10 Wrestling Storylines That Don't Get Enough Love
7. Like Hell This Wasn't Great
Of course, the second Jericho/Michaels programme was so objectively superb as to occupy the upper reaches of a Greatest Storylines Ever list - but the feud booked to segue into it was, if not a self-contained masterpiece in itself, one of wrestling's best ever epilogues and prologues.
Batista was upset with Shawn Michaels for retiring his idol Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV. "Like hell you're sorry," Batista roared in the Highlight Reel set-up segment. "The only thing you're sorry about is that everyone is calling you on your cr*p."
This was a logical and interesting development, one that allowed Michaels to channel his old, controversial self. In order to survive a far bigger physical threat, Michaels faked - and then lied about faking - a knee injury at Backlash. The use of that joint was no accident; instantly, long-term fans recalled Shawn's sh*thouse behaviour circa 1997, questioning his moral turpitude. This wasn't a heel versus face programme, but a story in which its players were complex moral compositions. The storyline intersected with the Chris Jericho programme, too, underscoring that flexibility. These were real human beings in there, with memories and multiple motivations, as opposed to chess pieces moved around the board indiscriminately.
In the end, Michaels' villainy exhumed the villain within Chris Jericho, creating an indignant and justified - and brilliant - heel character.