The Heatbreak Kid is an interesting dichotomy in the sense that he's unquestionably the greatest in-ring babyface of all-time - sorry Ricky Steamboat fans - with his selling and storytelling making you feel genuine sympathy, while at the same time being a natural heel character. As a persona, Shawn's apex was during the original DX run, as he just oozed contemptible arrogance. It was obvious that HBK enjoyed playing the bad guy, and he was excellent at it. But once that bell rang, his work style was tailor-made to be a babyface and caused a contrast. Michaels is openly ashamed of some of his behavior prior to his first retirement in 1997, and if even some of the stories are true it's easy to understand why. The Shawn Michaels post-2002 return would feel terribly miscast as a villain, and even his betrayal of former pupil Daniel Bryan wasn't enough to permanently turn fans against him. But if you want a glimpse of HBK's brilliance as a heel, look no further than his infamous promo from Montreal in 2005. It was a masterclass in drawing heat.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
