I met John C several years ago at HBK Heaven. He's one of the biggest HBK fans I know, and has written the absolute best HBK bio and reviews I've ever had the pleasure to read. He's allowed me to post them here to share with you guys. Thanks so much John, you ROCK!
You can read more of John's fantastic work by visiting his site, The Oratory
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
It's a match that took place on a low profile PPV five years ago. Without hesitation, I can honestly tell you that it is definitely one of the five best WWF matches ever. Those of you who have seen it, I'm hoping you remember it as strongly as I do and those of you have not seen it I hope you do your best to find a tape of this match. That reminds me, don't ask me for tapes because I am not selling. Oh yeah and there's a lot of sarcasm throughout the match commentary although the line about Paul Bearer is something I say every time I see him. He just has that presence with me. Don't know what I mean? Keep reading and you'll find out.
Take a stroll down memory lane with me as two of the WWF's best ever christen the Hell in a Cell match the only way they know how. Without further Apu, here she blows…
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker @ In Your House: Badd Blood - October 5, 1997
This whole match was set up because of an event that happened two months earlier at Summerslam '97. Shawn, who was basically a tweener at the time, was the ref in a match that saw the babyface Undertaker defending the world title against the anti-American (yes!) heel Bret Hart. Shawn had issues with Bret at the time, some would say REAL issues, so the stipulation for this match stated that if Shawn was impartial towards Bret he can never wrestle in the U.S. again. At the end of the match, Bret spits on Shawn which causes Shawn to swing a steel chair at Bret (it was brought into the match earlier) but Bret ducks and it drills 'Taker. Bret covers, and even though Shawn did not want to count; he had to because of the stipulation.
On Raw two weeks later it's Shawn & Hunter vs. Taker & Mankind. Shawn drills Taker with a steel chair to the head as the match ends in a DQ. Taker bled a lot and to this day it is one of the most vicious chair shots I have ever seen. This would be the first time that Shawn and Hunter wrestled on the same team on television so unofficially it is the start of DX. It was a good scenario since Shawn was in a feud with Taker while Hunter was tangled in a feud with Foley and his alter egos.
At the September PPV called Ground Zero, Shawn met Taker for the first time. It's a pretty good brawl but the match ends when 'Taker attacks a ref and officials are there to break up the match so it ends in a DQ. The next night, Vince McMahon (still in his announcer's role) announced that Michaels would wrestle in the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. The winner of the Hell in a Cell match would go on to face the world champion at Survivor Series. On the Raw prior to Badd Blood, the Undertaker wrestled Triple H and was put in a body bag by DX (HBK, HHH, Chyna, Rick Rude). As DX celebrated, Taker sat up, got out of the body bag and beat the daylights out of Triple H. Shawn ran away to emphasize the fact that Taker was a big monster while Shawn, although cocky, was scared of the dead man.
Prior to this match Paul Bearer had promised the Undertaker that Kane will arrive and the Undertaker's life will never be the same. At the time, it was not universally known when Kane would appear or what he would look like. However, his music and a red light appeared in the weeks prior to this event basically to scare the Undertaker.
It should also be noted that Brian Pillman passed away in his hotel room the night prior to Badd Blood so I'm sure it was tough on all the wrestlers. He had no role in this match but he was a key player for the WWF's future so it was a pretty major blow suffered by the WWF. Pillman was one of those guys who could get over as face or heel, cut a killer promo and then deliver a solid match. It's a shame he had to go so soon because he was really hitting his stride. He was a great person and a great wrestler. I miss him a lot. RIP Brian.
We are in St. Louis, Missouri (GO RAMS!) and your hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler. Video recap highlights the feud going back to Shawn's chairshot at Summerslam. They show when Taker sat up in the body bag while Shawn runs away. They show some close-ups of the cell as JR explains that the only way a match can be won is by pinfall or submission. There is also no way either man will be able to get outside of the cage so the feeling is that Shawn will get his ass kicked. Shawn delivers a very cocky speech backstage where he sarcastically makes fun of his "coveted" European title and delivers a very nice line: "Ain't nobody crazy enough to do this gig 'cept for the Heartbreak Kid." Of course, the Bossman did the gig two years later and totally ruined the greatness that the HIAC match provided but I digress. For those that do not know, the cage is 15 feet high and covers the entire ring leaving about five feet in between the ring apron and the cage itself.
