There are very few superstars who polarize the fans, and Shawn Michaels is one of them. With Michaels, there is no middle ground You either love him or you hate him, and back in the 90s, most of the fans despised Shawn Michaels for what he stood for. Often seen as a real life jerk, the wrestlers and most of the fans alike werent impressed by Shawns behavior outside the squared circle, and he didnt do himself any favors in the early part of 1997 when he relinquished the title, citing personal reasons. To understand why this move was unpopular among the fans, it is important to know the history between Shawn and his scheduled opponent for WrestleMania in 97, Bret Hart. Although almost all the wrestling fans know about the animosity between the two legends, Shawn Michaels allegedly told Bret that he wouldnt drop the title to him, to give Bret Hart his victory back for putting over Michaels at WrestleMania in 96. This resulted in Michaels cutting one of the most infamous promos in wrestling history, where he mentioned that he had lost his smile, and the injuries werent doing him any favors. Michaels also cited his knee injury to have played a major part in his decisions, and said he was contemplating retirement. As his fans shed tears of sorrow, Michaels gave Vince McMahon the WWF title, thanking the fans for supporting him. What followed is arguably the most controversial incident in wrestling history! Michaels returned after a few months, and after getting into a real life scuffle backstage with Bret Hart, Michaels screwed Bret at Survivor Series in 1997 An incident which has since become infamously known as the Montreal Screwjob!
Sports journalist, writer, poet, quiz master and an engineer. I have been writing about contact sports for years, and have interviewed UFC fighters such as Miesha Tate, Cung Le and John Hathaway. I had also covered TUF - China finale and UFC Fight Night - Macau.
