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H.B.K.: Farewell to a Man, Myth, Legend… a Hero

Posted By: Steel Tip | March 30, 2010 | 4 comments

I know this isn’t the typical blog you expect out of ol’ Steel Tip, but I’m taking things a different direction tonight. And this may seem silly, because we’re talking Professional Wrestling. To many, this sport (“sports-entertainment”) is fake, un-entertaining, a soap opera for men, or whatever other negative comments you can come up with. And some of those things are correct. It is a soap opera for men (though you may never again hear me admit that), and it is fake… to a degree. I don’t care who you are, but to say this profession is fake and not a sport is a joke. I can back this up to as having had a few professional wrestling matches in my day. You need to have talent, ability, and be properly trained. You can get hurt… God, I’m lucky to only have the injuries I’ve sustained over the years.

You always know you’re going to see your childhood hero retire one day, but are you ever really ready for it? It may seem silly to you for “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels to be a hero of mine, even at the age of 25, but before writing blogs, before doing radio, my passion was (and still is) wrestling. I’ve wanted to be a wrestler ever since I was 7 or 8 years old, and I may have never made it to the big time, but at least I can say I did it professionally. And ever since I was that young age of 7 or 8 there was one man that stood out to me in the (then) W.W.F.… HBK. He did things that no one else did. The high flyers of today; the champions that aren’t you’re typical big guys, can all thank Shawn for paving the way for them. This man was so good, you wanted to be him. I still want to be him. Fuck, when I started out in wrestling, I emulated him to the point of naming myself “Heartbreak Kev”.

One could argue that wrestlers always retire and then come back out of it, i.e. Hulk Hogan. However, Ric Flair was that glimmer of hope of sticking to it: over 60 years old and choosing who he thought was still the best in the business, Shawn Michaels, as his retirement match opponent. Sadly, he too destroyed the idea of retirement in wrestling. Do I think Shawn is done for good? I honestly can’t answer that. Of course I don’t want to think that, but at the same time, I want my hero to keep his word. Before his farewell on Raw tonight, I thought this was all part of a story line and he’d be back to wrestle Triple H at next year’s Wrestlemania. After tonight though, and the comments Shawn had during his speech, you know he wants to stay retired… he doesn’t want to do to Undertaker what Flair did to him. Personally, I think if Shawn does come back, it won’t be until the year he’s inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Either way, I know that year I will be in attendance for both the Hall of Fame and Wrestlemania.

I only have two regrets in my entire life, and one of them is not going to Phoenix this year to watch Wrestlemania 26 for not only the return of another Legend and Hall of Famer, Bret Hart, but for what ended up being Shawn Michaels last match against his Wrestlemania 25 opponent, Undertaker. Boy, I’ll tell you… both matches were classics… ones that any kid trying to get into the business today should study. I saw it on TV, but in hindsight, I now wish I could have been there in person.

I know he’s not reading this right now, but at least it’s out here. Shawn, I want to thank you. You thanked the fans tonight, but I want to thank you for everything. I don’t have many passions in life, and maybe I failed at not going after wrestling like you did, but YOU gave me a passion for not only the entertainment you and countless others have provided in wrestling, but for giving me a passion for a business that I was part of, even if just for a short time. I want to thank you for sacrificing your body time after time for us. Thank you for sharing 20 plus years of your life with us. I know I’ve never been in the ring with you, but I can honestly say from what I’ve learned and seen over the years, that you are truly one of the… no… you are the best wrestler to ever set foot in the ring.

Thank you, HBK…

Until next time, I’m Ste-… I’m Heartbreak Kev and you’ll be missed… good luck, Shawn.

4 Responses

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Steel Tip March 30, 2010 at 7:29 pm

no… but he grew up in the business and for about 10 years before that he was told he was the best and no one would touch him because he was the face of the company… I’m not agreeing with what he did, but from 2002 on he’s been making up for it… again, I find it hard to believe put in his situation you would do it any different than he did through out his BRILLIANT career
Johnny Crash March 30, 2010 at 7:23 pm

Never denied his talent, but Michaels was 32 years old in 1997…not exactly a kid.
Steel Tip March 30, 2010 at 5:55 pm

Except he’s being making things right for much longer than a year sir… you are right about what you said… but I dare you to find one wrestler that didn’t get cocky back in the 90s when he first came to the spotlight. Sure, Shawn took it to a new level… HE EVEN MENTIONED IT DURING HIS FAREWELL SPEECH… but Shawn only went back to his old ways for about 6 months or so since his come back in 2002; then something was said to him, because he wasn’t the top dog anymore, and realized that he had to make amends. Did you also know that since then, he’s one of the few guys that is in favor of pushing the new blood. He’s been offered to hold a Heavyweight Title on numerous occasions since his last title reign in 2002 and he declined in favor of the newer talent (even if that includes John Cena). He has many redeeming factors as he’s made amends with several people over the last 5-7 years. One final note… Shawn admits in having a hand on the Montreal Screw Job yes, but the masterminds with HHH and Vince… AND Bret Hart not only forgave him on air for story line purposes… he forgave him in real life, because Bret knows that back then Shawn was a kid and had an ego… let’s put you as the face of company, making millions of dollars a year, being told your the greatest and see what happens sir.

Don’t taint what is one of the greatest talents.. there’s a reason Flair picked him for his “retirement” match… there’s a reason Taker told him on March 28th, 2010 that he’s the best he’s ever been in the ring with.
Johnny Crash March 30, 2010 at 5:33 pm

except the fact that Shawn Michaels was known for complaining to McMahon when things wouldn’t swing his way, hated by most other wrestlers for a very long time, took part in the screwing over of Bret Hart, even told the ref to get Hart the F*** out of the ring after Hart put him over at WM XII” Disingenuous for most of his career, the only redeeming factor is him finally realizing that and making things right the past year or so.