"Sexy Boy" plays and Shawn is HATED by the crowd while Taker gets a big pop. Shawn is scared as hell so he runs outside the ring. Taker stalks him back inside where he nails Shawn with a boot to the head that Shawn oversells. Taker tosses him into the turnbuckle three times and goes for a chokeslam but Shawn fights back with some stiff punches. Taker whips him into the corner, Shawn flips upside down and bounces off so he can be drilled by a clothesline that gets a two for Taker. Taker works on Shawn's shoulder and proceeds to deliver his patented top rope clothesline on the shoulder he just worked on. Taker with a slam followed by a legdrop and that gets two. Taker whips Shawn into the buckle and tosses Shawn over the top to the floor via a back body drop. Shawn hits the ground hard and hits his feet on the side of the cage on the way down.
Taker joins him outside as a small but audible "make him bleed" chant erupts (I told you Shawn was hated). Taker picks up Shawn and holds him up against the cage, Shawn begins to climb up but Taker pulls him down again. JR mentions that there's probably some idiot saying Shawn knows how to fall hard like that. Taker whips him into the cage, Shawn bounces off and is decked with a clothesline for another hard bump. Taker's offense is described as a "physical dissection" by the announcers. Taker does it again as the crowd pops in appreciation of Taker kicking serious ass. Taker goes for a powerbomb, Shawn fights it so Taker decides to just ram his back into the cage twice as Shawn crumbles to the ground again. Taker whips him into the ring post and punches him several times in the ribs which sort of looks like a boxer hitting a bag in the gym. Taker with some punches to the ribs softening them up as well as the back so it can hurt more when he delivers the chokeslam. Taker picks him up and literally tosses him around like a rag doll into the ringpost, cell, ringpost again and finally the cell once more. Taker lifts Shawn up again but HBK tosses Taker into the cell which leads to Shawn laying flat on his ass due to another clothesline cause YOU CAN'T HURT THE UNDERTAKER! (at least in this match). Shawn's thrown into the steps, Taker sends him to the cage but Shawn bounces off ducking a clothesline and hammers Taker with several punches. As Shawn tries getting Taker inside the ring he is met by a stunner over the top rope which HBK sells as if he were shot out of a cannon. Taker standing on the apron, Shawn's up and shoves him into the cage finally giving Michaels control of the match.
Shawn flies through the middle ropes with a plancha ramming Taker's head into the cell. Shawn climbs up the cage and drops an elbow in a very cool spot. He follows that up with a clothesline off the apron. Shawn goes for a piledriver on the steps but can't get him up and almost botches the move but he recovers to deliver a VICIOUS piledriver on the ring steps. As Shawn makes his way up he accidentally hits a cameraman yelling "get the fuck away from me!" This cameraman is stubborn and gets too close again forcing Shawn to say "get this shit away from me!" Shawn climbs in the ring and delivers a double axehandle (wow, a heel actually hit a double axehandle!) off the top to the floor as they finally get into the ring.
Shawn punches Taker again and slides out looking for a chair which he finds under the ring. The crowd pops huge as Vince yells out "OH NO!" because he's an announcer who just cares about his talent and not a man looking to make a few dollars. He's also thinking about how he will screw Bret Hart at next month's PPV. Anyway, Shawn drills Taker twice in the back with a chair and only gets two. That pisses Shawn off and causes JR to wonder what Michaels will need to do in order to get a victory. Shawn in the corner but Taker fights back (pops from the crowd) but Shawn kicks him and ties him in the ropes. Shawn runs at him and is met with a boot followed by an Undertaker back body drop over the top rope landing on a cameraman who just happened to be filming there. (What was he filming, the Undertaker's ass? Actually it's a brilliant move which I will explain later). Shawn is angry so he punches and kicks the guy as the announcers overreact saying the camera guy has a family. They say that he's just a young camera man and he's not here to take a beating even though he was actually some local independent worker. Shawn shoves the camera guy conveniently in front of the door so some EMTs could help the poor man out. Oh well, at least Shawn did not kick him in the nuts like Dennis Rodman. In the ring, Shawn nails Taker with the flying forearm, an elbow off the top (JR says nobody does it better. Randy Savage who?). As they open the door, allowing EMTs into the cage, Shawn drills the dead bastard with the superkick but Taker sits up and Shawn practically shits his pants. Great facial expressions there. Shawn runs out of the ring and out the door just as Hebner was trying to shut it.
