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Last night, WWE Crown Jewel was broadcast out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A show full of questionable decisions, and surrounded by controversy, the WWE Universe was left questioning what WWE had been thinking when they booked the show.
From the very beginning, there seemed to be something which was off. Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio, the two favourites for the WWE World Cup, both lost much earlier in the competition than anyone had expected. Miz, injured before his Final against Ziggler could even begin, was replaced by Shane McMahon, who won the match and the trophy. Fans and stars looked on in united disbelief parading around with the trophy, declaring himself 'The Best In The World'.
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Elsewhere, Brock Lesnar, with the help of Acting General Manager, Baron Corbin, won the Universal Champion, after hitting Braun Strowman with four F-5s.
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Approaching the main event of the night, of the matchup between the two legendary factions, WWE fans were told at every point, that things were not going to end well. Their suspicions were partially confirmed.
Halfway into the main event, when he was dumped outside, Triple H injured his pectoral muscle.
Heading into this match, people had been sceptical anyway. Four old men, Triple H, The Undertaker, Kane and Shawn Michaels as the main event? Would that not be slow and a match that did nothing for anyone? I, myself, shared in this scepticism.
Another question, which had been on everyone's lips was, why was Shawn Michaels hurting his legacy, the one he had built and which was perfect, to come back to the ring one more time? Had The Heartbreak Kid not told us often enough, himself, that he was more than satisfied with his retirement match?
Most fans resigned themselves to seeing one of their favourite superstars ruin his legacy. The fans were wrong.
The match started slow enough, right up to the point where Triple H hurt himself. The moment the other three men decided to go off whatever script they had been working, things changed.
Shawn Michaels changed and morphed. He was the old Heartbreak Kid, sans the hair. He moved effortlessly in the ring. All the pretence of being old seemed to have been thrown out of the window. He worked what was essentially a handicap match against two legends of the business..... and he carried it.
He carried the entire match. He did kip ups, he did elbow drops, he jumped off the top rope and did an incredible moonsault. And he did what he did best, he sold. He sold each move of his opponent like no one since him has been able to.
At no point, did we have to sit back and say, "Oh, he is old, it's okay he can't do that anymore."
No, because he did everything that he used to. He did much more.
The match was oddly reminiscent of his SummerSlam match in 2002. No, not because of the content, that was different. Back in that match, Shawn proved that he still had it. After 4 years of an injury that had apparently ended his career, he stepped back in the ring and was the effortlessly brilliant Heartbreak Kid.
The very same emotion carried over here. There was no old, bald, Shawn Michaels in this match. This match was the Showstopper, The Main Event, The Icon, The Heartbreak Kid.
Preconceived notions set aside, it is safe to say this match was the best of the night.
Shawn Michaels may have now hinted that it is time for him to hang up his boots once again, but this much is clear. The spirit of the Heartbreak Kid is still very much present and burning a fierce brightness that burns the eyes of anyone who looks at him too closely.
AJ Styles and Shawn Michaels would still be an amazing thing to watch at this point. Whether we get this or not, is another matter.
So now, we can only look at Shawn Michaels, and ask him one thing. Has The Heartbreak Kid truly left the building?
What did you think of Shawn Michaels' in-ring return?
