Episode 36: Thanks For The Memories
WrestleMania 26.
The main event was set to start. The most anticipated match of the Millennium. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker. One. Last. Time.
Shawn came out dancing as usual, sorta reminiscent of the old entrances we'd come to know and love. Then, everything went dark and that funeral dirge sounded. The Undertaker had come up through the floor of the stage and was ready to make his way down the ramp. Everything was washed in the color blue. It was the only light in the packed stadium. When Undertaker was in the ring and shed his robe, he and Shawn stood face to face and Shawn taunted him. The open act of defiance sparked WWIII, Judgment Day, Armageddon and Hell Unleashed all rolled into one thermonuclear event that would threaten to shred the Universe. Heaven and Hell were about to collide in a contest that would make even Chuck Norris say, "Whoa, hey...that's fucked up!"
Undertaker and Shawn traded blows, threw each other into corners, over ropes, into ringposts and nowhere was safe. At some point early in the match, The Undertaker botched a landing and screwed his knee up. Shawn, ever the opportunist, put the screws to the weakened knee.
Something you have to understand about The Undertaker, they call him "The Dead Man" because he doesn't register pain like your or I do. This match was different. Shawn made that beast of a man scream and howl in agony. Still, true to his word, Undertaker opened the gates of Hell and unleashed pure unbridled fury. Shawn. Still. Kept. The. Pressure. On.
Damn Straight.
The most memorable maneuver included Shawn's moonsault off of one of the ropes from the ring apron and onto Undertaker's injured knee as he lay helpless on top of the Spanish Announcers' table, splintering it in the process. After Tombstone Piledrivers, Last Rides And Chokeslams, Undertaker finally managed to put Shawn away.
Multiple Sadness.
Everybody knows that the fight is over...everybody knows the good guys lost.
Even I couldn't believe it. I'd purposefully stayed the hell away from all the backstage news sites because I didn't want to know the end until the damn match ended. Now, it was over and the arena was awash in blue light again with an exhausted Undertaker barely able to stand and celebrate his victory and his now 18-0 continued undefeated streak. Shawn lay there, probably unaware of what had just happened.
Unaware, that is, until Undertaker helped him up, shook his hand, thanked him and made his exit. Shawn's very sad walk back up the ramp would begin and a farewell would begin. Not a farewell to just a man but to an era and a breed of showman that will probably never be seen again.
Monday night, Shawn said a tearful goodbye to all of us through chants of "Thank You Shawn" and "Please Don't Go" and even "One More Match." Undertaker even came out to tip his hat to Shawn and leave. Undertaker doesn't even tip his hat to the likes of Chuck Norris. You have to be something and someone to have Undertaker tip his hat to you.
So Shawn Michaels is now retired for a second time. Damn shame but he deserves it. Time to take that time off, enjoy the money and the family in the process.
Shawn, I know you think you owe your fans a word of gratitude but I say that's total bullshit. You don't owe us anything you haven't already given us. If anything, WE owe YOU a huge word of thanks.
Thank you for putting your well-being on the line for our entertainment.
Thank you for literally catering to pseudo-bloodthirsty masses in matches that were nowhere near WrestleMania status. Every night on Raw was like tuning into a WrestleMania for free.
Thank you for being the cocky and arrogant bastard you were and the determined individual you are. Without it, not one damn fan would have had any standard to which we could have aspired.
Thank you mostly, Shawn, for not just doing a job but making that job MEAN something. How many of us can go to work and say we love our jobs to the point of actually going all in and balls out for it. We should all be so lucky and thank you for showing us that not one of us ever has to settle.
Those are just a few of the biggest reasons I can possibly find for thanking you for the performances you put on out there. Now, go enjoy retirement. Go enjoy yourself and your family. Go out there and reach out to some of those former wrestlers that didn't have the storybook career. If anyone can do it, you can. They need you more than we do. We'll always have the memories of the cocky founder of D-Generation X.
One more thing, Shawn, for all those memories and the moments forever immortalized on YouTube, I have two words for ya...Thank You!
The main event was set to start. The most anticipated match of the Millennium. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker. One. Last. Time.
