Not WWE SummerSlam 2002: The Full Story Of Shawn Michaels' Forgotten Return Match

At WWE SummerSlam 2002, Shawn Michaels returned to the squared circle to go one-on-one with on-screen nemesis but real-life best friend Triple H in what was billed as Shawn Michaels’ first match since he walked away from the ring and retired following 1998’s WrestleMania XIV.

That is what WWE wanted you to believe anyway, but to believe that is to overlook a somewhat obscure, but absolutely noteworthy, encounter that HBK had in between.

On March 29, 1998, the changing of the WWF guard was complete as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeated WWF Champion Shawn Michaels in the main event of WWE's biggest show of the year, with Michaels then being laid out post-match by a Mike Tyson right hook.

For many fans, this was the equivalent of the antagonist getting his comeuppance at the end of the movie, before metaphorically being sent packing for a long-term hiatus. Michaels wouldn’t be wrestling anytime soon, either. 

More than six weeks before WrestleMania, Michaels found himself in the worst pain he'd ever experienced in his life. While working out in his San Antonio home, Michaels was besieged with serious back pains, which he later compared to "a hot knife tearing through his back." 

After being rushed to the hospital, Michaels underwent a series of tests, and the results were severe; two herniated discs and one crushed disc. Michaels also had a hip misalignment and worsening knee issues to join his spinal injuries.

Known for the exuberant manner in which he'd throw himself around the ring, 32-year-old Michaels was faced with a very uncertain future in wrestling. Many point to an awkward landing on the edge of a casket lid during his match at the 1998 Royal Rumble with The Undertaker as being the apparent death blow to Shawn's career, but if anything, that spot only added weight on an already-untenable stack, instead of being the sole cause of a forced hiatus.

To keep him ready for the main event, Michaels remained inactive until the day of WrestleMania XIV, where he gutted his way through the match with Austin, and dropped the title.

Shawn Michaels, The Retired Pro Wrestler

With Michaels out of action indefinitely, life went on as Steve Austin cemented himself as the face of WWF, Vince McMahon became the new top heel, and Triple H assumed control of D-Generation X as the Attitude Era only continued to boost the company's growth, especially in the Monday Night Wars against World Championship Wrestling. 

Michaels, however, was left to ponder what he was going to do next. Michaels initially operated on a wait-and-see approach for the remainder of 1998, postponing a potentially career-ending back surgery and opting for rehabilitation instead. By Michaels' admission, he didn't rehab his back as much as he should have, though, and he remained in constant pain.

At the beginning of 1999, with his back still in agony, Michaels underwent a four- and-a-half hour procedure to fuse his vertebrae, which he said eradicated the pain he'd been dealing with. HBK was cautioned, however, that by having the surgery, he could be robbed of his mobility. As Michaels' ring-style was predicated on supreme athleticism and keen timing, that would likely mean the end of his days as a professional wrestler. Ultimately, Michaels selected diminished pain over a return to the squared circle. 

At only 33, Michaels was still looking for ways to remain active with his life, even if wrestling seemed to be out of the question. He tried different things in the months ahead, including making infrequent appearances as the WWF's on-screen commissioner, and even a brief stint covering high school sports on a local TV news affiliate.

Michaels had designs on being more than somebody that traded on their famous name, however, and he wanted to be involved in setting up wrestling's future.

In 1999, HBK opened the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy in San Antonio. His original faculty included his own wrestling trainer Jose Lothario, as well as veteran Texas wrestlers Ken "Mad Dog" Johnson and Rudy Boy Gonzales. The school has its fair share of notable alumni too, including future WWE stars Bryan Danielson, Brian Kendrick, Paul London, and Lance Cade, as well as future TNA stars Matt Bentley and Shawn Hernandez, and veteran deathmatch performer Masada. Even eccentric Japanese star Milano Collection AT trained at the school mid-career during the 2000s.

Due to Michaels’ limitations at the time, he and Lothario would coach from outside the ring, while Gonzales worked with the students on the inside. Though Michaels was supposed to go easy on himself, he sometimes couldn't resist climbing into the training ring to demonstrate certain bumps, as Bryan Danielson later revealed.