The excitement builds as they are outside of the cell causing everyone, from the announcers to the fans, to go absolutely nuts. Of course, the thought of fans watching is "I hope somebody falls off the top of the cell" because everybody enjoys seeing others in pain. Wrestling fans are sick! The PTC is right! Anyway, Shawn in control with a dropkick sending Taker into the cell but he gets greedy, goes for it again and Taker stops him here. At this point, pause the tape and watch as Michaels brings out a razor and cuts his forehead open (in mid move by the way) delivering one of the greatest blade jobs ever. Taker slingshots HBK into the cell, punches him stiffly on the open wound and rams him face first into the cell. JR describes Shawn as a "human javelin" while Vince says the NFL is no fun anymore. Okay well Vince didn't say that exactly but you KNOW he was thinking it.
Shawn hits a low blow and climbs to the top of the cage because that's the only place he can go to get away from the Undertaker. As Shawn climbs, Taker follows right behind him as the crowd's response gets louder with each step the men take. Taker with a back body drop ON THE CELL (big pop) which he follows up with the old fashioned "grind the man's face into the cage" causing even more of Shawn's blood to leave his forehead. Taker with a gorilla press slam on the cell causing an even larger pop from the crowd. I told you they like violence. Taker with a punch sends Shawn flying about 5 feet so Shawn is hanging off the side of the cage right above the Spanish announce table. He steps on his fingers and Shawn goes through the table back first in a HUGE bump that was about eight feet high. Even if you have not seen the match I am sure you have seen the replay cause the WWF showed it 1,284 times in the months that followed. The crowd is as loud as they could possibly be as JR uses the now famous "He's broken in half!" line. Vince asks "where's my football?" Okay that's a lie but once again you KNOW he is thinking that. How come they don't hire Bumblebee Man from The Simpsons to work for the Spanish announce team? Bumblebee Man rules! He's a cartoon character? What? Why didn't somebody tell me? Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled column.
Taker with a hiptoss onto the broken table as Shawn's blood is everywhere. His whole face is covered in blood as JR proclaims that he has never seen anything like this in his life. Taker drags Shawn to the inside and they come back into the ring as the cage is locked for the second time. The crowd is really hot as Taker delivers a chokeslam off the top rope in a move that I still think is very cool even today. Shawn is helpless now as Taker brings in a chair (another big pop) and he absolutely demolishes Shawn's brains with a vicious chair shot to the head. That was his revenge for the shot he took two months ago at Summerslam. That's called storyline continuity people. Taker signals for the end to the delight of the crowd but the lights go out, the organ plays, the building is engulfed in red and there's a familiar person. THROUGH HELLFIRE AND BUFFET TABLES IT'S PAUL BEARER! OH MY GOD, HE'S EATING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT! I mean it's Kane! Kane rips the door off its hinges (almost), tosses Hebner into the cage (I wonder if Bret Hart liked that?) and stares the Undertaker down. Kane sets the ringposts on fire, Taker looks away (dumb move) and is met with a kick to the gut and a tombstone from the big red machine. Bearer, after stealing Hebner's wallet so he can have his fourth dinner of the night, throws water on the ref so that he can count the pinfall. Shawn crawls on top of Taker out of a pile of his own blood and gets the 1…2…3 thus giving him the world title match at Survivor Series. The show ends with DX carrying Shawn's limp ass out of the ring and I give it a rating of ***** (out of five) easily. Some people may take some stars off because of the finish but I don't think a 30 second ending should interfere with everything that happened in a 20+ minute match.
