10 Wrestlers Who Perfected A Finisher On Its Owner
2. Shawn Michaels Has Pedigree
When you return from a serious injury layoff in any other job, the consensus is normally to take your time and ease your way back into the strains of working life.
Shawn Michaels instead saw it fit to return to action, four years after being forced into earlier retirement with a back injury, in a blood-feud with his former DX buddy, 'The Game' Triple H.
After being turned on by his once compadre, midway through an attempted DX revival, the two would wage war on each other - Triple H even sending Michaels through a car window in a parking lot skit.
On the November 11th edition of Raw in 2002 - preceding the Survivor Series Elimination Chamber main event by six days - Michaels opted to get one more lick in on his arch-rival by using the Cerebral Assassin's cherished finisher on himself.
What made Michaels' Pedigree so interesting was his decision to release The Game mid-way through the manoeuvre, leaving Hunter Hurst Helmsley to slam with the force of his own momentum. This relieving of control over the victim, made for a beautiful execution that more than made a lasting impact.
HBK would go on to conquer The King of Kings for his World Heavyweight Championship in the chamber and perhaps this perfecting of his own trump card, placed some doubt in the now former champions mind.