In fact, on one occasion, as Michaels tried to coach the students on how to achieve proper height in taking a back body drop, he felt that nobody was getting it right, so Michaels himself stepped into the ring and showed the proper form and technique, at which point his mother happened to walk into the gym, and caught her son defying doctor's orders by performing a risky manoeuvre. As Danielson and others learned, even a three-time former world champion wasn’t immune to a mother's wrath.

By April 2000, Michaels would do more than demonstrative a few bumps, though, and he would, in fact, wrestle for what was supposed to be just one more match.

Shawn Michaels' In-Ring Return

In conjunction with the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy, Michaels oversaw the Texas Wrestling Alliance, a promotion that shared a relationship with the school not unlike that of NXT with the WWE Performance Center. The Alliance actually had a local television program that aired in a half-hour time slot on Saturday nights too.

For most of 1999 and 2000, the TWA Heavyweight Title was held by Venom, an individual portrayed by veteran grappler Paul Diamond, who broke into the Texas wrestling scene in the mid-1980s around the same time Michaels did. By mid-1985, the two were teaming together as American Force and they held the Texas All-Star Wrestling Tag Team Titles twice in 1985 and 1986 as a duo. 

After splitting earlier in 1986, it would be over a year before Michaels and Diamond crossed paths once more, doing so as tag team rivals. Michaels had by then formed The Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty, while Diamond formed Badd Company with Pat Tanaka. In Minneapolis' AWA and Memphis' Continental territories, the two teams often waged war over championship gold.

Michaels and Diamond even had a pair of notable run-ins with each other in the WWF in the early 1990s, including in a forgotten classic at the 1991 Royal Rumble as Diamond performed as Kato, one half of the Orient Express with Tatanka at the 1991 Royal Rumble. Two years later, on the premiere episode of Monday Night Raw, heel Michaels retained the Intercontinental Title over Diamond, now portraying intergalactic daredevil Max Moon.

In the twilight of his career, Diamond ventured into the TWA, his old Texas stomping grounds, where he added veteran presence to a roster populated with local talents and aspiring hopefuls. As Venom, Diamond played TWA's lead heel and even defended the TWA Championship at a pair of WWF house shows in Texas in 1999, defeating Funaki on both.

As part of a storyline, Venom earned control of Michaels' TWA, becoming the owner and CEO. By March 2000, Venom was defending his championship in a Ladder Match against a visiting Justin Credible, himself a longtime Kliq ally, and at the time one half of ECW's World Tag Team Champions with Lance Storm. Late in the bout, Michaels ran interference, knocking Venom off the ladder, and blasting him with Sweet Chin Music, enabling Credible to win the title.

After the match, Credible cut an in-ring promo with Michaels present. He said that due to commitments with ECW and being a tag team champion, he wasn't going to keep the TWA belt, and thereby placed it onto Shawn's shoulder, making him the champion instead.

Somewhat meekly, an all-but-retired Michaels held the belt aloft, when Venom suddenly came to and shoved him. Venom then cut a promo on Shawn, accusing him of screwing him over 15 years ago by splitting up American Force, and here, now, Shawn had screwed him over again.

Therefore, Venom was using his CEO powers to order Michaels into a title defence, against him. Michaels tried to say that he didn't need the belt and didn't want to wrestle any more, but Venom insisted. It also wasn't going to be an ordinary match as Venom demanded that it be a Texas-style Bunkhouse Brawl.

Michaels ultimately agreed to the match and he would defend the championship against Venom's ownership of the company, in a Winner Takes All fight to the finish. It was billed as a "last hurrah" for Michaels, closing out his career on an up-note, in his hometown, working with a man he'd come to know as a young wrestler just breaking into the sport.

Shawn Michaels Vs. Venom - Bunkhouse Brawl

On Tuesday, April 4, 2000 at the Far West Rodeo in San Antonio, Texas, Shawn Michaels would step into the ring for what was supposed to be one last time as a wrestler to shut up his former tag team partner and make things right with his organisation.

Venom entered first and quickly threw a trash can filled with weapons into the ring, choosing a kendo stick as his first line of defence. Michaels’ ‘Sexy Boy’ theme then filled the intimate venue as HBK, in a sleeveless black t-shirt and blue jeans tucked into his cowboys boots, entered the ring. 

