5 WWE storyline ideas for Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels has had an increasing presence around WWE and NXT lately.

The Hall of Famer will referee the NXT Championship match between Drew McIntyre and Adam Cole in San Antonio on 17 November and will appear on the 25th-anniversary episode of Monday Night Raw on 22 January 2018.

In all likelihood, he’ll call the NXT match down the middle – it’s only a house show, after all – and his appearance on Raw will probably only result in a discussion with Kevin Nash about the show’s olden days and maybe a confrontation with one of today’s top tag teams.

But as always with WWE, you just never know, and when they have someone as talented as “The Heart Break Kid” in their ranks again, then it’d be a waste not to use him more frequently going forward.

In this article, we look at five possible storylines that "Mr. WrestleMania" could get involved with as an on-screen personality – and no, not all of them require him to lace up the boots again!

#1 The Undertaker allows him one last match

Undertaker ended Michaels' career at WrestleMania XXVI

Speaking on Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast in March 2017, Shawn Michaels looked back on his time in WWE like a work of art. He said the storyline arc of his career was “perfect” and adding another chapter to it would be like adding an extra layer of paint on a Picasso portrait.

In all honesty, it’s difficult to see a situation where Michaels ever returns to the squared circle as a competitor, but when you consider he stopped wrestling at the age of 43 – 15 years younger than Ric Flair when he retired – and that he’s still in incredible shape, you wonder… what if?

It’s unlikely, but if HBK does get back in the ring, the only realistic storyline to complete the ‘arc’ of his career is if he is granted one last match by the man who sent him into retirement at WrestleMania XXVI, The Undertaker.

Perhaps another End of an Era match, this time to bid farewell to ‘Taker’s iconic career? A dream feud with AJ Styles? Either way, the only way it would make sense is if “The Deadman” himself allows it.

#2 Mentor NXT Superstars

Michaels has been working with Johnny Gargano recently

Shawn Michaels admitted that he was tempted to return to the ring when WWE contacted him about a WrestleMania 33 match with AJ Styles, and said he would’ve jumped at the chance to face “The Phenomenal One” had he not retired seven years ago.

So, if he wants to keep the next chapter of his WWE storyline ‘arc’ away from the squared circle, then why not be an on-screen mentor for some of the up-and-coming talents in NXT?

We’ve recently seen HBK involved in social media videos with Johnny Gargano, and the two have been working overtime in the gym after agreeing to have an ‘ab-off’ competition on the day of NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

Michaels has been entertaining as ever in these short videos, so don’t be surprised if we see these kinds of segments, solely on social media at the moment, transfer to NXT television in the future.

#3 NXT General Manager role

William Regal has been NXT GM since July 2014

The NXT General Manager position has been filled by William Regal for the last three years, but viewers of Triple H’s post-TakeOver Facebook videos will know that Regal wasn’t even present at TakeOver: Chicago earlier this year.

The former Intercontinental champion is a busy man and missed one of NXT’s biggest events of the year because he was scouting the next crop of WWE talent during a trip to Japan.

Even though the beloved Mr. Regal has been an entertaining GM, maybe it’d be good to freshen up the on-screen personalities in NXT. After all, having been in the role since July 2014, Regal is already one of the longest-serving authority figures of the 21st century!

With Michaels regularly on the road with NXT and backstage for TV tapings, he would surely be the first choice if a replacement for the Englishman is ever considered.

#4 Pass on the Sweet Chin Music

Nowadays, the Superkick is more popular than ever. On the independents, the Young Bucks have been known to throw around 20+ per match, and the likes of Kevin Owens and Adam Cole use variations of it in WWE and NXT.

The only Superstar who has actually copied Shawn Michaels’ Sweet Chin Music finisher, where he repeatedly stomps his foot before executing a Superkick, is Dolph Ziggler, but even then it was never officially passed on to him and he only ‘tunes up the band’ on rare occasions.

We haven’t seen a legendary finisher transition to one of today’s performers since Triple H allowed then-Authority member Seth Rollins to use the Pedigree, and before that when Ric Flair taught The Miz how to perfect the Figure Four.

To keep the Sweet Chin Music alive for the next generation, maybe HBK could allow a current Superstar – Cole, perhaps? – to continue using it, complete with the legendary pre-move foot stomps.

#5 Induct The Undertaker into the Hall of Fame

Undertaker is a guaranteed future Hall of Famer

The mystery surrounding The Undertaker’s appearance at Raw’s 25th-anniversary show in January has led some to believe that he will return to a WWE ring for one last match at WrestleMania 34.

Will it happen? We’ll just have to wait and see. But if not, then a 2018 Hall of Fame induction surely awaits when WWE visits New Orleans – the very city where 'The Streak' was ended by Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX.

The Undertaker is such a legendary character that he deserves not only to headline a Hall of Fame class, but should have a night dedicated to him on Raw, just like Ric Flair in 2008, where Superstars past and present can pay tribute to one of the greatest performers in WWE history.

Still, he’ll need someone to induct him into the Hall of Fame, and unless Vince McMahon himself fancies doing the honours, then there is no better person than Shawn Michaels – the man whose career was ended by “The Deadman”.

Edited by Nishant Jayaram