Shawn came out dancing as usual, sorta reminiscent of the old entrances we'd come to know and love. Then, everything went dark and that funeral dirge sounded. The Undertaker had come up through the floor of the stage and was ready to make his way down the ramp. Everything was washed in the color blue. It was the only light in the packed stadium. When Undertaker was in the ring and shed his robe, he and Shawn stood face to face and Shawn taunted him. The open act of defiance sparked WWIII, Judgment Day, Armageddon and Hell Unleashed all rolled into one thermonuclear event that would threaten to shred the Universe. Heaven and Hell were about to collide in a contest that would make even Chuck Norris say, "Whoa, hey...that's fucked up!"
Undertaker and Shawn traded blows, threw each other into corners, over ropes, into ringposts and nowhere was safe. At some point early in the match, The Undertaker botched a landing and screwed his knee up. Shawn, ever the opportunist, put the screws to the weakened knee.
Something you have to understand about The Undertaker, they call him "The Dead Man" because he doesn't register pain like your or I do. This match was different. Shawn made that beast of a man scream and howl in agony. Still, true to his word, Undertaker opened the gates of Hell and unleashed pure unbridled fury. Shawn. Still. Kept. The. Pressure. On.
Damn Straight.
The most memorable maneuver included Shawn's moonsault off of one of the ropes from the ring apron and onto Undertaker's injured knee as he lay helpless on top of the Spanish Announcers' table, splintering it in the process. After Tombstone Piledrivers, Last Rides And Chokeslams, Undertaker finally managed to put Shawn away.
Multiple Sadness.
Everybody knows that the fight is over...everybody knows the good guys lost.
Even I couldn't believe it. I'd purposefully stayed the hell away from all the backstage news sites because I didn't want to know the end until the damn match ended. Now, it was over and the arena was awash in blue light again with an exhausted Undertaker barely able to stand and celebrate his victory and his now 18-0 continued undefeated streak. Shawn lay there, probably unaware of what had just happened.
Unaware, that is, until Undertaker helped him up, shook his hand, thanked him and made his exit. Shawn's very sad walk back up the ramp would begin and a farewell would begin. Not a farewell to just a man but to an era and a breed of showman that will probably never be seen again.
Monday night, Shawn said a tearful goodbye to all of us through chants of "Thank You Shawn" and "Please Don't Go" and even "One More Match." Undertaker even came out to tip his hat to Shawn and leave. Undertaker doesn't even tip his hat to the likes of Chuck Norris. You have to be something and someone to have Undertaker tip his hat to you.
So Shawn Michaels is now retired for a second time. Damn shame but he deserves it. Time to take that time off, enjoy the money and the family in the process.
Shawn, I know you think you owe your fans a word of gratitude but I say that's total bullshit. You don't owe us anything you haven't already given us. If anything, WE owe YOU a huge word of thanks.
Thank you for putting your well-being on the line for our entertainment.
Thank you for literally catering to pseudo-bloodthirsty masses in matches that were nowhere near WrestleMania status. Every night on Raw was like tuning into a WrestleMania for free.
Thank you for being the cocky and arrogant bastard you were and the determined individual you are. Without it, not one damn fan would have had any standard to which we could have aspired.
Thank you mostly, Shawn, for not just doing a job but making that job MEAN something. How many of us can go to work and say we love our jobs to the point of actually going all in and balls out for it. We should all be so lucky and thank you for showing us that not one of us ever has to settle.
Those are just a few of the biggest reasons I can possibly find for thanking you for the performances you put on out there. Now, go enjoy retirement. Go enjoy yourself and your family. Go out there and reach out to some of those former wrestlers that didn't have the storybook career. If anyone can do it, you can. They need you more than we do. We'll always have the memories of the cocky founder of D-Generation X.
One more thing, Shawn, for all those memories and the moments forever immortalized on YouTube, I have two words for ya...Thank You!
posted by Lord Genocyde at 11:07 PM
1 Comments:
Thank you for the updated information about Shawn Michaels. I will have to mention it to my son who has not be able to view Wrestling consistently since everything went HD.
Post a Comment
<< Home