The match between Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan at WWE SummerSlam 2005 garnered significant attention due to the controversial nature of their encounter.
Upon viewing, many fans believed that Michaels took liberties during the match, resulting in an unconventional and polarising performance that included exaggerated movements and overselling of Hogan’s moves, leading to a farcical atmosphere.
“I was a fan once too and then one day you’re in a locker room with these guys. And it’s like “oh my goodness!” And time goes on and you’re their peers and they’re friends or whatever and your business, or whatever the case may be but then still a part of you is “I would love to”, y’know. That’s one of the things I’d never done is be out there with Hulk Hogan. He was back and it was like this is an opportunity for this to happen. Anyone think anything is there? And everyone thought it was viable.”
Speaking on whether or not he found working with Hogan frustrating, ‘HBK’ revealed that his only real issues were in relation to the build-up…
“The only part that was ever frustrating was me having to do a lot of it on my own and it constantly changing week to week of what we originally thought it would be.”
The WWE Hall of Famer returned to the ring in 2002 after a four-year sabbatical as a babyface but explained how creative changes potentially hurt the feud with Hogan, with Michaels turning heel.
“Originally it was wanted to be just good guy vs. good guy. And one of those things where “HBK just needed to know”. And those things got changed… Even as a wrestling fan, I can’t be a bad guy anymore without anybody thinking there’s a part of me that’s really bad.”
The match left a lasting impact, with varied opinions on Michaels’ antics. Some saw it as Michaels taking liberties and being unprofessional, while others appreciated his performance. As for the actual criticism of the match, Michaels feels that some commentators may have been overly critical.
“I was very thrilled to do it. And the match itself? Even that’s gotten blown out of proportion. All that really did was reveal to me is that I made the right choice in not trying to be a heel again. That is the way I sold when I was a heel. Now, you fast forward to 2005 and it’s now known as overselling. I wouldn’t be good at it. There was only one thing I was trying to do in that match and it was a private joke between Kevin Nash and I. Everything else has turned out to have a life of its own and honestly, it just shows that I am no longer a good heel anymore. That’s how I used to bump for everybody in 95 and nobody minded it.”
In subsequent years, both wrestlers managed to reconcile their differences and move past the contentious encounter, with Hogan acknowledging that the incident was behind them.
“It was one of those things where I don’t care who you are, if you’re in this line of work and even remotely in the same era as him, you wanna say you were out there with the biggest. Say what you want but he’s the biggest name in this business. You know what I mean? That we’ll probably ever see or ever know.”
Hulk Hogan wrestled his final WWE match just a year later at SummerSlam 06, against Randy Orton. Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels wrestled his final singles match at WrestleMania XXVI against The Undertaker.
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Inside The Ropes caught up with HBK back in 2021. Amongst other things, he revealed on how he’d coach a young ‘Heartbreak Kid’.
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