Perfection: Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker tear the house down at WrestleMania, Part II
Well folks, it seems like every year around this time I have a talk with my friends about how awesome Shawn Michaels is at WrestleMania and how his future performances can’t possibly match the masterpiece we have just seen. Well folks, it seems like every year around this time I am made to look like an idiot.
Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker put on a match for the ages at WrestleMania 26 that was pretty damn close, if not better than the all time classic the two legends threw down at Mania 25. They are the two best in-ring story tellers alive today. I suppose Kurt Angle also belongs in the conversation, but he just doesn’t have the canvas you need to create a true masterpiece in the rinky-dink confines of TNA. From now on when friends or family bug you about why you follow pro wrestling, this is the match you must show them. The match last night had so many amazing moments. My favorite sport was the hellacious moonsault when Michaels (45 by the way) launched himself off the ropes into the air and landed onto a prone Undertaker who was stretched out on the announcer’s table. The impact of the crash destroyed the table and caused me to nearly take a bump on my basement floor because I was so blown away. Another great, little simpler moment, was when Shawn was able to reverse the Undertaker’s Hell’s Gate gogoplata submission into a pinning predicament. I actually thought there was a chance the match was going to end on that quick little reversal.
If this is really the end of Shawn Michaels' career, wrestling is going to suck.
Another thing that made this match feel so “big” was the stipulation of streak v. career. You actually felt like something was on the line, unlike most years where The Undertaker winning at WrestleMania feels like a mere formality. Please, did you really think the likes of Mark Henry, Ric Flair, Edge, Batista, The Big Show and A-Train actually had a chance in hell of winning? I actually predicted that Shawn would win going into the show. I thought the combination of everyone in the world knowing Taker was probably going to win plus it would create a natural storyline for Taker-Shawn III at WrestleMania 27. This little bit of uncertainty made all the near falls seems really important, because there was a little voice in the back of my mind saying “This Sweet Chin Music might actually be it.” But it was not to be. The match ended in a great sequence where Taker hit a tombstone pile driver that everybody thought was the end of the match. However, Shawn kicked out and The Undertaker said “What the hell do I have to do?” He then stood up and lowered the straps on his ring gear and looked ahead with an empty look in his eyes and implored Michaels to stay down. You could tell he wanted him to stay down. However, Shawn used the Undertaker almost like a railing and grabbed onto his chest and hoisted himself up while trying to keep his balance. Shawn than shocked Taker by doing the deadman’s throat slash gesture and smacking Taker right in the face. This enraged The Undertaker and led to him hitting Shawn witha jumping tombstone. 1, 2, 3 bell rings, match over. It was amazing. The two men embraced after the match and Shawn Michaels went away taking in the adoration of the fans with a relieved look on his as he entered the next phase of his life.
I expect we will be seeing the steely glaze of The Undertaker at WrestleMania for years to come.
Its amazing the performance these two athletes were able to give despite all the physical issues plaguing them. The Undertaker must be in terrible pain since he is dealing with constant hip and knee pain. He has had several hip operations in the past few years and will probably get a full replacement like Konnan sometime soon. Shawn missed 4 years of his career due to severe back problems and also has to be hurting in his knees and legs. The Undertaker did a masterful job of selling a bum knee after coming down awkwardly on it while completing his famous “Old School” rope walk maneuver. Hell, for a few minutes I thought he had actually severely injured it until Michaels started going after it as much as he did. It was still a great performance by The Undertaker. Who knows, maybe there was some reality in all that limping? The combination of grit, craziness, excitement, mastery, fear, desire, and uniqueness made Shawn-Taker II one of the greatest matches to ever come down the pro wrestling pike. Its scary to think about a WWE without either of these performers. Where are our great matches going to come from? What performers are going to be able to draw out such an emotional response from crowds in arenas and at home? Will there ever be a match this good in the WWE again? I don’t know. Time is the only way to find out, but right now all we can do is sit back and thank The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels for laying it all on the line one more time. If this is truly Shawn Michaels’ last match, (Its wrestling, people) thank you for a magnificent career. From your early work with the likes Marty Jannetty, Bret Hart, and Razor Ramon to the modern stuff with Kurt Angle, HHH, Chris Jericho, John Cena, Ric Flair, and The Undertaker, you have blazed a trail that will be unmatched for decades to come. Your Mania matches with Flair, Razor Ramon, Chris Jericho, HHH and Benoit, Hart, Angle, and the two with Undertaker will be remembered until the end of time. Its been a hell of a ride.
Thank you for everything Mark Callaway and Michael Hickenbottom. The Dead Man and The Sexy Boy have created more memories and kicked more ass, and entertained more fans than almost anybody in this industry.
You two are the masters.
Shawn Michaels: Forever Awesome.
Thanks for stopping by everybody. I will offer my thoughts on the rest of the WrestleMania 26 card later this week. Come back to hear my thoughts on Vince-Bret, Batista-Cena, Edge-Y2J and everything else that happened in the biggest sporting event of the year.
lordelevation
globalcorrespondent
wow cool stuff bro.
limewire said this on April 30, 2010 at 1:30 am