#6: SHAWN MICHAELS (w/ JOSE LOTHARIO) vs. SYCHO SID (c) {WWF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP}.
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Time for the real main-event of this evening. Let’s get one thing straight— Shawn Michaels…is OVER. I know that this is his hometown, but HBK is the real deal.
How can I claim this, you ask?
A female WWE star said her life is in danger. Details HERE
Well, for starters, we see a shot of HBK nearing the gorilla position & after a split reaction on the Rumble’s aftermath, the crowd seems to have re-energized themselves using some sort of devil-trickery. Because when we see the first shot of Shawn Michaels walking backstage, the audience loses their minds.
I thought the 2-second shot of Marlena rooting for her husband yielded a loud pop, but HBK tops that.
I quickly realize that the fans did not rush into the Alamodome primarily because of the Royal Rumble match. No, they came to see Shawn Michaels.
That is how important star-power is. These days, fans will buy tickets specifically for the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match.
But in this case, HBK is the main attraction. Sure, the Rumble match is important too, but it is secondary at this point.
Also, Shawn Michaels, at that point in time, was possibly responsible for drawing more than ninety percent of the female demographic in the WWF.
Remember that random lady who was part of a mini interview during the Vader vs. The Undertaker match early on in this show? Do you?
She narrated her story about saving all that money via babysitting just to watch this PPV live. Well, there is one part I purposefully did not tell you and was saving up to this point— the lady also revealed that she came here all the way just to watch her favorite Shawn Michaels in the main-event.
Just a real example, but you get my point.
They also show Sid nearing the Gorilla position after HBK has already made his entrance. Sure, Sid was not great when it comes to mixing up words in live promos, but that guy had nuclear heat on him that night.
I mean, this match is a really big deal.
The match starts, and it is a classic heel versus face matchup. There is no one cheering Sid just because it is ‘cool’ to cheer heels over faces.
The concept actually works very effectively. Sycho Sid puts on a simple hold, and a wave of boos echo throughout the arena. Shawn Michaels escapes the simple hold and the crowd cheers as if they just survived World War II.
HBK didn’t even work his butt off in this one. The crowd practically did all the work for them.
No one but Jerry Lawler is getting an orgasm when Sid gets the upper hand. So essentially, this classic back-and-forth keeps going on, and Sid has Michaels in a bear-hug.
There is even a point where Shawn Michaels body-slams Sid, who is way bigger than HBK himself. The referee goes down in the ring, and Sid delivers a powerful chokeslam to Shawn Michaels.
However, there is no referee to make the count. Another referee does get in later, but HBK kicks out of two due to the delay.
Due to pure frustration, Sid knocks the second referee down too. This allows Michaels to take hold of the opportunity, grab the camera and nail Sid twice in the form of sweet revenge (Sid had done the same during Survivor Series 1996).
Michaels pins the champion, but the referee is pretty much out of it, and Sid manages to kick-out at 2-and-half. The audience cannot believe it.
So Shawn does what needs to be done. He gears up for the Sweet Chin Music and hits it at the exact right moment. Sid goes down. 1,2….3!
Shawn is the champ! The Heart-Break Kid has done it. San Antonio goes wild, as they have just witnessed their hometown hero win the gold.
Shawn Michaels celebrates with the audience, and at one point, Vince McMahon himself has to awkwardly shuffle aside when Shawn is right behind him, hugging all the people. HBK turns around and gives his boss a little hug too.
Why not? He actually needs it. The ratings war haven’t been in Vince’s favor so far, that’s for sure.
Despite the controversial Rumble match, the show actually signed off on a positive note. Sure, HBK did not give his 100 percent for this match, and technically, it was decent when it comes to in-ring quality.
Truthfully, no matter how much people adore him, Shawn is playing the audience into cheering him. Make no mistake, he acts like a heel, and Bret Hart is indeed right about him.
But then again, did Shawn really need to go a 100 percent for this one? Because the crowd did more than half of the work for him.
This is something that AJ Styles has yet to achieve, at least on HBK’S level…
RESULT: Shawn Michaels is the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion.
