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#3 The Montreal Screwjob
Shawn Michaels's singles career can be divided into two parts, each separated by a four-year injury. After betraying Marty Jannetty and leaving the Rockers in his wake, Shawn became a prominent part of the WWF's mid-card division, earning his first PPV singles match at Wrestlemania 8 against Tito Santana. He also went through a dramatic image change, leaving behind the child-pleasing bright colours and tassels and becoming the arrogant, egotistical 'Heartbreak Kid'.
Shawn's career began to take off during a time in which the company as a whole were going through a slight depression. With the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Andre and others leaving the WWF, it was left to guys like Michaels and Bret Hart to carry the company forward. From 1994, the WWF started to embrace the 'New Generation' in an attempt to showcase more athletic, technically gifted wrestlers in place of the old cartoonish behemoths of the Hogan era.
Undoubtedly the most important rivalry of the WWF New Generation was between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, two men who had earned their stripes as tag-team wrestlers and were now vying for ultimate supremacy in the main event scene. They first met at Survivor Series 1992, a match that saw Shawn failed to capture Bret's WWF Championship. The pair would eventually lock horns again at Wrestlemania 12, this time ending in victory for HBK after a gruelling 60-minute Iron Man Match.
As the onscreen rivalry was growing, so too was the backstage animosity. What started as a clash of egos soon led to an ugly exchange of insults and personal attacks. In subsequent interviews, the pair have both spoken about the difficulty they faced having to work with each other.
The rivalry came to ahead at the 1997 Survivor Series PPV. With Bret set to leave for WCW, WWF owner Vince McMahon hatched a scheme to remove the WWF Championship from Bret without his knowledge. Shawn's involvement in the screwjob has long been debated, but what few can deny is that Michaels probably revelled at the opportunity to stick one last nail in the coffin of his long term adversary.
As far as Shawn is concerned, the Screwjob effectively allowed him to spread his wings as the company's top heel, forming the villainous, but highly popular, D-Generation X with Triple H. While he was not directly involved, it was Shawn's approach to sports entertainment throughout 1997 and 98 that, in some ways, brought about the Attitude Era.
