THIS Is The Most Overrated Wrestling Match Of All Time
The match is the most overrated in the history of the business, and the reasons behind this editorial are twofold:
1) I am a plain nice human being. You might be tempted to revisit this match yourself, less than a fortnight removed from this year’s ‘Mania. Is it as bad as you remember? Yes. Yes it is.
2) Some of its defenders are rancid in their holier-than-thou you-just-don’t-get-it fawning. What are you missing? You’re missing nothing.
I’m in danger of ignoring the match here, mirroring what actually happened, so without further adieu…
After a sporting introduction, Bret and Shawn lock up. Shawn sets forth his mat wrestling credentials, which aggravates the ‘Hitman’, who punishes Shawn—and the fans—by wrenching him in a side headlock. “Very basic match thus far,” surmises McMahon on commentary at the five-minute mark. For the next five minutes, Bret continues to apply the side headlock. The first smattering of boos rain down when Michaels, after a lung-bursting sprint of arm drags, applies an armbar. Michaels isn’t yet a religious man, and thus fails to understand the sadness behind the “giveth and taketh away” verse in the Book of Job. It was the mid-‘90s, come to think of it. He knew nothing of Job. He giveth action, and took it away. His congregation respond with “Boring!” chants. Praise not be.
Bret, in a ploy to babyface his opponent, refuses to break cleanly after taking Shawn to the corner. This sets up a great flying headscissors takedown to the outside. It has little impact on the build; once Bret returns to the ring, he applies a cross armbreaker. It looks great, but the pace is meandering. And then, at the 12 minute mark, a third basic hold is introduced by Bret: the chinlock!
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