Mother's Day: How Shawn Michaels brought my mom and I closer together

For Mother’s Day, I’ve taken the opportunity to look back on an important moment I had with my own mother nearly a decade ago. Shawn Michaels took on The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25, and the emotion of seeing that match with her has stuck with me all this time.

At its best, professional wrestling has the power to transcend barriers and bring us together to entertain regardless of what else is going on in our lives. This Mother’s Day, I think back to one of my final memories with my own mom, watching Shawn Michaels compete at WrestleMania 25, and the enjoyment she found in being a fan that blossomed in her final months.

For nearly a decade now, Mother’s Day has been a difficult holiday for me. I lost my mother in June of 2009, and when a day like this comes along it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the sadness of her absence. One of the best ways to offset those feelings is to look back at the good moments, and the one that stands out today is when my mom was completely entranced by the epic clash between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25.

Not unlike many parents, she didn’t always have the same interests as her kids. In 2009, I’d been watching wrestling for almost ten years, and my older brothers had been fans for even longer. During most of those years, it was never something that interested her.

My mom understood and supported it being something we enjoyed, but it never caught her eye like it did ours. Her focus was often occupied by the difficulties of being a single mom with three kids, and finding some rest and relaxation in the moments we let her have.

That began to change in late 2007, after she took the time to read “Heartbreak & Triumph” by Shawn Michaels. The autobiography by Michaels looked back at his then two-decade long career, including the highs and lows that came along with it.

Wrestling fans clung to the details about the infamous Montreal Screwjob and Shawn’s involvement with The Kliq. While these were surely enjoyable sections of the book, they weren’t what struck my mom the most.

For her, the most powerful part of Heartbreak & Triumph was Michaels’ open and honest discussion of his battles with addiction, a serious back injury, and finding faith as he pulled himself through his toughest moments.

My mom had experienced similar struggles, and getting to read the words of a fellow Texan going through so much and coming out stronger on the other side gave her hope. For as strong as my mom always was, and as much of a rock as she could be for her children, anything that could empower that strength was truly special.

As she connected with Michaels through his struggles, she found herself wanting to watch wrestling to see the man she’d connected with through Heartbreak & Triumph. In October of 2007, Shawn Michaels returned after taking several months off for knee surgery.

Despite being 42 years old at the time, Michaels wrestled as if he was still in the prime of his career and put on an instant classic nearly every time he stepped into the ring. My mom, having just turned 49, was seeing a man only seven years her junior, who had gone through same of the same struggles she experienced, entertaining millions on a weekly basis.

For the first time, she was starting to see what all the fuss was about. Not unlike a sports fan coming to love the sport through supporting their local team, she came to love wrestling through supporting Shawn Michaels.

Through the next two years and leading into WrestleMania 25, she got to enjoy and appreciate wrestling through some of Shawn Michaels’ most memorable rivalries. Michaels pursued the WWE Championship, then held by Randy Orton, but was unsuccessful in capturing it that time.

Shawn Michaels went on to face Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24, with Flair’s career on the line. This gave us the unforgettable moment of Shawn mouthing the words “I love you” before hitting Ric Flair with Sweet Chin Music and putting an end to the legendary career of “The Nature Boy.”

By early 2009, Shawn Michaels was on his way to a WrestleMania collision with The Undertaker. The seeds were laid at the Royal Rumble, at which time Shawn Michaels was reluctantly working for John Bradshaw Layfield to earn money for his family after their savings were ravaged by the Great Recession.

In a brief moment backstage, Michaels was struggling with his role at JBL’s side and whether or not he could do what was necessary to help a man he so despised walk out of the Royal Rumble as a champion. The Undertaker confronted Michaels, giving a simple statement. “Sometimes it’s hell gettin’ to heaven.”

That night, Shawn Michaels found himself in position to help JBL defeat John Cena. After a moment of internal conflict, Michaels hit JBL with Sweet Chin Music. However, he also hit Cena with Sweet Chin Music only seconds later. Michaels dragged JBL onto Cena and headed backstage. The referee slid back in to make the count, but Cena kicked out.

