10 Wrestlers Who Didn't Peak In The WrestleMania Main Event
6. Shawn Michaels
WrestleMania main event:
The 'Mania XII Iron Man match was, as covered, beyond tedious. In a strange and almost hilarious twist on his premise, Shawn Michaels was in sensational form at 'Mania XI, to the ultimate detriment of his match with Diesel. He worked circles around his best friend, emptying his tank with his desperate, rapid attempts to escape the giant's clutches. It told a pulsating and logical story, but Diesel was far too knackered to power through to its third act. It didn't so much fall apart as just get very drab by the finish, at which Shawn might have just sandbagged Diesel's big moment.
His best friend.
REALLY peaked as a performer at:
They don't call him Mr. WrestleMania for nowt: Michaels wrestled the quintessential WWE epic at WrestleMania 25, a masterpiece of a match so excellent and influential that now, guys on WWE Main Event wear melodramatic expressions of shock whenever their opponent kicks out of their signature when their actual finish isn't even effective. The match has been cannibalised as much as the Montreal Screwjob finish, it was that seismic an achievement.
Carrying Sid at Survivor Series '96; inventing another trope with his minute-long tap-out tease; making you think his back was about to break every bloody week: Michaels' entire career was a series of peaks, just not in his...mid-'90s peak.