After claiming the victory at Badd Blood, Shawn earned the right to face Bret Hart for the WWF title at Survivor Series in Montreal. In one of the most memorable matches ever, thanks to Vince and Bret, Shawn came away with the WWF world title in controversial fashion. At the next PPV entitled "IYH: DeGeneration X" Shawn successfully defended the title against Ken Shamrock by DQ. For Shawn's high standards, it was a below average match. At the Royal Rumble, Shawn wrestled the Undertaker yet again and just like before, Kane helped Shawn win the match this time in a casket match. At some point during that match, probably when he was backdropped onto the corner of the cell, Shawn severely injured his back and did not wrestle a lot until his WrestleMania 14 match against Steve Austin. This was one of the most anticipated matches ever even though Shawn had so much back pain he limped through most of the match. The outcome was even more obvious than the Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley fight but the fact that it was Austin vs. HBK for the title at 'Mania made the match pretty damn special. Austin won, HBK was knocked out by "enforcer" Mike Tyson and Shawn has not wrestled since unless you count his one match in his TWA promotion on April 4, 2000. Although Shawn was not on Raw when the WWF surpassed WCW in the ratings war, his Austin feud was vital to the success of the WWF.
The Undertaker had a light schedule following Badd Blood leading into WrestleMania 14. He did not even wrestle at Survivor Series and at the DX PPV next month he wrestled Jeff Jarrett in a match nobody really cared about. As I mentioned up above, Taker faced Michaels at the Royal Rumble but lost due to Kane's interference. By this point Taker was pissed off with his brother and finally agreed to face the red retard at WrestleMania. They built up this feud over a span of 6 months so it was heavily hyped. Taker won at 'Mania and at the following month's Unforgiven PPV in an Inferno match. These were both great matches and are proof that you CAN have good matches with talented big men. He went on to feud with Austin over the world title at different points in the next two years. Interesting note: From January '97 to December '98 Taker headlined 10 different PPVs that had either Michaels or Austin in the same match. Talk about your franchise players.
If Badd Blood did not have Taker vs. Michaels on the card it would have gone down as one of the worst PPVs ever. Austin was out nursing the neck injury so they lost out on a good match right there. World champ Bret Hart tagged with Bulldog in a match against the Patriot and Vader. I'd rate that match somewhere around ***1/4 cause it had some good work by all four guys even though I almost fell asleep by the end of it cause it ran a little long. That was probably due to the fact that the Pillman/Dude Love match never happened due to Pillman's death the night before so they had to fill up 10-15 minutes somewhere and it happened during this match. (Yes, I'm sure that he was scheduled to face Dude Love and NOT Goldust). Owen Hart recaptured the IC title after Austin nailed Faarooq with the belt because he wanted to win the belt from Owen himself which he did a month later. The Nation beat LOD in a match that stunk about as much as a Mark Henry trip to the bathroom. The Godwinns beat the Headbangers to win the tag titles and nobody cared because these teams sucked. There's also a DOA vs. Boricuas match where once again nobody gave a damn and there's also a midgets match but to be politically correct lets just call them vertically challenged wrestlers. All in all a pretty bad card but the main event is spectacular. Is one ***** match good enough to rent a tape? I would say yes but if you can get this HIAC match on some other tape then you would be better off. (Note from John: That new Undertaker “This Is My Yard” DVD has this match as an extra so you can find it there.)
I remember this match like it was yesterday because it was easily one of the most anticipated matches of all time. A lot of people did not even know what the cell was going to look like so that was exciting. Tossing HBK into the match made things that much greater. The feud was built so strongly that Shawn went from a tweener at Summerslam to the most hated man in the WWF by the time Badd Blood rolled around. This is one of the reasons why Bret was so bitter towards Shawn since Bret was given the spot as the #1 heel. Shawn out performed him as a heel thus causing even MORE tension in their real life feud. Sorry to get off on a tangent there but this feud really was the launching pad for the Bret/Shawn and Taker/Kane feuds. This feud was also the launching pad for the very successful group known as Degeneration X. I doubt that the WWF expected this feud to be as good as it was but boy did it deliver.