After throwing away his baseball cap, Michaels began throwing fists with Venom, before Venom gained the upper hand. When the fight spilled to the arena floor, Venom ran Michaels back-first into the retaining guardrail, a clear sign that the veteran heel intended to work over Michaels' glaring weak spot.

Venom then went to the well of plunder, attacking Michaels with a cookie sheet, and then a crutch. Michaels turned the tide moments later, demonstrating his familiar grace with an up-and-over in the corner, before pummelling Venom with some of the provided weapons. Michaels then removed one of his boots and swung it at Venom's head, a staple of every Bunkhouse-style brawl there has ever been.

Michaels then, shockingly, hit a piledriver onto a trash can lid before he introduced a ladder into the mix and hit a Rocker fist drop from all of five feet off the ground. Venom bled from the forehead as Michaels continued the assault, even waffling his former partner across the head with a ringside chair. Minutes later, back inside the ring, Michaels performed a baseball slide, kicking the ladder into the nether regions of Venom.

The match continued with an emphasis on comedic violence, before Venom turned the tide with a low blow. With Michaels laid out near a staging area, Venom stacked up two folding tables. The two men then brawled to a higher platform, where Venom teased throwing Michaels off. Instead, Michaels countered, hip-tossing Venom through both tables below in a great visual. 

Venom managed to stagger back to the ring, just as Michaels was producing a third table from under the apron. However, the tide turned once again when Venom threw powder into HBK's eyes. He then took to beating Shawn with the kendo stick, busting open the former WWF Champion.

Venom then produced a set of handcuffs, and chained Michaels to the top rope. After taunting Michaels with a DX crotch chop, Venom continued the kendo stick beating as a crimson-red Michaels slumped to the canvas. With the mic in hand, Venom told the assembled crowd that they were witnessing the destruction of their hero.

After saying his piece, Venom began setting up the table, only for Academy trainee Shooter Schultz to hit the ring. He snatched Venom and attempted a t-bone suplex through the table, which didn't break. A second one didn't break the table either, nor did a powerbomb. Thankfully, crowd focus turned to Schultz uncuffing Michaels, who improvised by powerslamming Venom through the now-scalene table.

From there, 17 minutes into the fight, Michaels strode to the corner and fired off his patented Sweet Chin Music into the jaw of Venom, before pinning him to a mighty cheer from the hometown crowd.

The match itself doesn't feel all that different from the template of a modern wrestling walk-and-brawl street fight, but having two old pros that knew how to milk a moment and get the most out of a simple spot made this better than the usual fare of its type.

Michaels didn't take much in the way of back bumps, obviously playing it safe on that front. Parts of the match were brisk, however, and Michaels still looked like HBK, even if it wasn't aerodynamic HBK. Even limited, Michaels still performed admirably.

If this was the last hurrah, then it was a nice love letter to the San Antonio fans, Shawn's local constituency. It wasn't the 30-minute technical classic that Michaels was peerless at in his prime, but for a 34-year-old that seemingly wasn't going to wrestle anywhere near the way he used to, this felt like a quaint final chapter to a storied career.

Post-TWA

Of course, it wasn't a final chapter. Michaels came back in 2002 and stunned pretty much everyone with that SummerSlam battle against Triple H as HBK proved he was as good as he ever was. Along the way, Michaels started a family, kicked addiction, and returned to the WWE ring a far more laid back and cooperative individual than when he'd left over four years earlier.

Michaels would remain a full-time wrestler until 2010, performing at the top level of the industry. Today, he is a top figure backstage at NXT and the WWE Performance Center, mirroring his stewardship of TWA and the Academy decades prior.

You would forgive a person for assuming that after the murky 1998 exit and the triumphant 2002 revival that there lay a total abyss in Shawn Michaels' wrestling career. In some ways, the story is actually more compelling if you believe that Michaels walked out a troubled soul and returned a rejuvenated one, especially under the gaudy, Hollywood-like lights of WWE, with nothing in between.

In between those distant parts of his life, "The Showstopper" stole one more show, in front of an intimate crowd in his hometown, and away from the awareness of many fans. Shawn Michaels' 2000 match with Paul Diamond is an affable curiosity, a fascinating look at a headline star in a cavernous lurch between headline gigs.