in the big 10-team elimination match at Survivor Series ’88. The pair became solid fixtures in the company’s midcard, and feuded with all the top heel teams of the day including The Rougeaus, The Twin Towers, The Powers of Pain, and they had an absolutely amazing run against Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard that can only be compared to the Harts-Bulldogs series from two years earlier in terms of sheer match quality.

In 1990 they feuded with the Orient Express (Akio Sato and Pat Tanaka), old rivals from the AWA, before transitioning into a rivalry against the newly-formed Power & Glory team of Hercules and Paul Roma. It was during this run where Michaels & Jannetty wrestled The Hart Foundation in a 2-out-3 falls match for the WWF Tag Team Championships. The match, which was taped in October 1990, saw The Rockers win the belts two falls to one, but shortly into the second fall the top ring rope broke putting the match into disarray. The story goes that The Rockers were going to win the belts as Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart was on his way out of the company. But by the time the match was ready to come up on TV, Neidhart had renegotiated his contract and was going to stay in the company. That title match was then deemed null and void, never aired on television, and The Rockers were never credited with a Championship victory. Legend goes that The Rockers would have then transitioned the tag belts to Power & Glory, but it was not to be.

By 1991 they were back to feuding with the Orient Express, only this time it was Tanaka teaming with his old Badd Company teammate Paul Diamond, who was now competing under a mask as Kato. The two teams tore the house down in the opening match of Royal Rumble ’91, displaying the chemistry the men had built up with each other after years of competing with and against each other. The Rockers meandered through 1991 until backstage friction between Jannetty and Michaels caused the team to be broken up on screen. In January 1992, the famous Barber Shop segment aired where Michaels turned on his partner, giving him a superkick and then tossing him through a plate glass window.

To this day The Rockers’ tag team split and subsequent follow-up is still considered the measuring stick of tag team break-ups. After a successful tag team splits up in this day and age the question is always asked, “which one will be Shawn, and which one will become Marty?” This is in reference of course to the meteoric rise that Michaels’ career took after the break-up in relation to the spotty record that Jannetty maintained afterwards.

The Heartbreak Kid
Michaels instantly became a hated heel, and took off on his run up the singles ladder. Meanwhile Jannetty had left the company, leaving them without the inevitable feud that follows a tag team break-up. He picked up Sensational Sherri as his new manager to give him some much needed credibility. Mr. Perfect, who was working commentary at the time, gave Michaels the idea for the nickname “The Heartbreak Kid.” Michaels adopted a vain, pretty boy gimmick, complete with a mirror and a mandated announcement every time he left the building. He beat Tito Santana (the first step up on the good guy ladder) at WrestleMania VII, and then began his challenge of Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship. At this point Michaels and Hart were as evenly matched as can be. They had both started out as tag team jobbers and worked up through the tag ranks, and had now graduated into the mid-card of the singles division. Their Intercontinental Title feud during the summer of ’92 is something I look back fondly upon in regards to the glory days of that belt.

Then during the build to SummerSlam in London, England it was announced that Hart would defend the Intercontinental belt against his brother-in-law (and fellow good guy) Davey Boy Smith. Michaels was then inserted into mini-feud with Rick “The Model” Martel based on their prima donna attitudes and admiration for Sherri. Both men were heels during the angle, which was something that was very unheard during this time period.

After SummerSlam, Michaels reignited his rivalry with Hart, but in the three short months between SummerSlam and Survivor Series a lot of things changed. Hart, who had dropped the I-C belt to Davey Boy, ended up winning the WWF World Championship from Ric Flair on a whim at a Canadian house show. Michaels then beat Davey Boy for the Intercontinental Title on an edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event as Davey was leaving the company. Their singles match that set for Survivor Series was originally promoted as a mid-card grudge match, but it was now elevated to the main event and Hart’s WWF Championship was on the line. It was the first time either man had main evented a PPV, let alone battled over the company’s biggest prize, but it wouldn’t be the last in their storied history.

Michaels then became a fixture of the Intercontinental Title division. At Royal Rumble ’93 he beat Marty Jannetty to blow off their break-up after Jannetty’s year-long absence. Marty disappeared again after the match only to resurface on a live edition of Monday Night RAW in May ’93. To the shock of everyone (especially this nine-year-old mark) Jannetty defeated Michaels in an impromptu match to win the Championship. They had a series of match of the year-caliber rematches through the early summer, and thanks to Michaels’ new bodyguard Kevin “Diesel” Nash he won the belt back within weeks of the switch.

In the fall of ’93 Michaels was controversially suspended for violating a drug test. To this day Michaels denies having anything in his system while the company claimed they found traces of steroids. He was suspended while still Intercontinental Champion and the belt was vacated. (The first time Michaels would lose a belt without being pinned for it.) Razor Ramon ended up winning the vacant Championship, and when Michaels returned a ready-made feud was in place. The rivalry culminated at WrestleMania X where Ramon’s legit Championship belt and Michaels’ version of the physical belt were hung above the ring, and the winner would be decided in a ladder match. The pair revolutionized the ladder match on the national stage (despite Bret Hart introducing the concept to Vince McMahon and the WWF), and both men became bigger stars because of it.

Michaels then faded into the background during the spring and summer of ’94 and acted as a manager for Diesel, who had now become a viable mid-card threat in the company. Michaels & Diesel won the World Tag Championship together the night before SummerSlam ’94 and carried them into Survivor Series ’94, as dissension grew between the two men. Their bad blood came to a boil at the pay per view, and the two men came to blows. They effectively ended their partnership and vacated the Tag belts. Diesel went on to win the WWF Championpship, while Michaels won the abysmal 1995 Royal Rumble match that featured sixty second intervals and Michaels starting at number one and lasting the entire match in order to earn the victory. He earned his first WrestleMania main event, as he challenged Diesel in a losing effort in a WWF Championship match.

During the build up to WrestleMania Michaels picked up Sid as his new bodyguard, but shortly after WrestleMania Sid turned on him. He subsequently turned face and reunited with Diesel. He became Diesel’s “little buddy” through the rest of ’95 while Diesel reigned as WWF Champion. Michaels picked up another Intercontinental Championship along the way, and the pair, now called “Two Dudes with Attitude,” won another Tag Championship.

In October 1995 he was legitimately attacked and injured outside a bar in Syracuse, New York. He needed some time off, and needed to get rid of the Intercontinental Title. Instead of dropping it to his scheduled opponent “Dean” Shane Douglas, he instead forfeited the Title to him, only to have Michaels’ real-life buddy Razor Ramon win the belt from Douglas minutes later. Michaels’ injury was then turned into one of the company’s first worked-shoots as he collapsed in a December match with Owen Hart. He was even checked into a hospital to sell the angle, and the fans were treated to the terribly cheesy “Tell Me a Lie” music video for Michaels that played constantly on WWE television. He returned in time to enter Royal Rumble ’96, and played the underdog card en route to winning his second Rumble match in a row.

Iron Man
The stage was now set for what was at the time the company’s biggest match – Bret Hart versus Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship. Both men had grown and improved immensely since their time as lightweight tag team wrestlers. They were now the company’s two biggest babyfaces, and it was decided that their main event bout at WrestleMania XII would be contested under unprecedented 60-minute Iron Man rules. The build-up to the match was a lot more realistic than most of the company’s antics at the time, as they showed the two men training Rocky-montage style. They even brought in Michaels’ legitimate trainer Jose Lothario to act as his on-screen manager and trainer. To an eleven-year-old mark like me I thought both guys’ training videos looked cool and made them seem like evenly matched competitors, despite Hart’s later claims that he felt his clips made him look weak and inferior to Michaels.

Michaels entered the arena that day in Anaheim on a ripcord that sailed right into the ring (which probably gave the ending away to anyone over the age of twelve.) The two men battled for sixty minutes without a fall being decided. It was decreed that the match would go to sudden death overtime, and Michaels won the WWF Championship for the first time after two superkicks shortly into the overtime period. As Vince McMahon on commentary screamed “the boyhood dream has come true” a new star was born to lead the World Wrestling Federation.

