Shawn Michaels Should Stay Retired, Stop Pushing Him to Come Back

More than eight years ago, Shawn Michaels retired from WWE, and he has been one of a few wrestlers to actually stay retired. But a recent report suggests he may be having a comeback match, and that’s a terrible idea.

At WrestleMania XXV and XXVI, Shawn Michaels wrestled a pair of classic matches against The Undertaker, taking a defeat in both. They were the final contests on The Grandest Stage of Them All for Michaels, who — after losing the second one — retired from active competition.

Since that moment in 2010, the Heartbreak Kid has stayed true to his word, and not wrestled since. It’s been more than eight years since Michaels entered a ring to compete, and even though a large part of the WWE Universe wants him back, he’s been adamant that he’s retired.

Of course, that just means it’s time for rumors to start that he’s actually going to come back and ruin a great story by wrestling again. And what do you know: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required) states that WWE is working under the assumption that Michaels will come out of retirement. There’s even a date tentatively set: Nov. 2, in Saudi Arabia (h/t to Fightful).

Let me be clear: I am not exaggerating one bit when I say this is an awful, terrible, horrible, no good idea. And I’m a Shawn Michaels fan! There’s no denying his ability in the ring, as he’s one of the all-time greats according to pretty much anyone you ask. HBK was nicknamed the Showstopper for a reason, you know.

There’s a wide range of reasons that Michaels should stay retired. First, if he’s coming out of retirement for the latest Saudi Arabia show, it’s just a bad look. He’s spent the better part of a decade sitting at home, making sporadic appearances to speak, coaching at the PC, and it’s the follow-up to a show that generated a ton of controversy that gets him to lace up the boots again?

Yes, coming back to wrestle in a country with basically no human rights for anyone who isn’t a native male just five days after an historic all-women’s pay per view seems like the kind of thing WWE would do. We’ve written before about how terrible an idea the Saudi show is. If HBK comes back for it, it’s almost like he’s legitimizing the idea that it’s not a big deal to do shows where none of the women and at least one man can’t travel to.

Let’s ignore the political and social aspects of a possible comeback in Saudi Arabia, and instead focus on the wrestling side of things. The story behind HBK’s retirement is one of the best stories WWE has told in the past 10-20 years. He lost to Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV, went on a hiatus, and came back for the sole purpose of getting a win over Taker at Mania.

Of course, he failed to win the Royal Rumble to challenge then-World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker at Mania. So Michaels cost Taker the title, practically baiting him into one more match, and Michaels put his career on the line — and lost. The whole thing was built up over more than a year, and it was magnificent.