10 Kayfabe Wrestling Moments That Became Real

10. Shawn Michaels "Loses His Smile"... Before Really Getting A Back Injury

Bret Hart thought Shawn Michaels was a lying git when he strolled onto TV in February 1997 and told the world that he'd "lost his smile". A suspect knee injury would keep HBK from returning the favour to Bret and jobbing for him at WrestleMania 13, and the Hitman wasn't happy about it.

Less than one year later, Shawn lost his grin for real.

A nasty casket bump at Royal Rumble '98 tore up his back, and it forced Michaels to grimace through the agony until he could put Steve Austin over at 'Mania XIV. Between January-March, Shawn's performances had an uncharacteristic dullness to them. It was obvious that he was in a lot of pain.

If he was fibbing the previous Feb, then karma bit Michaels hard. Still, nobody wanted him to go through that torture, or for one of the best workers on the planet to face possible retirement. There's something twisted about the way fate played with Shawn's career here.