The Kliq
With Michaels now as Champion the pressure was all on his shoulders. His attitude problems got worse, and he became increasingly more difficult to work with behind the scenes, despite the fact he was saving the monthly pay per views by putting on the best match of the card in the main event. Meanwhile through ’94 and ’95 a group of guys including Michaels, Diesel, Scott “Razor Ramon” Hall and “1-2-3 Kid” Sean Waltman formed a backstage clique that ran together and rode together. They became increasingly powerful backstage, as they have been accused of holding down other wrestlers’ pushes while making sure they maintained their top card spots. Along the way they picked up a young wrestler named “Hunter Hearst-Helmsley” Paul Levesque as their young understudy. Their backstage antics came to a head in a very public way on Hall and Nash’s final day in the company, which was a house show at Madison Square Garden. At the conclusion of the Michaels-Nash main event cage match, Hall and Helmsley (who had wrestled each other earlier in the evening) also came to the ring and the four men embraced, breaking one of the last vestiges of kayfabe in the process. Management was rightly furious, but Hall, Nash and Waltman were all on their ways out of the company while Michaels was World Champion and thus untouchable. Helmsley took the brunt of the punishment and Michaels continued to carry the company through the spring, summer and fall of ’96, battling every monster and bad guy they could throw at him, including Davey Boy Smith, Vader, Goldust, Mankind and Sid.

He dropped the Championship to Sid at Survivor Series ’96, only as a way to get the Championship back in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas, at Royal Rumble ’97. Less than a month later he surrendered the World Title on a special Thursday night edition of RAW because of a “career-threatening” knee injury and a “lost smile.” It was the fourth time he lost a championship without being defeated for it in the ring.

DeGeneration X
Michaels’ debilitating knee injury turned out to be less bad than thought as he was back in the ring by May ’97 battling Bret Hart’s Hart Foundation stable. He and Stone Cold Steve Austin beat The Foundation’s Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith for the WWF Tag Championships, and he was set to battle Bret in a singles match at King of the Ring. Unfortunately the pair got in a legit fistfight backstage, causing Michaels to take his ball and go home. The tag titles were stripped, and he lost another Title with losing. He was back with the company by August to serve as the guest referee between the Undertaker-Bret Hart WWF Championship match at SummerSlam ’97. During that match an errant chair shot from Michaels caused Hart to pin Undertaker and win the belt.

The stage was now set for a first-time ever program between Undertaker and Michaels. During the rivalry’s build-up a seemingly random tag team match on RAW with Undertaker & Mankind against Michaels & Hunter Hearst-Helmsley started something much bigger. Rather than being a random one-time pairing, Michaels and the now renamed “Triple H” (along with HHH’s manager Chyna) began appearing on TV together every week. The duo began filling their TV time with childish, humor-filled pranks as commentator Jim Ross constantly called them “degenerates” on TV. The trio, along with new cohort Rick Rude, began officially calling themselves “DeGeneration X,” and the forefathers of the “Attitude” era were born.

Despite Bret Hart being the WWF Champion, Michaels and his new act remained at the top of the card. He and Undertaker headlined the September “Ground Zero” PPV and in the same month he defeated Davey Boy Smith for the European Championship in the main event of the UK-only PPV “One Night Only.” This move was seen by many as a slap in the face to the Harts and proof of Michaels’ backstage power, as the European Championship was a third-tier belt that was used mainly as a trophy piece for the England-born Davey Boy Smith. To have Davey, the WWF’s European hero, drop the belt to uber-heel Shawn Michaels in his own backyard in the final part of a PPV seemed like a bad business move for the foreign market and just another way to put Michaels over the Hart contingent. He and Undertaker then headlined the October PPV “Bad Blood” as well, this time in the brand-new “Hell in a Cell” cage concept. The match is a forgotten classic and set the bar high for all the Hell in a Cell matches that followed after.

The Montreal Screwjob
The stage was now set for the long-awaited rematch between Hart & Michaels. It was all lined up for Survivor Series ’97 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, for Hart’s WWF Championship. By this point it was common knowledge among insiders and smart fans that Bret Hart would be leaving the WWF shortly after this PPV and head to World Championship Wrestling for a big-money contract. It had been five years to the event since the two men headlined their first pay per view together, and they had come a long way since then. It was obvious to anyone who was in the know about things that this would be the last time anyone would see these two all-time greats in the ring together ever again. It’s been said that Hart, who by now had lost all respect for Michaels he once had, did not want to drop the Championship to him that night in his home country of Canada. Management finally agreed and the main event was booked for a schmozz ending with both men’s factions running in for the show closing brawl. Unbeknownst to Bret (and everyone else in the world), Michaels, Helmsley, Vince McMahon and Gerry Brisco had planned a screwjob in order to get the belt off of Hart that night. And as Michaels put Bret in his own Sharpshooter during one of the match’s planned spots, McMahon (who was at ringside) ordered referee Earl Hebner to “ring the damn bell.” Hart was screwed out of the belt and blindsided by the company, while Michaels walked out as Champion. He swore up and down for years that he had no part of the deal and that it was all McMahon’s doing. It was that way until 2002 when Michaels came clean and admitted that he was in on it the whole time.

The WWF was now off and running with a whole new direction, led by Michaels’ DX and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The plan was to build to a Michaels-Austin WWF Championship showdown at WrestleMania XIV. Unfortunately along the way Michaels severely wrecked his back during a casket match with Undertaker at Royal Rumble ’98. He ended up with two herniated discs in his spine and crushed a third one completely. The injury was severe enough to keep him out of in-ring action up until the night of WrestleMania, where he entered the ring in severe pain, but still went out and put Austin over clean as a sheet in order to pass the torch.

Michaels left WrestleMania that night thinking he would never wrestle again.

The Retirement
Once he stepped away from the ring, Michaels also stepped away from the spotlight. He wasn’t seen on WWF TV again until November ’98 when he became the on-air Commissioner. This run was largely un-memorable, and he was on again/off again through most of 1999. He refereed the main event of the inaugural SmackDown! broadcast, a WWF Championship match between The Rock and Triple H in which he turned on The Rock and was set to rejoin Triple H, but disappeared from TV immediately thereafter.

During his time off his prescription drug habit had worsened despite finding love with a former Nitro Girl and having a child. It wasn’t until he became a born-again Christian in the early part of the new millennium that he straightened his life back out.

This time off also allowed him to open up the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy in his hometown San Antonio. His time running the Academy was short-lived as he soon handed the keys to the place over to his co-trainer Rudy Boy Gonzalez, who renamed it the Texas Wrestling Academy. Despite the school only being open for a short period of time it produced an incredible wealth of talented and now-famous wrestling superstars, including “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, “Spanky” Brian Kendrick, Lance Cade, Paul London and Matt Bentley.

The Return
He made his return to WWE TV in the summer of 2002. The brand expansion was in its fledgling state and the new reboot of the new World order was already on its last dying legs so Michaels was brought in as a manager for the group, which was led by his old buddy Kevin Nash. The nWo was soon disbanded and Michaels turned his attention to reuniting with his other old pal Triple H. Triple H quickly turned on him, which set up a “non-sanctioned” street fight between the two at SummerSlam 2002. No one was expecting a full-time return for Michaels, and just assumed this would be the big blowoff to a match in the making since 1998. Michaels won the match, and then Triple H laid him out with a sledgehammer, seemingly sending Michaels back into retirement.

Fortunately for everyone who is a wrestling fan, Michaels’ back was feeling much better and he contemplated a full-time return to the ring. He was in a much better place personally, as he had found religion, was drug-free and had lost the attitude that caused such nightmares for everyone he worked with backstage all those years ago.

Michaels competed in the inaugural Elimination Chamber at Survivor Series 2002, and won the World Heavyweight Championship in the process, beating Triple H. The pair had a “three stages of hell” 2-out-of-3 falls match the next month at Armageddon where Triple H won the belt back. Michaels then transitioned into a long-running feud with Chris Jericho that had kind of an “old Shawn Michaels versus new Shawn Michaels” vibe running through it. The pair tore down the house at WrestleMania XIX to blow off their feud, and it looked as if Michaels was back full-time, and back at full speed as well.

