How to Keep HBK Involved in Bret-Vince While Still Having Taker-Michaels

So, with Bret's comeback and Undertaker-Shawn rekindling my (consistent) interest in the current WWE product for the first time in nearly eight years, I can't help but play fantasy booker in seeing how these feuds play out...and overlap.

You see, I just can't imagine Bret-Vince unfolding without some sort of involvement with HBK. After all, HBK is the one Bret has the most animosity with, and whose interaction with would draw the strongest response from the "smart" fans.

Picture this: Shawn turns heel, or at the very least, tweener. We've already seen the beginnings of this after he lost the Rumble. Perhaps as a result, he turns on Triple H and Hornswoggle very decisively--perhaps superkicks all around--which sets up a possible HBK-HHH feud post-Mania.

As a result, he acts increasingly heelish in order to earn the ire of the Undertaker (i.e. run-ins, cowardly jump attacks, cutting promos, etc). It could be somewhat like what HBK did last year with Taker, only instead of keeping HBK on the babyface side of tweener, they push him toward full-blown heel, allowing us to see HBK as he was in his heel glory days of 1994-95 and 1997-98. This keeps the storyline and psychology fresh from last year. After all, if they're both faces, it can't help but be compared to last year;but with Shawn as a heel, it makes this storyline different from WM XXV, and changes the entire psychology/storytelling of the match itself, allowing it to stand on its own and be judged in a different light than just the "sequel" to an untoppable and incomparable match last year.

Eventually, he gets his shot at Undertaker--perhaps costing him the championship at No Way Out--and then the fight becomes full blown, with Michaels no longer needing to get Undertaker's attention. They go back and forth week to week, perhaps in a manner similar to the way they did in late 1997, with Michaels often getting the better of Taker through underhanded means, and Taker occasionally besting Michaels with a beat-down. Through all of this, Shawn would be clearly the heel; perhaps a tragic one,  one the announcers could play up as a good man turned nuts because of his fixation with one specific goal (almost like Hamlet, if you think about it). The announcers have already begun doing this.

Then--and this is the crucial part--comes mid-March. Bret and Vince have been feuding for two months, and Vince is feeling pretty grim about his prospects against Bret in their scheduled Mania street fight (as you may know, this is indeed the current plan for the Bret-Vince feud). He calls out Shawn on Raw, and offers him a deal...

"You want more than anything else to beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania? You wanna end his streak? I can GUARANTEE that that happens. Shawn, you can attest first-hand that when I want something...I GET it. Remember Montreal? Survivor Series, 1997? I get what I want. So if I want you to beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, you can damn well believe that I'll get it. The only catch is...I want you to do something for me...I need you to screw Bret Hart one...more...time"

You may be saying right now, "But this makes no sense after Batista's involvement! Why would he recruit Shawn if he has 'The Animal' ready to do his bidding?"

But in my mind, Batista's involvement actually makes the offer to Shawn MORE logical. Think about it: Vince has already established that he's not above "paying off" a superstar in order to gain the upper-hand on Bret. Assuming that Cena-Batista spins off into its own match (rather than it being a tag), Vince would need to find someone new in order to do his bidding. And who better than Shawn?

So, Shawn appears interested, but gives no clear answer yes or no. In the remaining week(s) before Mania, there are clues and suggestions that HBK and McMahon are working together, but nothing solid (perhaps in the same way WWF teased the Undertaker/Kane alliance in Summer 1998--clues that they're in cahoots, but nothing concrete, and juuust enough tension to leave you unsure).

Then comes Mania. The way this unfolds will depend largely on how the card is set up.

If HBK-Undertaker comes BEFORE Bret-Vince (and my guess is it does), this is what I see happening:

Undertaker and Michaels work most of the match, with HBK now as a solid heel. Midway through, there's a ref bump, and Undertaker's down, but not "out" enough for HBK to win. From here, either

1.) A scab/loaded ref comes down, paid for by Vince. Shawn attempts to go for the Sharpshooter, but at the last minute has second thoughts and superkicks the ref, wanting to beat the Undertaker cleanly.

2.) Vince himself comes down to the ring. Shawn lifts Undertaker's legs, pondering the Sharpshooter, and the crowd boos like crazy. Instead, HBK puts down Taker's legs and goes over to Vince, telling him to back off, that he wants to beat Undertaker cleanly. Vince obliges.

The match continues for its final minutes with both men as faces, and Undertaker wins. At the end, they shake hands.

Then, Bret-Vince happens. As you know, Bret can't take any direct head shots or flat-back bumps. I anticipate that this match will begin as a brawl, with Bret coming out on top, then Vince gets the upper-hand perhaps with a ball-kick, and then Bret reverses, pounds the piss out of McMahon, and wins with the Sharpshooter. At most, I see this lasting ten minutes.

So, when Vince gets the upper hand with a ball-kick, let's say he grabs a chair and approaches the downed Hitman. The commentators go nuts, and milk Bret's concussion/stroke issue; "if he takes a direct headshot, this could kill him! My god!" At this moment, Shawn Michaels runs to the ring! He plays up a moment of indecisiveness, as Vince looks at him grinningly. At this point, he hits Sweet Chin Music on Vince and leaves the ring! Then, Bret gets up, and commences said pounding on Vince.

Now, should it indeed end up being a tag match with Bret and Cena vs. Vince and Batista, perhaps the same thing could happen, only a bit differently. Maybe Cena is beaten up on the outside, Batista Bombed into the steel stairs again. Bret is down in the ring, and Vince and Batista are towering over him with some sort of weapon. Just in the nick of time, Shawn runs down to make the save.

The only issue with this aspect is that Bret's pride may not allow him to be seen as being "saved" by Shawn Michaels against a 65-year-old man. The latter scenario he'd probably go for, since a 6'6, 300-pound professional would be involved, and logically a decently-fit-but-still-broken-down stroke victim would need help against such a foe. But against a 65-year-old man, maybe not. Still, if it's played right, and enough cheating/chicanery/weapons are involved, I could see Bret going for the former.

So, what do you guys think? I think this is a great way to overlap the two, to make HBK-Undertaker even more interesting (but not overshadow the personal issues within the feud), and to keep Bret and Shawn interacting with each other...as I know for myself (I dunno about you all), the Bret-Shawn dynamic is FAR more interesting to me than the Bret-Vince one. We all know that Bret and Vince made real peace in 2005, but Bret and Shawn haven't until just a few weeks ago, and even then, there are doubters (my take is they did, but that there is still lingering resentment and mistrust).