Thank you, Shawn.

I found this article pretty damn good and figured you, the die-hard fans, would like to check it out.

Credit goes to Jamie Patton via Wrestlezone.com

Detailed Look At Some Interesting HBK Stats And History
By Jamie Patton

Wrestlemania 26 closed with Shawn Michaels standing at the top of the ramp for the last time as a performer.


Shawn did not end his career with as many title reigns as some of the other great Superstars such as Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Triple H, the Undertaker, or Stone Cold Steve Austin. However Shawn’s legacy will not be based on his title reigns. It will be based on the hundreds of superior performances he gave while entertaining us for 25 years.

It is hard to dispute that the Heartbreak Kid is the greatest performer to have ever set food in a wrestling ring. The stats do not lie. Here is a list of Shawn’s Match of the Year Awards:



From Pro Wresting Illustrated (as chosen by readers):



1993: vs. Marty Jannetty on Monday Night Raw

1994: vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at Wrestlemania X

1995: vs. Diesel at Wrestlemania XI

1996: vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man Match at Wrestlemania XII

2004: vs. Chris Beniot and Triple H at Wrestlemania XX

2005: vs. Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 21

2006: vs. Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match at Wrestlemania 22

2007: vs. John Cena on Raw

2008: vs. Ric Flair at Wrestlemania XXIV

2009: vs. The Undertaker at Wrestlemania XXV

(and you can pencil him in for 2010 for his performance against the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 26)

From this list we can see that he had excellent matches with a few competitors that are not known for good performances. Diesel, Vince McMahon, and John Cena have never been considered great performers, however Shawn Michaels was able to carry them to such a level that they were able to share in this award with him.

Also, Shawn spent approximately 16 years total as a singles competitor. Of those 16 years Shawn won this award 10 times. Not only did he win this award often, but during most years he took 2nd place, 3rd place, or both.

One of his many nicknames is Mr. Wrestlemania and for good reason. As a singles competitor Shawn competed in 14 Wrestlemanias. Eight of those performances won him Match of the Year. In the years that his Wrestlemania performance was not honored with this award he still had undoubtedly the best match including his performances against Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIV, vs. Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania XIX, and vs. John Cena at Wrestlemania 23. His match with the Undertaker from Wrestlemania 26 will most likely take this award as well.

(Matches not mentioned include Wrestlemania VIII vs. Tito Santana and Wrestlemania IX vs. Tatanka. Also, he “lost his smile” shortly before Wrestlemania 13 and did not compete that year.)

In addition to his many match of the year honors, he is credited for revolutionizing both the Ladder Match and Iron Man Match. While he did not compete in the first of either type of match, he did set the standard. His Iron Man Match with Bret Hart still stands among most wrestling fans as the best match ever using that stipulation.

He also competed in the first Hell in a Cell and Elimination Chamber, again helping set the standard for both stipulations.

During the 90s he was a controversy magnet and participated in 2 of the most infamous moments in wrestling history. Shawn, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Triple H, collectively known as the Kliq, appeared at the end of a Madison Square Garden show in 1996 and broke kayfabe in what has become known as the “Curtain Call.” Of course he was also a key figure in the “Montreal Screw Job” in 1996.

In 1998 Shawn was injured in his Casket Match at the Royal Rumble. Against doctors orders he competed at Wrestlemania XIV, passing the title to Stone Cold Steve Austin and officially igniting the Attitude Era that he helped start.

After the injury Shawn, believing his career was over, took a 4 year hiatus from wrestling. After turning his life over to the Lord Jesus Christ he returned to wrestling in 2002. We did not know if he could perform at the level he did 4 years prior, but after a series of excellent matches against Triple H he left no doubt. The Heartbreak Kid was back and continued to leave his mark etched in annals of professional wrestling.

Truly Shawn had few peers inside the squared circle. Other great performers such as Ric Flair and Chris Jericho have credited him as being the best performer of all time. The fan voted Match of the Year honors speak volumes as to how he is revered by wrestling fans.

