Shawn Michaels has nothing to prove with rumored in-ring return in WWE

Stay retired, Shawn, nothing good can come from stepping back inside the ring for one more match.

It has been over eight years since Shawn Michaels hung up his boots and called it a career at WrestleMania 26 when he lost to The Undertaker in spectacular fashion. He has been adamant about honoring his retirement by not wrestling another match, which very few people (if anyone) actually follow through on nowadays.

Since that memorable match in Phoenix, there have been countless opportunities where Michaels could have made a comeback to the squared circle. From teasing a bout with CM Punk to 2011 to costing his pupil Daniel Bryan the WWE Championship in 2013, there have been a number of potential opponents for the Heartbreak Kid over the years who would have made sense.

Perhaps the closet he came to giving in and signing on for one more match was at the onset of 2017 when he was rumored to be facing AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble, a dream matchup that of course never ultimately became a reality.

Once Michaels put those rumors to rest about facing Styles in San Antonio, one would think that would have been the end of that and fans would have finally come to terms with his decision to call it a career.

Truth be told, the WWE Universe has largely stopped begging the former multi-time WWE champion to wrestle again. It wasn’t until an interview he conducted last week with Sky Sports, however, that he might be open to competing again as long as the circumstances were “just right.”

Michaels went on to namedrop stars such as Styles, Bryan and even Johnny Gargano, realizing those would be the best matches he could have at this stage of his life. He also added that a D-Generation X reunion alongside Triple H would likely be what he’d be returning for, and to that I say, no thanks.

I’m not sure about anyone else, but I have had my fill of DX reunions over the last dozen years or so. It was a blast when they got back together in 2006 and somewhat fun when they had one final run in 2009, but everything after that was a shot of nostalgia and nothing more.

Of course, every DX reunion recently has been good for a comedy segment and not an actual match. They had a string of solid matches as a team in the twilight of their respective careers, but their entertaining antics cemented them as a legendary duo more than their in-ring work.

Thus, if teaming with his best buddy HHH is the only thing that would convince Michaels to break his retirement, then the WWE Universe would be better off without him wrestling again.

Michaels noted not too long ago that “leaving something to the imagination” is what makes his retirement so special. For example, a match pitting Michaels against Styles probably plays out much cooler in our minds than it would in real life.

Despite seemingly being in excellent physical shape, HBK at 52-years-old wouldn’t be able to contest the same type of match he could years ago. And again, what would wrestling another match honestly prove? That he could still go? That he could hang with the elite talent of today?

Besides, Michaels has a great thing going these days as a coach down at the Performance Center and mentoring the up-and-comers of NXT. That is where he belongs at the current moment: helping groom the future and not doing crotch-chops for a cheap pop.

For those who want more of Michaels on WWE TV, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with him having a strong presence on NXT programming. Unlike Edge, he can get physical if necessary, and he has gotten involved in a handful of matches at NXT live events in the past.

Other than that, there is no need for HBK to tarnish what was a fantastic farewell eight years ago by putting the boots back on for one last hurrah. The rub that whoever he’d likely lose to would receive wouldn’t be worth it and would probably leave fans disappointed.

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Here’s hoping all this talk from Michaels about coming out of retirement is strictly buzz and won’t actually lead to him wrestling a meaningless match that wouldn’t be as epic as fans imagine it being.