If you ask me, Shawn Michaels is the greatest wrestler of all time. By the late noughties his hair was receding, it had been over a decade since his theme made any sense, not to mention he had become irritatingly religious. But the second he stepped through those ropes, it was clear that the man had returned. Like many reading, I only began watching wrestling in the late 90's and had only the vaguest of notions of who 'The Showstopper' was during his classic, if totally bonkers, comeback special street fight against Triple H at Summerslam 2002. I was impressed, but wondered if the gory spectacle of that match was a one off: fueled by a man desperate to have one last hurrah and with access to enough painkillers to domesticate a hippo. But month after month he kept delivering, rarely missing the mark during that entire eight year stretch, surpassing even his famed mid-90's peak as a headliner. Seeking out Michaels' earlier work was an awakening for me. It opened my mind to different eras, different promotions, different styles. He was my gateway wrestler and the reason I'm always trying to broaden my wrestling horizons, and I still haven't seen anyone better. The wealth of first class matches under 'The Heartbreak Kid's' belt is vast, especially considering the four year break Michaels took after losing his smile/lower back function. But we all know how the boyhood dream came true. We've seen the Hell in a Cell, the ladder match, the Iron Man, so what's left for hungry HBK fans? I hope to share with you some of the lesser known classics that have graced our screens over the years. Hold on one moment, he's just tuning up the band...
