After an epic contest at SummerSlam 2002 that saw Shawn Michaels return to the squared circle to battle best friend-turned-hated rival Triple H after a four year hiatus due to injury, many assumed we had seen the triumphant end to the Heartbreak Kid's career that he deserved. After all those years away from the ring, he returned and proved that he could deliver in the big match situation just as he had so many times before. On that one night, he shrugged off years of ring rust and cemented his greatness forever. With ratings tanking and attendance down, WWE was not about to let Michaels return to Texas and enjoy the rest of his life with his family. Instead, they reached out to him and coerced him into appearing at Survivor Series, in the first ever Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Not only did he appear, he won the whole damn thing, meaning he would be sticking around WWE programming longer than he intended. At Armageddon, he would meet Triple H in what was meant to be an epic rematch of their SummerSlam classic. A Three Stages of Hell match, the D-Generation X founders battled in a match that went overly long (38 minutes) and featured far too much plunder and parlor tricks to mask the fact that, despite the showing months earlier, Michaels was not prepared to partake in a grueling pay-per-view match on a regular basis. That plus the story they were trying to tell was tedious and boring. And SLOW. Rather than packing a great deal of action into a 20 minute time frame, they tried for an epic match and the entire ordeal failed miserably as a result. In fact, it would not be until December of 2003, a full year later, that they would have another stellar match for the top prize on the Raw brand.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