Every week on Raw from Summerslam up until Badd Blood Shawn & Taker launched verbal and physical assaults on each other. Shawn's promos were amazing as usual while Taker seemed to have been invigorated by this feud probably because he was feuding with the likes of Sid and Faarooq in the months prior. I really enjoyed Taker from the time he lost to Mankind at Summerslam '96 up to the end of '98 which was before the HORRIBLE Ministry of Darkness angle. In this two year period Taker was behaving like a human rather than the grim reaper so he was inspired to give some memorable performances in many of the matches he was in. He was the WWF's bad ass and he fit the gimmick perfectly because he was more than willing to bump for smaller guys like Hart, Austin and Michaels. Shawn was so good during this match that it may be his greatest performance ever up there with his brawl against Diesel at the April '96 PPV "Good Friends, Better Enemies." Before this cell match happened I thought Shawn would really have to carry Taker in order for a good match to happen but I was wrong. I think Taker did his job well in that he sold all of Shawn's moves convincingly and still ended up looking like a badass even though he took the tombstone from Kane.
I know I mentioned how much Shawn bled in the match and honestly it's one of the biggest blade jobs I have ever seen. Not only was the blood in his hair and on his forehead but it was dripping everywhere to the point where he was losing more blood than a water balloon would with a whole poked through it. The angle with the cameraman was also executed perfectly because it allowed the wrestlers to get on top of the cage where the people wanted them to be. The match was booked perfectly because just as Shawn nailed the superkick Taker sat up and the door was ready to close meaning everybody involved in the match did their job superbly. A lot of times little things are done wrong and it ruins the match but in this match it was the little things like the blade job and camera guy that made it that much more special. The bumping Michaels does in this match is excellent and I must give props to Taker again for taking a piledriver on the steel steps. Great psychology throughout the match as Shawn became frustrated to the fact that Taker would sit up after taking everything Shawn could dish out.
I think the best thing about the feud was the use of the steel chair because none of this would have happened had it not been for Shawn's errant chair shot two months prior. Keep in mind that chair shots in the WWF were not a regular thing by this time and that's probably why the crowd reacted so well to it. When Shawn first grabs the chair in this match the crowd popped huge fearing for Taker's life and after Shawn only gets a two out of the chair shot it makes you realize just how tough Taker is. Later in the match when Taker seizes control of the chair he hits Shawn with a chair shot as hard as any I have ever seen. If Shawn came out of that concussion free I would be very surprised because it was one of those chair shots that you remember forever.
Where does this stack up in terms of greatest matches ever? I think this is easily the best match of the Undertaker's career cause he was over huge by this point and he put in one of his best performances ever. Shawn was so good during this match he probably could have carried Jim Ross to a ****+ match but Taker was no slouch (i.e. Sid, Nash, Hogan) during this one. I know plenty of people who have said that this is Shawn's greatest match ever and I would not disagree with that. I would say it is his greatest match although I enjoyed the two ladder matches against Razor quite a bit and Shawn's match with Mankind in September '96 is also worthy of consideration. I think this match is one of the five best to ever happen in the WWF and it's a match that I will never forget.
While the Mankind/Taker HIAC match may have been more memorable it is mostly remembered for the two major bumps that Foley did. In terms of telling a story, having psychology and workrate it wasn't on the same level as this one. It surely has a place in wrestling history as one of the matches that I will never forget but overall it was not as good as this one.
This match had everything including a storyline, plenty of heat for both men, tremendous psychology, great timing, a killer blade job and one hell of a bump by HBK. Throw in the fact that it was undoubtedly the greatest performance by the Undertaker and that Michaels was the best wrestler alive and you have yourself one of those special matches that you will never forget. I know I certainly won't forget it and if you've seen the match you probably feel the same way.
Bottom line: If you have not seen this match get off your ass right now and watch it because I promise it is one of the most entertaining matches ever.
If you have any comments about this match or any match you want me to review (suggestions are always welcome) you can do that by emailing me at wwfjohnc@hotmail.com and I will do my best to reply to you as soon as possible.
Smell ya later,
John C. - wwfjohnc@hotmail.com
AOLIM: JohnC1104