10 Times WWE Tried To Force Historic Moments

WWE love parading the realisation of Shawn Michaels’ boyhood dream as one of the most memorable moments in WrestleMania history. If you weren’t a fan at the time, you could be forgiven for buying into the company’s propaganda surrounding the event, but the reality of HBK’s first WWF Championship victory is that it was mired by cynicism.

Shawn’s backstage reputation was at an all time low in 1996. He’d long since established himself as a callous schemer, with his refusal to put people over a particularly strong bugbear. Despite this, the WWF still tried to portray him as some kind of lovable underdog who’d fought tooth and nail to reach the top, and had earned this opportunity through hard work and determination alone.

This couldn’t have been further from the truth, and for those increasingly in the know, the “boyhood dream” story was completely transparent. Thus, when Michaels prevailed at the end of one of the most overrated main events in pay-per-view history (XII’s Iron Man match with Bret Hart), it was impossible to buy into his supposed noble triumph.

Many fans bought it at the time, but looking back, Shawn’s coronation stands as one of wrestling’s most galling false narratives.