10 Monumental Happenings On Post-WrestleMania Raws
9. Shawn Michaels Turns Babyface (1995)
In Vince McMahon’s company, there is no surer way of erasing memories of a major loss than an attitude adjustment in a match or angle at the next televised event.
Shawn Michaels received this treatment the night after he put WWF Champion Diesel over in the semi-main event of WrestleMania XI on April 2, 1995 in Hartford, Connecticut.
It was announced on the April 3 Raw that Michaels would receive a return match with Diesel. As he digested the news, Shawn made an executive decision: he informed Sycho Sid, his towering bodyguard, that his services would not be required in the rematch.
Vexed by Michaels’ review of his services (Shawn might as well have described him as a liability), Sid clobbered Michaels with kicks and three powerbombs, following which Michaels lay motionless on the mat. It was Diesel who made the save.
As Michaels vacated WWF television for six weeks to sell the assault, Sid was promoted to Diesel’s main adversary and opponent at the company’s first In Your House pay-per-view on May 14, 1995 in Syracuse, New York.
The beat-down and resultant face switch was a turning point for Michaels. It marked the beginning of a one-year push towards the WWF Title, which he would capture from Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII in 1996.