Shawn Michaels is undoubtedly one of the greatest pro wrestlers in history, if not the greatest. One thing’s for sure – his name certainly fits the bill in the top five. Being an up-and-comer in the Golden Era dominated by big, muscular men, he was the face of what represented a major change in the WWE – the New Generation Era.
It was an era marked by a clear change in the size of superstars. Smaller wrestlers were pushed and WWE began focusing on younger talent. It saw a transitionary phase and Shawn Michaels, along with Bret Hart was at the forefront of it. He stuck through and was a part of the Monday Night Wars that saw WWE programming slowly change from family-oriented to more adult content.
A career-ending injury forced him to miss the entire Attitude Era (only appearing as an on-screen authority figure for a while) and he returned right after it, in another transitionary phase. This time around, he got to work with a newer and different crop of talent and had another golden run before his retirement in 2010.
Let’s take a look at the best that Shawn Michaels has faced.
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