10 Wrestlers Who Changed WWE’s In-Ring Style
7. Shawn Michaels
Where Bret Hart introduced a not inconsiderable army of lifelong devotees to the WWF with his disbelief-suspending brand of technicality, Shawn Michaels was equally responsible for ushering in a more advanced era.
Michaels' contribution was with a more athletic vintage. While his big bumping style had been seen in the WWF prior to his emergence in the singles ranks - Curt 'Mr. Perfect' Hennig arguably gained even more height than the 'Heartbreak Kid' - Michaels also took to the air long before it was considered becoming of a WWF headline act.
Michaels' was also chiefly responsible for setting the selling standard. You might take from this article a hatred of Hulk Hogan, but it's a false impression. Limited and hammy though he was, there was none better at manipulating the audience. But, where he would gurn histrionically with facial expressions which don't hold up on repeat viewing, once can sympathise with Michaels' pain decades later.
His character - which Bret Hart hilariously described in his autobiography, 'Hitman', as being "inspired by the stripper he must have been in a previous life" - was one of the first babyfaces to revel in the dark side. In his match with Owen Hart at In Your House: Rage In The Cage, Michaels, out of the referee's sight, Michaels delighted in nearly ripping his hair from its scalp.