11. Shawn Michaels Vs Vader - Summerslam 1996
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Qg9BOMx5U You suspect that Triple H had a hand in the inconsistent booking of his Booker T feud, The Game using his sway with Vince McMahon to make sure his character was made to look strong by demeaning another talent. Perhaps he learned these underhand tactics from his good buddy the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. In the summer of 96, Michaels was floundering as Champion. Funnily enough, the key 18 to 35 male WWF audience didn't really relate to a man who called himself the Sexy Boy and performed a striptease dance on his way to the ring. That's dumb booking in itself. HBK's match with Vader at Summerslam 96 is what earns him the spot on this list. Vader should have been a monster beast, he should have been a genuine star of the WWF. With the right creative invested in him, Vader could have been as big as Taker or Foley in the Attitude Era. Instead, Shawn Michaels killed his momentum. One guy who I would compare Vader to now is Brock Lesnar. A big man who punishes his opponent and destroys them in victories. What would have been best for business in 96 is if Vader had smashed through HBK, relieving him of the title and setting up a compelling title series with Undertaker or other big men. The loss wouldn't have hurt Michaels who would have been losing in much the same way as CM Punk lost to Lesnar in 2013. Instead Michaels used his sway and what actually went down was HBK beating Vader ... with a moonsault. It wasn't believable. A small guy like Michaels beat a monster like Vader with a weak looking moonsault? To put it into context, could you imagine Brock Lesnar being put away with a top rope dive? No. The finish booked here made Vader look incredibly weak and he never really recovered. The entire match had in fact been booked wrong. It ended by count out firstly. However, HBK agreed to restart the match. Where's the logic in that? The match then ended by DQ and again got restarted. Booking like this really hurt what could have been a great clash of two fantastic workers.