Shawn Michaels Reportedly Turned Down Offer to Join Greatest Royal Rumble

WWE has pulled out all the stops ahead of the Greatest Royal Rumble on Friday in Saudi Arabia, but the company was apparently unable to coax Shawn Michaels out of retirement.

WWE legend Sean Waltman said on his podcast, X-Pac 1,2,360 (h/t Wrestling Inc's Chris Featherstone), the company had hoped to add Michaels to a stacked card. Instead, HBK made it clear he didn't want to come back.

WWE's invitation makes sense, since a number of retired or semiretired stars are participating in the event. The Undertaker is wrestling Rusev in a casket match, while Kurt Angle, Shane McMahon, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Mark Henry are all confirmed for the Greatest Royal Rumble match.

So far, WWE has only announced 23 participants for the Battle Royal, which leaves a large chunk of the 50-man field unaccounted for. The company is likely reserving a few spots for one-off appearances from returning legends, which is a role Michaels would have filled.

While it would have been interesting to see him in a WWE ring again, sometimes it's better for wrestlers to stay retired.

Even though he lost to The Undertaker in his final match in 2010, Michaels went out helping to put on one of the most legendary bouts in WrestleMania history. 

There's no reason WWE should cheapen that moment by having him make a cameo at an event that is basically a house show in another country.