Shawn Michaels and Triple H have both cracked up and outsmarted a lot of people in the past. They helped run a former champion out of the World Wrestling Federation and then promised his return soon after, only to bring out a midget in his place. They held a big barbecue in the middle of the ring to raise the ire of The Undertaker, complete with Shawn holding a huge salami near his groin area. The two wore spit-shields when making fun of Sgt. Slaughter, and then outwitted the former commissioner by running a 30-second sham match when ordered to fight each other. We've seen them pull their pants down and reference their genitals a hundred times, and it was pretty entertaining, I must say. Not only was the duo controversial, but they were masters of the scamming the world. But the fun all ended when Stone Cold Steve Austin beat the degenerates at their own game by winning the support of Mike Tyson and consequently the Federation Championship away from the Heartbreak Kid at Wrestlemania X1V, essentially ending Shawn's career and his friendship with Triple H. Theings have never been the same between the two founders of the original D-Generation X ever since.
Or maybe it has.
Michaels and Helmsley, when they were together, were extremely close. They were almost inseperable. With one came the other, until Hunter blamed Shawn for Austin's victory and the end of the road came for the old DX. But the two were more than just best friends. Shanw and Hunter stuck together through each other's ups and downs, from Shawn's concussions to the infamous Madison Square Garden incident. They were too tight, in my opinion, to let one incident destroy their partnership completely. When Triple H confronted Summer Slam's guest referee Jesse 'The Body' Ventura on Raw, few of us watching expected to see Commissioner Michaels interject himself into the situation. Shawn was all over Hunter the entire show. He seemingly conspired with Ventura, combining their 'stroke' to take temporary control over an irate Triple H. Then, Michaels and his former friend almost came to blows after Hunter was ordered to put the title shot on the line later in the show. When Stone Cold was injured falling down the stairs, who was there to put the blame squarly on the shoulders of Hunter but Shawn Michaels. To top it all off, Hunter ends up losing his No. 1 contenders spot to Chyna, of all people, due to Michaels' earlier decrees. On the surface, it would appear that Michaels and Triple H hate each other more than ever, but after examining each of the incidents on Raw a little closer, I've come to a different conclusion. A year and a half after Shawn and Hunter proclaiming themselves 'ex-friends', I think we might find out they were fooling us all along.
First, let's look at Shawn's teaming up with Jesse. What's the best way to manipulate the outcome of a match? By kissing the ass of the referee, of course. As Ventura himself said, "This is politics". Could Shawn be playing the political game by trying to lobby 'The Bidy' so he'll dish out some of the pork Shawn's way? What better revenge could HBK take on Austin than contributing to him losing his coveted xhampionship at Summer Slam, and to HBK's 'former' best friend, no less.
This brings us to Austin's accident on the staircase. As the Rattlesnake was being carted out of the arena in an ambulance, Shawn berated Hunter, accusing him of being the perpetrator of this heinous crime. In my opinion, Shawn's act looked just a little fishy. How do we know where either Hunter or Shanw were when Austin was injured? Could it have actually been the result of the two working together, wiith one possibly pushing Stone Cold down the stairs while the other placed the conveniently located cinder block? Naturally, if you're going to try to pull off such an elaborate scheme, you need to try to make it look like you're not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes at all. That's where HBK and Hunter's fight come sin, with Chyna's surprise victory being the capper. During their confrontation, Shawn said that he was the one who brought Hunter to the Federation, and hinted that he might have had a bit to do with Hunter climbing the ladder of success, as well. Michaels was the teacher, he said, and Triple H was always a mere student. Hunter was pretty ticked off by Shawn's degrading remarks, or so it appeared. In actuality, maybe Hunter and Shawn do have a student/teacher relationship. HBK could easily been behind Triple H the entire time! The two were such close friends that it wouldn't be much of a stretch of the imagination to think that once Shawn's career came to a halt, he would live vicariously through his pal, helping him get to the top and then taking down Austin when the time was right. We've seen DX tease break-ups in the past to the point where they had absolutely everyone convinced they hated each other. What if Shawn and Triple H had been able to pull off such a stunt for a year and a half? Hunter has shown himself to be a master of this particular type of deception, and with his focus supposedly directed at Austin, it was surprising to see him lash out at Shawn so vehemently. Loss of focus, right? I think that if you said yes, then Hunter and Shawn have managed to dupe you, as well.
FInally, do you really think that Chyna has a chance on her own if she faces Austin at Summer Slam? I'm not trying to knock the Ninth Wonder of the World here. Of course she is a superb athlete, but I don't think she'll be coming out of the summer's hottest Pay-Per-View as the Federation champ. I've gotta believe we'll see Hunter get his title shot back, and maybe Shawn will have something to do with that. The ex-degenerates will have fooled the fans and could laugh all the way to the bank. It'll be just like old times for these former DX members, and if Shawn and Hunter are successful in what I feel is their grand scheme, namely destroying Austin and giving Triple H his first taste of the big-time gold, we just might see some more barbeques and giant salamis on Raw once again.