19 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Shawn Michaels

16. He Disrespected The Canadian Flag

In the wrestling world, plenty of superstars have used flags. Sometimes villains used flags to get heat like when Sgt. Slaughter was an Iraqi sympathizer. Other times American wrestlers like Jim Duggan and The Patriot brought out US flags to show how much they loved their country. In 1997, Bret Hart would bring the Canadian flag to the ring as a way to get booed by the fans during his anti-America gimmick. It worked. What Michaels did, though, wasn't something that was part of a script. There were instances where he stuck the flag up his nose in a mocking manner. Then there was the time he started humping the Canadian flag in the ring prior to his Survivor Series 1997 match with Hart in Montreal. And the moment shown in the GIF above. Michaels likely did those things as a way to get heel heat, but it was also something that crossed the line a bit too much. Hart mentioned many times that he thought it was disrespectful to himself and Canada. As a Canadian myself, it really didn't bother me because it was just a heel being a jerk. However, a lot of people take a lot of pride in their country's flag so to see somebody do what Shawn did really upset them.