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Welcome back, Shawn Michaels
But this "Heartbreak Kid" will look a little different.
He won't be the one who carried stiffs such as The British Bulldog, Sid Vicious and Kevin Nash to watchable matches in the mid-1990s.
He won't be the one who antagonized the self-professed Canadian legend Bret Hart until his timely departure from the WWF in 1997.
He won't be the one who gallantly fought through a herniated disc in his back at "Wrestlemania XIV" in a world title match against Steve Austin, the heir to his throne.
This "Heartbreak Kid" will be plain, old Shawn Michaels.
Does it matter? It shouldn't.
Michaels' return to the ring Aug. 25 at "SummerSlam" is exciting, even if it's only to trade punches and kicks with Triple H. The storyline surrounding Michaels' attacker culminated last Monday on "Raw" when "The Game" was revealed as the perpetrator. The somewhat anti-climatic angle was highlighted by Michaels' strong interview and subsequent challenge to Hunter for a one-on-one match at the pay-per-view.
The back-and-forth dialogue stressed the key point of the pending Michaels-Hunter showdown: Michaels can no longer wrestle, but he can "fight."
Call it the teacher vs. the student.
Call it the past vs. the present.
Call it pride vs. pomposity.
More important, call it Michaels first in-ring affair since 1998.
Well, sort of.
Michaels competed for his Texas Wrestling Alliance promotion two years ago in a street fight against then-world champion and star pupil, Venom. Michaels' return to action wasn't met with much fanfare, other than a few rumblings here and there regarding what should have been a monumental moment.
The match came and went, and Michaels went back to his behind-the-scenes work for the TWA and promotional work for the WWF. The following year, Michaels signed a three-year extension with the WWF.
Even before signing the extension, Michaels had been a sporadic WWF superstar. He would appear here and there, mostly doing autograph signings to hype specific events. Occasionally, Michaels would rear his familiar face on television, usually in an insignificant role as commissioner, special guest referee, special guest enforcer, guy who waves at the crowd.
You get the idea.
Just as fans were getting used to seeing Michaels back on TV, he'd disappear. That frustrating trend continued for the better part of four years, since Michaels was forced to retire from the WWF in 1998 after suffering a back injury in January in a championship "Casket Match" against The Undertaker at the "Royal Rumble." Michaels was backdropped over the top to the outside and his lower back glanced the edge of the casket placed at ringside.
Michaels finished the match without missing a step. He said in later interviews that he started experiencing back pain after that incident. The then-WWF champion was scheduled to wrestle the following month at February's "In Your House" pay-per-view as part of an 8-man tag team match. Michaels pulled out of the event, again due to a back pain aggravated by rehabing the injury with heavy weight training.
The WWF was faced with an interesting dilemma, considering that its champion was incapacitated and he was scheduled to defend the title at the company's biggest show, "Wrestlemania," against a "Stone Cold" challenger. In a show of courage and determination that many thought Michaels was incapable of, the two-time WWF champion painfully competed at the event and passed pro wrestling's proverbial torch to Austin.
Since his epic confrontation with Austin, fans have speculated as to when Michaels would return.
Michael Hickenbottom, the husband and father who quietly resides in Texas with a renewed sense of purpose in his life, said during an interview on "Confidential" that "The Heartbreak Kid" was dead. But Shawn Michaels still is kicking.
And he's one superkick away from recapturing his glory and reintroducing fans to the once arrogant, athletic stowstopper who made the WWF worth watching during a time when wrestling wasn't commercially attractive.
Even if it's only for one night.
