15 MORE Incredible WWE Ruthless Aggression Era Moments Nobody Ever Talks About

15. HBK Destroys His Protege

Chris Jericho's suited up heel turn and feud with old hero Shawn Michaels was one of 2008's best storylines. Together, the pair worked several outstanding pay-per-view matches (including a particularly hot ladder scrap at No Mercy), and fans just didn't want the ride to end. It'd prove to be one of HBK's last truly great rivalries.

You might've forgotten all about Jericho's brief ally towards the end of the tale though. Lance Cade had actually trained under Shawn before reaching WWE, but he became something of a bodyguard for Y2J and worked a match vs. Michaels on the 8 October '08 Raw. Reading that has either unlocked a core memory or you've got no clue what the bout was even like.

It was good. Really good.

Well, the segment as a whole was excellent at least. Shawn and Lance worked a 'No DQ' match between trainer and trainee on the flagship, then Michaels left Cade laying in-ring and strolled off with a menacing scowl on his face. This was a stunning show of ruthlessness by HBK that’s never really spoken about now.

Seeing Shawn destroy his old protege just to send a message to Jericho was killer TV. The Canadian had been needling Michaels all year, and even punched his wife at one point, so all of that tension boiled over in October. At once, Michaels wore an expression that showed he was disgusted with himself for wrecking Cade and pleased with his handiwork because Lance was trailing his arch nemesis around like he was the messiah.

Great TV that's been lost to time.