He spent the rest of 2003 feuding with Triple H’s Evolution stable and had high-profile PPV matches with all the principal members, including Ric Flair, Randy Orton and Batista. As he 2004 dawned he reignited his long-standing feud with Triple H after the two men put on outstanding wrestling clinic on the last RAW of 2003, which was live from San Antonio. They battled all through the first half of 2004, highlighted by a pair of triple threat World Championship matches with Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX and Backlash ’04. They seemingly put their feud to bed at Bad Blood in June after Michaels lost to Triple H in Hell in a Cell. Michaels then took the summer off and returned in time to challenge Triple H for the World Championship one more time, this time at the fan voted Taboo Tuesday event in October. Michaels once again took time off after that match to heal a torn meniscus.

He returned in early 2005 in order to blow off a mini-feud with Edge at the Royal Rumble, and then transition into a run against Kurt Angle. The logic behind the Angle-Michaels feud was to simply showcase the two best all-around wrestling performers the company had at the time. Angle won their WrestleMania 21 epic by submission, but Michaels received a standing ovation for his troubles. Michaels would get his win back in June of that year in a sequel that just doesn’t quite live up to the original.

After that he had a feud against Muhammad Hassan and Daivari served as a backdrop to get Hulk Hogan back on TV as Michaels’ partner. The pair teamed a handful of times during the spring and early summer before Michaels turned on him on the July 4 RAW, moments after they won a tag match. Michaels worked heel for the first time since his return and built the SummerSlam “dream match” between the two icons from different eras. Hogan won the match (of course) but Michaels made the match with his over-dramatic selling and gratuitous blade job. The night after SummerSlam, Michaels came out on RAW, buried Hogan and turned face again as if the whole thing never happened.

The Return of DX
At the end of 2005 Mr. McMahon came out on RAW to applaud Shawn Michaels’ efforts in orchestrating the Montreal Screwjob from eight years earlier. In reality it was a ploy by WWE to promote the new Bret Hart career retrospective DVD without Bret actually having to appear on WWE TV to do so, but it also served as the launching pad for the almost year-long angle between Michaels and McMahon.

As McMahon was out heralding his efforts for screwing Hart, Michaels came out and told him to let it go. Everyone else has already let it go; now it was time for Mr. McMahon to as well. That was all the ammunition needed for McMahon to start making Michaels’ life a living hell. He put him through handicap matches, screwjobs and even tried to get him to retire in an effort to break him. Michaels got some brief help from old partner Marty Jannetty but it only lasted a couple of weeks before Jannetty was gone again.

It all led to a big street fight at WrestleMania XXII between Michaels and McMahon. They put on the usual McMahon spotfest-crazy WrestleMania match that saw interference from Shane McMahon and five-man The Spirit Squad before Shawn ultimately won with an elbow drop off the top of a extra high ladder onto McMahon, who was covered by a garbage can and lying on a table. Boy that sounds a bit over-the-top when you actually write it out.

What seemed like a logical blow off to the months-long feud was actually only the first chapter. The next month at Backlash, McMahon booked himself and son Shane in a “tag” match against Michaels and God. The build-up to the match saw Vince and Shane put themselves in “humorous” situations involving religion as play on Michaels’ much-publicized Christianity. The payoff ultimately ended up being Shawn wrestling the McMahons in a handicap match while a bright light shone in his corner, representing his tag team partner.

Meanwhile another of Michaels’ old partners, Triple H, was also having problems with The McMahons in his route back to the WWE Championship. This led to an on-screen reunion for Michaels & Triple H under their old DeGeneration X banner. Instead of being hip, edgy and cool like they were eight years earlier, they were now over-the-top and a little cheesy. But they did move a lot of merchandise, and helped prolong each man’s career by working in tags night in and night out as opposed to working singles. The new DX continually buried The McMahons and The Spirit Squad through the summer of 2006, beating The Spirit Squad in 5-on-2 situations at both Vengeance and that summer’s Saturday Night’s Main Event. They beat The McMahons at SummerSlam and finally blew off the feud in September at Unforgiven when they beat Vince, Shane and The Big Show in a 3-on-2 handicap Hell in a Cell match.

The pair finally gained some legitimate competition when Randy Orton and Edge stepped up to the challenge. DX battled “Rated RKO” at Cyber Sunday, co-captained teams against each at the 2006 Survivor Series and met once again in a tag match New Year’s Revolution in January 2007. Unfortunately, Triple H tore his quad during the match and Michaels used his professionalism and years of experience to save the match from completely falling apart.

Triple H went out with surgery and Michaels was back on his own, but was also now in the WWE Title hunt.

Mr. WrestleMania
As WrestleMania XXIII approached, Michaels beat Orton and Edge in a triple threat match to become the number contender for John Cena’s WWE Championship. En route to WrestleMania Michaels and Cena beat Orton and Edge for the World Tag Team Championship, creating another twist in their babyface versus babyface rivalry. They teamed with each other against Undertaker & Batista (also opponents at WrestleMania) at No Way Out a month before WrestleMania. Once the big day came, Michaels and Cena got the show-closing main event spot and they didn’t disappoint in the least. The pair put on a WrestleMania new classic and easily earned their final match billing. The next night on RAW they lost the tag belts after competing in two tag team battle royals to The Hardy Boyz. The next week on a RAW taped from England, HBK and Cena once again stole the show when wrestled for 56 minutes before Michaels finally got the non-title victory. This was designed to show the fans that had turned on Cena that he could actually “go” in the ring, but also was a testament of Michaels’ ability to still carry the show if so needed.

Michaels, Cena, Orton and Edge all met in a WWE Championship match at Backlash (which Cena won) which transitioned into a one-on-one match between Michaels and Orton the next month at Judgment Day. During the build-up to the match, Michaels worked a concussion angle to put Orton over as a legit threat and set up an excuse to give Michaels some time off after the match was over.

He returned on the October 8 RAW to challenge Orton, who was now WWE Champion. The pair had Title matches at Cyber Sunday and Survivor Series, but Michaels couldn’t win the belt back. He then worked a feud with Mr. Kennedy leading into the Royal Rumble, but the rivalry ended up not going very far, as Michaels was just treading water until the company was ready to kick off something much bigger.

Meanwhile Ric Flair was on a Mr. McMahon mandated retirement tour that stated that Ric Flair would have to retire after the next singles match he lost. All eyes pointed to WrestleMania where it seemed obvious Flair would wrestle his final bout. Fans whipped themselves into a frenzy thinking who Flair’s last opponent should be. Older viewers hoped and wished for a long-time rival like Sting, Steamboat, Rhodes or Funk to help Flair end his journey. Others wanted a hot new heel like Mr. Kennedy or MVP to get the rub that comes from retiring Flair. But it was Shawn Michaels who was given the nod, much to many fans’ confusion and dismay.

The build-up on TV was constructed through Flair repeatedly asking Michaels to wrestle him and give him that one final great match he knew he had left in him. Meanwhile the pair worked as a tag team on TV so as not to turn either man heel. Michaels finally accepted and the pair had the epic “Old Yeller” promo that everyone knew they had in them in order to really sell the match.

As WrestleMania approached it became obvious that Flair-Michaels was the true main event of the show, despite what all the promotional flyers hyped. They put on probably the best match that Ric Flair could realistically have at this stage in his career. It was probably only a three-star wrestling match but five-stars on pure emotion and entertainment for the fans. And with five simple words, “I’m sorry. I love you.” Michaels kicked Flair’s head off with “Sweet Chin Music” and put an end to the greatest wrestling career or all time.

What spawned from Flair’s retirement was the greatest “shades of grey” angle the company had orchestrated in years. Michaels, conflicted over doing what was asked of him by Flair, now felt the wrath of Flair’s old protégé Batista. Batista felt Michaels was wrong in retiring Flair and should have laid down for him. It was a great story told between two characters whom both felt right in their actions and were still considered fan-favorites. The story got even more entangled when Chris Jericho, also a face, interjected himself between the two men and further stirred the pot. This three-way rivalry, which essentially branched out of Flair’s retirement, led to a Michaels-Batista match at Backlash with Jericho officiating, a Michaels-Jericho singles match the following month at Judgment Day and a Batista-Michaels stretcher match at One Night Stand. By this point Jericho had officially turned heel and laid out Michaels in a vicious attack, which transitioned the rivalry into more of a blood feud between Jericho and Michaels. HBK began working an eye injury to add heat to the feud, which included another Jericho-Michaels match at The Great American Bash in July 2008.

