10 Most Radical Wrestler Attitude Adjustments

1. Shawn Michaels

Vince McMahon
WWE

Shawn Michaels seemed content setting his own career ablaze as long as he could be there to watch the world burn at his 1997/98 worst. ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ was still ‘The Showstopper’ when he deigned an event worthy of his time, but his spiralling addiction problems as the industry’s trademark “Angry Young Man” had fuelled hostilities with countless other colleagues beyond hated peer Bret Hart.

The near-crippling back injury he suffered in January 1998 was for many karmic punishment for his role in the November 1997 knifing of ‘The Hitman’s WWE legacy, but his unexpected 2002 return required an even greater spiritual intervention.

Hitting rock bottom with his booze and pills dependancy in 2001, Michaels fought the Lord and the Lord won. Embracing Christianity, Shawn made a spectacular return to the ring that many favour over his original vintage. That he managed to do so much in Round Two without alienating virtually everybody encountered was for many the biggest surprise of all.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett