WWE - Shawn Michaels: 5 Awesome Matches And 5 That Sucked

1. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker - Wrestlemania XXV, April 5th 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n75tyZCTL4g Not only is this possibly the greatest match that Shawn Michaels ever wrestled, it's also possibly the best Wrestlemania match ever. With neither man having ever met at the "grandest stage of them all" before, despite the fact they had both made the PPV their own, the match didn't even really need any more building on than that. Instead, we got something much greater; Michaels consistently using his own faith as a way to make this a match of "heaven vs. hell"; it was the first time time that HBK had really played a heel since his feud with Hulk Hogan in 2005, meaning that there was an added breath of fresh air about his character. Perhaps oddly, there was no real referencing the fact that it was the Undertaker who initially ended the career of Michaels in 1998, but in reality the feud probably did not need it. Come the PPV, the match went on shortly after the midway point of the event; in typically overdone Michaels fashion, he entered bathed in a white light, like some kind of evangelical preacher. Claiming not to be afraid of Undertaker, Shawn struggled slightly early on in the match, but quickly began to outmanoeuvre the Undertaker, going after the legs and even locking in a Figure Four leglock, harking back to his "retiring" of Ric Flair the year before. Perhaps more controversially, Michaels would lock in the Crossface, again calling back to a previous Wrestlemania match he had been involved in. Back and forth the action went, both men clearly giving it their all. The live crowd - and no doubt those at home too - were left in shock as each near fall went by. At several points, it genuinely seemed that Michaels might finally be the one to break the Streak; unlike their foll0w-up match the next year, the result of this match really did seem completely up for grabs. If anyone could beat Undertaker, surely it would be HBK. Perhaps one of the all time classic moments saw Shawn attempt to skin the cat back in to the ring, only for Undertaker to grab him mid-motion, drag him from the ropes and plant Michaels with the Tombstone. It seemed the perfect ending to the match; Michaels' showboating leading to his demise. So when he kicked out of the pin, the crowd went wild and the camera zoomed in on an exasperated Undertaker, clearly shocked that he had not picked up the win. Somehow, Shawn fought back, landing the Sweet Chin Music only for Undertaker to then kick out. Yet again, the crowd were left on their feet. By throwing everything at each other and visibly giving it their all in the ring, the two veterans - who many had deemed to be "past it" by this point - completely stole the show. By the time the finish came, with Michaels being caught again for the Tombstone (this time from a moonsault), there was no doubt left on anyone's mind that this should clearly have been the main event, in a rare case of the WWE perhaps showing a lack of forethought when it came to the big show. Nevertheless, it was a match that any wrestling fan should have been proud to watch and be a part of. Shawn Michaels was indeed the Showstopper; but he just couldn't stop the Streak.