As I sit here writing this, Michaels and Jericho are still embroiled in their angle as all eyes lead to a probable blow off at Unforgiven inside a steel cage.

The man
Shawn Michaels the wrestler has nothing left to prove. He has worked his way up through the territories, through the tag team division and up through the singles ranks to become one of the most prolific wrestlers in history. He carried the WWF on his back during the lean year of 1996, but became an arrogant, drug-fueled prick in the process. By pretty much all accounts he whined, cried, threw tantrums and kept his friends close and his enemies even closer.

He was the focal point behind the biggest screwjob in professional wrestling history, and became the catalyst for the swearing, lewd behavior and T & A that populated the WWF’s most profitable era.

Then he broke his back and went away for a while. When he finally made his grand, unexpected return he was a changed man, for the better. The drugs were gone. The bad attitude was gone. The bad back was gone. The constant pressure to be the absolute best and carry the company was gone. In their place was a new, reborn Shawn Michaels who didn’t take things quite as seriously and allowed others to help him carry the company’s workload. In their place was a man who, at the drop of a hat, could still put on the best match of the card any given night with virtually any given opponent.

He has earned his reputation as one of the most gifted men to ever put on a pair of wrestling boots. He can wrestle, he can brawl, he can take to the air and he can wrestle on the mat, catch-as-catch-can and submission style. When you look at the contemporaries from Shawn’s era, he and Bret Hart stand above the rest in terms of wrestling ability and God-given talent to carry a match to fantastic levels. What sets him just above his most storied opponent is his promo ability. In the Vince McMahon-run world of professional wrestling, you are only as good to him as your last interview.

Forget Lex Luger, Michaels was and is the total package. When it comes to a complete combination of wrestling skill, brawling and cheating, crowd psychology, the ability to cut effective and entertaining promos, and just plain overall talent, Michaels is just below one man, who you will all read about in a few days. Just like the man he retired, Michaels was a company leader, a faction centerpiece and the guy you could love to hate one minute, and then just love the next. When Michaels pinned Flair back in April it truly was a passing of the torch of who was really The Man. The question is, who will Michaels pass that torch to when that inevitable day comes in the not-too-distant future? For the time being, I don’t see anyone on the horizon that will be able to carry that burden.

. HULK HOGAN

Real Name - Terry Bollea
Aliases - Sterling Golden; Super Destroyer; Terry “The Hulk” Boulder; Hulk Machine; Hollywood Hogan; Hollywood Hulk Hogan; Mr. America
Hometown - Tampa, FL (billed from Venice Beach, CA)
Debuted - 1977
Titles Held - WWF/WWE Heavyweight (6x); WCW World Heavyweight (6x); IWGP Heavyweight; WWE Tag Team (w/ Edge); NWA Southeastern Heavyweight (3x)
Other accomplishments - Royal Rumble Winner (2x); WWE Hall Of Fame; various television and film appearances as well as music albums in Japan and U.S.

Note: The following is done mainly from a kayfabe point of view…which is fitting for a character that only worked in kayfabe form. Hulk Hogan was a larger than life persona and as such, shall get a larger than life article. Enjoy!

It was a moment that could have prevented history from occuring as it did.

SNAP!

Terry Bollea wanted to be a professional wrestler. He attended the same High School as Dick Slater and Mike Graham. Slater and Graham did not know him, but he knew them. He wanted to be them. He wanted to be a pro wrestler. Inspired by Superstar Billy Graham, Terry saw himself as someone who could one day show that same charisma and entertain the wrestling fans. During shows in Tampa, he would be there, greeting his schoolmate, Mike as, “Mr. Graham.” He was determined. He wanted to entertain. He would play bass guitar in a local rock band, because he loved playing to the crowd. But it was Wrestling that called to him. Finally, Terry got his shot. Hiro Matsuda was charged with the task of breaking him in. Hiro decided to simply break him first. Less than a minute into Hiro’s first lesson to Terry would bring us to the moment of truth, before anyone realized the impact.

SNAP!

“So you want to be a wrestler?” asked the Japanese trainer. Terry’s leg was now broken and it was that period of time where he had to decide if being a professional wrestler would be worth the price. He could have said no. He could have written off wrestling then and there, opting possibly for a career in rock music as a bassist or simply a roadie or sound tech. In that moment of decision, there could have been no Hulk Hogan. No Hulk Hogan! No Hulkamania. No Hogan’s Rock N’ Wrestling Cartoon or movies. No Tiny Lister as Zeus. Possibly no WrestleMania or a strong enough push for expansion throughout the United States. Everything would have been different from how it is now, for better or worse.

In the following year, Terry would be debuting as a professional wrestler, because he said, “yes.” He was Sterling Golden and for a brief time, under the mask of the Super Destroyer. From Florida to Tennessee and Alabama, Terry was beginning to hone his craft, eventually settling on the name of Terry Boulder. After appearing side-by-side with Lou Ferrigno of TV’s, The Incredible Hulk and discovering himself to be even bigger, he became Terry “The Hulk” Boulder.

In the Deep South, Terry Boulder was a physical force and his bearhug could make many an opponent submit. He teamed up with Ed Leslie, who would become (for that time), Ed Boulder. For less than a minute, Terry thought he had won the NWA World Heavyweight title from Harley Race, but the decision would be overturned, leaving Terry to be labeled as, “uncrowned Champion.” It was the first, but not the last time that he would find himself cheated out of a World title. Terry however was able to hoist up the Southeastern Heavyweight title, after defeating Ox Baker. As was the times, Terry would soon find himself moving from the Deep South to a much bigger target, the Northeast. Specifically, the World Wide Wrestling Federation.

The World Wide Wrestling Federation of the 1970s was high on cultural backgrounds, with different cultures represented from Bruno Sammartino for the Italian fans to Peter Maivia for the Samoans. Pedro Morales for the Latino community and of course, the WWWF Heavyweight Champion at the time of Terry’s arrival, Bob Backlund, representing the rest of Mainstream America. WWWF Owner, Vincent J. McMahon decided for Terry to have a name that appealed more to the Irish audience, with Terry “The Hulk” Boulder being rechristened as Hulk Hogan.

“Classy” Freddie Blassie took Hogan under his managerial wing and in his Madison Square Garden debut, Hogan defeated a young Ted DiBiase. There would be no love lost between the two as the memories of that loss to Hogan would stay in the back of Ted’s mind for years. Hogan feuded with Tony Atlas over who was stronger. He also had a memorable feud with Andre The Giant, back when the feud was Upper Midcard level instead of Main Event. Hogan’s run in the WWWF was brief however, as he would eventually find himself in Japan.

