9 Harsh Realities Fans Of Shawn Michaels Need To Realize

Today, Shawn Michaels holds the title of Vice President of Talent Development Creative and is responsible for the NXT brand's success and the output of new stars from WWE's talent development machinery. It seems like a spot fitting for somebody who is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and revered by millions of fans.

However, as with many things in life, his career may seem a little rosier in hindsight than it actually was. Not only was Shawn a great talent - he was also a huge pain backstage and had a tendency to self-destruct. Thankfully, everything worked out for him - and WWE - in the end, but it is time to acknowledge the problematic side of Shawn Michaels. Here then are 8 harsh realities even the most devoted Shawn Michaels fan needs to realize.

9 He Wasn't That Hurt

Shawn Michaels v The Undertaker Royal Rumble 1998 Cropped

At the Royal Rumble 1998, Shawn hurt his back in a Casket Match against the Undertaker. The story is well-documented: the injury would keep Shawn out of the ring for the most part until Wrestlemania XIV where he lost the WWE Title to Stone Cold Steve Austin. After the match, Shawn would 'retire' from wrestling until his miraculous return in 2002.

The only problem is that this isn't true. While Shawn really was injured and even needed surgery, Shawn wrestled again as early as the year 2000. The harsh reality is that Shawn was in a terrible state, mentally and physically, and battled addiction issues. He only cleaned up once he was fired from WWE and was on the verge of losing his family.

8 Vince Kept Him Around So He Wouldn't Go To WCW

Shawn's back injury is reminiscent of another former WWE talent: Curt Hennig. Mr. Perfect had suffered a back injury in 1991 and decided to retire thanks to his Lloyds of London policy. Returns to the ring were teased but never happened in WWE. Hennig only decided to return to the ring once WCW began throwing Turner's money around.

Shawn, more than likely, saw this as a blueprint for an in-ring return. WWE didn't need Shawn after WrestleMania 14. Steve Austin was the new top guy, with the Undertaker and Kane right behind him. WCW would have signed Shawn in a heartbeat where he would have been reunited with his friends Kevin Nash and Scott Hall (to be fair, he would have also been reunited with Bret Hart). Vince McMahon knew that very well and so he kept Shawn around and paid him a high six-figure contract just to act as commissioner. As soon as WCW was out of business, Vince fired Shawn in 2001.

7 He Was Not A Draw

Shawn Michaels SummerSlam 1996 WWE Champion

Shawn Michaels as WWE champion was a flop. To be fair, it wasn't all Shawn's fault. His portrayal as a white-meat babyface was outdated even in 1996, and giving him Jose Lothario as a manager made him look weak. Nonetheless, Shawn had great opponents to work with: Diesel, Vader, Mankind, Sid. The fact that buyrates dropped during this run (and eventually lead to the lowest WrestleMania buyrate in history) despite the impressive list of challengers tells you everything you need to know.

6 His Behavior Hurt The Company And Other Wrestlers

Not only was Shawn not a draw, his behavior outside the ring also hurt the company. Shawn didn't like working with Vader so he complained until Vader was substituted for Sid (hurting Vader's WWE career in the process). Shawn didn't want to lose to Bret causing Bret to refuse losing to Shawn (which lead to Montreal). Shawn didn't even agree to lose to Davey Boy Smith in Davey's hometown of Manchester in a match that Davey dedicated to his terminally ill sister - leading him to win the European title and dropping it to Triple H in the precursor to the Fingerpoke of Doom. This sort of behaviour hurt both his colleagues' careers and the company.

5 He Wasn't That Special From 2002 Onward

Ric Flair v Shawn Michaels Bad Blood 2003 Cropped

When Shawn returned to the WWE in 2002, it was a big deal. His catalogue of great matches - already big at that point - became even bigger. However, the bloom was already a little off the rose as early as WrestleMania 19. Sure, Shawn was still a main event-level talent and produced great matches. But he had already lost his drawing power. Shawn was "just another guy" and never won another world title after Survivor Series 2002 - a run that ended just a month later at Armageddon in December. His promos were good, his matches were good - but Shawn wasn't special anymore.

4 His Last Match Sucked

Much like Ric Flair in 2008, Shawn had the perfect sendoff in 2010. Defeated by The Undertaker in a great WrestleMania main event, Shawn sailed off into the sunset. While he did make occasional appearances on WWE television, his in-ring career was over. Until Saudi Arabia began throwing its money at WWE. Not one to miss out on a payday, Shawn came out of retirement at Crown Jewel 2018 to team with Triple H against The Undertaker and Kane. The combined age of the four guys in the ring was 206 years, and it showed. After almost 30 painfully long minutes, Shawn and Hunter emerged victorious.

3 His Booking Is Questionable

Shawn's NXT reign began after Triple H had to take time off in the light of a 'cardiac event.' While the NXT 2.0 experiment was dropped after the ouster of Vince McMahon, the show has retained a quirky style and found its niche somewhere in between the traditional Black & Gold era and NXT 2.0. While it seems to be relatively successful, Shawn's booking seems at times questionable.

2 He Never Really Changed

Shawn Michaels Getting Booed In Montreal

As mentioned before, Shawn cleaned himself up after being fired from WWE in 2001. It is genuinely good to see the turnaround and witness Shawn develop talent for WWE to this day. Not only would the fans have missed out on a ton of great matches had he not cleaned up, the current developmental talent would likely also not have had the opportunity to pick his brain and learn from one of the greatest performers of all time.

Having said that, there are glimpses behind the curtain that show that, while his habits have changed, Shawn's personality has not. His temper tantrum against Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam 2005 is legendary, and Dax Harwood revealed years ago that during the 25th Anniversary of Monday NightRaw, Shawn didn't thank the then-Revival backstage for making the Kliq look good. Perhaps a slip-up but one that shouldn't happen to a veteran like Shawn.

1 Bret Was Better

Again, Shawn was one of the all-time great performers in the ring. There is no question about that. However, it has to be said out loud: when it comes to making wrestling look legit, when it comes to telling an in-ring story, when it comes to being 'real' inside the ring - Shawn was not as good as Bret Hart.