I have just sat through WWE RAW the night after Wrestle Mania XXVI. All night they were showing clips of Michaels' career that of course ended the night before at the hands of the Undertaker the night before. All throughout the show, they building the 'farewell' up and when it came Michaels gave the usual spiel thanking ths person and that person, the guys in the truck, the camera men and the announcers with a mention to Jim Ross who wasn't at ringside which was a good gesture. But I feel it was very underwhelming, I know Michaels is no Ric Flair but if you think back to Flair's farewell, they really 'rolled out the red carpet' for the 'Nature Boy' that night and yet Michaels' farewell was very mediocre in comparison. The only person who really came out and showed their appreciation for Michaels was Triple H which was no suprise really but this was only when Michaels was at the top of the ramp on his way to the back.
I don't know what everyone else thinks about these but please feel free to leave your comments.
I see where you are coming from, but these retirement ceremonies are still a little new in terms of WWE. I mean who was the first one honestly? Pat Patterson? They didnt even broadcast his farewell, which was him singing Sinatra.
ReplyDeleteRic Flair was a huge deal because his career spanned so many different generations of fan and wrestler that it was literally like watching Batman unmask. It was truly the end of one of wrestling's finest warriors.
While perhaps HBK didnt have the kind of semantics that Ric Flairs departure did, I felt that it was a moment to be kept sacred. Its no secret that HBK has retired at a much younger age than guys like Patterson or Flair, however I personally wonder if that is what spoiled it for alot of people, especially the younger fans.
Its no secret the phrase "no one ever retires from wrestling", and yet even though Shawn had planned this during last years WM, people cannot buy into it. Im constantly reading on various fb's and forums thoughts from the IWC about Shawn not "really" retiring.
I mean its public knowledge that right now he's working as a WWE spokesperson as well as his "Christian" based reality show. With that in mind does it mean that it's impossible for HBK to ever come back? I'm not sure.
I think HBK still has alot of wisdom and talent to offer to WWE's newer guys along with enough charisma to get the crowd out of their seats. WM proved that in my humble opinion.
Perhaps in the future we will see HBK in an on-screen role as a GM, or a special guest ref, or something along those lines.
With Ric Flair and Patterson, people literally felt they would NEVER see them on TV again. That their personal roles were done.
However with HBK? I think most people believe there will be a tomorrow and he will be there.
Think of when Mick Foley retired in WWE. That lasted what? 2 months? Just saying. HBK may NEVER return to mainstream programming or to a regular schedule, but I believe he will have more of a presence in WWE's future than someone like the Rock.
Good post Missionary. I personally don't like HBK anyway over the old Kliq stuff anyway. Good worker just not a fan of the guy as a person. I'd love him to 'un-retire' just to see if the Flair haters turn on HBK aswell. i know Flair has major money worries that HBK doesn't but I'd just like to see it.
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