Shawn Michaels Has Left the Building, but for How Long?

"What would Wrestlemania be without Shawn Michaels? That's the bottom line!"

As a fan of Shawn Michaels, I consider this call, from before The Undertaker's first win in "The Streak," to be one of the greatest calls in the history of professional wrestling. I would safely say that it could be made "off the record."

After all, what would Wrestlemania be without Mr. Wrestlemania?

Michaels and Marty Jannetty made their first Mania appearance at the same event that saw The Mega Powers explode in a not-too-shabby debut against the Twin Towers.

Their next two tag matches in Wrestlemania, against the Orient Express and the team featuring The Barbarian and Haku, are often overlooked. The Orient Express never achieved success, neither did Haku after he and Andre The Giant lost their belts to Demolition.

Michaels threw Jannetty through the Barbershop window in the same year that  he won the Intercontinental Title from Davey Boy Smith. Before his WM11 encounter with Diesel, fans already knew Shawn Michaels not only as the Heartbreak Kid, but also for the match that many called the match Of The year for 1994.

Let's face facts. We, the wrestling fans of the world, pretty much owe HBK and Scott Hall thanks for that ladder match at Wrestlemania 10. Without that, we wouldn't have Money In The Bank at Wrestlemania 21.

Fast forward to Wrestlemania 12. Michaels' status as a major player in the pro scene is solidified with that awesome Iron Man Match with Bret Hart.

HBK would regain the belt at the '97 Survivor Series after losing it to Sid in '96.

Let's fast forward even more, past the night the Austin Era began.

Past the decision that helped Austin regain his shot at the Rock at St. Valentines Day Massacre in 1999.

Past HBK's Mania return against Y2J.

Past the captivating Triple Threat with him, Triple H, and Chris Benoit.

Past the clinic at Wrestlemania 21 with Kurt Angle and the WM22 war with McMahon.

And after the war with John Cena at Wrestlemania 23, we press play on the night when Ric Flair's legacy came to a close...

The night that foreshadowed what HBK would have coming his way at Wrestlemania 26.

"I'm Sorry... I love you," Shawn mouthed to Naitch.

BOOM!

One superkick and three seconds later, HBK sent Ric Flair into what was supposed to be a retirement period for "The Real World's Champ."

Sometime after this, and the turn of Chris Jericho, people really began to speculate how long it'd be before Michaels would hang it up. It was teased at Summerslam in 2008 that he was, but then Jericho struck Shawn's wife Rebecca, and set up a match for Unforgiven, which Michaels won. I believe this was the night Jericho would win the World Heavyweight belt after Legacy took out CM Punk.

Time went on after Summerslam, HBK sided with JBL, then cost him a match with Cena at the Royal Rumble last year, setting up the match that set up HBK-Taker I at last year's Mania.

The belief was that, regardless of whether Taker won or lost, both men were likely to hang it up after the event. After that match at Mania, which I think was 2009's Match Of The Year (according to The Slammy Awards, and in my own opinion), it seemed like HBK would be gone for good.

That's when Rhodes and Dibiase beat Triple H.

Remember that? Before Naitch made the jump to TNA?

"Batista's always gettin' injured, Randy's a jerk, and Flair's signing autographs out at VPW or somethin'."

We all knew who that "one phone call" was for, even before HBK came back on TV and did that bit with the kitchen.

Rumors circulated that Triple H was going to be the guy involved with the whole "HBK-in-retirement" thing, in a sort of swerve for those who actually believed that HBK-Taker II was going to happen.

Turns out, WWE knew this, and aimed to do HBK-Taker II anyway.

Not that I'm whining. That match was a good one, in my opinion.

So, as we all know, after a hard-fought match at this year's Mania, Taker collected HBK again, boosting his streak to 18-0 at The Showcase Of The Immortals and ending the illustrious career of Shawn Michaels.

If you'd told me that HBK's career was going to end on that night, I would have seriously doubted you. I thought HBK would end the streak before the match even occurred.

Well, HBK gave his farewell to the WWE Universe the next night on Raw, complete with a goodbye from The Deadman and Triple H -- who were actually the only two to say their goodbyes on live TV; the rest said goodbye after the show.

Not as deep as Ric Flair's sendoff, but in my eyes, it was still a deep moment in pro wrestling...

... And then about a week later, I got a text message from a buddy of mine saying that HBK was likely to be coming back at Summerslam.

Shawn's my favorite wrestler of all time, but really the only things I can think of that have any bit of importance nowadays that Michaels hasn't done are the following:

-- Michaels has never won the US Title.

-- Michaels, one of the two men who made the ladder match famous, has yet to compete, let alone win Money In The Bank.

Really speaking, I don't see how doing either would enhance the career of Michaels any more to the point of being "Hall-Of-Fame-worthy" than his career already is.

Miz hasn't defended the belt in a while, but then again, with the Miz at the point where he is now, it's pretty easy to forget that he even won the belt. That noted, Michaels winning the United States title -- the only singles title he hasn't won yet -- would not only seem random, but it'd also just add HBK's name to the long list of people who have held the belt throughout its active tenure as a championship belt

Money In The Bank is as crazy a ladder match as it gets at this point, but to make it exciting, your body has to be willing to take the damage that comes with every chance you take when diving off a ladder, and it also has to be able to withstand a few sick shots from the ladder.

At Michaels' age, I'd be surprised if he can do either without seriously injuring himself.

What does Shawn Michaels have left to prove to the wrestling world about Shawn Michaels?

Hell, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair don't have anything left to prove in the business, but if they need the cash to put some food on their plates, that'd be understandable.

If Shawn comes back, to a WWE ring or into TNA, for the cash and not because he misses the business, I'll understand it totally. After you spend years upon years of your life doing something you love, it takes its toll on your body, but if you run into financial woes after you leave, you may not find many other options.

If Shawn comes back because he feels he's got one more point to make, that's when I have issues with the man who I know as "The Heartbreak Kid".

I consider Shawn the greatest of all time, having only caught on to Hogan when the NWO formed, but I hope HBK really has left the building this time.

You've played some fine tunes, Shawn. We don't need an encore.