4 interesting comparisons between Johnny Gargano and Shawn Michaels following NXT Takeover: Portland

#1 Post-retirement HBK

Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker from WrestleMania 25

It’s often argued that following his return from retirement in 2002, Michaels was a much better performer than when injury hit him four years prior.

His rating numbers at WrestleMania certainly back this up. In singles matches from 1992 to 1998, he averaged 3.6 and 3.7 with Grappl users and the Observer respectively.

Compare that to the numbers from 2003 to 2010, where he was hitting numbers of 4.43 from Grappl and 4.25 from Meltzer, with his only less than four star match in this time being his Street Fight with Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 22.

Summary

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Whilst I am in no way saying Johnny Gargano is at the level of Shawn Michaels, or that NXT TakeOver is as big as WrestleMania, it’s fair to say Johnny Wrestling treats it as such every time he comes out to compete on the Black and Gold brand’s biggest stage.

Perhaps one day in the not-too-distant future, we can see Mr TakeOver put on some Mania classics that would make Mr. WrestleMania proud.