10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (March 24)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. HBK Didn't Decide On A Full-Time Return To WWE Until December, 2002

Shawn Michaels SummerSlam 2002
WWE.com

Before he faced off against good friend Triple H at SummerSlam 2002, a wary Shawn Michaels believed he'd be lucky to make it through the match unscathed and felt the bout would be little more than a one-off return from serious back injuries for him.

Telling the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast all about his personal worries and fears, Michaels stated it was Vince McMahon who then asked about the possibility of squeezing another match out of HBK at Survivor Series; that match would turn out to be the Elimination Chamber, a bout during which Michaels became World Heavyweight Champion.

Still unconvinced whether or not he was going to return full-time, Shawn returned home to chat things over with his wife and young family.

It wasn't until after his Armageddon match with Triple H (during which Shawn dropped the belt back to his chum) that Michaels began to feel a full-time return could be on the cards; following a promo segment with Chris Jericho on Raw, Shawn finally made his mind up and realised he was born to wrestle.

In essence, it was that electric promo skit with Y2J that had changed his mind.

What other big wrestling facts did you learn this week? Let us know down in the comments section below!

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.