10 Great Wrestlers Who Couldn't Have A Good Match Together
6. British Bulldog & Shawn Michaels
A potentially excellent in-ring rivalry sullied by backstage politics, Shawn Michaels vs. Davey Boy Smith produced a number of half decent matches, but nothing on the level you'd expect.
It was a compelling clash of styles, with Bulldog, the muscular powerhouse, paired against a master bumper and seller who should've accentuated his strengths, making him look like a million dollars. They had a solid one-on-one on an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event in 1992, then a listless Raw bout in 1995, and a potentially strong clash marred by overbooking at King of the Ring 1996. So far, so underwhelming.
The worst moment came at One Night Only in September 1997. Bulldog was more than 200 days into his reign as European Champion, and was reportedly set to successfully defend against Michaels before a partisan crowd in Birmingham, England. HBK, as the rumour goes, decided he didn't want to lose to a member of the Hart family, used his political clout to change the result, and forced Smith to pass out from a DX-assisted Figure Four.
It was a sour, match-ruining finish made worse by the post-bout promo, in which Michaels not only trashed Bulldog, but the entire Hart family.