On a personal note, Shawn was not just an incredible performer. He was also an inspirational man. He set a good example as a Christian, never failing to kneel in prayer and give thanks to the Lord before every match. In his book Heartbreak and Triumph, the Shawn Michaels Story he recounted the day that he accepted Jesus as his Savior. Upon reading those words I was inspired to do the same. On June 8 2006 I knelt down and uttered a prayer very similar to the one Shawn recounts in his book. I was saved that day and have never looked back.

I would just like to say thank you to Shawn. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the thousands of hours of incredible entertainment. Thank you for helping save me. I’ll miss you.

Wrestlemania 26 Fail Moment of the Night

Did anyone else laugh when Kofi Kingston was only able to let out one "BUCK" because his pyro only shot out once on the first "BUCK"?

I know I did.

Japanese "Strong Style" Wrestling

This is a quick "Twitter-like" post. Japanese wrestling is so much better than American wrestling. Precise, fast-paced, intricate. At the same time, they tell stories like the slow American style. On top of that, they've really capitalized on the "Strong Style" - stiff kicks, punches, power moves. Nothing like it. It's exciting, fresh, and no-nonsense.

I'll write more about this later.

Wrestlemania 26 Thoughts

Unified Tag-Team Titles:
-Big Show & The Miz (c) vs. R-Truth & John Morrison
My prediction - ShowMiz
Winner - ShowMiz

This opened the show and had some ok moments. It was a probably as good as a Raw main event. It didn't do anything to keep me interested, so I went and made homemade burgers.

Triple-Threat Match:
-Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase Jr.
My Prediction - Ted DiBiase, Jr.
Winner - Randy Orton

This match wasn't enough to name it the show-stealer, but it was a well arranged program for the group. It dawned on me that all 3 participants have fathers that are all in the hall of fame. At any rate, you can tell that genetics played a big part in the performance of this match. Even though it was a triple threat match, DiBiase and Rhodes teamed up for most of the match. This was a great effort by Legacy.

Money In The Bank Ladder Match:
-Kofi Kingston vs. MVP vs. Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Matt Hardy vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. Christian
My prediction - Christian
Winner - Jack Swagger

Ok, so I was partially right in prediction as I predicted that if Christian didn't make it, Jack Swagger, Shelton Benjamin, or Kofi Kingston was going to make it. Some guys just didn't have any reason to be in this match (*ahem*matthardykane*ahem*). Some dope spots in this match: Evan Bourne doing the shooting star press off the ladder onto someone. Kofi Kingston using the broken ladder as stilts. Dolph Ziggler getting choke slammed onto the ladder. Kofi Kingston getting power bombed off the top rope onto a ladder. Christian countering a Twist of Fate off the ladder.

Triple H vs. Sheamus
My prediction - Triple H
Winner - Sheamus

I think Triple H had to make up a match just so he can be part of the big show. I didn't care who won this one. Sheamus needs to hook up with Triple H's tanning guy.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
My prediction - CM Punk
Winner - Rey Mysterio

Guess we're not going to see a long-term program with these guys. I think we could've seen another huge thing with these two if they went with what I predicted. Spot of the match: Rey runs to the ropes, where Luke is waiting. He dodges Luke, dodges CM Punk, drop toe hold on Punk, who head butts Luke in the gut. 619, top rope splash, it's over.

No Holds Barred:
-Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon
My prediction - Bret Hart
Winner - Bret Hart

We all know where this was going. My only gripe with this match was that it had the potential to be as huge as Undertaker/HBK, but it ended up being 5 minutes of beating Vince's ass with a chair. After the 10th chair shot, I started feeling bad for Vince. He just kept taking it and I swear he looked like he wanted to cry.

World Title:
-Chris Jericho (c) vs. Edge
My prediction: Edge
Winner: Chris Jericho

eh....I spent more time on my laptop following what was going on Twitter and FB than what was happening on TV. Don't get me wrong. What I did catch was good, but I just wasn't interested in this match. Post match was where it got interesting. Long story short, Edge speared Jericho from on top of the announcer's table down to the floor and through a barricade.

10-Diva Tag Match:
-Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. Vickie Guerrero, Michelle McCool, Layla, Maryse & Alicia Fox
No prediction made
Winner - Vickie Guerrero and the heels

Wow, there was a hell of a lot of DDT's in one form or another. I spent this match watching the hot ones like Maryse, Kelly Kelly, Layla El, and Gail Kim.