In Japan, the crowd took to the golden musclebound behemoth from the States, nicknaming him, “Ichiban,” as in, “Number One.” The Hulk Hogan of Japan was different from the Hulk Hogan in the States in that he was able to hone the more technical skills aspect of his repetoire, varying slightly from his more showmanship attitude back in his native country. “Ichiban” Hulk Hogan would be pitted against many of Wrestling’s best at the time, from Tatsumi Fujinami to Dusty Rhodes (the latter of which would wind up being more of a dream match by the late 1980s stateside). When not in Japan, Hogan was now playing to the Midwestern audience of the American Wrestling Association, headed by Verne Gagne and Stanley Blackburn. Not that it was supposed to be that way…

Upon leaving the WWWF, McMahon had wanted Hogan to wrestle for NWA promoter, Jim Crockett. Hogan had another option in mind that did not involve Wrestling, but a notable cameo in the film, Rocky III. VJ McMahon was less than thrilled and Hogan, fearing that he would never work New York City again after filming and promotion was done, wound up in the AWA. In the WWWF, Hogan had not endeared himself to the fans. His early run in the AWA was no different, but that would change upon Hogan splitting from his manager of the time, Johnny Valiant. The fans approved of this change in attitude and cheered him on as he took on various bad guys in the league. Hogan would do what was considered the unthinkable during this time, bodyslamming the mammoth Crusher Blackwell. Moving up the ranks, Hogan’s momentum carried him to a series of matches against the AWA World Heavyweight Champion, Nick Bockwinkel. Nick and his manager, Bobby Heenan would grow to dislike Hogan, Bobby very much so. The Hulkster, having all the momentum one could possibly have and in a league that was on the verge of breaking into a new era of Wrestling was just one obstacle away from cementing the start of a legendary run. That obstacle, being World Champion. It turns out however that the men of power in the AWA were uncomfortable with a man seen mainly as a power wrestler/brawler being their top guy and scoring several victories over Bockwinkel for the Championship, every win was almost immediately reversed. It was a frustration Hogan knew well from his days in the Southeast, but this time it was more intense. This time, he had what felt like a world of fans on his side, the only ones against him being the puppet masters in the board room. The anger towards wrestling authority, which would manifest 13 years later is a flame that ignited with Championship wins erased in the AWA. Frustrated, Hogan focused more on his Japanese schedule.

Back in Japan, the International Wrestling Grand Prix Heavyweight Championship Tournament was being held and Hulk Hogan was part of it. Scoring a rare Knockout victory over the much respected Antonio Inoki for that first Championship, Hogan’s legend was able to be cemented…in Japan at least. But it was 1983 and Wrestling was beginning to change with the times. Back in the Northeastern United States, the World Wide Wrestling Federation had become the World Wrestling Federation. Vincent J. McMahon was no longer in charge, selling the league to his son, Vincent K. McMahon, or simply Vince. And the younger Vince wanted Hogan back in his territory. In late 1983, still frustrated that having a fanbase was not enough to be the top man, Hogan returned to the now WWF…and back with manager Freddie Blassie, though only briefly for fate would soon intervene.

In late 1983, Freddie Blassie was also the manager of the much hated Iron Shiek. A private conversation with Bob Backlund would change Hogan back to the side of the fans. Just as quickly as he was reunited with Blassie, it was over and now Hogan was siding with the former WWF Heavyweight Champion. Making a surprise appearance, Hogan helped the very popular Backlund fight off Captain Lou Albano and the Wild Samoans. In January, 1984, Backlund was scheduled for a rematch against the Iron Shiek in an effort to win back the WWF Title. The injuries that Backlund had suffered however were too much, forcing him to eventually leave the WWF. A replacement was needed and Hulk Hogan was called upon for the chance of a lifetime. That night at Madison Square Garden, Hulkamania…having been in its embroynic stage since his time in the AWA was now truly born having defeated Iron Shiek in front of an excited audience. Andre The Giant, Rocky Johnson and others would celebrate with Hogan upon his Championship win and unlike before against Harley Race and Nick Bockwinkel, this belt would not be going back to Iron Shiek on a reverse decision.

From there, everything fell into place. Hulk Hogan, who had already been courting the mainstream was now bringing with him the World Wrestling Federation and Vince McMahon. Each needed one another to succeed and with the WWF expanding and the NWA territories and AWA falling apart without Hogan, the power was now in Stamford, the WWF’s headquarters. Hulk Hogan would become synonymous with WrestleMania, teaming up with actor and former bodyguard Mr. T to defeat Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff at the first WrestleMania. At WrestleMania 2, Hogan defeated the giant King Kong Bundy in a cage match.

WrestleMania III in 1987 would be the event that would place the WWF firmly on top of the Wrestling World once and for all and in its Main Event, it was Hogan defeating Andre The Giant, a match pitting two of the top names in recent wrestling history against each other. WrestleMania III would garner the largest audience in Wrestling History until 1995 and is still credited as the largest in the United States and North America. Andre, whose attitude had changed for the worse by that point would not be deterred in getting vengeance. Saturday Night’s Main Event was a popular occasional fill-in for Saturday Night Live on NBC and Hulk Hogan was the star of the show. In the much anticipated match in Early 1988 between Hogan and Andre, a special Friday Night prime time slot was set. And then…controversy and for Hogan, an old familiar pain of losing a Championship on the account of an official. His shoulders to the mat, he raised one of them up before the 3 count. But the 3 was counted anyway and with that, Andre was WWF Champion in front of a stunned audience. As it turned out, Dave Hebner, the scheduled referee for that match had been replaced by his brother Earl. Earl Hebner, on the take due to a lack of integrity, would screw Hogan out of his belt. For Earl Hebner, it would not be the last time he would intentionally screw someone out of the WWF Heavyweight title.

But that’s another story altogether.

To make matters worse, Andre would sell the belt to Ted DiBiase, now nicknamed, “The Million Dollar Man.” For Andre, it was about beating and humiliating his foe. For Ted, it meant a strange measure of revenge for a loss at Madison Square Garden all the those years before. For Hulk however, it was war. At WrestleMania IV, the title was held up by WWF President Jack Tunney. Hogan and Andre would battle each other in the tournament, but neither of them scoring the win. It would come down to Ted DiBiase and Randy Savage that night in Atlantic City, but Hogan…showing that he still had the potential to be a bad guy when the situation called for it, would blast a chair to Ted’s back with the referee never noticing. From there, Randy would score the pinfall and the title, celebrating his Championship with Hogan at his side. The Megapowers were born.

Things were going well enough until stress and paranoia on Randy’s part got the better of him. Combined with circumstance, the two would split and Hogan, who was popular with the fans no matter what, gained the fan’s side of the argument, incensing the, “Macho Man,” and leading to a battle over the WWF Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania V. It was at the same venue as the previous year’s event and whereas in 1988, Hogan was helping Randy win the title, now in 1989 he was taking it from him. With the Championship back with Hogan, all was well for the most part. A feud with Randy and with Tiny “Zeus” Lister, whom Hogan had a tedious working relationship with in their movie together, No Holds Barred and being able to team up with Brutus Beefcake, the former Ed Boulder. Being able to beat the bad guys was one thing, but Hogan discovered that his weakness was combating fellow good guys, especially someone who was considered a hero. An ultimate hero. An Ultimate Warrior.

WrestleMania VI in Toronto, it was Hogan’s World title versus Ultimate Warrior’s Intercontinental title. Warrior won and in a rarity in North America, Hogan would not only lose the title, but would do so without controversy. The spotlight was now on Warrior and Hogan was free to focus on his other love at that point, movies. Maybe it was the distraction of Hollywood, CA that led to Hogan being unable to defend himself from an attack by the massive wrestler known as Earthquake. Being Earthquake Splashed on the set of the Brother Love Show, Hogan’s career was feared as finished. Hulk had other plans, coming back and still proving to be a force. In late 1990 though, Hogan was starting to find himself bewildered by the actions of another man on the WWF roster. A man whose popularity once rivaled Hogan’s, but not anymore and certainly not now.

His name was Sgt. Slaughter and the former U.S. Marine was siding with Saddam Hussein in the Desert Shield and Desert Storm conflict. This angered many, including Hogan. Slaughter seemed unphased, especially after defeating the Ultimate Warrior to win the WWF World title. The mutual resentment between the two would lead to a match for the belt at WrestleMania VII in Los Angeles. That night, Hogan won his third World title and would proceed to feud with Slaughter throughout much of 1991. Upon defeating Slaughter and his minions for good, Slaughter would eventually see the error of his ways and, “get his country back.” For Hogan, though a new menace had arrived for him to deal with and it was for something many wrestling fans had wanted for years.

In a word…

“Wooo!!!”

Ric Flair arrived in the World Wrestling Federation in 1991 with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt in tow. The NWA did not agree with that and stripped him of the Championship. It did not stop Flair from still declaring himself, “The Real World’s Champion.” It seemed the natural progression would be for Hogan and Flair to battle at WrestleMania VIII, but the Hollywood bug was beginning to bite Hogan in a bad way. Finding dealing with a new breed of wrestler like The Undertaker did not help, either. Losing the Championship to the Undertaker, only to win it back days later in controversial fashion, the WWF and Hogan both seemed to be heading into a tailspin, especially after Ric Flair wound up with the WWF Championship after winning the 1992 Royal Rumble. For now, though Hogan Vs. Flair would have to wait. For Hulk’s departure match, he would take on Sid Justice, winning by Disqualification. But Hulk would be back. Why? Because Wrestling was his identity. It was part of his makeup. It was in his blood now.