Ultimately John Cena won that match, and Shawn’s issues with JBL weren’t over. The next month, Michaels defeated JBL to earn the money he needed for his family and end his contract with Layfield.

With this demon finally exorcised, Michaels turned his attention to WrestleMania 25 where he hoped to try and break The Undertaker’s legendary undefeated streak. Michaels had to pick up wins on Raw against both JBL and Vladimir Kozlov, but he earned his match with The Undertaker. The stage was set for something truly unforgettable.

At WrestleMania 25, in Reliant Stadium, just half an hour from where my mom, my older brother, and I lived, “Mr. WrestleMania” looked to do the unthinkable by defeating The Undertaker on wrestling’s grandest stage. My brother and I, with our years of watching and analyzing wrestling, were skeptical of Michaels’ chances.

The Undertaker’s undefeated streak was such a behemoth, and one that seemed increasingly untouchable with each passing year. Of course, that didn’t deter my mom. Shawn Michaels was her boy, and she was going to support him a thousand percent. She knew he could win.

Dressed in all white, “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels descended on a platform bathed in white light. The imagery was clear. Shawn Michaels carried his faith into this clash with “The Deadman,” who entered the ring to his traditional Funeral March with a darkness that was a stark contrast to what we’d seen moments before from Michaels.

As the match began, it was clear that Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker were delivering something truly special. They were slowly building the foundation of a match that would be talked about for years to come. Michaels looked unfazed by the intimidating presence of The Undertaker, and was bringing the fight right from the start.

With every passing moment and powerful move, the intensity and suspense continued to rise. After both men had already began to wear each other down, The Undertaker hit a devastating chokeslam. He went for the pin, but Shawn Michaels kicked out. He later went for The Last Ride, lifting Michaels high into the air before bringing him crashing down. He went for the pin, but Shawn Michaels kicked out once again.

As all this happened, my brother and I traded glances. We spoke without speaking, being just as aware of our mom’s engagement and enjoyment of the ride Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker were taking us on. We didn’t want to interfere with her experience.

When pinfalls happened, we would look at each other as if we already knew what was going to happen. We knew that Shawn Michaels would kick out of the chokeslam, and he did. We knew that Shawn Michaels would kick out of The Last Ride, and he did. Things were going just as we’d expected.

When Shawn Michaels found himself tossed over the ropes, he held on tight and began to “skin the cat” by lifting himself back into the ring without ever releasing his grip. The Undertaker caught him in the middle of this process, dragging Michaels to the center of the ring in position before driving him into the mat with the Tombstone Piledriver.

The Undertaker crossed Shawn’s arms for the pinfall. The referee began to count. Our mom was cheering for Michaels to kick out, but my brother and I knew he wouldn’t. We knew it was over, and the streak would remain intact. No one kicks out of the Tombstone Piledriver.

And yet, as the referee’s hand came down for the count of three, Shawn Michaels still kicked out. The Undertaker himself looked completely stunned. My brother and I looked at each other in complete shock. We no longer knew what was going to happen.

All our confidence in seeing things coming went out the window, and suddenly we were on the same ride as our mom. Maybe the streak wasn’t untouchable. Maybe her boy could really do this.

Legendary commentator Jim Ross shouted “I just had an out of body experience” when Michaels kicked out, and I can think of no more applicable words to explain the feelings I have when I look back on this moment.

When Shawn Michaels later fought to his feet and hit the elbow drop, a move he often misses, the impossible seemed primed to take place. Shawn Michaels tuned up the band and landed Sweet Chin Music with ferocity, knocking The Undertaker to the mat with a thud. He went for the pinfall.

Mother’s Day: How Shawn Michaels brought my mom and I closer together

By Patches Chance | May 12, 2019

For Mother’s Day, I’ve taken the opportunity to look back on an important moment I had with my own mother nearly a decade ago. Shawn Michaels took on The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25, and the emotion of seeing that match with her has stuck with me all this time.