WWE Title:
-Batista (c) vs. John Cena
My prediction: John Cena
Winner: John Cena

Good match, but it didn't scream "Wrestlemania" to me.

Streak vs. Career:
-The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
My prediction: Shawn Michaels
Winner: Undertaker

So much for my prediction. This match was pretty darn close to the last one. Lot's of finisher kick outs, great selling, and emotional moments. One thing that stood out to me is HBK kicking out of the choke slam first and kicked out of the accompanying Tombstone Piledriver. How crazy is that? You know that just was done out of pure emotion. Craziest spot of the match has to be HBK doing a moonsault on Taker onto the announcer's table.

Overall show thoughts:

WWE just doesn't have that emotional build up like they used to. I think I spent more time taking mental breaks than actually getting into the matches, with the exception of the Legacy match, Money in the Bank, and HBK/Taker. I thought the quality of the matches was awesome, along with the quality of the performers. I think they could've also used a bit more "swerve" than they did. Come to think of it, the only real swerve we had tonight was the Hart Lumberjacks. Either way, even if the overall quality wasn't as good as last year's, you know it was still a great show because this is THE show to be on and everyone was stepping up their game to be on it in whatever capacity. Which brings me to my question of the night: With all of these TNA people believing in their product, you know they know wish they were going to be at Wrestlemania. Do you think TNA will ever have an event greater than Wrestlemania?

Quoted in Wrestlezone yet again!!

I think I should be a contributing writer for this site, what do you think?

Chris Jericho recap on Wrestlezone

Wrestlemania 26 Predictions

WWE Championship Match

-Batista (c) vs. John Cena

The buildup for this match was OK. They’re doing their part to build that tension between the two, but for me they haven’t done anything serious to sway it in someone’s favor. Politically speaking, we’re probably going to see Cena take it this year. The guy’s a monster face and unless they plan on building a long-term feud with these two, we’ll probably see Cena get the nod. Politics aside, I’d like to see Batista keep the belt and establish himself as a monster heel, minus the heel shenanigans (winning by DQ, changing match stipulations, etc.) and winning his matches legitimately and in true "Animal" fashion.

WINNER – John Cena

World Heavyweight Championship Match

-Chris Jericho (c) vs. Edge

This one’s a no-brainer. We’re going to see Edge crowned the new champ. Edge returned as a huge babyface and he’s gotten the people behind him in no time at all. Jericho won the title at The Royal Rumble with little to no build up at all, which leads me to believe that they needed a transitional champion. The crowd’s already behind Edge with the whole “SPEAR! SPEAR! SPEAR!” chant.

On a side note, I’ve always enjoyed this side of Edge. He’s so much more entertaining this way.

WINNER - Edge

Streak vs Career No Count Out, No DQ Match

-The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

This, my friends, is THE match everyone’s looking forward to. The build up for this match has been so great and intelligently planned that I’m not even sure how the WWE plans on swinging this. There are arguments going back and forth that people are tired of the streak because they’ve built it up so much over the years that it’s just a given and there’s less attachment by the fans. The other side of the argument is that HBK has been named “Mr. Wrestlemania” because he made each of his Wrestlemania matches into memorable ones. You just can’t write that into the “script”.

With that said, I think the WWE’s going to finally put the streak to rest. 17 years is no walk in the park, so ‘Taker’s already made his mark with that. There’s been talk that HBK’s truly going to retire after WM and he’s going to concentrate on resting and working on outside projects. Plus, it doesn’t make sense for HBK to lose twice in a row and to leave on a low note.

WINNER - HBK

Money In The Bank Ladder Match

-Participants: MVP, Christian, Evan Bourne, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Shelton Benjamin, Jack Swagger, Matt Hardy, Drew McIntyre, and Kofi Kingston

Since it first came out in 2005, this match in particular has almost become as standard fare as ‘Taker’s streak. This year, we have some pretty good participants. Since there are a lot of participants, I’ll make this as brief as possible.