In 1993, Hogan was back, this time looking to win the WWF World Tag Team Championship with his fellow Boulder, Brutus Beefcake. At WrestleMania IX, they tried, but a disqualification dashed their hopes of defeating Money Inc., a team comprised of Ted DiBiase and the former Mike Rotundo, Irwin R. Schyster. Fate would once again intervene as later that afternoon, Yokozuna would defeat Bret Hart in controversial fashion to win the World title. Hogan arrived to protest, leading Yokozuna’s manager, Mr. Fuji to issue an on the spot challenge to Hogan. Encouraged by Bret to take the match, Hogan entered the ring and moments later, Hogan was Champion for a fifth time.

Then strange things happened.

Hulk Hogan took the WWF Heavyweight Championship and toured Japan with it, including a big win over the Great Muta in Tokyo. His Japanese exploits were doing nothing for him back in the States or with Vince McMahon. And for Vince, things were beginning to be stressful enough with steroid accusations and a pending trial. And thus a plan was hatched against Hogan upon his return in June at WWF King Of The Ring. Hogan defended the title against Yokozuna, but had problems with the Samoan Sumo Machine. Just when things were beginning to finally sway in his direction, a disguised cameraman flashed fire to Hogan’s face, temporarily blinding him. A legdrop from Yokozuna and Hogan’s time in the WWF was over. Almost immediately afterwards, Shawn Michaels, in a backstage interview introduced his new bodyguard, Diesel. It was forshadowing to the Nth degree…even if the WWF did not necessarily recognize it at the time.

Now persona non grata in Stamford, Hogan focused on other projects. But now it was 1994 and once again, Wrestling was calling to him. Things were beginning to change in Wrestling that year. The World Wrestling Federation had something of a new identity on its hands. Ric Flair was back in World Championship Wrestling and after a down year in 1993, appeared to be hitting a stride. Even the independent scene was starting to have something of a shakeup with upstart Eastern Championship Wrestling discarding the National Wrestling Alliance in favor of going Extreme. Not wanting to be left behind in the changing tide, Hogan signed with WCW and in his debut, was given the world on a silver platter by its leader, Eric Bischoff. In Hulk Hogan’s first match, he defeated Ric Flair for the WCW World title and immediately, a Civil War among the fans began. The Pro-Hogan side, comprised mainly of Hogan’s fans from his WWF days and the Anti-Hogan side, comprised mainly of WCW fans, many of which were unhappy with Hogan getting the World title right away. It would lead to mixed reactions in the arena throughout the rest of 1994, all of 1995 and build to a crescendo in 1996.

In WCW, Hogan tried to be the good guy. He fought against Kevin Sullivan and his evil forces. He had Sting put him over as an overall swell guy. Many of the WCW fans however just were not ready to embrace the identity of everything WCW fans were against at that point, which was Vince McMahon’s vision. Hulk Hogan was that living, breathing vision and he was now in WCW. The fans resented him, many of them forgetting that Hogan knew how to be a bad guy if that is what they wanted. And what the fans wanted, they would get. For the New World Order had now arrived, allowing Hogan vent out his angst against wrestling management from over the years at the beginning.

Perhaps Hogan thought back to that fateful conversation with Bob Backlund in 1983…then saw what had become of Mr. Backlund himself in 1996. Hogan was not about to ally himself with an evil manager this time, instead teaming up with two of the hottest commodities in Wrestling at that point, Kevin “Diesel” Nash and Scott “Razor Ramon” Hall, forming the NWO. Hall and Nash were back in WCW with vengeance in mind, looking to pay the league back for its treatment of Vinnie Vegas and the Diamond Studd. Hulk was WCW World Champion during much of that time between 1996 and 1998, as he and the NWO ran roughshod over everyone, causing many to join them in order to escape further punishment. He helped drive Sting to the point of insanity and after his controversial loss to Sting at Starrcade 1997, his deep rooted resentment for authority shot into overdrive. The overdrive however wound up having an effect on the rest of his group, leading to a split between NWO factions. Hulk Hogan…now Hollywood Hogan had NWO Hollywood while fellow charter member of the NWO, Kevin Nash was part of NWO Wolfpac. Scott Hall was stuck in the middle, eventually siding with Hogan. Throughout all of the turmoil, Hogan found himself distracted from the approaching new force in WCW, a man named Bill Goldberg.

One night in Atlanta, Hogan lost his WCW World title to Goldberg after falling victim to the Spear/Jackhammer combo like so many others before him. Just as before in 1993 after losing to Yokozuna and 1983 after the controversies of the Bockwinkel matches, Hogan eventually decided to take a step back, falling out of the limelight and temporarily retiring. After teasing a Presidential run, he would return once again, taking part in one of the infamous moments in Wrestling history in January 1999. Scott Keith labeled it the, “Fingerpoke Of Doom.” Apparently during Hogan’s time off, he was able to patch up differences with Kevin Nash. Nash, having defeated Goldberg recently at Starrcade 1998 in controversial fashion, would literally lay down for Hollywood, giving Hogan the WCW World Championship again and causing fans to grow angry. The anger this time no longer consisted of wanting to see Hogan get his, but this time the anger of the fans hit where it hurt more…by changing the channel to WCW Monday Nitro’s rival, WWF Raw Is War, where a man who was an early casualty to the influx of Hogan’s influence in 1994, Mick “Cactus Jack” Foley had just won the WWF Championship. WCW never recovered and after a series of strange events, which included Hogan once again embracing the fans, the organization was now the Titanic. The culmination to the strange and sad shape of WCW was at the annual Bash At The Beach, the same event where in 1994 Hogan had debuted and in 1996, had Hogan forming the New World Order. In 2000, it was not about construction, but destruction. Jeff Jarrett laid down for Hollywood Hulk Hogan at the order of Vince Russo, WCW’s Creative Head at the time, allowing for Hogan to once again win the WCW World title, or so he thought. Hogan had a bitter rivalry with Jarrett at that point, but Jarrett’s actions perplexed him, especially with Jarrett leaving without a word spoken immediately after the farce of a match. Leaving with what turned out be just a copy of the WCW belt, it was announced that Hogan was not the actual Champion by Vince Russo. With Russo’s verbal damage done, Hogan left WCW, never to return. In March 2001, WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation. Hulk Hogan at the time probably could not have cared less.

He briefly had a group called the XWF, but that went nowhere and with Vince McMahon looking to inject a poison into the WWF in Early 2002, if only to smite the recently returned Ric Flair, Hogan found himself back in the WWF for the first time since the fireball incident in 1993. This time, though he was Hollywood Hulk Hogan and he was part of the NWO with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Things quickly deteriorated though after his loss to The Rock at WrestleMania X8. Once again embracing the fans, who refused to boo him, Hogan fought against the NWO briefly and then focused on wanting to be Heavyweight Champion once again. In the battle of Triple H’s, Hollywood Hulk Hogan would defeat Hunter Hearst Helmsley (officially, “Triple H”) for the WWF Undisputed Heavyweight Championship, but would soon lose it to old nemesis The Undertaker. Despite the brief title reign, it proved to be a sweet moment of time for Hogan, who just six years earlier had been character assassinated by the WWF in the Billionare Ted’s Rasslin’ Warroom skits.

