Shawn Michaels Gives Thoughts On Infamous Hulk Hogan Match
The showdown between Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan at WWE SummerSlam 2005 attracted considerable interest due to the contentious nature of their clash.
Many spectators perceived Michaels’ actions during the match as taking liberties, culminating in an unorthodox and divisive display characterised by exaggerated movements and overselling of Hogan’s manoeuvres, creating a farcical environment.
“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 about his experience working with Hogan, ‘HBK’ shared that his primary concerns were related to the build-up to their match, rather than any frustrations during their eventual showdown.
“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 made a comeback to the ring in 2002 after a four-year hiatus as a protagonist, but he expressed how alterations in creative direction may have impacted the feud with Hogan. Nevertheless, Michaels still transitioned into a villainous role.
“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’s aftermath sparked diverse viewpoints on Michaels’ actions. While some perceived his conduct as unprofessional, others admired his performance. Regarding the critique, Michaels believes that certain commentators may have been excessively harsh in their assessment.
“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 the following years, both athletes successfully resolved their disparities and transcended the contentious encounter. Hogan has openly acknowledged that the incident was firmly in the past.
“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 competed in his last WWE match a year later at SummerSlam ’06, facing off against Randy Orton. Conversely, Shawn Michaels participated in his final singles match at WrestleMania XXVI against The Undertaker.
Shawn Michaels Reveals His “Style”
Known as one of the greatest performers in the history of professional wrestling, Shawn Michaels explains how he was able to have so many great matches with many different kinds of wrestlers. Here he was asked what shape and size he preferred.
H/t to itrwrestling.com