Shawn Michaels WrestleMania Matches - Ranked From Worst To Best
10. Vs. Ric Flair - WrestleMania XXIV
If these matches were judged by emotional value alone, there's a good chance that this would be streets ahead at the top of the lot.
Ric Flair's career was on the line here, as Vince McMahon had decreed that the next match Flair lost would be his last. All of this led to Naitch obviously losing one last epic battle at WrestleMania, and Shawn Michaels was chosen as the man to do the honours.
Despite the predictability of the finish, this match kept viewers right on the edge of their seats. I watched WrestleMania XXIV with a number of friends, some of whom had no interest whatsoever in professional wrestling, yet each one of them was pleading with Michaels to tap as Flair slapped on the figure four.
After Michaels administered the last rights to Flair's career, the silence in the room was one that comes only when a group of viewers have been truly moved by something.
Take the emotion out of the match and it certainly wouldn't be regarded as anything more than a competent RAW match. Flair wasn't the same great worker he once was at this point, completely understandable considering his age and length of career. Michaels helped the great man put on one hell of a show, though.
It is truly a testament to the quality of Mr. WrestleMania that this, one of the most emotional matches in wrestling history, is his 10th best match at the Showcase of the Immortals.