In the moments after Shawn Michaels was booked to fight at Crown Jewel, every social media account on the internet began to fantasize about what else was possible. But according to Michaels, it sounds like Crown Jewel will mark the end of his comeback.
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Michaels will break his near decade-long retirement to team with Triple H on November 2 to take on The Undertaker and Kane at the highly controversial Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. The DX reunion seemingly hints at more match for Michaels, but HBK is treating Crown Jewel like a one-time indulgence.
“… it’s sort of like saying yes to eating chocolate pie. Sometimes, you know, for the most part, you know it’s not as good for you, you try not to have too much of it, but every now and then, you have a cheat day, you enjoy it, and then that’s it. That’s what this is for me, it’s a very glorified cheat day,” he said told WWE.com.
In the weeks after his comeback announcement, several stories have insinuated the Michaels could participate at Survivor Series and even WrestleMania 35. While the theories are abundant, the most prominent have HBK working WrestleMania 35 with AJ Styles or having an ultimate grudge match with The Undertaker.
There’s always the chance that Michael’s “cheat day” quote is classic WWE misdirection. However, Crown Jewel’s circumstances are exactly what Michaels said he would return for. The 53-year Michaels seems to be keenly aware of his limitations and a low-stakes tag match with fellow Attitude Era legends is an ideal option for Michaels.
“I’m very thrilled that after 30 years of being with the WWE I still have the opportunity to be a part of things that are happening for the first time, so I don’t look at it as really a comeback. Like everything in this line of work, I’m thankful it’s a bigger deal to other people than it is to me. I think that’s what I guess makes it easier to do and less anxiety,” he said.
With Crown Jewel not having near the expectations of WrestleMania, Michaels feels loose going into what may very well be his final match in a WWE ring.
I will say this – and maybe it’s going to go really badly because there’s no stress, there’s no anxiety, I don’t feel a lot of pressure to be ‘The Showstopper’ to be ‘Mr. WrestleMania.’ Maybe because it’s not at WrestleMania. One of the reasons I agreed to do it, it didn’t encompass all of those things that I feel a ‘comeback’ or a ‘coming out of retirement’ sort of dictates,” he said.
