Shawn Michaels, the name is enough to define professional wrestling. Picking one of the matches from his career is nearly impossible. Jim Ross recently reveals his feelings of what is the best match for Shawn Michaels’ career.
The Heart Break Kid has been given many nicknames by the world of professional wrestling. The name that signifies him is probably ‘Mr. WrestleMania.’ Adding his name beside the biggest event in sports entertainment defines his legacy.
Jim Ross Reveals The Greatest Match Of Shawn Michaels
It is nearly impossible to pick one match that can be labeled as his best ever. But Jim Ross tried to do the impossible by picking one match. During a recent episode of Grilling JR, Jim Ross revealed that his match against Mankind from WWE In Your House: Mind Games is probably the best and the most important match of his career. He said,
Shawn Michaels had been largely known as one of the best, if not the best all-around workers in the business. The other thing about that that I was excited about calling that match was that we were going to see a different side of Shawn.
I thought that it was gonna be an opportunity for Shawn Michaels to show the wrestling public that he can fight because he had to fight to survive. I thought that match was a defining moment in Shawn Michaels’ career. It took him to a different place where he celebrated. It was a hell of an opportunity for him to re-tweak his game a little bit, and Mick was the perfect facilitator of that.
I thought that match with Shawn and Mick was huge for both guys, especially for Shawn. This is the match that proved to the fans that Shawn Michaels is tough and he could fight. I thought it was really important because Shawn had always been known as a finesse guy. But can he fight? He was not known as a brawler. Working with Mankind, Shawn had to brawl, successfully brawl, or get eaten alive.
This was the match I was thinking about that did more for Shawn’s career than any match to date that he ever did. The only other match that I could think that was as significant as that might be the WrestleMania 25 match with Taker, ironically. I thought it was just a fabulous presentation by both guys. I just think it did as much for Shawn Michaels’ career as any match that I remember him having.
The mentioned event took place in September 1996. It took place nearly six months after WrestleMania XII where Michaels defeated Bret Hart to earn his first WWE championship. After that, he conquered the likes of Diesel, British Bulldog, and Vader before facing Mankind at Mind Games.
This match is not much talked about among the wrestling fans and the critics. But after Jim Ross revealed it to be the most important match for HBK’s career, it would be interesting for the newer fans to go to the WWE Network at witness it for once.
Credit: Grilling JR. H/T 411Mania.