WWE: 5 best matches in the 25 year career of Triple H

2. Unsanctioned Street Fight: Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels [SummerSlam 2002 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY]

When Shawn Michaels retired in 1998 with a career-ending back injury, fans all believed we’d never see him compete again. While he did appear as an on-screen character a few times in the following years, we didn’t see him back in a match until SummerSlam 2002. Similar to the previous entry, this match was elevated by the story going into it.

Not only was it Shawn Michaels’ miraculous in-ring return, but the match itself came from a violent turn by Triple H. The former best friend and D-Generation X member attacked Michaels during a brief reunion on Monday Night Raw. In the following weeks, someone attacked Michaels in the parking lot and drove him head-first through a car window.

Seemingly breaking away from his grudge, Triple H rushed to his friend’s side and expressed his anger over the attack, vowing to find out who had done it. Of course, we eventually found out the perpetrator was none other than Triple H. All of this culminated in an Unsanctioned Street Fight between Shawn Michaels and Triple H that showed both men push themselves further than most expected.

Holding nothing back, the violent fight showed fans what Michaels was capable of. The shockingly sudden victory by HBK led to an eardrum-shattering crowd reaction, and that shifted to furious boos when Triple H struck Michaels in the back with a sledgehammer following his loss.