10 Precise Moments Wrestling Fans Rejected Internet Darlings
2. Shawn Michaels - August 10, 2019
The Bret Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels rivalry will never die, even if Bret himself seems to prefer burying Goldberg and Triple H these days.
The tribute spots folded into various CM Punk and FTR matches have brought into further focus a rejection, amongst hardcore fans, of Shawn's more excessive impulses. Shawn was almost universally beloved when he was active, even amongst those who didn't quite receive him as a great guy. His hair-tugging, I'm-sorry-I-love-you melodrama added an emotional layer to his work elevated by his immaculate veteran selling, but this worked only on earned occasions.
Retiring a hero and mounting the ultimate challenge of breaking the Undertaker's WrestleMania streak justified his histrionic performance style, but it grew rather grating when he projected it onto his NXT "kids" - or tenured world-class wrestlers, more accurately - when he took on a producer role.
NXT fell out of fashion in 2019, not helped by the cooler, less scripted upstart AEW, and Shawn was a not inconsiderable part of its decline.
NXT developed an indulgent, corny quality and Shawn's influence was felt in the big match parody that was Adam Cole Vs. Johnny Gargano III at TakeOver: Toronto (2019), which was just the interminable Badd Blood 2004 match with Triple H, with added thigh slaps and a sad element of forced cosplay.