At around this time, the World Wrestling Federation changed its identity to World Wrestling Entertainment and it was split into two brands, Raw and SmackDown. Hogan would eventually become part of SmackDown, winning the WWE Tag Team Championship with Edge, after defeating Billy Gunn (known in 2008 as Kip James) and Chuck Palumbo. It was Hogan’s first Tag title reign, but would also be relatively brief as he and Edge would lose the Championship to the team of Lance Storm and Christian (now Christian Cage). Wanting to get back into the Heavyweight title picture again, he ran into a juggernaut named Brock Lesnar. Given Hogan’s history, it was somewhat ironic that after losing to Yokozuna’s legdrop in 1993, he would fall victim to his first finisher as a wrestler, the Bearhug to Lesnar. Hogan would take time off to heal and when he returned, he found himself embroiled in a feud with Vince McMahon. Just before Hogan debuted in WCW in 1994, he had testified against McMahon in the Steroid Trial against him. McMahon’s resentment of this eventually boiled over after years of holding it in and now it was a battle of icons to see who could lay claim for the success of Sports Entertainment at WrestleMania XIX. Hogan would be victorious in what would be to date, his final WrestleMania match. McMahon forced Hogan out of action afterwards, leading to Hogan disguising himself as the masked, Mr. America. Hogan had worn masks before, including some matches as Hulk Machine back in his initial Hulkamania run in the mid-1980s, then part of a running joke on the masked Machines name. His time as Mr. America was also something of a joke, inspiring Midnight Rider flashbacks for some fans and strange shenanigans on SmackDown between the disguised Hogan and McMahon. McMahon however would have the last laugh, discovering video evidence of Hogan unmasking himself to the fans with a wink and firing him.

Hulk Hogan decided to go to the one place he knew he could always get away from the sometimes ridiculous American wrestling scene. Japan. After defeating former NWO ally, Masahiro Chono in a friendly, but competitive match, Hogan mentioned in a postmatch press conference something that he had hinted at here and there since his departure from WWE and that was wanting to be NWA World Heayvweight Champion. Former WCW adversary and current NWA Champ, Jeff Jarrett wound up paying Hogan an unexpected visit, bashing him over the head with a guitar and challenging him to show up in Total Nonstop Action, where the NWA World belt called home at the time.

Hogan never showed up. It is possible that the anger Jarrett carried towards Hogan from 2000 was too much to deal with. Or maybe the details just could not be worked out. For TNA fans, some of which were old WCW fans who had refused to go along with the, “InVasion,” of 2001 it was a sense of satisfaction. Given that, it is quite possible that Hogan once again gave the fans what they wanted and for TNA fans…it was simply not showing up.

Since then, Hogan has appeared sporadically in the Wrestling World, mainly in WWE. Even in his post-prime state, he was able to post victories over Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton. He saved Eugene Dinsmore from an attack by Muhamad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari at WrestleMania 21. He was even inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. His most recent appearance in WWE was at the Raw 15th Anniversary event in December 2007 when he fought off the Great Khali from attacking the dimunitive Hornswoggle. There was also his match against Paul Wight in Memphis which was an independent production.

While Hulk Hogan nowadays is known as that guy from Hogan Knows Best or that host fella from American Gladiators (in their current form), or the host of Celebrity Championship Wrestling or even as the father of not-so-safe driver, Nick Hogan or not-so-great singer, Brooke Hogan…he will always be synonymous with Professional Wrestling…for better or worse. For his accomplishments and overall impact on Professional Wrestling, Hulk Hogan is #3 on Pulse Wrestling’s Top 100 of the Modern Era.

And to think…it could have all been different with a snap.

2. “STONE COLD” STEVE AUSTIN

Real Name -Steven Williams
Aliases - “Stunning” Steve Austin, The Ringmaster, The Texas Rattlesnake, “Superstar” Steve Austin
Hometown - Austin, Texas
Billed From - Victoria, Texas
Debuted - May 11, 1989
Titles Held - 6-Time WWF Champion, 2-Time WWF Intercontinental Champion, 4-Time WWF Tag Champion, 2-Time WCW US Champion, 2-Time WCW TV Champion, WCW Tag Team Champion, TWF Tag Team Championship,
Other Accomplishments - 3-Time Royal Rumble Winner, 1996 King of the Ring, 5th WWE Triple Crown Champion, PWI Feud of the Year 1998 and 1999 with Mr. McMahon, PWI Match of the Year 1997 with Bret Hart, PWI Rookie of the Year 1990, PWI Wrestler of the Year 1998, 1999 and 2001, Wrestling Observer Rookie of the Year 1990, Wrestling Observer Wrestler of the Year 1998, WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2009

The Beginning

Wrestling has always been a cyclical business, going through highs in lows in terms of television ratings, pay-per-view buy rates, and overall popularity and acceptance with a world that generally views wrestling as a big-budget carnival sideshow. In the 1980s, it was alright to be a Hulkamaniac until Hulk Hogan grew older and less interesting, and wrestling became the domain of wrestling plumbers and evil clowns. Fans retreated back into their bunkers, quietly trading barbs and complaints on the fledgling internet, able to look at tapes from Japan to get a fix of something slightly more for grownups.

Then, Steve Williams was allowed to be himself, and everything went supernova.

Williams (now legally named Steve Austin) was a college dropout (only seventeen credits shy) when he decided to become a trained wrestler, joining the school of “superkick” originator “Gentleman” Chris Adams, and beginning his wrestling career in May of 1989 in World Class Championship Wrestling. While he was hesitant to change his name, “Steve Williams” simply wouldn’t work, as “Dr. Death” Steve Williams had already achieved fame across the world. Thus, Steve Austin, using the name of his hometown, was born, and would stick with him the rest of his life.

World Championship Wrestling

Austin’s first national exposure would come as “Stunning” Steve Austin in World Champion Wrestling, debuting in 1991. He would bring with him as a manager his wife Jeannie Clark, aka Lady Blossom, aka the ex-wife of his mentor, “Gentleman” Chris Adams. Regardless of that odd fact, he would have some initial success, beating Bobby Eaton for the WCW Television Title only three short weeks after his debut, and joining the Dangerous Alliance of top heel manager Paul E. Dangerously, whom we would, of course, all come to know and love later as ECW mastermind Paul Heyman. He lost the title in a two out of three falls match with Barry Windham, but would win it back about a month later.

Austin was excellent at being a heel, his long blonde tresses backing up the “stunning” persona, although his attitude was not that of the typical cocky bad guy. Austin wasn’t completely a narcissist, or an egomaniac; he was vicious, capable, and was happy to win by any means necessary, anything that could get him out with the TV title. However, when he lost the belt to Ricky Steamboat, Austin needed something new to do.

Enter the era of the Hollywood Blondes.

Paired up with another rising star, the now not-quite-as-“Flyin’” Brian Pillman, the two would go on to be one of the most despicable tag teams of the early nineties, acting as cocky cheating heels that could also, if called for, back it up in the ring with the fine wrestling acumen that the two possessed. Ultimately, their success would be moderately short-lived, as Pillman was injured in 1993, leading to them losing their beloved tag titles when Steven Regal stepped in for the injured Blonde, and he and Austin were defeated at Clash of the Champions XXIV by Arn Anderson and Paul Roma.

After feuding with former partner Pillman, Austin would defeat Dustin Rhodes for the WCW US Title, the next step up on what could be seen as a path to the holy grail of the company, the World Heavyweight Championship. While he lost the belt to, again, Ricky Steamboat in 1994, they were scheduled for a match at Fall Brawl, and Steamboat was out of action with a back injury; it seemed that Austin would win the US title back by forfeit. However, his seemingly immediate success would be derailed when he lost the title match to, of all people, surprise competitor and lovable oaf “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, who defeated the future megastar in a mind-bending thirty-five seconds. Despite two rematches, “Stunning” Steve Austin simply could not defeat the immovable “U.S.A.” chanting, two-by-four wielding wrestling dynamo known as Duggan, losing by disqualification both times.

Austin’s last appearance would be losing to Randy Savage in the quarterfinals of a 1995 tournament for the now-vacant US Title. After suffering a triceps injury, Austin was unceremoniously fired by then-WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff, as he wasn’t seen as a marketable star.

It would be the best thing that ever happened to him.

E…C…W!

Luckily, Paul Heyman didn’t forget who his friends were, and brought in Steve Austin, now going by the prefix “Superstar,” perhaps as a bit of a dig at his former employers who apparently didn’t see him as much more than a midcard mainstay.

