WWE Raw Star Thought They Were Getting Shawn Michaels Match

A Monday Night Raw star thought Shawn Michaels was coming out of retirement.

Following defeat to The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI in 2010, Shawn Michaels was adamant he was wrestling again. However, he did lace up his boots once more time at Crown Jewel in 2018 in a match all involved quickly regretted.

Since then, Michaels has remained retired and took over the top job in NXT in September 2021 after working backstage for three years. But that doesn’t mean several current WWE stars haven’t tried to get HBK out of retirement yet again.

Michaels has been repeatedly linked with bouts against Kevin Owens and AJ Styles, but arguably no one came closer than Grayson Waller.

At NXT Roadblock 2023, Michaels appeared on The Grayson Waller Effect, and the Aussie challenged him to a match at Stand & Deliver. In the end, Michaels declined and brought in Johnny Gargano, but Waller has now admitted he thought he was getting a match with the Hall of Famer.

Grayson Waller Wanted Shawn Michaels Match

Speaking in a new interview with Gabby LaSpisa on Gabby AF, Waller recalled getting to share the ring with Michaels and said he felt they would wrestle during WrestleMania weekend.

“Number one has to be Shawn Michaels, just because I felt at the time, Shawn isn’t on television very often. I think that’s for a reason. Shawn moves at a different capacity. He doesn’t want to take away from the show. Shawn is about getting the next generation ready.

To have the ability to stand in front of him…I really felt I was going to get a match at Mania with him. Mania weekend, I was close, but just to feel that vibe of old Shawn. It was there. That was really cool and not many people get to experience that,”

Although he hasn’t wrestled since 2018, Shawn Michaels did get physical at the first Saturday Night’s Main Event of 2025. At the special in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas, Michaels served as the officiator for the contract signing between Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes.

However, when tensions spilled over, it was Michaels who ended the segment with Sweet Chin Music on Owens.

H/t to Fightful