10 Biggest "What If" Scenarios In WWE History
6. What If Shawn Michaels Hadn't Hurt His Back?
The late nineties were pivotal for Shawn Michaels’ career. HBK “lost his smile” and temporarily stepped away following an injury scare in 1997, but he eventually came back to the company to pull Bret Hart’s strings, take part in the Montreal Screwjob, and secure his place in wrestling infamy.
Things took another turn in 1998. Michaels was defending his WWE Championship against the Undertaker at the Royal Rumble, and suffered the career-threatening back injury that effectively led to his four-year retirement. This time period saw Michaels recover, rehabilitate, kick his addictions, marry his wife, and embrace Christianity. It was a highly transformative period for Michaels’ personal life, and by the end, he was ready to return to WWE and provide a memorable second run that brought some of the absolute best moments of his career.
As grim as it sounds, things may have been very, very bleak for Michaels had he not suffered this injury. His trials and tribulations clearly made him stronger, and with Shawn reportedly hooked on painkillers by the time he stepped away, there’s little guarantee he’d have been able to do this without leaving the business.
Would Michaels have married his wife, found god, and turned his life around without his temporarily retirement? Probably not. The injury was vital in Michaels’ healing process, and without it, we’d have never gotten to enjoy his stunning late-career work.