In the scope of his career, his time in Extreme Championship wrestling would add up to little more than a quick cup of coffee before heading off to the big leagues of the WWE, but this stop on his journey would allow Austin to transition into a role he was more comfortable with, creating the rebellious stir that would eventually blossom into the character that he was meant to play. If one searches, they can still find the footage of Austin doing the now-infamous Hulk Hogan impression, referring to WCW’s show as Monday Nyquil, and generally running down the company that tossed him aside.

That anger and frustration would serve him well.

Come one, come all

However, Austin’s WWE debut would be relatively underwhelming, as he’d wrestle in the soon-to-be-trademark simple black trunks, debuting a new shaved head as “The Ringmaster,” Ted DiBiase’s protégé and new holder of the Million Dollar Belt. Unsurprisingly, this dull gimmick went nowhere, and The Ringmaster got rid of his manager by having him ousted via stipulation of a strap match with Savio Vega, which Austin just so happened to lose.

Later on, he would reveal that it was on purpose, and there was no one who was going to tell him what to do now.

That was when everything exploded.

Three Little Numbers

1996 saw Austin crowned King of the Ring after winning the final match of the tournament against one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, Jake “The Snake” Roberts. At the time, Roberts was supposed to have found God and become a born-again Christian (he would fall off of the wagon again, of course), and as he was being carried out, past Austin standing by his silly wrestling throne and scepter, he uttered the promo that would shoot him into the stratosphere:

“You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn’t get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16… Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!”

All of the anger and frustration built up over the years, fighting for titles and recognition, had found its outlet in the creation of one of the most dynamic and interesting characters the then-WWF had managed to stumble onto in decades. No longer were fans cheering for Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, but for a man who was pissed off, frustrated, a little violent, and always at least mildly intoxicated. WCW had created his frustrations, ECW allowed him to air them out, and WWF was now letting him show them off.

From there, he’d have an amazing feud with a returning Bret Hart, and he famously passed out in a Sharpshooter at Wrestlemania XXIII, bleeding profusely but refusing to give up, only further solidifying his image as the badass anti-hero that everyone wanted to cheer for, as solid gold babyfaces like Bret were on the way out, finding themselves in new heel roles or simply finding somewhere else to work..

But really, the feud that defined who Austin would become would be with the greatest evil that most Americans could possibly identify with: the boss.

The Defining Battle

Much has been made of how Steve Austin’s feuds with Mr. McMahon worked because Austin was the everyman, while McMahon played the role of the unscrupulous, over-controlling boss to perfection. Every writer has talked about how Austin was able to do what all of the worker drones that paid money to watch this stuff always wanted to do: beat the holy hell out of their boss. As a writer, I must pay attention to this. People did love his feud with McMahon, and people did relate to Austin’s battle against authority.

By tapping into our common urges as disgruntled employees and our shared experiences with slimy corporate monsters, Austin allowed all of us to join him in fighting against a man who, yes, was evil, but simply didn’t get it. That’s, ultimately, what made their feud so perfect. McMahon, first of all, rarely got one over on Austin, but also could never quite understand why we liked him so much in the first place. After all, he was a rude, beer-drinking Texan redneck who enjoyed flashing the middle finger to anyone he didn’t like, spoke his min to power, and would simply beat up anyone that happened to be in his way.

Just like all of us wish we could do.

Steve Austin was fantasy fulfillment in black trunks, and no matter who Vince threw at him, Austin would come out on top, just like we wished that we could. Shawn Michaels of Degeneration X? Retired at Wrestlemania XIV. Mike Tyson as special enforcer? Backfired, giving Vince’s worst nightmare the most prestigious item he had in the World Championship. Dude Love? Defeated in one of the most amazing brawls the WWF had ever seen at that point, in the process creating WWF “Main Event Style.”

Kane was able to take the title for a day, only to lose it to Austin the following night on Raw.
There were battles with the Undertaker, some for the title, some not, including a period of time where it seemed like Austin was only allowed to wrestle some combination of the Brothers of Destruction, leading to some, frankly, rather boring television and predictable matches for a few months. And, of course, some of the best matches that WWF could produce, pitting the biggest man in the industry, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, against the next biggest superstar in the business, The Rock.” Headlining or co-headlining multiple Wrestlemanias, these two men would have such great chemistry that their battles seemed to be more than simple brawls, but wars between two titans, as each punch seemed to rattle the world around it, as the popularity of professional wrestling soared to new heights with the Attitude Era in full swing.

Legacy

I could go on, but there are tons of histories about Mr. Austin, chronicling his outstanding matches with Chris Benoit and Triple H, as well as the many negatives that would end up clouding the later years of his active wrestling career, such as his marriage to Debra McMichael, which would reveal his abusive domestic tendencies, or his recent actions as a backstage politician who would walk out on a match if he didn’t like the ending. Information on these things can be found elsewhere.

Instead, what needs to be discussed is Austin’s contribution to the game, and what he truly meant and represented. This, despite the final turbulent years of his involvement, is where we need to look to see just how important the former “Stunning” Steve just so happened to be.

He was someone who could have a match consisting almost solely of kicks and punches, and no one could complain that they’d seen anything boring or lacking, as those of us who take the “sport” too seriously call it, workrate. When Vince Russo left WWF for WCW, and all fans thought that the ratings would completely switch, Austin simply decided to rely less on bizarre Crash TV story-editing and wrestle more, showing himself to have a moveset far deeper than anyone suspected. He could brawl, he could wrestle, and he could cut promos that made people want to stand on their seats and cheer for him to tear the heads off of anyone that so much as looked at him funny. He was an outstanding hero and, when Vince decided to turn him after Wrestlemania XVII, a hell of a villain, talking to his watch and getting crowds that were previously enamored with him to nearly boo him out of the building as he became the boss’ best buddy.

However, the most important thing about Austin is that he was someone that we, as wrestling fans, didn’t need to feel embarrassed about. He was cool, and not “wrestling-cool” like a Chris Jericho, who all of the smart marks worship as if he were born in a manger, but someone that a fan could wear a t-shirt for and not fear that girls would ever talk to him again. Austin’s outstanding anti-hero was someone that people could not only relate to, but he was someone that we could cheer for, as adults, and not feel that we were the inferior man-children that we all secretly knew ourselves to be.

Despite not having been in a full wrestling match since Wrestlemania XIX, Austin’s shadow looms large over the WWE of today, as every time a wrestler has a problem with an authority figure, they owe a debt to “Stone Cold” for being the pioneer of the true wrestling anti-hero, cheating when necessary, crude yet lovable, and able to get the crowd to adore them by still being the same old jerk that they were when the crowd just started to catch on.

So, if you’re able to, just for a few minutes, put aside your thoughts on the tail end of his career, ignoring the later years of prima donna attitude and backstage issues, pop open a couple of Steveweisers and join me.

If you think that ol’ “Stone Cold” Steve Austin revolutionized the wrestling industry and allowed fans to hold their heads high for a few years as our sport enjoyed a one-man-led Renaissance through the mid-to-late 90s and early 2000s, give me a “Hell yeah!”

Hell yeah.

5 Benoit
4 HBK
3 Hogan
2 Austin
1 Flair

Cunty called it!

The writer doesn't even mention that Austin did a ton of backstage vignettes that were as fun to watch as the matches taking place in the arena. Austin visiting McMahon in the hospital...Austin waiting for Eddie Guerrero in a bar...the beer truck assault (which Angle would ingeniously parody months later)...tossing Olympic gold in the river...Austin/Angle in cowboy hats, annoying the boss...hell, even the controversial attack on Pillman's home was at least as interesting as the matches that night. Simply put, if a backstage bit is anything more than an excuse to get a drink or take a piss, you can thank Austin and the WWE.

He should be reprimanded for that whole 'What?' thing. Annoying as hell.

we only have 7 left. there's still hogan, flair, the rock, stone cold, bret hart, family murderer benoit, and hbk? maybe vinnie mahon makes the list? am i missing anyone else?

of those, what's your guesses for the order?

imma stick to my original top three prediction:

He should be reprimanded for that whole 'What?' thing. Annoying as hell.

is it because you're jealous of people who are getting married?