Shawn Michaels' Last 10 WWE Championship Matches, Ranked From Worst To Best

Shawn Michaels' final 10 WWE Championship matches in his WWE career were some of his finest moments, they spanned from 1997-2009 with The Showstopper continuing to steal the show.

When the coveted WWE Championship is at stake, Michaels always rises to the occasion. The WWE Championship is the most prestigious title in the business with HBK leaving his mark as champion. Surprisingly, HBK only has three WWE Championship reigns to his name which sounds like a low amount for someone of Michaels' caliber.

Nevertheless, HBK's final batch of WWE Championship matches covered his pre-retirement in 1998, and on his second run in WWE from 2002 onwards. The Heartbreak Kid put his heart and soul into his matches to entice the fans in some memorable WWE Championship bouts.

10 Shawn Michaels Vs. Ken Shamrock (D-Generation X: In Your House)

The company was still reeling after the effects of The Montreal Screwjob at the 1997 Survivor Series. Michaels was a double champion, holding the WWF Championship alongside the European Championship. Michaels' first title defense in his third WWF Championship reign was against Ken Shamrock.

It was a lackluster main event between the two at DX's namesake, D-Generation X: In Your House. Shamrock had some bright spells but was nowhere near ready for a match of this magnitude. It was a forgettable contest with Chyna and Triple H rescuing Michaels by attacking Shamrock, which gave Shamrock the victory by disqualification. Owen Hart made his return and assaulted Michaels after the match, which drew a huge pop from the fans.

9 Shawn Michaels Vs. Randy Orton - (Cyber Sunday 2007)

Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton were no strangers to each other which is why their chemistry together was magnificent. Orton defended the WWE Championship against Michaels at Cyber Sunday 2007.

This was a solid encounter between the two, but the finish ruined the match. Sensing his WWE Championship was in significant jeopardy, Orton nailed Michaels with a low blow as HBK was gearing up for the Sweet Chin Music. It was a smart move from Orton, using his champion's advantage, knowing he could retain the WWE Championship with a disqualification.

8 Shawn Michaels Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - (WrestleMania XIV)

Shawn Michaels was not in a good place mentally and physically when WrestleMania XIV came around in March 1998. The Heartbreak Kid sustained a career-threatening back injury at the Royal Rumble in his WWF Championship title defense with The Undertaker.

Nonetheless, Michaels rocked up to WrestleMania in a considerable amount of pain, defending the championship against Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Texas Rattlesnake won the Royal Rumble match, and it was clear that he was going to be the new face of the company. HBK did the honors by dropping the WWF Championship to Austin in his final outing for four years.

7 Shawn Michaels Vs. John Cena Vs. Triple H - (Survivor Series 2009)

John Cena had an extremely tough task in retaining his WWE Championship at the 2009 Survivor Series. Big Match John had to contend with both members of DX, Shawn Michaels and Triple H, in an encapsulating triple threat match.

However, Michaels and Triple H understood the opportunity that was presented in front of them, which is why they did not act as a cohesive unit. The Game even put HBK through the announce table with a Spinebuster, showing that no friendship could get in the way of a WWE Championship win for The King of Kings. All three men put on a sublime performance, but the result was predictable with Cena retaining the WWE Championship in Michaels' final WWE Championship match.

6 Shawn Michaels Vs. John Cena Vs. Kurt Angle Vs. Carlito Vs. Kane Vs. Chris Masters (New Year's Revolution 2006)

The WWE Championship was defended inside an Elimination Chamber match for the first time at New Year's Revolution 2006. It was the fourth iteration of this match, with John Cena's nine-month reign as WWE Champion under a serious amount of pressure. It was a mixture of youth and experience with Michaels, Kane, Carlito, Chris Masters, and Kurt Angle vying to wrestle the title away from Cena.

Michaels and Cena were the unfortunate two to not be locked inside a Chamber pod. Nevertheless, that did not deter Michaels from having a great night, executing a Sweet Chin Music on Angle for his sole elimination. Carlito ended Michaels' involvement in this contest, with Cena going on to retain the WWE Championship.

5 Shawn Michaels Vs. John Cena Vs. Kurt Angle (Taboo Tuesday 2005)

Despite returning to WWE in 2002, Shawn Michaels competed in his first WWE Championship match in seven years at Taboo Tuesday 2005. That drought was purely because the Heartbreak Kid was a mainstay on Monday Night Raw, and the World Heavyweight Championship was on Raw for three years until John Cena was drafted to the red brand with the WWE Championship in his possession.

Michaels was voted in by the viewers to join Cena and Kurt Angle in an overlooked WWE Championship triple threat match. Angle and Michaels were bitter enemies, but they put their animosity towards each other to one side as they formed a formidable alliance by taking out Cena. Their alliance did not last long but Cena regrouped with Michaels taking the pinfall loss to protect Angle and Cena's ongoing feud.

4 Shawn Michaels Vs. John Cena (WrestleMania 23)

John Cena's second WrestleMania main event was a huge blockbuster confrontation with Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 23. Cena was firmly established as the face of the company and was jeered heavily by fans in this era.

Cena took his game to the next level in this championship encounter with Michaels. Moreover, HBK knew his role in this match was to get Cena over, but at the same time, HBK made himself look good in the process too. Big Match John retained the WWE Championship, but it is a shame these two did not have a long-term program which could have been magical.

3 Shawn Michaels Vs. Randy Orton (Survivor Series 2007)

Randy Orton was finally getting his chance to shine as the WWE Champion, and being embroiled in a long-term feud with Shawn Michaels certainly helped. The culmination of their feud was Orton's title defense at Survivor Series 2007.

However, there was an added caveat to this collision course as Orton would lose the title if he intentionally got disqualified. Whereas, Michaels' Sweet Chin Music was banned. Those stipulations did not hamper the match whatsoever which is a testament to both men. The Legend Killer bested Michaels at Survivor Series for the third time in five years with a devastating RKO. Orton had previously pinned Michaels during Survivor Series elimination matches in 2003 and 2005.

2 Shawn Michaels Vs. The Undertaker (Royal Rumble 1998)

Michaels' WWF Championship reign was in grave danger at the 1998 Royal Rumble when he defended the title against The Undertaker. This highly anticipated affair was a casket match which was The Deadman's specialty.

Sadly, in the early stages of this match, Michaels herniated a disc in his back when he caught the back of the casket. Visibly in pain, Michaels grimaced but he still lived up to his reputation as The Showstopper. Undertaker delivered a devastating Tombstone Piledriver into the casket and was closing in on victory. Nonetheless, Kane interfered and Chokeslammed his brother into the casket, with Michaels then closing the lid to remain as the WWF Champion in one of the best matches between Michaels and Undertaker.

1 Shawn Michaels Vs. John Cena Vs. Randy Orton Vs. Edge (Backlash 2007)

Narrowly missing out on winning the WWE Championship from John Cena at Backlash 2007, HBK was once again a challenger alongside Randy Orton and Edge. It was the very best that Raw had to offer in one of the best Fatal-4-Way WWE Championship encounters in history.

The action was fast-and-furious and there was never a lull in this match, which can usually happen in Fatal-4-Way matches. Edge nailed his former Rated-RKO partner, Randy Orton, with a crushing chair shot to the head. Nevertheless, the ending of the match was a scramble with HBK nailing Cena with a Sweet Chin Music. Big Match John fell onto a prone Orton, retaining the WWE Championship in the process.

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