The losers:
MVP – The WWE hasn’t really done anything with this guy lately and unless he steps his game up, he’ll be the king of the mid-card.
Evan Bourne – I’m ashamed to put him on this end of the list, because this guy’s such an awesome talent. Unfortunately, he’s been so underutilized; you don’t have any emotional investment in him winning this. As much as I want this guy to win this, the only thing he’ll be doing is setting up the bigger spots of the match.
Matt Hardy – The guy’s on his last legs, unfortunately. He just isn’t the same Matt from 5 years ago.
Kane – He seems to be using his time lately putting other people over. This will be just another chance for him to put newer talent over. On top of that, he’s been in a semi-feud with Drew McIntyre for the IC title.
Drew McIntyre – The guy’s already got the Intercontinental title and he has Kane gunning for him. On the other side of the coin, he can also go on to be a dual champion.

The winners:
Christian – Since he came back from TNA, this guy’s been on a great run (ECW champ, NXT mentor). He has the look, charisma, and the work ethic to really move up. This might be his time.
Shelton Benjamin – In all of the MITB matches he’s participated in, he’s always delivered the best spots. This guy has done so much in these matches that he deserves it this time around. The only thing going against him is that he’s so-so on the mic.
Jack Swagger – One of the “new breed” of wrestlers that’s just asking to be brought up. A former ECW champ, he has proven himself in the ring.
Kofi Kingston – Kofi’s gotten a taste of the limelight with his past feud with Randy Orton. Unfortunately, we didn’t see this come to fruition and he moved back into the mid-card. Now he has a chance to rekindle that flame and make his mark permanent.

My choice for WINNER - Christian

Singles Match

-Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon

This match is 13 years in the making. We all know the die-hard fans have been waiting to see this. We all know that Bret’s going to win this one because, well, he just has to. ‘Nuff said.

WINNER – Bret Hart

Singles Match

-Triple H vs. Sheamus

Eh, I’m not interested in this match. Since the word on the streets is Triple H and Sheamus are boys backstage, I think they’re going to put on a great match, with Trips putting Sheamus over.

WINNER - Sheamus

Unified Tag Team Championship Match

-Big Show and The Miz (c's) vs. John Morrison and R-Truth

Another match I’m not too emotionally invested in. Morrison and Truth are a good tag team with skills, but they just reek of a tag team slapped together. I just don't see any long term potential with Truth and Morrison.

WINNER - ShowMiz

Triple Threat Match

-Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes

I really like how the WWE took their time with this one. I like all the participants and this one could quite possibly be a sleeper hit of the night. With the entire goings on with this program, Orton became an inadvertent face at some point, with DiBiase as the spoon-fed face. Orton’s the one with the most experience, but instinct tells me that DiBiase’s going to walk out the winner with this one.

WINNER – Ted Dibiase

Singles Match: If Mysterio loses, he must join the Straight Edge Society

-Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk

If there’s anything Smackdown does well, it’s the way they play with the fans’ emotions to get them involved in a match. This one’s no exception. I’ve been to a recent house show and to say that CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society is hated is an understatement. There was so much deris being thrown into the ring, I thought it was WCW all over again. And to include Rey’s family in the build was a great touch. Rey’s just as straight edge as CM Punk is, but in his own special way. Both are proven talents in the WWE and outside in their previous endeavors. This proves to be another classic match and possible sleeper of the night.

The only drawback I see with this is the fact that this seems to be a rehash of Rey’s old storyline in WCW with Eddie Guerrero and the LWO when Eddie challenged him to a match. If Rey lost, he had to join the LWO. However, we could see this as a good way to bring the Straight Edge to the face side and if Rey ends up losing, could end up being the new leader of the SES.

My choice is based upon what the long-term potential of this match could be instead of the quick win and the end of the storyline. This sets up Rey and Punk for a more compelling and long-term program that has the potential to be a real great focus for Friday nights. With that said, I see Punk winning and Rey joining the SES.

WINNER – CM Punk


Well, what do you think? Agree with me? Disagree with me? Please let me know!

I got quoted on Wrestlezone.com!!!

So I sent a quick news tidbit to Wrestlezone.com, a site I've been following for the past 10 years (wow, has it been that long?). I noted that Marlon Wayans was at last night's Smackdown taping. Check it out!!

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/article/celebrity-actor-marlon-wayans-at-last-nights-sd-taping-98357