In less than a week, we went from being excited just to see Shawn Michaels face on WWE TV, to a tsunami of rumors guaranteeing he’ll wrestle one last time.
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Current reports have that coming this November at an event in Saudi Arabia, while others think The Showstopper is on board for his final WrestleMania moment next year in New York.
It’s impossible to know what’s really happening, but it certainly feels like HBK is gearing up for a return. That said, the next question has to be: against who?
Who it Won’t Be: Seth Rollins
Other than Dolphย Ziggler’sย overt allusions to Shawn Michaels, Seth Rollins is the closest thing to HBKย in today’s WWE. This would seemingly make him the perfect dancing partner in Michaels’ last hurrah.
But’s he not.ย
At WrestleManiaย 32, at 31-year old Roman Reigns went toe-to-toe with at 51-year-old Undertaker. And if we can be honest, the juxtaposition was not flattering. Instead, we saw exactly how mortal The Deamanย can be.ย
Despite a similarย difference in age,ย (32 and 53)ย I don’t think the gap in physicality between Micheals and Rollins would be near as vast, but I still don’t want to see it. Michealsย doesn’t either as he recently expressed that if he does come back, he’d have to be paired with an older wrestler becauseย otherwise, it may be hard for us to suspend our disbelief.ย
Who it Won’t Be: Johnny Gargano
Unless Michaels demands it, there is simply no way Vince McMahon will give this opportunity to an NXTย star. Even though the 32-year-old Garganoย would be up for the challenge, he’s still unknown to most of the WWE Universe. And we’re being adults, here, HBK’sย comeback is about making money.ย
Even more, Michaelsย has expressed doubts about wrestling a budding star because pinning a 53-year old Showstopper doesn’t exactly create a ton of momentum.ย
When choosing Michaels’ final opponent, WWEย will err on the side of spectacle. And Johnny Wrestling won’t be able to manifest that by 2019ย
Who it Might Be: Triple H
Shawn Michaelsย got to retire Ricย Flair. Undertaker then extinguished Michaels’ career. Could Michaelsย come back end Triple H’s wrestling days?ย
Pardon the fantasy booking, but there is no shortage of storylines available for a WrestleMania 35 match between the co-founders of Degeneration X.
At 49 years old, there’s no great reason for Triple H to still be wrestling, so ending his career in 2019 could work. However, if he is destined to take over for Vince McMahon, that means he’ll have to take bumpsย at WrestleManiaย for the next 30 years, and thus, never actually retire.
Don’t count on this one, folks.ย
Who it Might Be: Shane McMahon
We have no idea where Shane McMahon is right now.
Without looking, we’ll guess he hasn’t shown his face since this spring. However, we’ll bet his ears perked up once the whispers of HBKย coming back started to leak.ย
However if WWE wants to do Shane-O-Mac vs. Michaels, they’re going to need to start building ASAP. And Shane may be happier taking a break from WWE.
Don’t bet on this happening.ย
Who it Might Be: Kurt Angle
Anyone familiar with their WrestleManiaย 21 classic knows that Michaels and Angle are capable of putting on an incredible performance. As mentioned, Michaelsย says he prefers to work with someone older, and Angle is already rumored to be prepping for an in-ring return.
Could we see the WrestleManiaย sequel? Maybe, but WWE has better options.
Who it Might Be: AJ Styles
A match between Styles and Michaelsย would be th greatest combination of in-ring talent in WWEย history. Styles would have to lose his WWEย Championship because no one would believe HBKย would hold a title nor do I think HBKย wants to be a champion at age 53.
So this one would have to be for pride. Who’s the greatest wrestler of all time?ย
WWEย could do a lot with that story. But there’s one more I think they like better.
Who it Will Be: The Undertaker
Of all the names on the list, only the Undertaker had a 15-minute segment with Shawn Michaelsย this week. Only the Undertaker will have HBK as his special guest referee at The Super Show-Down. Only The Undertaker is rumored to fight Michaels in a tag match at the November Saudiย Arabian show. And only The Undertaker is believed to be Michaelsย opponent at WrestleManiaย 35.
Where there’s smoke, there’s The Deadman.
It’s impossible to say if WWEย wantsย to have HBKย vs. Taker at next year’s ‘Mania, but most reports have them meeting in some fashion later this year.
