5 WWE retirements that were real and 5 that were part of a storyline

#2 Real: Shawn Michaels bids farewell to the WWE Universe

The two-time WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is considered by many to be one of the greatest pro wrestlers that the industry has witnessed. Earning the title of "Mr. WrestleMania", the Heart Break Kid has had numerous amazing matches at the Show of Shows, but none of them were probably as great as his two encounters with The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV and XXVI.

The match between The Deadman and Michaels at WrestleMania 25 is widely considered to be the best match in WrestleMania's history which saw The Undertaker defeat HBK after a thrilling contest. But the story wasn't finished as the two went on to have a rematch the next year at WrestleMania 26 with Michaels' WWE career on the line.

10 years ago today, Shawn Michaels had his retirement match against Undertaker. pic.twitter.com/orLRcFTkd8

— Fightful Wrestling (@FightfulWrestle) March 28, 2020

Being built as "The Streak vs The Career", many fans expected Shawn Michaels to finally end The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak. But The Phenom went on to pick the victory, leading to the HBK retiring at the peak of his career. Next night on Monday Night RAW, Shawn Michaels gave a very emotional retirement speech and bid farewell to the WWE Universe.

He stayed retired until 2018, where he came back for just one match at Crown Jewel teaming up with Triple H to take on The Undertaker and Kane!

It all goes down in THREE weeks at #WWECrownJewel...DX vs. BROTHERS of DESTRUCTION. #SD1000 pic.twitter.com/ICWEPm3nlv

— WWE (@WWE) October 17, 2018