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When you think of WrestleMania, you think of The Undertaker, the two just go hand in hand. Although the 21-2 streak is iconic, he is still not the greatest performer in history of WrestleMania. That accolade goes to the Heart Break Kid, Shawn Michaels.
Throughout the 90's and 2000's, almost every time Shawn Michaels stepped in the ring at WrestleMania, he put on the best and most talked about match of the night, living up to his nickname 'The Showstopper'. Here we look at the 10 best WrestleMania matches of Shawn Michaels.
#10 Shawn Michaels vs John Cena - WrestleMania 23
This was a WrestleMania classic that almost didn't happen. Allegedly WWE's plan dating back to 2005 was to have John Cena and Triple H face each other one-on-one on at least two, or probably three WrestleManias, a la The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin. During a match between D-Generation X and Rated RKO at New Year's Revolution 2007, Triple H suffered legitimate torn right quadriceps and was thankfully replaced by his DX partner Shawn Michaels.
Michaels and Cena tore the house down for almost 30 minutes. Cena was booed loudly, Shawn cheered, Shawn drew blood, Shawn dodged, ducked, dipped, dove, they slugged it out, with a number of reversals and a whole lot more. It may take two to tango, but Shawn really went out of his way to help Cena look great here.
#9 Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon - WrestleMania 22
The Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon feud received a mixed reaction at best. Starting off with Shawn telling Vince to get over Montreal, it soon evolved into a D-Generation X reunion and a match with... God.
Before these failed reunions and silliness, Michaels and Vince managed to put together a tremendous WrestleMania match. Vince proved that at 60, he could still go and gave his best performance since WrestleMania XIX with Hulk Hogan. Although there was a lot of laying around, there were a lot of entertaining spots too, particularly towards the end when Shawn delivered an elbow from the top of a 13 ft ladder to Vince who was laying on a table with half his body in a trash can.
#8 Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon - WrestleMania X
There hadn't been many ladder matches in all of wrestling, not just in WWE, when this happened. Often mistaken for the first ever WWE ladder match, this, the second ever WWE ladder match, was a true spectacle. We had nowhere near as many death defying moments as we do in a standard ladder match today, but what we did get out of this match was amazing for 1994.
Shawn's performance was excellent, and unlike the previous two entries on this list, he didn't carry most of the match himself, as Razor kept up the pace every step of the way. A match that should be watched by all, this set the standard for how great a ladder match needs to be.
#7 Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart - WrestleMania XII
Without a doubt one of, if not the most polarising match in history, fans either think it is one of the greatest matches of all time, or one of the most boring. As you can tell by it's entry on this list, I am certainly not the latter.
Shawn and Bret worked very hard in this match. It was technical, with brawls and high flying manoeuvres and having the match go into overtime only increased it's heat. This match was so good, that it is a shame Shawn allegedly faked an injury to get out of losing to Bret in a rematch the following year.
#6 Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho - WrestleMania XIX
Everyone knew this match was going to be good, but I don't think anyone expected it to be as phenomenal as it was. Shawn had to really prove himself in this one because not only was it going to be his first WrestleMania match in 5 years, but by this point, Shawn had been back in WWE and had had at least 6 or 7 televised matches, but only two of those had been up to the 'Shawn Michaels' standard.
After a disappointing 3 Stages of Hel matchl with Triple H at Armageddon 2002, Shawn immediately entered a feud with Chris Jericho, but wouldn't have an official one-on-one match with him until WrestleMania, and boy was it worth almost 3 months of waiting. The timing of everything was on point, we had near fall after near fall, a tremendous exchange of reversals, Chris performing his very own Sweet Chin Music and a whole lot more!
#5 Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair - WrestleMania XXIV
We all knew Ric Flair was lacing up his boots for the final time (just in WWE as it turned out), so the finish would be obvious. However, no one, and I mean no one expected it to be as fantastic as it was.
Ric Flair had some very good wrestling matches during his 2001 - 2008 WWE run with the likes of Triple H, The Undertaker, Edge, Randy Orton and more, but by the time 2008 rolled around, it seemed all his great performances had come and gone. It was hard to know what to expect going in, and although Shawn Michaels is arguably the greatest performer of all time, he had a really tough job in having even a barely decent match with Flair at Bad Blood 2003, so could he get a better performance out of him 5 years later? As it turned out, yes.
The match told a good story, Shawn missed a moonsault and crashed through a table, with classic Flair spots mixed in, some good exchanges and the incredible “I’m sorry…I love you” moment before the Sweet Chin Music that left fans and the performers with a very emotional moment.
#4 Shawn Michaels vs Triple H vs Chris Benoit - WrestleMania XX
This is a match that, for obvious reasons, isn't talked about very often today, but it is easily the best match of 2004, one of the best WrestleMania matches of all time and the best Triple Threat match ever.
Michaels, HHH and Chris Benoit told an amazing story here. Could Chris win the big one? Would the two year long feud between Michaels and The Game finally end? These led to broken tables, unlikely team ups, suplex after suplex, excellent one-on-one and then three way exchanges, superkicks, headbutts, high flying manoeuvres, technical offense and a whole lot of blood. No one needed to help carry the other into a great performance, all three men earned their PWI Match of The Year award.
#3 Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker - WrestleMania XXVI
Ric Flair may have stepped back in the ring elsewhere following his loss to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24, but two years later, Shawn would step into the ring for what would be the last ever time.
Just like the previous year, Shawn and The Undertaker danced at WrestleMania in one of the best matches you will ever see and the best ever retirement match a wrestler has ever had. They really pulled out all the stops, and though their chemistry has always been phenomenal, the drama was incredible.
The Undertaker did a great job in looking like he believed he couldn't put the resilient showstopper away. We had Sweet Chin Music after Sweet Chin Music, dives, fantastic exchanges and much more. Taker delivered possibly his biggest and best Tombstone ever to end Shawn Michaels's amazing career.
#2 Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle - WrestleMania 21
While WWE often don't capitalize on promoting dream matches, when they do, they can be incredible matches. The Rock vs John Cena, The Rock vs Goldberg, Shawn Michaels vs Hulk Hogan, The Rock vs Hogan, they were all great in their own way, but none as perfect as Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle from WrestleMania 21.
This was truly amazing, as the gifted wrestlers lived up to the hype and then some. This was true wrestling, and the drama was incredible, with more than a dozen near falls, several Angle Slams, suplexes everywhere, a Sweet Chin Music that nearly took Kurt's teeth out and what may be the longest Ankle Lock ever to secure the big win for the deserving Olympian. Match of the night, match of the year, and arguably match of the decade.
#1 Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker - WrestleMania XXV
This match might just be the best wrestling match we will ever see. Having put on a 5-star classic once before, back in the first ever Hell in A Cell match at Bad Blood 1997, Shawn and Taker managed to have an even better, more incredible match at WrestleMania 25.
Everyone knew Shawn was going to lose, especially since the match had a build up of only about two weeks, but during the match itself, you really believed it was possible Shawn could pull off a win. They kicked out of each other's finishing moves more than once, with perfect exchanges and reversals everywhere, an incredible dive from the ring by Taker and even some of the best frustrated facial expressions you will ever see in a match. This match rightfully won several Match of The Year awards and even spawned a sequel, to be Shawn's final WWE match the following year.
There was no doubt in anyone's mind that after this match, no one else could go out in a 5-star match with Shawn other than The Undertaker. The WrestleMania 26 match between them was excellent, but this match at WrestleMania 25 was just perfect.
