25 Greatest Superstars In WWE Raw History

3. Shawn Michaels

Mount Rushmore Raw Austin Flair Rock Hogan
WWE.com

Shawn Michaels’ Monday Night Raw legacy mirrors the story of his astonishing career.

A key player from literally the first episode onwards, his constant sh*t-stirring presence on the show between 1993-1998 confirmed his place as Vince McMahon’s least reliable (but most talented) brand leader. The mental breakdown he lived out on a weekly basis in 1997 thankfully didn’t reflect the performer that returned to the ring in 2002.

Giving the gift of his art to a brand new generation of fans and wrestlers for eight more years, Shawn was a Raw fixture that helpfully hid the lack of stars even close to his ability failing to shine underneath him. He overachieved even with those scant opportunities, having his best straight one-on-one match with Triple H on a December 2003 edition, as well as giving John Cena, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Edge, Shelton Benjamin and countless others some of their best nights ever on the flagship.

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett